Glofish Skirt Tetra with Swim Bladder Disease and Another with Tumor

[finbean3]

I have a 55 gallon community aquarium that has mostly glofish: Danios, skirt tetras, and a shark. There are also 8 glowlight danios, some invertebrates and plants. Here are the latest water parameters tested for this aquarium:

 

PH: 6.6

Ammonia: <0.02ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 50ppm

Temperature: 76ºF

GH: 150ppm

KH: 40ppm

Chlorine: 0ppm

 

 

 

Most of these parameters remain fairly stable.

 

So I have a couple of prominent issues in this community right now. The first one is a buoyency issue that our short fin Orange Glofish Skirt tetra has. For as long as we have had him (Since the summer of 2023 when we brought him home) this fish has appeared to have had an issue with the rear side being lower than the front side when stationary in the water. When he/she swims, he/she straightens out and appears to be fine, but goes kind of vertical when resting. For months now, I’ve been trying to treat this fish with epsom salt swim baths that last about 15 minutes. However, this doesn’t appear to be helping much and recently, the condition has worsened to where my fish is now struggling to not float on it’s back. As you will see in the videos, my fish is usually floating just beneath the surface in the corner opposite of our filter in the aquarium. In the fall of 2023, I did treat the entire tank with the Med Trio and later I also treated with expel for some suspected parasites that I think my Danios were experiencing. However, this condition persists. Also, I tried the feeding boiled mushed peas a few times and have had little to no success. Only because of my fishes latest predicament of floating up top have I been able to coax some mushed pea with Marine pellets toward his/her mouth. He/she sort of seemed to try it, but would usually swim away only to float back again.

 

 

If you have any advice or suggestions, I would be interested. I don’t think a fish vet is a viable option for me in the Northern VA area. So far, the only places remotely in my area that treat fish appear to only treat pond fish.

 

Now for the second prominent issue: a few months ago, my long fin green glofish skirt tetra had a growth suddently appear around it’s adipose fin. At first, it was relatively small and with some water treatment it appeared to start to subside. But over time, it came back in a large way. As you will see in the video, it has ballooned into something rather large and I think it is starting to affect my fish. The lateral line used to be rather red on one side, and now that appears to not be so red. I take that as a positive sign. But the tumor fluctuates between bad and worse with my water treatments.

 

From what I’ve read, it sounds like there really isn’t anything I can do unless I find a fish vet to perform cosmetic surgery. Even that is unlikely to be an option. I welcome any advice on this one as well.

 

In the meantime, I’m doing what any fish keeper would want to do and trying to make their environment as hospitable as is reasonable.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8 by finbean3
Media not cooperating. Also some grammar corrections. :)

[Nora Loves Corys]

Sorry to hear about your fish. A few thoughts:

> You can use this locator to look up fish vets near you: https://fishvets.org/find-a-fish-vet/

> How frequently do you perform water changes on your tank, and how much? Your alkalinity (KH) is very low; this is what feeds the beneficial bacteria in your biofilter that convert ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate.

> How long has this aquarium been running? I am wondering if you might be dealing with more of a chronic, "old tank" disease such as mycobacteriosis (which I believe GloFish get pretty frequently): https://fishkeepandchill.com/mycobacteria

[finbean3]

Thanks Nora Loves Corys! I actually used that same site to search for local fish vets. That's where I found a vet in Manassas that only appears to treat Koi and goldfish for ponds and there was a fish vet in Maryland that seemed to indicate the same thing. Between the two, my best bet might be the one in MD, but it is a bit of a stretch. 

Lately, I've done a substantial water change about once a week and I clean the aquarium about once every other week or less. I've recently upgraded the filter to a Tidal 75 and added bio media along with activated carbon and a sponge filter. (The one that came with it) Whenever I do such a water change, in addition to using a de-chlorinator, I also use some bio filter and bio augmentation chemicals from a well known brand. Food waste might be an issue with the tank that I'm trying to balance, but struggle with. Fortunately, we do have some plants that are doing fairly well in the aquarium to help with the ecosystem.

Yeah, the KH seems to be an issue with my tap water. Seems to start off low and then goes lower. I also have a 40 gallon breeder with lots of baby mystery snails and their KH is super low! (5-30ppm) I've been experimenting with calcium carbonate and feeding routines with that tank. I might need to look into a similar solution with the 55 gallon. Thoughts?

Old tank disease is a new one to me. I will look into it. The 55 gallon, while it is our first aquarium, was established in the summer of 2023. (Less than a year old) So it seems odd to have such a disease, but I would hope that we are past our new tank syndrome at this stage. (Pretty sure it is fairly established, even with its issues) 

Thanks again for responding with your thoughts! I'll look into the old tank syndrome and welcome any further ideas!

[Nora Loves Corys]

 

I don't think you necessarily have "Old Tank Syndrome" if your water is coming out of your tap with low alkalinity; however, I think it's low enough to try to increase (which you have been trying).

 

@Jen Loves Bettas would be better than me to speak about the best way to add alkalinity to your tank. She also would have suggestions about a UV filter, I wonder if that might help your situation. How many fish are in there (it sounds like a lot)?

[finbean3]

@Nora Loves CorysIs the alkalinity what needs to be raised or the KH? Maybe it is related? (Forgive me, butI have a very limited understanding on KH. Been reading up on Aquarium Co OP on it though)

At present, we have 20 fish: 12 Danios, 7 Skirt Tetras, 1 Glofish Shark. Also I moved five of the baby mystery snails over who joined 3 nerite snails. And for the first time, I've discovered a bladder snail in the tank! 😄 

I went ahead and did another water test since that last one was from April 3rd. Here are the current readings:

PH: 6.4

Ammonia: <0.02ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 25ppm

Temperature: 75ºF

GH: 150ppm

KH: 0ppm

Chlorine: 0ppm

Also noticed a couple other of our glofish skirt tetras swimming funny, but I suspect they were trying to rest. (It's past midnight now)

As you noted in your earlier post, the KH is not only low, but appears to be gone now! I will have to look into some solutions for the KH. <Sigh>

Thanks again for helping me problem solve!

 

[Nora Loves Corys]

In your previous post, what are you defining as a "substantial water change"? I think there actually may be an old tank situation going on here.

Alkalinity = KH. It is the carbonate and bicarbonate. They act both as buffers to prevent large pH swings, and as a carbon source that the beneficial bacteria in your biofilter require to convert ammonia into nitrite into nitrate. More information here: 

[Jen Loves Bettas]

While the KH you mention of 40 (& I just now see the update about 0…) doesn’t seem problematically low for the species you’re keeping, it’s easy enough to raise this alkalinity using common products. There are certainly alkalinity buffers available, but the thing I’ve used most over the years is baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Typically, 1 tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate in 50 gallons of water will raise the KH by 2-3. So you can just go easy and measure there. My local tap water comes out between 20-40 dKH so if I’m not working with soft water fish like my wild bettas, I often add some bicarbonate to help the tank resist a pH crash and also to fuel the biological filter as Nora Loves Corys! mentions. Plants also appreciate this. 
 

As for UV filters, this might be helpful yes. I was able to purchase one on Amazon that I use in my quarantine tank. It’s sold as a green killing machine for nuking algae in the water column but they can also do a nice job of helping bring down levels of bacteria or other parasites that could cause issues. It’s like a small internal canister filter that you add into the tank. If you’re ready to potentially pay for a vet, it would seem a reasonable investment to try!

Edited April 8 by Jen Loves Bettas

[finbean3]

@Nora Loves Corys, my reference as a substantial water change would be over 50%. Also, I did not realize that KH had such a direct relationship with Alkalinity! I learned something key. Thank you for sharing. 🙂 Also, thanks for sharing the SRAC publication! This is good stuff!

@Jen Loves Bettas, thank you for sharing what you do with the sodium bicarbonate. I may try that if not the calcium carbonate. I'll be careful about the dosing. 

Quick update on the KH testing: I did another test today with my tube test kit and got a much better result. I've heard that these test kits are more accurate than the test strips, which is what I used yesterday, but I didn't realize how different the results could be. To be fair, it has been about 20 hours and it is possible that the water parameters changed, but I'm skeptical that they would have changed this much.

Here are the results from today's test:

PH (PH alert): 6.4

Ammonia (Ammonia alert): <0.02ppm

Temperature (thermometer) : 76ºF

Calcium (tube test): 40 mg/L ppm

GH (tube test): 107.4ppm

KH (tube test): 53.7ppm

So maybe the test strip gave me a bad reading? Or should I be more skeptical of the tube test? Hard for me to say, but I can observe a lack of stress from the majority of the tank mates:

 

Turns out that I actually have a green killing machine! However, I have limited my use of it. Question: how does a UV filter assist with my KH? Is the idea that it would assist with the bio filter in breaking down bacteria so the alkalinity rises? (Maybe this would help with my snail tank!? Funny that I've been avoiding the use of it on the premise that I didn't want to deprive all the baby snails of food.) Again, I'm learning a lot about water chemistry lately. 

Thanks again!! (Attached is a picture of the snail breeder aquarium)

[Nora Loves Corys]

On 4/8/2024 at 6:02 PM, finbean3 said:

@Nora Loves Corys, my reference as a substantial water change would be over 50%. Also, I did not realize that KH had such a direct relationship with Alkalinity! I learned something key. Thank you for sharing. 🙂 Also, thanks for sharing the SRAC publication! This is good stuff!

@Jen Loves Bettas, thank you for sharing what you do with the sodium bicarbonate. I may try that if not the calcium carbonate. I'll be careful about the dosing. 

Quick update on the KH testing: I did another test today with my tube test kit and got a much better result. I've heard that these test kits are more accurate than the test strips, which is what I used yesterday, but I didn't realize how different the results could be. To be fair, it has been about 20 hours and it is possible that the water parameters changed, but I'm skeptical that they would have changed this much.

Here are the results from today's test:

PH (PH alert): 6.4

Ammonia (Ammonia alert): <0.02ppm

Temperature (thermometer) : 76ºF

Calcium (tube test): 40 mg/L ppm

GH (tube test): 107.4ppm

KH (tube test): 53.7ppm

So maybe the test strip gave me a bad reading? Or should I be more skeptical of the tube test? Hard for me to say, but I can observe a lack of stress from the majority of the tank mates:

 

Turns out that I actually have a green killing machine! However, I have limited my use of it. Question: how does a UV filter assist with my KH? Is the idea that it would assist with the bio filter in breaking down bacteria so the alkalinity rises? (Maybe this would help with my snail tank!? Funny that I've been avoiding the use of it on the premise that I didn't want to deprive all the baby snails of food.) Again, I'm learning a lot about water chemistry lately. 

Thanks again!! (Attached is a picture of the snail breeder aquarium)

So the KH testing from 0-50 is actually not that big a difference (since the API test kit is measuring either 0 or 50 when it is very low--it could be anywhere in between those two values, the test is very granular)--no matter what, 50 is very low, and I suspect this is part of your problem. Note your pH is under 7 as well, likely due to the loss of buffering capacity from the low alkalinity. Definitely consider some action to increase your alkalinity given that your 50% water changes (usually big water changes like that replenish alkalinity) aren't working.

The UV filter is separate from the alkalinity problem. This is to reduce bacterial load in the tank in case something like mycobacteriosis is going on (here's a more detailed discussion that touches on the UV filter: https://fishkeepandchill.com/conversations/f/mycobacteriosis-the-ubiquitous-scourge-of-the-aquarist.

On 4/8/2024 at 6:02 PM, finbean3 said:

@Nora Loves Corys, my reference as a substantial water change would be over 50%. Also, I did not realize that KH had such a direct relationship with Alkalinity! I learned something key. Thank you for sharing. 🙂 Also, thanks for sharing the SRAC publication! This is good stuff!

@Jen Loves Bettas, thank you for sharing what you do with the sodium bicarbonate. I may try that if not the calcium carbonate. I'll be careful about the dosing. 

Quick update on the KH testing: I did another test today with my tube test kit and got a much better result. I've heard that these test kits are more accurate than the test strips, which is what I used yesterday, but I didn't realize how different the results could be. To be fair, it has been about 20 hours and it is possible that the water parameters changed, but I'm skeptical that they would have changed this much.

Here are the results from today's test:

PH (PH alert): 6.4

Ammonia (Ammonia alert): <0.02ppm

Temperature (thermometer) : 76ºF

Calcium (tube test): 40 mg/L ppm

GH (tube test): 107.4ppm

KH (tube test): 53.7ppm

So maybe the test strip gave me a bad reading? Or should I be more skeptical of the tube test? Hard for me to say, but I can observe a lack of stress from the majority of the tank mates:

 

Turns out that I actually have a green killing machine! However, I have limited my use of it. Question: how does a UV filter assist with my KH? Is the idea that it would assist with the bio filter in breaking down bacteria so the alkalinity rises? (Maybe this would help with my snail tank!? Funny that I've been avoiding the use of it on the premise that I didn't want to deprive all the baby snails of food.) Again, I'm learning a lot about water chemistry lately. 

Thanks again!! (Attached is a picture of the snail breeder aquarium)

Also, HOLY SNAIL!