# ever seen a tiger barb turn stark white?



## PFC Foust (Jan 1, 2010)

I guess the more apropriate question would be, have you ever seen a tiger barb turn stark white, while still eating, swimming , and more or less going about his day like the 4 other barbs in the tank? I've bene keeping aquariums for about 5 years now, and I have never seen anything like this. the fish is white with gray stripes, and is showing no outward signs of disease or distress. Even more disturbing is that the color change occured(from normal tiger barb, to more-or-less albino) in the nine hours I was on duty. i have no idea what could be happening, and any intel that anyone has would be very much appreciated.

Private Fist Class Foust
810th Military Police Co.
200TH MP Command
United States Army


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hmmm... this is a weird one.
I've never seen this happen in a fish that was otherwise acting completely normally. I've been at this since 1972, so that should give you an idea of how odd this is. Tiger barbs have been bred to have many unusual colors, though, so I suppose it's possible that one finally just got his colors wiped out, or more accurately, his OFF-colors wiped out, which means that he might be trying to show a more normal stress color. Still, both stark white and while in conjunction with normal behavior is a head-scratcher.

Hmmm... maybe a buddy is pulling a trick on you, having replaced one of your fish with a white one?


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Albino Tiger Barbs are mostly white with just a hint of orange, but that's the closest I have seen.


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## PFC Foust (Jan 1, 2010)

I moved the barbs showing odd color paterns to my quarentine tank, and unfortunatly, there conditon is begining to decline. I may have goten sick fish, because all of the fish i got from this store are now begining to lose there color. If any one can tell me what sort of illness my barbs have, and what treatment options are availible, i would very much appreiciate it. the fact that they have had whatever illness this is for almost a week without behavioral change gives me hope that the fish im responsible for may still have a chance to recover.

PFC Foust


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2010)

I have noticed sick fish lose color... sometimes a lot of color. What are the abnormal distinguishable characteristics other than the color loss? Can you post a picture as well?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

my very old black skirt tetra went white before she died. However she was 7 years old, went 5 weeks without eating.
I finally euthanized her. Oddly enough- after she died all her colors came back.


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## katfemme89 (Nov 27, 2009)

One of my friends just had a bloodfin tetra lose all the red in its fins and then a day or so later it got a HUGE outbreak of ich and then died. Strangeness. Never had a fish do that on me personally, though.


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## Hoyo12 (May 18, 2009)

Dang, thought you may have come across a Platinum Tiger Barb, lol. 
Any pics?


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## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

How do you euthanize a fish? It may be a stupid question but I've never had to do it.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Down the toilet!


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

shame Ron!
Not good to put into the city water system and unkind to the fish.
There are several articles on the web and on this site that tell how to euthanize the fish HUMANELY.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Put a bowl of water and ice cubes into the freezer, when it's really cold but not solid yet, take the ailing fish and stick him in there and put it back in the freezer. I've heard this is one of the most humane ways to kill a fish. They just "go to sleep"


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

mousey said:


> shame Ron.


I knew that would get a rise out of somebody. Hee, Hee.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

lay the dying fish on the sidewalk.......and drop a brick on it..
instant and painless...you can't get any more humane than that...


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

We could start a discussion about the number of people who dump used kitty litter down the toilet-- and then there is my neighbor who puts dog poo in the toilet.
I guess a little fish is not going to add too much disease into the water system, but I don't like the thought of killing it that way although I am sure a tropical small fish would die of shock immediately.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

mousey said:


> We could start a discussion about the number of people who dump used kitty litter down the toilet-- and then there is my neighbor who puts dog poo in the toilet.


I'm just curious, what's wrong with putting dog poo in the toilet? How is it that much different from a human's poo that mostly eats meat? 
The kitty litter, yes, that's bed, generally. But there are several kitty litter types that are meant to be flushed.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2010)

its just wrong! those things carry a lotta germs in them!


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

A lot of people do not check or treat their animals for parasites- especially my neighbor! She has 10 cats and 2 dogs.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Stuff you put down the toilet does not go into the city water supply. It goes to a sewage treatment plant. It then goes back into a river where there are plenty of fish, alive and dead, along with turtles, frogs, ducks, snakes, gators (depending on where you live. Hee,Hee) all which produce waste, get diseases, die, rot, etc. All this goes to the next city downstream to a water treatment plant and into their city water supply... What harm could flushing a 3" fish down my toilet do?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Ideally sewage treatment plants would catch everything nasty. But untreated sewage does get loose into the streams and rivers from time to time. Most recently due the Atlanta flooding, the river came over the berm and mixed with the sewage treatment plant water, yuck. My understanding is best practice for dead fish is encasing in plastic, freezing (so you don't smell it) , followed by ? not sure here. Burial or out with the solid trash, which also is supposed to be segregated and not mixed with surface water. Burning would be better, but who has a home incinerator? From a waste standpoint, a tank fish is no different than a exotic food fish (say head, tail and bone if you ate the rest). But one of these aggressive, treatment resistant fish-diseases could do real damage to the environment, so it makes sense to take precautions. 

I've heard it both way on the animal poo. There are devices to mechanical clean your litter box and flush and there are flushable cat litters. Cat litter, like dirty diapers, fill up the landfills "excessively" according to the eco-types. But there is at least one cat-carried disease that survives "treatment" and chlorinated water and can do real damage to people with compromised immune systems.


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