# Danios are really thin



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I would start by treating for internal parasites. Something like Prazi-Pro is a good place to start. It is designed for aquariums, and will kill a wide range of internal parasites. 

Other questions:
Why some fish are affected and others not:
Who knows? Maybe whatever parasite it is has a particular affinity for the Danios? Maybe the Danios have weakened immune systems can cannot fight back so hard? 

Quarantine all new fish, and treat in quarantine for internal parasites, no matter where you got the fish. This is especially important for bottom dwelling fish, but also good for all fish. They might look just fine, but still be carrying a few worms. The stress of capture and shipping can lower the fishes' immunity and the parasites start growing. It may take a few weeks a few months for the parasite load to reach a bit enough population to cause problems, and in the mean time all the fish in the tank have been exposed, and are now carrying a few worms. Treat the whole tank.


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## TurtleShark (Feb 19, 2013)

Okay, thanks! I've always treated for ick no matter what when I get new fish in quarantine but not really for anything else. I guess I've just not had any problems so far nor have I had medicine for something like this. 

I've got to buy a new heater for my 5 gallon so while I'm at it I'll get that Parazi-Pro.


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## TurtleShark (Feb 19, 2013)

I'm bringing this back to life. I've not seen much improvement. I've lost two mollies and my bala shark in the past month. I've finally gotten a picture of just how bad this "thin" is. I was feeding my fish, going about my normal routine when I noticed it. I thought it had gotten better. Man, how wrong I was... 










He's not really deformed in the below picture, it's just the way the betta cup distorted it, but I thought I'd include it as well. 










Again, he's not deformed. It's just the way he was moving and the distortion from the cup. Caught that one at just the right moment, it seems. 

But, yeah. You can see how bad it is. 

Should I run though another dose of Parazi pro?

Update; 
My male betta is also on the thin side. I'm blaming the failed breeding I just put him though (she managed to eat off 80% of his fins before I could get him out  ...) I just stuffed him full of blood worms (maybe a little TOO much? Hopefully not, but he's got a full belly now that's for sure.) 

I'm keeping an eye on him. The ember tetras in his tank are looking healthy, so I'm doubting the parasites(?) got to him as well. 

On another note: I'm pretty sure I managed to introduce ick to my 55 gallon. I'm not too happy about it, but I've started a heat treatment on the tank just in case. No signs yet, but a fish in a different tank had it. I had moved a fish from the tank that has ick into the 55 gallon and I'm afraid there was some cross-contamination even though the fish I moved didn't have any spots. 

One thing after another lately, it seems... Oh well, what's life without a little excitement?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Yeah, looks like wasting disease. Aka skinny disease. Caused by internal parasites consuming the food the fish eats so the fish starves and gets skinny, and as a result the fish is malnourished and gets weaker, potentially being more prone to other diseases, or it just gets to the point that it is too weak that it succumbs to the lack of nutrition.

Praziquantel (PraziPro) is good med for internal parasites and is generally well tolerated by fish. Plant and invert safe as well.

Metronidazole can also be used for internal parasites as well as many other diseases and is also well tolerated by fish in my experience. Plant safe as well. Pretty sure it's say for inverts as well, but not 100% positive.

Believe it or not, I have used Melafix on a couple of wild caught clown loaches (skinny disease is common among them) and they improved extremely well. I would also "overfeed" as well to fatten them up since I know the parasites would be eating the food as well. I switched the med over from Melafix to API General Cure (Metronidazole, Prazi) so I can't say that Melafix killed the parasites or not, but I really don't think Melafix does kill internal parasites, but whatever it did, it improved their health a whole lot. They were in a quarantine tank with other fish and they didn't seem to get infected with parasites, but I treated the whole tank/all fish just to be safe.

How long did you dose Prazipro for? It's usually a safe and well tolerated med so I would dose the whole tank just to be sure.



As for the ick situation, ick cysts are the white dots that are visible on the outside of the fish, but that is just one life stage of ick, and the ick could of still been alive in the water column or within the fish, so that can explain the reoccuring outbreak. That is why it is recommended to treat for a extra 4+ days (depends on water temp.) after VISIBLE ick signs are gone.

For the betta, just keep the water in pristine condition and keep him stress-free so he can heal fine without getting infected from the wounds to his fins. Melafix can be used to help the Betta heal fast and prevent fungal infections. Not sure if true (some say it's true, some say it's false), but I have heard Melafix causing problems with Bettas if used at full strength. And so there is BettaFix (which is half strength Melafix) which can be dosed at full strength, or you could still use MelaFix, but just at half strength dose. But a "dewormer"/parasitic med is still needed (Prazi, Metro) and I am not sure if both can be used at the same time (should be able to, but some meds have negative reactions)


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## TurtleShark (Feb 19, 2013)

Thank you for all that help :laugh2: I'll start the parazi-pro again. I honestly can't remember how long I did it last time. I also might catch this little danio every day like I have to do for my black moor so I can be sure it's getting enough food. 

There's no visible ick signs in the tank yet. I just want to catch it now before something stresses the fish and there's a huge outbreak.


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## TurtleShark (Feb 19, 2013)

So, how long should I dose it for? 

I just added 3 teaspoons of it to the tank as my directions said. 

It says no more than once every three days. And it also says to do a water change before adding. 

So, if I were to repeat the dose every 3 days would I need to first do a water change each time? 

And, again, for how long should I keep dosing 3 teaspoons every 3 days?


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