# Is my Tiger Barb sick?



## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Hi

Was hoping someone would take a look at the video below and let me know what you think...

YouTube - ‪video-2011-07-11-19-44-22.3gp‬‏

Returned from a weekend away to find one of my barbs looking in a bad way. The rest of the barbs all look fine and are acting as they usually do, but this one seems to be missing his back fins all of a sudden and is staying in the same spot and not moving. 

Does the fish look sick? Could another fish have done this? I do 30 - 40% water changes once a week. N02 and N03 both reading 0, don't have an ammonia test unfortunately. Tankmates are...

5 more Tiger Barbs
Black Tailed Shark
Bristlenose Pleco
Firemouth Cichlid
Jack Dempsey Cichlid
3 X Pictus Catfish

Cheers

Steve


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

i guess the JDs would have harrased them a lot. 
it looks like the problem you are highlighting is just fin nipping :L


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

P.S i love the background


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Thanks for the comments. The JD only tends to kick off with the catfish as far as I've noticed, although I can't watch em 24/7 so it's possible. As for the fish not moving could this just be stress?


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

wiggywhitetrash said:


> Thanks for the comments. The JD only tends to kick off with the catfish as far as I've noticed, although I can't watch em 24/7 so it's possible. As for the fish not moving could this just be stress?



i wouldn't have thought so.
the fins do look a wee bit clamped though :L
it might just be a non conformant one.. there's always one of my many (uncountable) buenos aires tetra which just sits still :lol2:


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Thats not bullying from any other species, that is EXACTLY why i dislike tiger barbs.

Awesome fish but they are psychotic.

That is what tiger barbs do to the smallest fish, in all fairness, its exactly the same as marine Tangs do to each other when kept in large groups. Survival of the fittest, even in larger groups, the smaller/more timid often have their fins ripped off them.

TBH i find it usually keeps happening once it starts, id get a breeding trap for the damaged one, it cant get away or stand its ground like it is now


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## reptFAN (May 25, 2011)

If you do think its the tigers fighting amongst them self whch i suspect is the case i would simply adda couple more this should balance things out.It has worked for on a few occasions and has been written in pfk once or twice.


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## Viva (Apr 19, 2010)

It does look very stressed. Is that just part of the tank or the full tank? I would at least move it to safety poor thing.


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

It seems to be shoaling with the rest and acting normally now. Fins aren't looking any better though. I've had them about 6 months and at first they were always fighting amongst themselves (although I put this down to establishing a pecking order). After things had settled down, only the biggest 3 seemed to fight eachother, and now, I hardly ever seem them fighting. Moving it isn't really and option as it's my only tank (63 gallon though, so plenty of space), spose I could get a few more though. 
Just concerned it has finrot or something, if anyone could confirm whether this could be the case or not, it would at least put my mind at rest a little.

Cheers


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

^barbs do this.. especially tigers.
it's been stated already 
i'd defo keep an eye on them over the coming weeks,consider a different species maybe?
cherry barbs?


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Moogloo said:


> Thats not bullying from any other species, that is EXACTLY why i dislike tiger barbs.
> 
> Awesome fish but they are psychotic.
> 
> ...


 
Didn't see this post until after my last reply, you don't think I should bother adding more to the group then? (I have 6 at the moment)



> ^barbs do this.. especially tigers.
> it's been stated already
> i'd defo keep an eye on them over the coming weeks,consider a different species maybe?
> cherry barbs?


hmm, dunno... the barbs were the first fish I put in just cus I knew they were hardy and this is my first tank. Not sure I'd pick smaller fish if I were starting from scratch again. Also, I have to be wary about putting smaller juveniles in cus the JD is growing fast (about 3.5" at the min) and could end up scoffin em


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

oh yeah, you've got the jack.
buenos aires tetra? 
huuuge tetras which are fast as!!


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

99% of time its Nitrite poisoning IMO when it comes to Tiger barbs swimming head down, but if the rest are all ok and the levels are what you say they are then its probably a swim bladder issue.

Put some aquarium salt in and that should cure it. Wont harm the other fish either.

Possibly an infection or its taken a kick in.... The Jack will eventually eat your barbs anyway. I hope you are aware of that.


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

ok, the plot thickens... got up this morning to find a dead barb floating at the surface. After removing the body and checking the rest of the fish, I relized that the sick looking fish was still there and a different fish had died. Now I'm worried.
I did a 40% water change last night as well, checked the water tonight and still showing 0 for N02 and N03. However, I'm only using those test strips which apparently aren't all that acurate.
Sick fish is back to behaving as in the video and showed no interest whatsoever in feeding tonight.
Guess I'll give the aquarium salt a go at the weekend and get my water tested by the LFS while I'm there as well if poss. Gonna try cleaning the filter tonight, it's probably overdue.
By the way none of the other fish seem stressed at all, I heard that red tailed sharks need very high quality water and mine is growing like a weed.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

it sounds a lot like a silent killer..
what nocturnal fish are in their again?


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

spinnin_tom said:


> it sounds a lot like a silent killer..
> what nocturnal fish are in their again?


 
Pictus Catfish but they don't really act nocturnal any more. When I had just one, it hid all day, got 2 more and now, theyre failry active any time of day


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## Christie_ZXR (May 14, 2011)

Just a thought, it might be worth holding off cleaning your filter until you've got the results of the water test. You're right, the strips aren't great, so if the shop's test shows up nitrite, you'll probably want to leave your filter alone until the problems solved so you don't damage the filter bacteria.
If it is nitrite, waterlife's bacterlife is pretty good imo.
If you want to get your own test kit, I like APIs tests. They're fairly accurate and really simple to use, so would recommend them. :2thumb:

Good luck!


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Well, I found the sick barb floating dead this morning. Took a water sample to my LFS and the guy said my water was perfect - no ammonia, no nitrate, no nitrite and the PH was fine. He also seemed to think that they are just kicking each other's asses. 4 left now but not gonna bother getting any more, would like another group of small(ish) schoaling fish to fill the tank out. Just big enough so that the JD won't eat them when he's grown.
Thanks for the advice everyone


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

exactly..
silent killer fish


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## rubberbiscuit (Jan 5, 2009)

I wish Id never got my Tiger Barbs...I had 6 originally and now Im down to 3, one of which is really unhealthy and small (although its the biggest that gets picked on!). I worked out eventually that they all seem prone to a swim bladder problem and if I dont feed them sinking pellets and let them gulp air then they just cant swim at all and float.
Must be some very dud genes out there in the breeding community somewhere.??


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## ale36 (Dec 1, 2010)

I hate tiger Barbs. My dad once came home with 11 for me to rehome in my community tank. They where huge as the previous owner just fed them on bloodworms. They got along alright but a good few month after some of them died and the bullying started to the point I was only left with 4 which I gave up for adoption as they where the bully ones but this only happened with their own kind


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

wiggywhitetrash said:


> Well, I found the sick barb floating dead this morning. Took a water sample to my LFS and the guy said my water was perfect - no ammonia, no nitrate, no nitrite and the PH was fine. He also seemed to think that they are just kicking each other's asses. 4 left now but not gonna bother getting any more, would like another group of small(ish) schoaling fish to fill the tank out. Just big enough so that the JD won't eat them when he's grown.
> Thanks for the advice everyone


Congo tetra possibly, but a big male dempsey is still something to be cautious with.


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

caribe said:


> Congo tetra possibly, but a big male dempsey is still something to be cautious with.


yea, I know, but most people seems to say it's down to the temprement of the fish rather than the speices. Mine seems communal enough at the moment but he's still a juvenile. Guess I'll either get lucky and he'll play nice, or he'll reach maturity and wipe out the rest of the tank. Fingers crossed I suppose...


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

wiggywhitetrash said:


> yea, I know, but most people seems to say it's down to the temprement of the fish rather than the speices. Mine seems communal enough at the moment but he's still a juvenile. Guess I'll either get lucky and he'll play nice, or he'll reach maturity and wipe out the rest of the tank. Fingers crossed I suppose...


not a good mentality
you need to assume he has a gun and will kill all your fish.
i think maybe rehome him and get an epic shool of fish


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## Viva (Apr 19, 2010)

I am really pleased my fish shop told me straight away not to get tiger barbs for my tank. But I am still watching them all closely.


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

wiggywhitetrash said:


> Well, I found the sick barb floating dead this morning. Took a water sample to my LFS and the guy said my water was perfect - no ammonia, no nitrate, no nitrite and the PH was fine. He also seemed to think that they are just kicking each other's asses. 4 left now but not gonna bother getting any more, would like another group of small(ish) schoaling fish to fill the tank out. Just big enough so that the JD won't eat them when he's grown.
> Thanks for the advice everyone


Your Lfs isn`t telling you the whole truth re the nitrate, anyone who says there is or they have a zero nitrate reading is either reading the kit wrong or a liar a well set up tank with an efficient biological filter will always show a nitrate reading.

That being said i think your stocking of the tank is flawed and you need to start thinking things through rather than just throwing a hodgepodge of different fish together.

Why not read a few good books and stay away from google it`s full of nonsense which is hard to wade through if you haven`t got a clue to start with.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Graylord said:


> Your Lfs isn`t telling you the whole truth re the nitrate, anyone who says there is or they have a zero nitrate reading is either reading the kit wrong or a liar a well set up tank with an efficient biological filter will always show a nitrate reading.
> 
> That being said i think your stocking of the tank is flawed and you need to start thinking things through rather than just throwing a hodgepodge of different fish together.
> 
> Why not read a few good books and stay away from google it`s full of nonsense which is hard to wade through if you haven`t got a clue to start with.


Agree.

I do around 60% changes a week and I have 0 ammonia 0 Nitrite and between 10 - 20 ppm of Nitrates. Just means my bio filter is working.

So unless its fresh tapwater then I would be very suspicious.

Its also not a matter of "IF" the Dempsey wipes out a community tank its "WHEN"

i can assure you that it will start to eat your other fish, and things it cant eat it will kill. Thats the mentality of most SA and central cichlids... actually just cichlids in general.

Take some of my Dovii fry of me.... there really placid and great in a community :whistling2:


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Could've been wrong about what the guy said, he probably just meant 0 nitrites, point was he said the water was fine. Yea, I know my stocking is far from perfect but I'm failry new to fish keeping, I'll hold off adding anything new, guess I'd rather keep the JD on his own than have a comunity if I have to make the choice


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

^i suggest rehoming the jack.
they will get very messy.. as in you'll be doing extra water changes.
they eat a tonne..
but they do look nice, better than the electric blue horrible man made jack


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

spinnin_tom said:


> ^i suggest rehoming the jack.
> they will get very messy.. as in you'll be doing extra water changes.
> they eat a tonne..
> but they do look nice, better than the electric blue horrible man made jack


 
Like I say, I'd rather rehome the rest if I'm making a choice. I got into the hobby because I wanted to keep large predatory fish, saw an arowana on youtube and was like 'want want want'. After looking into it, there was no way I was gonna be able to get an 8ft tank so I started looking into a jag cichlid or an oscar. I bought a 63 gallon tank and the popular opinion seemed to be that 63 gallons would really be pushing the limit for either of these fish. With this is mind, the JD seemed perfect - large, agressive, predatory but not quite reaching the same size as an oscar. Guess it was just a pretty dumb move on my part by waiting until the tank was already partially stocked before adding him.
Regarding water changes, I already do 40% weekly and once a month I do 60%. The fish aren't huge yet so it's not really needed, I just want to get into the habit so that when it becomes important, it will be second nature to me


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