Anybody know anything about fish health?

[DoctorGoose]

So, last week, I just bought some Rosy Barbs to keep my one male company. He was about six months old. Since I got them (I have a 40-gallon tank) They have all been dying off, one by one. Their tail(lol--almost said feathers!) gets a little ragged, and then they go belly-up. Did these new fish bring in some sort of disease? Should I have made a quarantine coop for them?

Seriously, though, I'm kinda angry because I really liked the one fish who died.

 

[linpach farms]

If the tails looked ragged and the fish have some white looking spots on the tails, fins ect... it is probably ICK. You can get medicine from the fish store to cure this. The new fish probably bought this with them from the store, or just the stress of the new tank mates can cause this. Sorry you lost all your fish.

 

[peepkeeper]

The new fish probably brought home something. Dose the tank with malachite green, you can find it in any fish or pet store. It's usually sold under the name ick be gone or something like that.

 

[lurky]

This is not to ansswer you but to share something useful i learned. It works with goldfish, so i think tropical should benefit too. You know how people get goldfish and they seem to go belly up easy A/K/A bloat? Well, brine shrimp is a good treat and keeps their tiny system in better working order. the problem is its costly and smelly. Well, i was taught that they LOVE peas. If you take a handful of frozen peas and soak them for a minute in water to thaw. then chop them up a bit and toss them into the water, the fish will eat them up and it keeps them from getting bound up which is why they die often. when i read this on-line, i was desperate as my daughter, then 15, went to bed crying because her goldfish was belly up and barely breatheing at all. I was ure it was too late, but i did it anyway. I went right to bed as it was 1 am. When we woke in the AM the fish was swimming around like nothing ever happened. If everyone who reads this, remembers it in the back of their minds, maybe it will save another little kids goldfish someday. Also, if you have fish now, just feed them chopped peas 1 or 2x a week and they will be happy and healthier for it. Plus frozen peas are easy to keep. Sorry this was so long, but I swear it works!!!

 

[LynnGrigg]

I'm no expert but did have aquariums. Barbs are in the tetra class and tetras chase and nip tails. That can cause damage and lead to disease. Ick is a visible disease - white spots. They could also have fungus. I don't know where you keep the water temp but 78-80 is recommended. Tetras also enjoy a more acidic ph level of water. You might check the ph also.

 

[texasgirl]

Was the one male barb the only thing in the entire tank or are there other types of fish in there?
What type of filter is on the tank?

 

[NS2A]

How many fish were in the tank and how many fish did you add? Specifically, how many inches of fish. You probably know, the guideline is one inch of fish per gallon of water.

I used to run aquariums and my last one was a 29. I could add no more than 20%, otherwise I'd have fish side off. So, if I had 20 fish (really, 20" of fish), I could add about 4 fish at a time. Anything over that and I'd get close to half dying off.

That said, those barbs are very hardy, especially the roseys, but mine did get ICK - which I am told all fish kind of have, but the stress of shipping and transfering to your tank brings it out.