# Danio Struggling to Swim, Lacks Energy



## Wattser93 (Feb 20, 2012)

One of my Danios is struggling to swim. Before it was quarantined, it would swim in one corner of the tank and struggle to maintain its balance. It struggled to swim, and looked very weak. When I added food, it perked up and ate, but went back to struggling shortly afterwards. The rest of the fish are very healthy looking, swimming and eating well, and have no signs of any sickness.

Tank parameters:
- 29 gallon tank
- Top Fin 30 gallon power filter (soon to be replaced)
- 75*, ph of 7.4, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0 nitrates. The 0 nitrates has me baffled, I've never seen 0 nitrates out of any of our tanks, it always has hovered at 5ppm - 20ppm in the past
- Very lightly planted, 2 4" plants, and 2 8" plants
- Medium piece of driftwood, very little tannin stain
- Feeding every morning

6 1" Tiger Barbs
3 2.5" Giant Danios (2 in tank, sick one is in quarantine)
1 3" Rubber Lip Pleco

I'm looking to move the Danios to our large tank that has a school of 4 right now, 6 would be a better sized school, and leave the sick Danio in quarantine, but it's not looking good for it. If it dies, I'll move the 2 to the large tank.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## GwenInNM (Feb 2, 2011)

Wattser93 said:


> One of my Danios is struggling to swim. Before it was quarantined, it would swim in one corner of the tank and struggle to maintain its balance. It struggled to swim, and looked very weak. When I added food, it perked up and ate, but went back to struggling shortly afterwards. The rest of the fish are very healthy looking, swimming and eating well, and have no signs of any sickness.
> 
> Tank parameters:
> - 29 gallon tank
> ...



If this is any help, and I hope it is, I cut and paste this from info I found on the internet. Swim bladder is all I can think it could be. 
 
The swim bladder, or gas bladder, is an internal organ or sac in the abdomen of fish that controls its buoyancy or ability to swim. Swim Bladder disease can be caused by a bacterial infection or constipation (mainly in goldfish such as Shubunkins, Orandas, and Ryunkins). A bacterial infection in the swim bladder can cause inflammation or thickening in the walls of the sac, causing gas dispersion to become difficult. This results in the buoyancy of the fish being affected, making swimming difficult or even impossible. Constipation in the swim bladder is primarily caused by feeding the fish low-quality foods which can collect water like a sponge in the bladder, causing it to expand. This results in food impactions, which again, will affect the ability of the fish to swim. As far as treatment of Swim Bladder Disease goes, there are several common recommendations. You can try feeding your fish frozen peas, which have been thawed and the skin taken off. Peas encourage the obstruction to dissolve and purge the system of the blockage. Another remedy is to fast the fish for several days, which may return it to its normal, happy self. Prevention of Swim Bladder is the key to avoiding the issue altogether. Water quality is of the utmost importance, with regular testing and water changes a must. Changes in the diet may also be helpful as well. Presoaking your pellet or flake food in water prior to feeding will allow expansion to happen before the fish eats it. Also, switching to foods that sink to the bottom of the tank rather than floating on top will prevent the fish from inhaling too much air. Following these few simple tips should help to keep your fish off of the bottom of the tank and up where they belong!


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## Wattser93 (Feb 20, 2012)

Thanks for that. The Danios are extremely aggressive when food comes out, and often splash the water when they eat. It could be that it inhaled some air and threw him off.

I quarantined him and took a look at him more closely. The area between the dorsal fin and tail fin have a bit of red irritation, and I noticed what looks like some bite marks. I'm starting to wonder if my Tiger Barbs are bullying the Danio, and that it may be the cause of the Danios struggling. It was my smallest Danio, and the easiest target, so it could be that he's been bitten and injured.

In the past 6 hours he's become more stable, is breathing easier, and has gotten more of his color back. I think the stress may have been affecting him also.

I'm going to keep him quarantined for the next day or two and see how he does, and probably swap some fish between tanks so the Danios can have a larger school in the larger tank. That should relieve some stress off of the Danios having a large group in a larger tank with more hiding places. I may swap all of the Tiger Barbs to one tank and have a school of 12 in my 29 gallon, it'd be mildly overcrowded but would most likely be a better situation than having Danios being stressed and bullied.

I need a third tank. :-D


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## GwenInNM (Feb 2, 2011)

Wattser93 said:


> Thanks for that. The Danios are extremely aggressive when food comes out, and often splash the water when they eat. It could be that it inhaled some air and threw him off.
> 
> I quarantined him and took a look at him more closely. The area between the dorsal fin and tail fin have a bit of red irritation, and I noticed what looks like some bite marks. I'm starting to wonder if my Tiger Barbs are bullying the Danio, and that it may be the cause of the Danios struggling. It was my smallest Danio, and the easiest target, so it could be that he's been bitten and injured.
> 
> ...



Sounds like a great idea. Always good reasons to get another tank. LOL! Looks like your fish is in good hands. Seems like he may have been getting bullied. Tiger barbs can be aggressive.

Gwen


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