Very thin fish, not eating?

[candygrrl]

I have a 75 gal freshwater aquarium with rainbows, tetras, and clown loaches. All water conditions are good, did water change a few days ago. I just noticed that one of my turquoise rainbows is ~painfully~ thin. I mean SERIOUSLY. I'm quite horrified that I haven't noticed before now, but its only obvious directly head on or at an odd angle.

I just fed the group and he doesn't eat. I've tried several kinds of food. No one seems to be bullying him or keeping him from eating. Occasionally he grabs a bite and spits it right back out. He doesn't appear sick in any way I can tell, no ich, no gasping, no flashing, nothing. He is moving kind of slowly, but I'm not surprised considering he looks like an Ethiopian fish! Any ideas? I've never seen anything like it and I'm just heartsick over it.

Candace

 

[OrionGirl]

Parasites? I'd remove the fish to another tank and examine him closely--make sure there are no visible wounds or damage to the mouth. Then treat for parasites, and try offering him fresh veggies--peas squished out of the shell would be my first choice.

 

[candygrrl]

Thanks OrionGirl. I moved him to a small tank and after close examination, I still can't see any signs of disease or stress, no wounds anywhere.

Can you recommend something for parasites? There are so many different brands out there and I want to get the best I can.

Candace

 

[NowherMan6]

hi candygrrl. the same thing actually happened to two of my tiger barbs. they got very excited at feeding time and actually sucked food into their mouths but just kept spitting it out. eventually they'd give up. they died a few weeks apart, and in both cases i found them stuck to the filter intake, i assume because they were so weak they couldnt swim away. poor little guys. none of the other fish show any signs of the same, so i assume they're ok. but it is very hard to watch. i never even thought to think of parasites - how would they get them?

 

[OrionGirl]

Parasites are common in wild caught fish, and can easily spread them to other fish in dealer's tanks. Think ich--it is a parasite, and ubiquitous enough that people decided it was present in all tanks, all the time (it isn't).

For treating parasites--a salt solution, 1 tsp per gallon of water. Any kind of NaCl salt will work just fine, including table salt. Dissolve the salt in a quart of water, then pour this back into the tank. Don't do it all at once--I've done 1/10 of the total each time with no problems. So, if this is a 10 gallon setup, figure you'll dissolve 1 tsp/quart, every hour, 10 times. Going slower (ie, every other hour, over 2 days) is okay, but going faster can cause some problems. This isn't always enough to kill the parasite though, and some medicating may be needed. Medicated foods (when the fish is eating) are best, but in your case, you might need to go with a copper-based treatment. Follow the instructions precisely--copper can be hazardous. Cupramine might be a better option than some of the other brands.