# Help please - sick giant danio



## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

I have a giant danio that started swimming erratically landing in the plants, hanging out upside down, and not eating. This has been going on for several months now. She was once big and healthy in a 35 gallon hex tank with another danio that is still fine and a number of other fish that are all fine as well. She appears to be slowing wasting away now. I have had her isolated in a 5.5 gallon hospital tank for at least a month. I tried a few different meds on her but nothing has changed. When I go to the tank she gets frantic and sometimes takes off swimming crazy and nose diving into things. When she takes off swimming crazily I notice that her spine is shaped strange like an S. The food I have put in the tank has grown fungus so I don't even offer food to often and I have not seen her eat in ages. Should I put her out of this misery or let her die on her own. Thank you for any suggestions.


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## Schwartzy61 (Jan 25, 2010)

Yea I dont think that there is anything you can do for it. Thats nature ya know? I guess the best way to put down a fish is to freeze it???


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

Sorry but I could never do that. Sounds like a very harsh way to go. I will continue to wait for more responses and if no can offer advice then will probably let mother nature do her job. I just don't like to watch the suffering. She lays on the gravel kinda just shaking.

Does anyone think she could possibly have TB?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

the way to put a fish down is to fill a bowl with ice put some cold water in (as cold as you can get it) so there is so much ice the fish will just fit in it. drop the fish in and it will pass in a matter of seconds. ive also heard of using something else but i cant remember what. I have always done the ice bowl trick and it seems very affective, quick, and as far as i know its supposed to be painless. also have u tested your water at all make sure everything is good? was the hospital tank cycled before using it? danios are a fast moving schooling fish and this may all have stemmed from a stress induced illness and being in a 5 gallon isn't helping i fell minimum tank size for giant danios should be atleast 55 gallons since they love to dart back and forth so much. it does sound like u said it has a bent spine which can be a genetic disorder and can be affecting her ability to properly swim depending on how severe it is. it is best for the fish to euthanize them so they dont have to suffer and the way i mention is quick and as far as i know painless.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

No, it's TB, almost certainly.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

TheOldSalt said:


> No, it's TB, almost certainly.


salt do u have a link to some good information on tb so i can do some reading on it next time around hopefully ill be able to recognize it and not make a mistake like that again lol


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

No, but a couple of hours of googling fish TB should teach you plenty. 

Don't feel bad; I've been at this for 38 years. I can almost tell you the pH just by looking at the tank. LOL! One day you'll also have no trouble recognizing fish diseases.

-Only one fish affected while others "fine"
-nose diving and other erratic behavior in spurts 
-loss of appetite
-wasting away
-bent spine 
-meds don't have any effect

These all point right at TB. Throw in loss of coloration for the big finish.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

lol how do u tell ph of a tank?


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

TheOldSalt said:


> No, but a couple of hours of googling fish TB should teach you plenty.
> 
> Don't feel bad; I've been at this for 38 years. I can almost tell you the pH just by looking at the tank. LOL! One day you'll also have no trouble recognizing fish diseases.
> 
> ...


So have you heard of usnea? I have ordered it and am going to give it a try. I hate seeing this one suffer. It's almost too bad she was so big and healthy cause she is hanging in there a very long time. I've only eauthanized a fish once and I did the clove oil thing. It was very hard for me to do.


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

Also, I am quite simply scared to death to really deal with this fish and the water and everything she is in and touching cause I hear this is contagious not only to other fishies but to humans as well. Any words of wisdom on that issue? I always start a siphon by mouth and this is really freakin me out. I typically share all cleaning equipment too but have tried to limit that when dealing with this sick fish. This is not easy......


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

get some nitrile gloves and chlorine bleach. Bandage any open wounds on your hands. Start the siphon by submersing the whole tube in the tank.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

lay the fish on the sidewalk...drop a brick on it....
not much can be done with TB...it is best to put it out of its misery now than to let it keep suffering.....
see the PH..taste it..smell it..there are several things folks like TOS can tell..and like he said ; so can you ..once you have been doing this awhile..


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Black Orchid, quit starting your siphons by mouth. That's just asking for trouble.

Fish TB can spread to humans, and it's NOT any fun when it does, but it almost never does. It mainly needs an opening like a cut, or your mouth.


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

Well the deed is done. I could not take the suffering no more. I euthanized the danio with clove oil. She went very fast and I finalized the deed with vodka. I think putting a fish in the freezer sounds slow and painful and I could never drop a brick on her or cut her head off. 

Anyway she is gone and I am now sterililzing all the tank stuff she used but threw away the gravel and the drift wood. I will let it sit with bleach for a day and then with chlorine water for another day and then sit in the sun for a few days. Does that sound good to get rid of the TB in the tank????


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

TheOldSalt said:


> Black Orchid, quit starting your siphons by mouth. That's just asking for trouble.
> 
> Fish TB can spread to humans, and it's NOT any fun when it does, but it almost never does. It mainly needs an opening like a cut, or your mouth.


If my hospital tank is 5.5 gallons, the siphon is bigger than that then how do I start the siphon by putting below the water line. It's too big????


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Get a new siphon, then, one of the squeeze-bulb type.


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