# Need Help With Sick Zebra Danio! :(



## Paul24uk (May 13, 2013)

Hi all

One of my Zebrafish is sick, we found him or her lying on the bottom of the tank this morning and at first thought it was dead, then all of a sudden it started to swim around. I've seperated it from the rest of our fish in case it has dropsy caused by an infection that could contagious. It's now in a smaller "Hospital" tank for the time being and is still breathing and seems very alert, but is mostly lying on its side, swimming about a little periodically. It was in a 100 litre tank with 2 Goldies, 2 Fantails and 9 other Zebra Danio, all of which seem to be perfectly fine. The tank is worn in and is planted with a filter with a venturi attachment and lighting. 

Any help would greatly appreciated.


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

Could it be that he's just old ? Zebra Danios don't have a very long lifespan. 

If all the others are fine and your tank parameters show your water quality is good... could be as simple as that.


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## Paul24uk (May 13, 2013)

Thanks for the reply.

To be honest, i'm have no idea how old it is. We only got him about a month ago, what is the average lifespan of a Zebrafish?.


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

I have 10 of them, all from the same store. Have had them for about 3 months and I can tell you some of them were older when I got them... already full grown, very large for Danios. 

They live to be about two years old. Your sick one might already be about that age. A lot of fish stores will take fish back or take trades and they will stick them back in their tanks for sale. You don't always get young fish from the store. 

Do you have a liquid test kit ? If so, what are your current Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate readings ? No problems with PH fluctuating ?


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## Paul24uk (May 13, 2013)

Sorry for the late reply, i've been out for a meal with the family.

I just checked the water a couple of days ago and everything was as it should be. The tank gets regular partial changes and tested every 2-3 weeks.

I just noticed looking at the Zebrafish that one of his pectoral fins seems to be stuck pointing out, could this be the reason for its behaviour and can it be remidied?


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

No worries ! No time schedule to post replies. 

That pectoral fin could very well be the cause of his unusual behavior. Hard for a fish to swim with a pectoral fin damaged. 

Keeping ideal water conditions may be enough to fix the problem. Or you could try treating with Melafix. 

Maybe some others will chime in on their opinions.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

I agree try some Melafix.you can get that at walmart.i have used it a couple times in the past and did a great job and the fins grew back very quick in my case


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## Paul24uk (May 13, 2013)

I'll give the Melafix a try. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated .


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Really need info on symptoms?If there are no visable symptoms besides distress,I only have bad thoughts(TB<mycrobacterium). 
Zebrafish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you go to this link and read "aquarium care" you'll see they note they are suceptable to microbacterium(fish TB)..The other two diseases they list would have pronounced symptoms.


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## Paul24uk (May 13, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up coral bandit. I've had a look at the link you posted and from what i can tell there seems to be no visible symptoms, no growths, markings, discoloration, lacarations or infected areas. The only noticable thing wrong with it seems to be its right pectoral fin which is stuck in the outward position, the left looks fine and every time it stops swimming it will lay down on it's left side. It still looks alert and is breathing.


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## CAM (Jan 27, 2013)

I had a Harlequin Rasbora that had that same problem. He died two days after I first noticed it but I think it was an acclimation issue that killed him because I had the dardest time trying to get the Harlequins to acclimate to the tank. Lost a few of them and gave up, took the rest back to the store.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If it is mycrobacterium, you first should be very careful yourself(it is contagious to people).Second the fish will die pretty quickly usaully from the time you recognise anything wrong(days to maybe a week).


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