[Trademark]

I lost a yellow tail acei today and another started showing symptoms. When he stops swimming he doesn't stay level. His back half drops down slightly until he starts swimming again. The first one started about 4 or 5 days ago and passed today.

My parameters are: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10, ph 8.4, gh 11, kh 7.

I now have 4 Acei 5 Yellow Labs, 5 Rusties, 3 Synodontis, & 1 bristle nose. They are juvies I bought on line delivered 10 weeks ago. I haven't seen any aggression at all. No one hanging out by the heater on filter tubes.

Please advise!

I don't have a hospital or quarantine tank.

72 gallon Bow front
Fluval FX4.

 

[Idech]

I don't know why your fish is ill but you can make a hospital tank out of a plastic bin. Just use water from the tank to fill it, put a rock so he can hide, a heater and an air pump or filter and that's it. This way you can medicate him if need be.

Others will come hopefully with medical advice.

 

[Trademark]

Thanks Idech, will do.

 

[DJRansome]

We need more symptoms. Are they eating? Feces thick and food colored? Spots, marks, growths? Fins split or nipped, scales missing? When you say juveniles, are they one inch or less including tail?

 

[Trademark]

The one that's starting to show symptoms is eating, but not as aggressively. They have no marks, spots, growths, split or nipped-fins. Feces are thick and food colored. They are 3" long, and have grown at least an inch since they arrived 10 weeks ago.

Again, I haven't seen any signs of, nor witnessed any aggression.

The one that died, started the same way. After a couple of days the swimming looked as if the fish was drunk.

 

[DJRansome]

The swimming things sounds like the fish is weakening due to an illness, but the swimming pattern alone does not give us anything to diagnose by. Keep observing.

 

[Trademark]

Yes, I'm stumped. The only symptom I could see in the one that died was the "drunk" swimming which got worse each day until it was gone.

I did about a 60% water change yesterday after I removed him. The other fish I was worried about seems fine today. Noticed this morning that one of the Rusties is holding. That's usually a good sign the tank is healthy. I'll keep my fingers crossed!