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I noticed when I got home today that my newest Barb was acting a little funny. He was not schooling with the other Barbs in the tank. Instead, he was hanging out mostly at the top of the tank and near the filter. In fact, my room mate said she even saw him stuck to the filter for a few seconds, but she wasn't sure. I later noticed that the fish would look somewhat paralyzed for a few seconds, then suddenly start swimming again.

One of my other Barbs currently in the tank was purchased at the same time and from the same retailer (Petco) as the one that just died. I have only had this remaining Barb and the one that just died for TWO DAYS! Therefore, I do not think the fish was sick from something in my tank. I think it is likely that the fish was sick when it was purchased.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Also, does anyone know what disease the fish might have had based on the symptoms I described? In addition to the symptoms written above, I also noticed (after the fish was already dead) that it had a large red area that may have been some sort of blood clot on its throat.

Please help.

Thank you.

kowar100,
Sorry to hear your barb trouble.....Can you please please please provide us with a bit more information so we can help you. We'll need as many of the answers as you can provide to the questions posed in [link=this thread]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/43725.html?200407200128" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link].
Most important is water quality readings, how long the tank has been set up, tankmates and tank size.

If you havent done a water change since removing the dead barbs do one now being sure to match water temp and dont forget the dechlor .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever..."

Help us to help you with your sick fish:

When making a post to the hospital forum, you will save valuable time by providing the following to us. Post what you can now then bring the rest back later if you are missing something. Copy and paste the info into your post as a guideline, then edit out what is not needed. based on symptoms, we may ask for more info later.

It is also important for us to know what country you are in so we can recommend medications that are actually available to you.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Ammonia: unknown
Nitrite (note the “I&#8221: between 0 and .5
Nitrate (note the “A): between 20 and 40
pH: 7.8
Temp: 77 – 78 degrees Fahrenheit

TANK INFORMATION

Tank Size: regular 10 gal.
Stock List (Quantity/Species): 4 Tiger Barbs
Fish size: each fish is about 1” long
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Additives
One of my fish has white spots on him so I have been using Cure-Ick for 3 days. I removed the carbon insert from my filter and used one capful of Cure-Ick every 24hrs. Also, last week I noticed that the nitrite levels in my tank were rising so I changed about 20% of the water and added 1 and ½ tablespoons Aquarium Salt. In addition, 1 tsp. of Stress Zyme was added when I added 2 new fish 2 days ago. Wow, this seems like lots of chemicals.

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SICK FISH

(My fish is now dead, but I will describe the behaviors he displayed before he died.)

Note: My fish was a Tiger Barb. He was purchased only 2 days before his death. For this reason, I don’t think it is something in my tank that killed him. However, I would still like to know what kind of disease he had so that I can make sure it doesn’t spread to my other fish if it is contagious.

Appearance: My Barb appeared to be pretty normal compared to my other Barbs. He had good color and swam with the others just fine (for a while). However, he did have a dark red spot on what I would call his “chin” (the area on his front bottom side). The redness was internal and looked like maybe it could have been something like a blood clot. This was his only noticeable appearance flaw.

Behaviors: Eventually he no longer swam with the other Barbs in the tank. Instead, he was hanging out mostly at the top of the tank and near the filter. In fact, my room mate said she even saw him stuck to the filter for a few seconds, but she wasn't sure. When at the top of the tank, his head was pointed upward. I later noticed that the fish would look somewhat paralyzed (not moving any of his fins) for a few seconds, then suddenly start swimming again somewhat disoriented. I fed my fishes a small amount of freeze dried blood worms and while the other fish went crazy for this snack this fish who eventually died did not even go near the food. When he died he did not float to the top. His body just drifted around in the tank.

Extra help can be directed into this thread: [link=http://fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/64726.html?200509291000]http://fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/64726.html?200509291000" style="COLOR: #808080[/link]

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."