Hi,
I have had this problem with tigerbarbs before, just so u know my tank is 5 gallon, and there is no ammonia or nitrite. It has an elite hush 5 filter. I have 3 fish in the tank.

One of my new fish, an albino tigerbarb has been having swimbladder problems lately. Today I found him laying on the bottom breathing really hard. I moved him to a tub and I made the water pretty shallow, does anyone know what could be wrong with him?

Sadly he passed away this afternoon.

R.I.P. Lightning

Shamu, sorry to hear about your loss.

If I had to guess, I would say it may have been a water-quality issue. A 5gallon tank would be very difficult to cycle. You could have had a large buildup of nitrates. How often do you test the water? Or do water changes?

I test the water regularly and do waterchanges at least every 2 weeks, more now with the new fish. There was nothing wrong with the water quality, and this tank has been cycled for at least half a year.

Please help! Now its hapening to my little green tigerbarb, I got them at the same time from the same store a couple of days ago, could they have already been sick? My other one is doing just fine, I need urgent help!!

I am really sorry your fish passed away, and another is sick. I would QT your sick fish right away, and put a filter, if you have an extra, in the bucket with it (rubbermades are good for this). I wouldn't worry so much about keeping the water shallow, as it may very likely not be a SB issue. As far as I am aware (and I am far from an expert, tiger Barbs aren't too prone to SB issues, but correct me if I am wrong) and my expereince with SB is that they almost always float not sink because of it. I had a GF that had SB for over a year with no ill effects.

Can you tell us more about what the fish looks like and its behaviour. Remember that it is best to QT any new fish, as many you buy are already infected when you buy them, and that way avoid infecting your healthy fish. Maybe try doing more frequent water changes (you should be doing them weekly, but not necessarily doing a total cleaning every week), even do one now. If nothing is affecting your other fish you already had, I would guess the fish was sick when you bought it. Maybe try to contact the LFS you bought them at, and maybe they have had problems with theirs in the store since you bought yours and can give you info., as well as the fact that some LFS will replace the fish if they die. Keep in mind though, many LFS have no real knowledge of how to care for or treat ill fish, so research anything before you do it. Did you also check what the stors water paremeters were? If they were very different than your tank, the fish could be going into shock. It is very important to ask them what tehy keep the temperature, pH and such at so you can aclimatize the new fish to your tank without harm. Sorry I am babbling, but I am tired and my mind is racing all over the palce with ideas (I have the most experience with GF illnesses, not tropicals), but I din't want to leave you hanging wondering what could be going on.

Maybe if you could post (I have taken this from the GF disease section, but the info. can still really help to diagnose any fish) Test Results for the Following: (It is hard to guess what might be wrong without more info. as there are many reasons a fish could be laying on the bottom and breathing hard).
Ammonia Level?
Nitrite Level?
Nitrate level?
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)?
Ph Level out of the Tap?
Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running?
What is the name and size of the filter/s?
How often do you change the water and how much?
How many fish in the tank and their size?
What kind of water additives or conditioners?
Any medications added to the tank?
Add any new fish to the tank?
What do you feed your fish?
Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt", bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?
Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, ect..?


I'll check back tomorrow and see how things are going. Good luck and I hope your fish are doing OK.

Here's are some great links to check out for more info to help you:

http://faq.thekrib.com/disease-fw.html

http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/FishHeal...uyerBeware.html

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/articles/quarantine.html (this one seems a lot like an ad, and I believe in not treating all new fish just in case, and this article says to, but I thought it would be good for a different POV).

Good luck!

You are so gonna hate me, but here are more links for you (always good to cross check info and to learn more to be a good fish parent):

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Diseases1.htm (has a diagnosis chart)

http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm (lots of info about different diseases)

http://www.fishforever.co.uk/fish-disease.html (info on diagnosing and treating)

http://www.ehow.com/how_5801_diagnose-fishs-ailment.html (steps to take to check your tank)

http://www.firsttankguide.net/disease.php (how to prevent diseases/ keep a healthy tank)

Hope these might help you. Please keep me updated!

wow, thanks for all those links lol. Sadly its too late again, the fish passed away just minutes after I moved him into qt. The albino barb was having swimbladder problems before it was laying on the bottom. It kept floating up and going in circles. We were gonna get new fish cause they did have a garantee but we forgot the receipt (I know Im stupid) so we didnt get any new ones yet.

Sorry to hear about your other fish,

How is your original doing? I would keep a close eye on it to make sure it didn't get infected with anything.
I am glad you found my links amuzing and not annoying. I tend to babble write when I am tired, and apparently babble link! Sorry.

I am concerned that if you get more fish you will be overstocked and run into problems again, even with fish that are all healthy. For a 5 gallon tank, you should only have 1 tiger barb, 2 at the most if you do frequent water changes (at least once a week). Tiger barbs are also schooling fish so they do best in groups of 5 or more. To house 3 tiger barbs you should have at least a 10 gallon tank.

Fish are often sick when you buy them especially if you don't know what to look for or lookout for when choosing. I say that if the fish gets sick within the first 1 week, they were sick when you got them. I am really sorry about your fish and will keep my fingers crossed for your remaining fish.

Good luck!

If u wanna find out why I had 3 in there just read my other topic in the tropical section, I think its called Can pygmy corydoras be kept with tigerbarbs? I dont wanna explain it all again lol. The original one is doing fine.

I think I found that thread after I posted. Glad your original is doing fine, I hope it stays that way!!

thanks, he's still doing fine