Long finned rosy barb diseased?

[Jeff F]

Hi everybody,
I have a planted, ten G with various fish including two long finned
rosy barbs, which I love. All the fish seem to be doing fine except for
one of the barbs, which, all of the sudden, seems to have lost all sense
of orientation. It constantly swims and spins erratically, appearing
dizzy and disoriented, and won't eat. Is this fish diseased? If so,
should I euthanize it? My ammonia & nitrite levels are nil and nitrate
is very low; Ph is a little above 7. The fish in question has been in
the tank for about 5 months, and was always fine until now. Advice is
appreciated!

-Jeff

[NetMax]

"Jeff F" > wrote in message
...
> Hi everybody,
> I have a planted, ten G with various fish including two long finned
> rosy barbs, which I love. All the fish seem to be doing fine except
for
> one of the barbs, which, all of the sudden, seems to have lost all
sense
> of orientation. It constantly swims and spins erratically, appearing
> dizzy and disoriented, and won't eat. Is this fish diseased? If so,
> should I euthanize it? My ammonia & nitrite levels are nil and nitrate
> is very low; Ph is a little above 7. The fish in question has been in
> the tank for about 5 months, and was always fine until now. Advice is
> appreciated!
>
> -Jeff

Swimbladder disorders cause them to have difficulty swimming. Anything
more erratic is usually due to a bacterial origin, tunnelling into their
brain cavity interfering with their motor functions (at least that's what
I read ;~). I'd move the 'spinner' into quarantine with some Epson
salts, but I wouldn't bet on his survival. Bacterial infections can be
very contagious once they are in the water column. Sometimes, the
bacteria is released from fish picking apart the inflicted fish, so
removal from the main tank prior to expiry, is a good idea.

NetMax