Hi all, I am having an issue with my Dace tank. I have a 38G tank, with plants, that is set up for a stream environment. I had 6 Western Blacknose Dace and a Tadpole madom at one time. Also have quite a bit of snails, the ones with a shell that looks like a cornucopia. The problem is, half of the Dace have died, with the same symptoms. They will get a bloated belly, struggle swimming and generally act sluggish, and then die. One actually had a blowout, looked like it just burst. I'm thinking that I have a parasite that is causing this. All fish have been evacuated into a 20G tank, and the remaining ones are acting better in their new home. My question is, do you thing that the snail population could be affecting them? I would guess that there are hundreds of these snails in the tank, and I don't know if they are carrying something or just are affecting the water quality somehow. I did check ammonia and nitrates, both tests showed little to no ammonia or nitrates.
Dace problems
Started by
Guest_stuber2_*
, Jun 08 2011 09:52 AM
6 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_stuber2_*
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Posted 08 June 2011 - 10:59 AM
They do look similar to the MTS, but the shell color is a dark grey. They came from the Maumee River in NW Ohio. (the snails, not the Dace). Do you know what would cause the fish to bloat up and then die? I'd really like to try to save the rest of the Dace.if these are MTS (malasian trumpet snails) they are beneficial to the tank. They still CAN have diseases that could be transferred, but wouldn't know without actually testing it.
#4
Guest_Drew_*
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Posted 08 June 2011 - 11:12 AM
If you have them in a quarantine tank you should treat them with salt (kosher, aquarium, etc). Just about every fish taken from the wild has some sort of pathogen. Any number of stressors can cause an outbreak. I've had good luck with salt if used early enough. If they are pretty bad, continually increase the amount of salt until you see some improvement.
#5
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 08 June 2011 - 05:42 PM
I agree with Drew... and would just like to add that it seems unlikely to have anythign to do with the snails...If you have them in a quarantine tank you should treat them with salt (kosher, aquarium, etc). Just about every fish taken from the wild has some sort of pathogen. Any number of stressors can cause an outbreak. I've had good luck with salt if used early enough. If they are pretty bad, continually increase the amount of salt until you see some improvement.
Also, how long have you had the fish? What was the water temp they were taken from, and what is your tank water temp? What and how often are you feeding? These all seem to be much more likely points form which to start an investigation than snails.
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#6
Guest_stuber2_*
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Posted 08 June 2011 - 11:40 PM
I collected them in November, so the water was quite cold, but they have had plenty of time to acclimate. After looking up some info on the snails, I've found that a population boom is related to overfeeding, which is probably the problem. I wanted to make sure the madtom got enough, so I probably did put more food in than is needed. I'll keep the snails, and put the fish back in their tank when I get it cleaned out, and I'll make sure to watch how much I feed them. Thanks for all the advise, everyone!I agree with Drew... and would just like to add that it seems unlikely to have anythign to do with the snails...
Also, how long have you had the fish? What was the water temp they were taken from, and what is your tank water temp? What and how often are you feeding? These all seem to be much more likely points form which to start an investigation than snails.
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