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i bought some green tigerbarbs, when i got them home i noticed they looked very skinny(i bought a albino and a regular tiger barb along with the two green tiger barbs), like freakishly skinny. they were shaped more like a very sick molly than a barb. but, they had no discoloration and they didnt act sickly...so, i let it go whilest watching them carefully.

the next day one of them was getting picked on and started nose diving instead of swimming upright, he was hovering by the filter then the heater. first thing i did was pull my healthy barbs and transfer them into my new 29 gallon and left the 4 barbs in question in the 10 gallon.

the ph was holding a steady 7.0, no changes, water is at 75 degrees, i floated them and did the partial water induction where you slowly add water to the bag to let them adjust to the ph and water hardness,even then it is very close, they keep their tanks at 6.8 ph and they use the same water i do.

no visible discoloration or other external signs. then today the fish started doing the nose down spin, sometime moving upwards with a total loss of co-ordination(sounds like swimbladder disease of some sort?). a few minutes later he was on the bottom barely alive and unable to move. i did what i hope was the humane thing and pulled him out and severed the spinal cord to end his suffering.

the other one was starting to hide as well, but he ate normally and is looking much better now, but is still very thin and abnormal looking.

tonight i took the fish back to the pet store with a water sample. they refused to replace it even though my water was good. they said it was either a breeding defect or a bacterial infection. basically tough luck for me. after i have thrown all my bussiness but the purchase of a couple corys to them, they wouldnt even credit me a fish, or take the time to try and properly diagnose the remaining one.

they did tell me i could buy some antibiotics for the remaining barb. i politly declined and left, figuring i would just drive to petco, but petco would have been closed by the time i got there(30 minute drive).

so now i am in a predicument. i cant diagnose the disease, so i dont know how to treat it, and the three are in quaranteen and seem to be behaving and eating normally, but who knows...

anyone heard of this problem and know a remedy?

The pet shop may be right to some degree, barbs , especially tiger barbs can be subject to hereditary problems from people attempting to breed them for certain characteristics like colour and unusual chubbiness. I still dont see however why this should stop them from giving you your money back, as basically they sold you a defective fish.Id probably give them hell about it.

The problem occurs when the gut can become so big that there is compression on the swim bladder,under those conditions barbs find swimming difficult and tiring, and then take nose dives and become so tired that they exhibit symptoms that look like neurological issues.

In addition a lot of barbs with organ compression issues will get occasional dropsy after a feeding. If youre lucky the fish recovers within a day, if not, the fish dies.

Conversely a fish with kidney damage (dropsy) can actually become radically underweight and anaemic, with the very act of feeding causing discomfort. While these fish are less likely to bloat out, the condition can be no less fatal as it leads to debilitation and eventually stress related deaths.To these fish any concentrated form of protien (read - just about any commercial fish food) will put lethal strain on the renal system.

Tiger barbs when unfit or heavily dominated will often swim slightly head down, this is submissive behaviour. If it persists when the animal is already in less than perfect health and subject to testing or persecution from other barbs a death from stress is very possible. Add the move from a petshop or into quarantine and the usual undiagnosed loads of internal parasites (usually caught while in shops or wholesalers incidentally) and you have a recipe for disaster.

Barbs are quarrelsome, do test each other and male submission to females and male combat are all part of the norm for the species. In a shoal there is no avoiding it.If the shop sold you fish that were too weak to survive acclimation and the dynamic of being in a group they are quite simply a bad batch. Take em back, and really kick off if they give you any trouble.

Thats providing you did the whole let the bag sit in the water thing well and the water tests ok- then obviously it could hardly be considered your fault. You pay money for a healthy fish at time of purchase, these obviously werent, and the shop should compensate.



Since most shops dont do quarantine, dont check the quality of their suppliers and mix species in innapropriate aquaria, overcrowded, with blanket water conditions they dont really have a leg to stand on considering the deaths took place so quickly. Outside of systemic shock you really would have to be trying hard to kill them that quick, your not a complete uninitiate, and unlike most of their usual customers you actually have the basic principles of fishkeeping down, dont let them pigeonhole you as one.

Last edited by longhairedgit at 22-Nov-2005 12:33

Last edited by longhairedgit at 22-Nov-2005 12:35

i took your advice. i went back to the fish store,and this time they exchanged the other two sickly ones. the albino barb was hiding in my caves, it was at that point i decided to take them back.

i exchanged them for some very healthy looking tiger barbs.
never again will i tell an associate that i want "two greens,an albino,and a regular tiger"...not selecting the fish and assuming that their fish are healthy is a VERY stupid thing to do, and i should be slapped for it.

i just assumed that with the bussiness i have sent them and what not they would be a little more carefull about fish selection, but then i learned something...THEY DONT CARE...even in the small pet stores...lol.

well, keeping my fingers crossed that whatever was wrong with them it didnt spread to the other fish.

Last edited by reun at 22-Nov-2005 15:50

Good stuff, sometimes all customer service needs is a kick in the pants .

Unfortunately youre right, a lot of shops, probably 99% coundnt give a toss if your fish die or not as long as they make the sale.There are exceptions though, my local shop the aquatic habitat generally does care, at least as far as shop policy is concerned, but I guess it will always be down to whichever assistant serves you on a particular day. Some shops are good , and they care about their reputation, and some will even track disease outbreaks back to suppliers and breeders. If you find one, hug it , tell it you love it, and never let it go . lol.

Generally I avoid large chain stores, dont forget that large stores are board and directorship managed, they dont neccesarily have anyone with an animal care history at the top, this will of course mean that money wins over all. In smaller shops theres a chance of finding a manager who cares how things are done, actually has a clue on how to correct problems, and will have a small enough team of employess to actually keep them directed to the task at hand. Support your small shops!

Its one of those ironic things that small shops can be either miles better than chain stores or far, far worse, but at least getting rid of a small bad store is easier through boycotting it than the bigger chain stores whose finances can be supported by the other products they sell.

Last edited by longhairedgit at 23-Nov-2005 12:13

thats what i thought, but it seems that the local fish store has less healthy and cared for fish and a worse return policy/customer service than the local petco does. pretty sad eh???

well, at least now i have 3 healthy tiger barbs instead of some geneticaly imbred sick fish.