# Hurt/Sick Dwarf Neon Rainbow



## SarahJ (Feb 23, 2014)

Hello Everybody!

Back in late January I set up a 40g tank. I've had a lot of bad luck and have managed to fix many problems due to this forum  

A few weeks ago I added 6 Dwarf Neon Rainbows on two different occasions. I bought the first 3. On day two I immediately noticed one of the rainbows had a weird deformity on it's mouth... I did some research and figured it was mouth fungus so I quarantined her and treated with fungus medication for 4 days. I thought she looked a lot better so I put her back into the tank and she seemed to be acting a bit happier. She was even eating. She died 5 days later looking a lot worse in the end.  

So I had 5 left. Shortly after the first death I noticed white dots appearing on 3 of the rainbows. More research and I figured I had Ich. I started dosing the tank with Super Ich Cure, 3 times longer than the recommended dose. I had the temperature raised to 86F, I added an air stone and lowered the co2. I dosed the correct amount for the 40g and waited 48 hours and did a 25% water change. After the second dosing I noticed the white dots seemed to disappear, and I only noticed them on the rainbows. No other fish in my tank seemed to have the white spots although the Denisoni Barbs were flashing and seemed to be itchy all the time. 

I stopped treating the tank after the third dosing and replaced the carbon in the filter. I'm still keeping the tank at 86F until the end of the month just to make sure I have gotten rid of the Ich. A few days later I found one of my female rainbows extremely bloated, I tried to figure out what was wrong with her but by the next day she had passed on. I only feed the tank once in the evenings, and I skip feedings on Sundays. I make sure they eat everything before adding more. During feedings I noticed my male rainbow stopped eating. He lasted 4 or 5 days and I'm pretty sure he starved to death, he was thin as paper. 

I'm hoping that the Ich parasite is dead. I have been water changing the tank every two days and thoroughly siphoning the gravel. To this day I have 3 rainbows left, I think they are all females. Yesterday I noticed my smallest rainbow has a reddish bump on her right side, I've taken a couple of photos and I am hoping that they have been attached properly. I apologize if they are sideways, this is my first post and I am not too familiar with attaching pictures. I really hope that I can prevent this rainbow from dying.

Current water parameters:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0 (I don't know why there's none yet, it's heavily planted but not sure if that could be a factor or if the tank simply isn't cycled)
PH 6.6
Temp currently 86F
Marineland C220

Current residents include:

4 Denisoni Barbs
2 Dwarf Gourami
4 Otosinclus Catfish
3 Dwarf Rainbows


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Just so you know, the increased temperature does not kill Ich. It boosts the metabolisms of the fish (which could or could not help depending on the fish in question) and speeds up Ich's life cycle. Since only certain stages of Ich are affected by the medication, it simply allows for the treatment to end faster.

Its very hard to tell what it is, it could be a parasite of some sort or just an injury. I am not an advocate for shotgun medication, or medicating in general for aquariums. A lot of medication is very harsh and stressful on fish, which does not really help their recovery. IME, a bit of salt, clean water, and a fairly high stable temperature is all fish need for most illnesses.

If it turns out to be a parasite, PraziPro could be an option.


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## kim86 (Sep 5, 2012)

I'd remove the rainbows and treat them for internal parasites. Since they're not doing well and keep developing different symptoms, treating them gives you a shot at least. Good luck


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## SarahJ (Feb 23, 2014)

Thank you for the replies Momobobo and Kim86 

I will quaratine the rainbows and play it by ear  I'm really hoping the bump is just a sore and it will heal on it's own but if it develops into something else I can treat them without treating the rest of the tank. 

Thanks for the suggestions!


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