Mysterious congo disease

[medicineman]

Hi

There are many congos inside my 260gal tank, some are more than one year old since introduced, some others are within 4-5 months.

I find that after 2 days of not paying attention to my tank (just short visits for feeding) All my small congos are missing. No trace of dead body in the tank (probably due to the tank carrion eaters). A day later, a medium sized congo went unbalance, swimming like drunken guy and later the evening I found that one died. stuck between leaves. A day after, one more congo died from the same symptoms, dancing wildly like losing consiousness/balance. No signs of wound, no visible damage. The appetite of these fish are strong prior to death, they move and react very well also.

I'm still puzzled... and I fear for the remaining bigger congos in the tank.
I strongly suspect it is a form of virus which attack only congos or the likes, and whatever it is, the attack is swift and acute. All my other fish are OK with no casualty.

[benny]

I have previously read about this swirling disease that seems to affect some of our fishes and could not find any concrete/conclusive about it. Most literature seems to point towards incidences occuring in North American Salmon farms.

If you must know what kill your fish, it might be advisable to keep a freshly deceased specimen in ice and take it to a vet for an autopsy.

Cheers,

[medicineman]

Thanks benny.

I know this kind of disease is still not commonly seen/spectated as it happens rarely and happens very fast that those who did not observe will never have seen it.

I should do some more research on this strange "swirling fish" disesase though I doubt that I will want the expense of advanced autopsy