# What is coming out of this poor guy?



## sarahandcadee (Aug 25, 2015)

I have a 55 gallon tank with a variety of barbs (tiger/green/gold) totaling about 40. I had two blushing in there, but one died (don't know why) several weeks ago, and now the other has been acting strange. 

I noticed it was getting picked on/chased around quite a bit, so I moved it to a smaller solo tank. His fins look awful, like they're fraying, he's swimming with his tail up staying in one spot, and yesterday he had what looked like a giant string of poop coming out of him. This morning when I checked on him, it was gone, but he's still swimming the same way.

I attached a pic of what it looked like last night. Please help!


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

Have you checked your water parameters? Your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? When a barb does a head stand like you described, it generally means that there are nitrites in the tank. Is the tank he is in now, cycled? I cannot remember what the white poop hanging from the anus is called, I am thinking hexamita but I could be wrong.


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## sarahandcadee (Aug 25, 2015)

It is cycled, yes. I just took water out of the main tank. None of the other barbs are having this issue, just this poor guy.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Looks like it may be over eating are the feces trail looks solid, fast for a day or two.

Normally with Hexamita, the feces are white, thin and slimy.

If there are no other injuries and just the frayed fins, keep up on the water changes to heal them.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

If you just took water from the main tank, the current tank will not be cycled. 

Keep up on water changes / removing debris from the tank.


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## sarahandcadee (Aug 25, 2015)

Ok, thank you!


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Let us know in a couple of days how he is doing


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

very interesting blue moon.is the swimming head down thing from your own observations of your actual fish ?
if so how many were in the tank and did all of them swim head down? does this hold true for all barbs? what about other species of fish such as tetras and danios and cichlids?i am very curious about this phenomenon.
i am certainly no expert on fish (or anything else for that matter) i still have so much to learn about our finny friends.


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

oh.i just thought of something.if the nitrites were high , would not all of the fish be affected by it and swim head down and not just 1 or 2 of them?


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

clumsycarp: if the nitrites are not that high, they can affect one or two barbs. Why don't you read up on tiger barbs? Also don't get me started with fighting, because I am not going to fight. I have 10 years of experience in fishkeeping. I am tired of people saying that I have no experience whatsoever in fishkeeping. Now there are fish that I don't even know about, but I do know fish care.


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## Jim Gilbertson (Aug 25, 2015)

Blue Moon said:


> clumsycarp: if the nitrites are not that high, they can affect one or two barbs. Why don't you read up on tiger barbs? Also don't get me started with fighting, because I am not going to fight. I have 10 years of experience in fishkeeping. I am tired of people saying that I have no experience whatsoever in fishkeeping. Now there are fish that I don't even know about, but I do know fish care.


Just for my info, how could the same conditions not affect all the inhabitants in a tank, (trying to learn something here) *pc


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

all that i asked is if you came to this conclusion from observing and working with your own animals.a disease may affect only 1 or 2 animals in the tank.but normally water chemistry affects all to some degree.

so , within 20 seconds of this posting tell me how to care for Sphaerichthys Osphormenoides.tank size ,water parameters ,temps ,foods etc.


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

ok , chocolate gouramies.
i have kept and observed tiger barbs.i have bred tiger barbs.but they are not a fish i want to keep.so i really do not need to read up on them.
who wants to fight ?
10 years is a lot.how many different species have you kept? how many species have you bred? this is where our experiences gives us so much of what we know.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Blue Moon,

I would think if information is being offered in reply to someone asking for help, There should be some type of reference of why said information is offered. 

" When a barb does a headstand like you described, it generally means that 
there are nitrites in the tank."

I believe it is more than fair to be able to explain how you have to come to the 
conclusion you stated, Based on the forums being utilized for educational purposes.

Not sure where the fighting issue is involved?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Jim Gilbertson said:


> Just for my info, how could the same conditions not affect all the inhabitants in a tank, (trying to learn something here) *pc


 Because some fish are more sensitive to certain things than others.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

majerah1 said:


> Because some fish are more sensitive to certain things than others.


This would apply to possibly unhealthy or genetically weaker fish?


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

Not necessarily. Clown loaches are healthy and strong, but they are susceptible to diseases. They need an established tank to thrive. Tiger barbs are susceptible to nitrite fluctuations. If someone would read up on tiger barbs, they would know this. anyway, I am not going to prove anything, I should not have to. Also majerah1 is right, some fish are more sensitive than other fish to water conditions.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Blue Moon said:


> Not necessarily. Clown loaches are healthy and strong, but they are susceptible to diseases.



Do you keep clown loaches?, We have a large herd and absolutely love watching them at play.


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

I used to keep clown loaches. Kept them since 2005-2006, now I just have my betta, Blue Moon.


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

i keep looking at the pic of the barb.it appears that some scales may be starting to stick out.is this happening sarahandcadee ?
that would indicate another condition.the "pineconing" is from a condition called Dropsy.dropsy may or may not affect other tank members.and it may also cause the fish take a nose down position.one should quarantine the affected fish and treat with epsom salt.change water often.dropsy is not a disease but a symptom.there are several conditions that cause it.it could be from a liver problem or parasite or bacterial infection.
do not feed for 3-4 days.then feed only vegetable flake.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Hey Marsha, doesn't Loha have a big herd of clown loaches?


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## clumsycarp (Jul 28, 2015)

ummmmmm..big b,don't you mean "herd" and not heard ?


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Oh I guess I do . Thanks. I don't know where I was but it was certainly not down on Earth. I usually spend about a minute looking for errors like that.


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## sarahandcadee (Aug 25, 2015)

This escalated quickly. Anywho...

The fish is doing much better now. I've done water changes, kept it isolated, and have been fasting it for 2 days now. Its fins look so much better, and there have been no mysterious gargantuan poops. Also, it seems to be swimming better, aka more normally. 

Thanks to everyone who gave advice.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Good news!


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## sarahandcadee (Aug 25, 2015)

And then I woke up this morning and the fish was dead.


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## welok (Jul 20, 2015)

sarahandcadee said:


> And then I woke up this morning and the fish was dead.


That's sad  I am sorry for your loss.


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

big b said:


> Hey Marsha, doesn't Loha have a big herd of clown loaches?


Yes big b, lohachata does have clown loaches. He and I have talked about them and other fish as well. He also sells fish food, called plecocaine. He is really good about getting the food to the buyer. I ordered from him and got my package within a week of ordering. He has a 100% rating on aquabid.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

sarahandcadee said:


> And then I woke up this morning and the fish was dead.


:frown2: sorry


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## BabyGirl77 (Jul 24, 2015)

Sorry for your loss sarahandcadee. Losing fish is always hard because you get attached to them. I remember losing Baby Girl and Junior, both clown loaches. I was devastated. Had a friend call me and we talked for a while about fish and fishkeeping. Anyway, sorry for your loss.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I was heart broken when I lost my favorite betta "Tropy". He was a brown-ish and orange betta, nothing special but I still got attached to him.


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