Swordtail behavior question

Ok... Have a male swordtail acting weird... he is in a planted(fake)
45G tank, water is normal

pH 7.0 (was 7.6 a few days ago)
Kh 3
GH 6
Amm. ~0
N02 ~.25ppm
NO3 ~20 (~10 a few days ago)

Last water check was Thursday, water stats then were the normal
baseline for this tank. Saturday a three clown loaches were added to
the tank.

Friday rolls around, and we notice that one of the swordtails has
migrated to the bottom. This is a fantailed swordtail we got from the
Lyretail tank at the LFS a couple of weeks ago.

His color is normal, his dorsal is still held high, he appears to be
hyperventilating a little, and is belly to the gravel. He has moved
around a little bit, but has not left an area about 5 inches long by 2
inches wide under some plants next to the side of the tank.

Other than his gill action, and his lethargic hiding under the plants
next to the glass, he appears normal.

Any thoughts??

TIA

Tony



http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/fantail_001.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/fantail2.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/aquaria2.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/fantail_001.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/gallery/fish/male_swordtails
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/standoff.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/surface.jpg
http://boyleclan.us/albums/fish/swordtails.jpg

You didn't give the age of the tank in your question.

Sounds like a mini-cycle going on. Your nitrites are the giveaway.

Do several partial water changes over the next week.

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:42:32 -0500, Polarhound
wrote:

You didn't give the age of the tank in your question.

Sounds like a mini-cycle going on. Your nitrites are the giveaway.

Do several partial water changes over the next week.


Sorry..This tank is about six weeks old, it had a fast cycle using
Bio-Spira and mollies...

The water hasn't changed hardly at all untill sometime between
Thursday morning and Sunday morning. This one fish is the only one
acting wierd. Water was topped off Sunday evening... about 2 gallons
in the 45G tank.

Since he is the only one acting funky, the Otto is fine, the Angel
fish are happy, and everyones colors all look good, I was suspecting
something else....

I'll be checking water over the next few days....

TIA

"GloFish" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:42:32 -0500, Polarhound
wrote:

You didn't give the age of the tank in your question.

Sounds like a mini-cycle going on. Your nitrites are the giveaway.

Do several partial water changes over the next week.


Sorry..This tank is about six weeks old, it had a fast cycle using
Bio-Spira and mollies...

The water hasn't changed hardly at all untill sometime between
Thursday morning and Sunday morning. This one fish is the only one
acting wierd. Water was topped off Sunday evening... about 2 gallons
in the 45G tank.

Since he is the only one acting funky, the Otto is fine, the Angel
fish are happy, and everyones colors all look good, I was suspecting
something else....

I'll be checking water over the next few days....

TIA

You might have introduced something nasty to the tank. Clown loaches are
all wild caught, so it's not uncommon for them to bring in all sorts of
bugs, skin & gill flukes, new bacteria's etc. Quarantining the Swordtail
might remove most of the contagion (ie: gill flukes), and then decide if
you want to treat him if there is no sign of improvement, or right away.
He might improve on his own in the community tank. It just depends on
what it is. Different fish species have different susceptibilities, so
they rarely all get sick at the same time to anything. If you had other
livebearers, they would be next in line. There is even a product called
Livebearer just to kill flukes in Livebearers.

NetMax

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:47:48 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:


"GloFish" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:42:32 -0500, Polarhound
wrote:
snip
snip


You might have introduced something nasty to the tank. Clown loaches are
all wild caught, so it's not uncommon for them to bring in all sorts of
bugs, skin & gill flukes, new bacteria's etc. Quarantining the Swordtail
might remove most of the contagion (ie: gill flukes), and then decide if
you want to treat him if there is no sign of improvement, or right away.
He might improve on his own in the community tank. It just depends on
what it is. Different fish species have different susceptibilities, so
they rarely all get sick at the same time to anything. If you had other
livebearers, they would be next in line. There is even a product called
Livebearer just to kill flukes in Livebearers.

NetMax



The NetMax to the rescue..... googling gill flukes brings forward a
ton of info... this does sound very similar.

I'm going to talk to the LFS to day to see if any of the other fish in
the tank have anything.... He has had this batch for over a week, I
assumed they would be good to go, as we have never had any issues with
fish from him.

There are many recomendations for clearing this up...one site
recomends a copper based product such as "had a snail" or "coppersafe"
as it kills all inverts. fishdoc.co.uk recomends quite a complicated
treatment option. Assuming that this flukes, is LiveBearers your
recomendation? or might there be a different way that will yield
better results?

TIA

Tony

"GloFish" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:47:48 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:


"GloFish" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 22:42:32 -0500, Polarhound
wrote:
snip
snip


You might have introduced something nasty to the tank. Clown loaches
are
all wild caught, so it's not uncommon for them to bring in all sorts
of
bugs, skin & gill flukes, new bacteria's etc. Quarantining the
Swordtail
might remove most of the contagion (ie: gill flukes), and then decide
if
you want to treat him if there is no sign of improvement, or right
away.
He might improve on his own in the community tank. It just depends on
what it is. Different fish species have different susceptibilities,
so
they rarely all get sick at the same time to anything. If you had
other
livebearers, they would be next in line. There is even a product
called
Livebearer just to kill flukes in Livebearers.

NetMax



The NetMax to the rescue..... googling gill flukes brings forward a
ton of info... this does sound very similar.

I'm going to talk to the LFS to day to see if any of the other fish in
the tank have anything.... He has had this batch for over a week, I
assumed they would be good to go, as we have never had any issues with
fish from him.

There are many recomendations for clearing this up...one site
recomends a copper based product such as "had a snail" or "coppersafe"
as it kills all inverts. fishdoc.co.uk recomends quite a complicated
treatment option. Assuming that this flukes, is LiveBearers your
recomendation? or might there be a different way that will yield
better results?

TIA

Tony

My experiences with gill flukes has been too limited to recommend
anything in particular. For parasites in general, I've used Livebearer,
Quick-Cure, Nox-Ich & Clout and I've just added formaldehyde to my
arsenal. I have used Coppersafe, but so infrequently to not have formed
an opinion one way or another. Of the products I have used regularly,
they are listed in order, from preventative to medicinal desperation.
I've had good results with Livebearer, treating entire shipments, but as
with any contagions, you need to raise the stakes depending on the
illness. Clown loaches are not medicine-tolerant, so finding the weakest
medicine which works is very important, however, if it is too weak, you
often don't get another attempt, especially with new arrivals.

Frank in alt.aquaria is full of medicinal advice. Treating fish diseases
is the worst part of my job, and I'm only reluctantly getting better at
it.

NetMax

On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 23:19:39 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:


My experiences with gill flukes has been too limited to recommend
anything in particular. For parasites in general, I've used Livebearer,
Quick-Cure, Nox-Ich & Clout and I've just added formaldehyde to my
arsenal. I have used Coppersafe, but so infrequently to not have formed
an opinion one way or another. Of the products I have used regularly,
they are listed in order, from preventative to medicinal desperation.
I've had good results with Livebearer, treating entire shipments, but as
with any contagions, you need to raise the stakes depending on the
illness. Clown loaches are not medicine-tolerant, so finding the weakest
medicine which works is very important, however, if it is too weak, you
often don't get another attempt, especially with new arrivals.

Frank in alt.aquaria is full of medicinal advice. Treating fish diseases
is the worst part of my job, and I'm only reluctantly getting better at
it.

NetMax



Thanks for the advise... I see I messed up originally, I had intended
to cross to alt.aquaria. I'll have to pay more attention in the
future.

Seeing the little things diseased is hard... this one is my favorite
fish of all the denizens in the tank.

Thanks again.