Rosy Barb Mystery Disease

Question
Hi There

I have had 1 rosy die now from a disease, the 4 fish that i have have been with me for about 2 years now.
what happens is that the fish will develop what looks like a wound on 1 scale and it looks like something sticks through the scale. the fish then starts to lose weight, even though it actively feeds, it spits out everything it swallows. patches of white appear here and there on the body (not white spot) and the fish shakes its head and swims slightly irregularly. The gills are slightly wider open with a slight gasping and a whole clear "gill" seems to protrude from the gills.
Eventually the fish will become a swimming skeleton and finally die. the rest of my fish are fine but i lost a rosy barb just like this about 2 months ago...

Answer
First off, the scales problem could be Dropsy or Malawi Bloat.

The symptoms are ...
Bloated fish, scales are raised, possible loss or lessening of body coloration.

The treatment ...
This is not really a disease, but a symptom of a bacterial infection and possibly malnutrition. There are medications available but try to increase the quality of the water by performing a 25 percent water change every other day and increase the quality of fish food given. If your fish's condition doesn't improve, try the medication. Your local pet store should have medication for this disease. Remove any carbon filtration before using medication because the carbon will remove the medication from the water.

Secondly, the white spots (if not ich) could be Fish Fungus.

The symptoms are ...
Cotton like growths on the body that may appear white or gray in color.

The treatment ... Be sure to give your fish the best water you can by performing frequent water changes. If your fish gets a disease they may develop secondary fungus infections. Medications such as Jungle Labs Binox Crystal will treat fungus problems.

It really sounds like a bacterial problems and the water needs to be changed regularly because you may also have very high Nitrite and Ammonia levels which are very toxic to fish and could explain the shaking. I would get at least some Melafix and try it. Always remove carbon and follow the directions as to how much water to change etc.