HELP! Feeder fish possibly diseased

borracho · 11-01-2009, 01:58 AM

So, I went to PetSmart and bought 5 feeder fish that were 19 cents each. I was done with the fishless cycling and went to buy some tetras, but the store had these feeder fish that looked like tetras, except these were pretty plain light silver with a single faint stripe across their bodies. I forgot what it said on the label at the store, but does anyone know what I'm talking about? They are very similar in size and shape to the neon tetras except for the colors. I do not believe that they are a type of goldfish.

Also, I am just reading that feeder fish often carry diseases, and I'm concerned about these because I want to add tetras to my tank soon. I have some concerns:

Concern 1: I noticed that about 2 of the fish sometimes rub their gills against the gravel in a quick downward swooping motion. Is this a disease (ich or gill flukes)?? Also, one of them was quite bloated in the stomach area, but it is not anymore. And they have stringy white poop, which I'm reading is caused by internal parasites.

Concern 2: If they do carry diseases, can it manifest in the tank itself?? It has been 2 days since they have been in my 10 gallon tank, but I have removed them for now and did a 90% water change.

Newman · 11-01-2009, 06:54 AM

I wouldnt ever do the feeder fish method (no matter if they are goldfish or tetras or anything else). You dont want the risk of diseases sprouting in your tank. some parasites and diseases can survive in the tank, long enough until you introduce new fish.

Try to get rid of the feeders, and clean as much of the tank and stuff in it, without disturbing the filter media in any way. you dont want the bacteria youve been growing to die, and have to cycle all over again. keep the filter media wet always, and never put untreated tap water near anythinging the tank.

as for concern one, sounds like fluke.

borracho · 11-01-2009, 09:31 AM

So, does fluke come out of the fish and hang out in tank by itself? The fish don't have any visual defects and seems pretty normal other than the gill thing. I'm just worried that I have to take out everything in the tank, clean the whole thing, and start the fishless cycling all over again. I've been doing it for 2 months already.

Newman · 11-01-2009, 03:42 PM

is there a reason you couldnt just buy some cheap tropical fish other than the feeders? you coulda avoided the whole disease thing ( most of it)
Fluke might be able to do that, im not sure. its best to be safe. get rid of the feeders asap.

borracho · 11-01-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newman

is there a reason you couldnt just buy some cheap tropical fish other than the feeders? you coulda avoided the whole disease thing ( most of it)
Fluke might be able to do that, im not sure. its best to be safe. get rid of the feeders asap.

Well, I went to the store to buy some neon tetras or zebra dinos, but they had these feeder fish that are shaped just like the tetras. I thought they looked kinda cute, and thought I was doing them a favor.. until they started scratching themselves. I've removed the feeder fish last night. I'm gonna just let my fish tank cycle for one more week in hopes that the parasites will starve to death if they are in there.

So much for trying to be nice to the fish.. Between the fishless cycling for 2 months and "rescuing" these feeder fish, I'm wishing that I just did an in-fish cycle from the get-go.

JRB__ · 11-05-2009, 04:11 AM

What are your ammonia, nitrite & nitrate readings atm? If your near the end of your cycle there are alot of fish that'll survive the final stages.
You should have gotton the zebra danios, they're a tough lil fish that alot of people recommened for the fish-in cycle method.
As far as the parasites etc surviving in the water... its possible but once the cycle has completed, do 80% w/c's for a few days and it should take care of it.
Good luck!

borracho · 11-05-2009, 09:30 PM

After I removed the feeder fish, I did a 90% water change. While changing the water, I disturbed the gravel in an attempt to stir up any bad things and fish waste (they produced a lot of waste in 2 days) to be scooped up in the water I was taking out. I'm not sure why, but I now have high nitrite that is very slow to go down. 4-5 ammonia goes down to zero in a day and maybe a half. Ammonia and nitrite were going down to 0 from 5 ppm after a day before the feederfish disaster, but I must have lost the bacteria colonies or something when i stirred up the gravel. I resumed fishless cycling for a few days now. I will get eh zebra danions next time!!

borracho · 11-14-2009, 01:38 AM

Well, I think everything is fine now. I now have 5 Zebra Danios and 3 Cherry Barbs. I must say that they are fun to watch. The Danios are really frantic though, and the female Cherry Barb already laid eggs in my tank. I doubt any will survive, though, except for 1 that I manage to save and put in a separate container!

Newman · 11-14-2009, 02:45 PM

careful here. how big is the tank? danios need more space than most other fish. and you should keep the barbs in a group of 5 or more. Are these gonna be your permanent fish? and good luck with the egs hatching. they will in 24 hours and in a few more days the fry will be swimming

borracho · 11-14-2009, 02:58 PM

I have only a 10-gallon tank. These will be my permanent fish, and they are all I'm going to have. I can't keep a larger tank in my apartment, so when I'm out of school and in a house, I'll get a larger tank!

I think the danios would probably do better in a much larger tank as they swim around a lot compared to the barbs as you said, but they stay on the top, and the barbs stay on the bottom, so it kind of works out for them. I have a male barb, and he kind of carved out a territory for himself in the corner around the Java Fern. Funny little bugger.

11-01-2009, 01:58 AM	#1
borracho Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71	HELP! Feeder fish possibly diseased So, I went to PetSmart and bought 5 feeder fish that were 19 cents each. I was done with the fishless cycling and went to buy some tetras, but the store had these feeder fish that looked like tetras, except these were pretty plain light silver with a single faint stripe across their bodies. I forgot what it said on the label at the store, but does anyone know what I'm talking about? They are very similar in size and shape to the neon tetras except for the colors. I do not believe that they are a type of goldfish. Also, I am just reading that feeder fish often carry diseases, and I'm concerned about these because I want to add tetras to my tank soon. I have some concerns: Concern 1: I noticed that about 2 of the fish sometimes rub their gills against the gravel in a quick downward swooping motion. Is this a disease (ich or gill flukes)?? Also, one of them was quite bloated in the stomach area, but it is not anymore. And they have stringy white poop, which I'm reading is caused by internal parasites. Concern 2: If they do carry diseases, can it manifest in the tank itself?? It has been 2 days since they have been in my 10 gallon tank, but I have removed them for now and did a 90% water change. Last edited by borracho; 11-01-2009 at 01:01 AM..

11-01-2009, 06:54 AM	#2
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,788	I wouldnt ever do the feeder fish method (no matter if they are goldfish or tetras or anything else). You dont want the risk of diseases sprouting in your tank. some parasites and diseases can survive in the tank, long enough until you introduce new fish. Try to get rid of the feeders, and clean as much of the tank and stuff in it, without disturbing the filter media in any way. you dont want the bacteria youve been growing to die, and have to cycle all over again. keep the filter media wet always, and never put untreated tap water near anythinging the tank. as for concern one, sounds like fluke. __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-01-2009, 03:42 PM	#4
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,788	is there a reason you couldnt just buy some cheap tropical fish other than the feeders? you coulda avoided the whole disease thing ( most of it) Fluke might be able to do that, im not sure. its best to be safe. get rid of the feeders asap. __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-05-2009, 04:11 AM	#6
JRB__ Little Fish Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 279	What are your ammonia, nitrite & nitrate readings atm? If your near the end of your cycle there are alot of fish that'll survive the final stages. You should have gotton the zebra danios, they're a tough lil fish that alot of people recommened for the fish-in cycle method. As far as the parasites etc surviving in the water... its possible but once the cycle has completed, do 80% w/c's for a few days and it should take care of it. Good luck! __________________ ~ They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing.. ~ 20 Gallon: Planted 5 Guppies 12 Neon Tetra 2 Otocinclus 5 Hockey Stick tetra Baby Blue acara 70 Gallon: Planted Cichlid Community 2 Peppermint Bristlenose 3 Clown Loach 110 Gallon: Lake Malawi Cichlid Community Banded Leporinus

11-14-2009, 02:45 PM	#9
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,788	careful here. how big is the tank? danios need more space than most other fish. and you should keep the barbs in a group of 5 or more. Are these gonna be your permanent fish? and good luck with the egs hatching. they will in 24 hours and in a few more days the fry will be swimming __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-01-2009, 09:31 AM	#3
borracho Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71	So, does fluke come out of the fish and hang out in tank by itself? The fish don't have any visual defects and seems pretty normal other than the gill thing. I'm just worried that I have to take out everything in the tank, clean the whole thing, and start the fishless cycling all over again. I've been doing it for 2 months already.

11-05-2009, 09:30 PM	#7
borracho Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71	After I removed the feeder fish, I did a 90% water change. While changing the water, I disturbed the gravel in an attempt to stir up any bad things and fish waste (they produced a lot of waste in 2 days) to be scooped up in the water I was taking out. I'm not sure why, but I now have high nitrite that is very slow to go down. 4-5 ammonia goes down to zero in a day and maybe a half. Ammonia and nitrite were going down to 0 from 5 ppm after a day before the feederfish disaster, but I must have lost the bacteria colonies or something when i stirred up the gravel. I resumed fishless cycling for a few days now. I will get eh zebra danions next time!!

11-14-2009, 01:38 AM	#8
borracho Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71	Well, I think everything is fine now. I now have 5 Zebra Danios and 3 Cherry Barbs. I must say that they are fun to watch. The Danios are really frantic though, and the female Cherry Barb already laid eggs in my tank. I doubt any will survive, though, except for 1 that I manage to save and put in a separate container!

11-14-2009, 02:58 PM	#10
borracho Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71	I have only a 10-gallon tank. These will be my permanent fish, and they are all I'm going to have. I can't keep a larger tank in my apartment, so when I'm out of school and in a house, I'll get a larger tank! I think the danios would probably do better in a much larger tank as they swim around a lot compared to the barbs as you said, but they stay on the top, and the barbs stay on the bottom, so it kind of works out for them. I have a male barb, and he kind of carved out a territory for himself in the corner around the Java Fern. Funny little bugger.