Urgent Request - Last Chance for Fish

[Faith_at_Large]

My Leopard Danio is swimming very erratically and even upside down and perpendicular. He has virtually no control over how he swims. But otherwise seems so full of life and still plays with his tank mates.

Our office is closing down over the Christmas break, but there will be some coming in during that time to feed my fish.

I have already tried a full dose of Jungle Fungus Eliminator, and about a week's worth of Melafix. Some Pimafix has been used, but not during the run with JFE. I have antibacterial fish food.

Do I put my feisty Danio down now? OR should I try putting the Jungle Anti-Bacterial Medicated Fish Food on the menu for the break and hope for the best - I have put the tank fish net in plain site should he need to be fished out later.

He seems so full of life that I hate to kill him.

[gm72]

Sounds like swim bladder disease.

[Faith_at_Large]

My Danios also have a fine white rim along the edges of their fins, but the fins do not seem to be deteriorating.

The other two are swimming just fine.

Is there any hope?

[gm72]

Depends on how far along the process is. I would stop feeding them for a few days and see if the fish starts to be able to right himself.

[Faith_at_Large]

As this is my work tank - my fish have a fast over the weekends every week, this week will be no different. And they will likely fast again over Christmas day and Boxing day (depends on who the workaholics are).

I have my food set up in an eight day (divided vitamin dispenser) so that they do not get too much at a time - they are very small and do not require much to begin with. I will be leaving a note to let them know that they do not have to worry about missed days.

I have cleaned my tank and replaced my filter (and added the carbon back in after a week of medicating).

[gm72]

Honestly it sounds like you are doing what you can.

[Faith_at_Large]

Do you think I am being fair to my fish if I leave the sick one to continue as he as as opposed to putting him "out of his misery"? He seems to be so feisty and I hate to kill him if there is any chance of survival.

And should I try the anti-bacterial food?

[Faith_at_Large]

I will be able to followup here from home, but I will not likely see my tank until I return, unless I come into visit.

I was hoping to add some more fish during the break but I dare not do that until I know that they are all well.

Thanks for your help.

[KcEE]

I'm sure you have done all you can Faith. Let's just hope it gets better and all the other fish are fine. You might wanna hold that thought on getting more fish until you return to work and see what the situation is like then. Good luck and have a merry merry christmas! Cheers!

[Faith_at_Large]

After I signed off last night, I watched my fish for a little while longer. But, while my fish still seemed to have a lot of fight left in him, he was swimming more upside down than any way else. He was thrashing violently against the gravel and the tank wall trying to right himself. It was hard to watch - I knew that even through he was still physically strong, even if he survived the initial illness, he was risking injury and infection from his last actions. I believe that he was on his last legs (so to speak) and that he was dying.

It was a hard thing to do but I put him out of his misery. I can only hope that my other fish will be fine. I figured that if I left him in there over the weekend there was a very good chance that he would have been dead by morning and in their bellies by Monday. I did not see any other responsible option. He was getting worse and not better even after all my treatment attempts, including changing his food, using a variety of medications (in sequence), raising the water temperature, and the routine weekend fasts.

My remaining fish have a clean tank with a fresh filter and carbon to remove the remaining medications. The Christmas break crew have detailed instructions on how to care for my fish and my home phone number - and a vitamin case with daily divided containers to ensure that they are not overfed.

Thanks for your help.

[KcEE]

So sorry about your loss Faith. I guess you did what you had to do. Hopefully all the other fish will be fine. Good luck and happy holidays. Cheers!

[Faith_at_Large]

My surviving two Danios appear to be doing just fine. They survived the Christmas break and look like they could use some company. I am deciding whether to go with all Danios in that tank, or add a few of a different compatible species.

Thanks for everyone's help and support. It was hard putting down my biggest Leopard, but I am starting to see some nice milestones for my fish overall. I am hoping to see some long-lived fish from my survivors (for their species).