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For the past week I've been cycling a 30 litre BiOrb with three zebra danios. I went away for one day and when I came back this morning, one was dead. I don't know how long he had been dead but it can't be more than a day. He had a white film on his body but whether this started before or after he died, I don't know. Of the two remaining fish, one seems normal, ie. not acting any different to usual and no visible signs of disease, the other however is swimming strangely (doing kind of backwards loops near the surface of the tank) and he appears to have two small black spots on his body and a white film on his body too, also his abdomen looks red and swollen. I have tested the water and the parameters are as follows:

temp 23.5 degrees celcius
ammonia 0.5ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 5ppm

I don't hold much hope for the ill-looking fish, but what should I do about the remaining fish. Should I continue cycling the tank with him alone and treat the water in some way (ie. some sort of medication)? Or do I need to find him a new home and start all over again? I think there was a temperature drop due to a power cut while I was away which may explain why this has happened.

Last edited by foj1428 at 15-Apr-2005 11:00

Update:

The ill-looking fish has unfortunately died. I examined him and he did have a swollen red abdomen and two greyish black spots on his body near the tail. Seems I was wrong about a white film on the body, but he was looking washed out. Any idea what this could be?

What should be done with the remaining fish? He still looks ok. If he remains ok, do I need to replace the dead fish to complete the cycle or will it continue with one?

It will continue wit one, however I would suggest measuring the ammonia now and in about 8 hours as the dead fish would have produced a decent ammonia spike and it could affect your remaining fish.

If you get a chance, go back to the shop where you got the danios and look at the tank. You may have just gotten some fish from a bad batch. I wouldn't try topping up your stock just yet, give it a week or so just to be sure its not some nasty disease

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett