# Tiger Barb Not Eating!



## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

i have a school of 6 tiger barbs, and one of them is not eating. i tried shrimp, she didn't bother to even try to get some, i also tried peas, nope. and i just fed my fish flakes, and she will take a crumb, chew it, then spit it out! my gourami does that but he eats it after he spits it out. this is what happened to 3/4ths of the fish that died. first they would lose their appetite, then their neck would collapse in, shortly followed by a missing tale................... i DON'T want that to happen again! is there a way to fix this problem? thnx!
-NoaDon12-:-?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

So sorry to hear your tiger barb is not doing well.

Try to answer as many questions as you can. http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/tropical-fish-diseases/must-read-all-members-please-read-652/

Hope we can find a solution for your problem.


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## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

ok, so today, i returned all of my fish to tri city aquarium in somersworth nh, and they took all of them back, even though they were from places like petco. i went with community fish, and i got 2 sword tales, and a morph blue dwarf gourami. they are getting along fine, and i plan to add some glow light tetras in the future. now the new gourami i got isn't swimming around like my other one did, it this him just getting used to the tank? thnx!
-NoaDon12-


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## Bacchus (Mar 8, 2010)

i realize you traded in those fish, but you said that this is a recurring problem.

what size is your tank? how long has it been running? how and when did you cycle it? do you test your water's parameters often and with which type of test kit? how often and how much water do you change out? how often do you feed them and how much? how long was your tank empty before you added the newest fish?

if you give all that information it should help out a lot and really narrow things down.

it sounds to me (though i am no expert) as if your fish keep getting fin rot. you said their tails fall off before they die. that is generally a water quality issue and it could indicate that your tank is not yet cycled, or maybe there is overfeeding going on, and unless you fix the cause of the problem, it will keep happening.


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## NoaDon12 (Jan 6, 2010)

the tails would fall off cuz of the gourami, he would bite them off, course that isn't a problem anymore, the new one i got is much calmer. but to answer ur questions, (in order), its a 15 gallon,its been running for almost 4 months, i cycled it dec. 28- 31, i don't own a test kit yet, my mom won't drive me, (im 12), i do 1/3 water changes every other week, i feed them at 7:00 each night, (the gourami won't eat), and the tank was empty for around 3 hours when i was replacing the fish. and i don't know what fin rot looks like. i have a youtube vid........... check it out. (My 15 Gallon Fish Tank, my user name is shoobidoobi97) don't ask!


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

unless you are sedding material from a previous filter or adding plants....it's almost impossible to cycle a new tank in three 3 days as you said you did....

---You have posted several threads about your fish not swimming/eating well....
---I remember your post about blue gourami being aggressive and nipping at your other fish...and now you bought another one?!?! why??
---If you saw some fish weren't doing well and died, I would not have bought more and assumed the fish weren't healthy and things would be different this time around....

Even though your tank has been running for 4 months, I'm starting to think, with all the dying fish and problems you've run into....I'm starting to think that your tank is not cycled. It's possible that with each new batch of fish coming in, the tank re-started it's cycle each time and has never fully been cycled. 

You need to get your water tested ASAP, make sure your LFS gives you exact readings too!!

your tank may be in the middle, or un-finished cycle....

Read up on that here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquariums/aquarium-cycle-252/

Until you can get to a fish store and get your water tested and buy a test kit....you need to up your water changes to atleast weekly, and continue that for the life of your tank....most aquarists recommend 25-30% change weekly......if you're in the middle of a cycle (which we can tell from your water test readings) then you'll need almost daily water changes until your established.....

I would not add anymore fish, no sense harming them if it can be avoided.


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## Bacchus (Mar 8, 2010)

NoaDon12 said:


> i don't own a test kit yet, my mom won't drive me, (im 12), i do 1/3 water changes every other week


i think it is great that you are getting into this hobby at 12. you are really going to learn a lot about it if you read through some of these threads. i will tell you what i think is going on and give you some advice. trust me, i am not trying to be critical, because i have done some of the exact same things.

you really should have picked up a _liquid_ test kit when you traded in those fish. dont buy the test strips because they suck. when you have a new tank it is pretty much essential to test the water, otherwise you end up killing a bunch of fish while your tank is cycling. cycling pretty much means when your filter is growing beneficial bacteria in it. these bacteria are really important because they process all the waste that your fish are creating all the time. fish produce a bunch of ammonia and the bacteria in your filter live on it, but until you grow enough of these bacteria, you end up having extra ammonia left over, and that will kill fish, slow or fast depending on how much there is. the only way to really keep up with it then is to do lots of water changes. how much and how often depends on the levels of ammonia and nitrites, but you do not know that. until you do, i would do 50% water changes a week _at least_. a test kit is a lot cheaper than buying new fish all the time. i am not being critical....i have made tons of mistakes and it is how you learn, but i do think it sounds like your tank is not yet fully cycled. it could be very close to being cycled, or maybe i am wrong, but you cant tell without testing. i just want to give you some help. if you cannot get a ride to a place, maybe you could buy one online, at the very least a liquid kit for ammonia and for nitrites. i wouldnt add any more fish just yet. 

it is probably close to being cycled and if you increased your water changes a little bit it may be all you need. 

if you happen to know of anybody who has an established tank you can cut off a small piece of the filter media and add it to yours, it will help you out a lot

what do you do with your filter during water changes? do you rinse it? if so, you should stop. that was a mistake i made at first. i leave them alone, mostly...but sometimes i will give them a little dunk in tank water, but that is it...otherwise you are washing away the bacteria.


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