Help my fish to live!!?

Question

The short story is...

My betta died sometime today, I've lost four zebra danios in the last week-and-a-half, and my red fire dwarf gourami is on his way to the big fish tank in the sky. I just performed an emergency water test and found chlorine, ammonia, and nitrites at zero and my nitrates are at about 5. My temp is at 79F (same temp it's been at since day one). Water changes about every 5-7 days, since it's an established tank (4+ months). I am hoping you can help me save my red dwarf gourami with your fish intelligence. Right now (and for the last few days) he has been quarantined in a little breeder net box on the inside of the tank. I came home today and thought he was dead because he was lying on his side on the bottom of the box. After poking the net near where he was lying with an eyedropper, he started moving a little bit but now he is down there again. It seems he has trouble staying afloat. He manages to swim to the top, but floats back down again. Additional details ...

I haven't seen him eat in two days.

His other remaining tankmates include a neon blue dwarf gourami, four zebra danios, five neon tetras, an albino pleco (which seems to be nocturnal) and couple of ghost shrimp.

It's a 55 gallon with a BioWheel filter (appropriate size), two bubble wands, a heater and even an ammonia tester that hangs on the inside of the tank.

Please help me keep him alive. I don't think he's going to last much longer. Any additional details needed will be added as soon as possible.

Obviously D doesn't recognize the full benefits of this excellent website.

My questions, which I failed to directly state, are

1. What's going on with my tank that is killing so many of my fish?

2. How can I save my gourami?

I am willing to run down to Petsmart this evening if anyone can help me with what I should do. Local fish stores (which happen to be 20+ miles away from home) tend to close early.

All of my other fish look just fine. My red fire gourami does show signs of fin nipping (he's got the stringy looking tail, unlike my neon blue gourami's tail, which appears to be all in one piece). My neon blue did chase my red fire around the tank when I first introduced the red fire, and nipped a little at his fins, but I haven't seen him doing that in a couple of weeks. Not to mention, I would have thought that the tail would start to heal after having been in isolation for 4-6 days. The only other problem I see with him, is his (I hope I am correctly labeling the parts) anal and dorsal fins are very close to his body, which I had heard was an indicator of sickness. I'll grab a camera and try and grab some pictures real quick.

pH is at about 7.0-7.2

The last time I added fish to the tank was about 2-3 weeks ago.

Below are the pictures I managed to take. The first one was taken from the top of the tank looking down on him. The second was taken from the side. This is the best quality (obviously), but it was the best I could do.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/becca9985/DCFC0062.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/becca9985/DCFC0065.jpg

I'm pretty sure that nitrites are the ones that are supposed to be at zero. As for when I got the deceased fish, my zebra danios are the ones I started with since they are supposed to be hardy and great starter fish (I think I started stocking my tank in the beginning of March, because I set it up in the beginning to middle of February). My betta I got a few weeks after that (so probably the end of March, beginning of April). And then my red fire I got only about 2-3 weeks ago, completing my tank set-up.

Answer 1

Obviously it's not a water quality problem, or a feeding issue, so let's focus on possible diseases. Please look over your fish for ANY unusual spots, colors... anything unusual at all and describe that to the best of your ability. If it's something that would show up in a photo, that would help as well. Try to think back and see if any of the other fish that have died showed anything at all and of course look over all the other fish in the tank as well.

ADDITION: Are you sure you are seeing the results of nipping and not fin rot? While fin rot wouldn't be killing them at such a minor infection, it could be an indicator that other bacterial problems are at play in the tank.

From what you are describing, it sounds like a gill parasite to me. Or more specifically, a parasite on the gills of the fish. When was the last time you added fish to the tank?

ADDITION: 2-3 Weeks is within a typical range for either of my possible answers. I see that he looks very thin and possible?? discoloration around his gill plates and face? Are these areas a shiny gold to rust color rather than the more normal colors seen on this fish?
http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/warszawa2002/colisa_lalia_red2.jpg

If so you maybe fighting a velvet infestation. That you can treat using Maracide or a good Ick treatment as well as turning off the tank lights and keeping the tank covered.

If this is not the case, you probably have a bacterial infection in the tank. What exactly would be very hard to pin down since it seems to be internal in nature. For these I would suggest Furanace or Furan -2 first but as PetSmart doesn't normally carry these ( at least not locally or on the web) you can try Maracyn TC, which they do sell. Also get medicated food for bacterial problems and feed that to any fish that will eat it for the next few weeks.

MM

Answer 2

No fish can live in a fish bowl. Fishes need a tank with a filter and a tank that is cycled so buy a tank. A 5 gallon is a good tank for a betta.

Answer 3

1. Betta don't like clean water(Or in that fact a filter), a lot of activity, or living in groups(Very Solitary); Zebra Danios live in 64-74 degrees, and according to you, your tank temperature is at 79 degrees.
2. I can't find any problems with your gourami, and it would help if you told me your PH level. According to my sources, Red Fire Dwarf Gouramis live in 6.0-8.0 water PH, so if you do test it and it is not in that area, that would probably be your problem.
Also, if you have had your Gourami for over four years, that might be the problem(Although I have known some fish to live long after their life expectancy).

Answer 4

I have had several fish die at once before, and it was usually fin rot or little white parasites from the local petstore. I think you should call a professional, and the sooner the better. It might already be too late for your gourami.

Answer 5

what your nitrates are 5 you'd better do lots of water change thats whats causing the dead fish it should be at absolute zero

Answer 6

some info about zebra danios
http://fish.orbust.net/zebradanios.html

info about dwarf gouramis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_gourami

different diseases, follow the links with the descriptions
http://www.bbayaquariums.com/healthy-fish.html

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlvstkind2.htm

Check out these sites, i hope they help
I think your water is ok.
When did you buy all the fish that died?
Sometimes they die due to stress when you bring them home
I hope you find the problem
Good luck

Answer 7

Instead of wasting time on the internet, why don't you call up a fish store, or a vet that specializes in fish?! That is, if you care for them at all.