help! tiger barb illness

[Tedd]

one of my green tiger barb's is looking ill.

i have him in the quarentine tank now because he's missing a large patch of
scales and part of a fin, (the others have been picking at him, as typical).
he's having trouble orientating himself, more like because he's just too weak to
do anything about it, he was spending alot of time at the surface gulping air
before i QT'd him, he has his scales "puffed out" like the bird feathers on a
sick finch. anyone got any idea's what might be wrong with him? water parameters
are normal, did a regularly scheduled water change of 20% four days ago,
everyone else in the tank is fine.

any idea's?

tedd.

[Flash Wilson]

On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 01:02:33 -0600, Tedd > wrote:
>one of my green tiger barb's is looking ill.
>
>i have him in the quarentine tank now because he's missing a large patch of
>scales and part of a fin, (the others have been picking at him, as typical).
>he's having trouble orientating himself, more like because he's just too weak to
>do anything about it, he was spending alot of time at the surface gulping air
>before i QT'd him, he has his scales "puffed out" like the bird feathers on a
>sick finch. anyone got any idea's what might be wrong with him? water parameters
>are normal, did a regularly scheduled water change of 20% four days ago,
>everyone else in the tank is fine.

Mine used to get like that every time they were picked on, sounds
exactly like what I'd see. I used to isolate them in a breeding
net for some peace and quiet, and treat with melafix. If there's
a quiet tank he can go in on his own so much the better but he
will be fine in a breeding net, won't fancy swimming much until
he's healed.

I find that if two are isolated together they have a better chance
of healing and being able to go back in the tank; one on its own
often dies anyway depending on the extent of the injuries, but at
least I know I gave it a chance and let it rest a while. Don't know
why having a friend in there makes much odds, but it seemed to
make a difference in mine.

HTH

--
Flash Wilson Webmaster & UNIX SysAdmin
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[NetMax]

"Tedd" > wrote in message
...
> one of my green tiger barb's is looking ill.
>
> i have him in the quarentine tank now because he's missing a large
patch of
> scales and part of a fin, (the others have been picking at him, as
typical).
> he's having trouble orientating himself, more like because he's just
too weak to
> do anything about it, he was spending alot of time at the surface
gulping air
> before i QT'd him, he has his scales "puffed out" like the bird
feathers on a
> sick finch. anyone got any idea's what might be wrong with him? water
parameters
> are normal, did a regularly scheduled water change of 20% four days
ago,
> everyone else in the tank is fine.
>
> any idea's?
>
> tedd.

Protruding scales is an advanced symptom of dropsy, which is a catch-all
term for internal bacterial diseases. Along with the missing scales and
respiratory trouble, this fish sounds like it's too far gone to plan a
treatment. Frank in alt.aquaria is our local medicine man for a 2nd
opinion.

NetMax