Injured cichlid journal: Abrasions

[Mogurako]

The following is my account of treating my fish in hopes it helps others down the road.

Several weeks ago my largest Male Thorichthys sp. "Gold Mixteco" got into a fight with someone and was apparently the loser. He now has two medium sized vertical abrasions right in front of his caudal peduncle. The affected area looked like it was healing for awhile. Now however it seems to be getting worse and has the appearance of raw hamburger. I also noticed during feeding that one of the abrasions has a small white "bubble" in the middle of it. There seems to be no sign of infection anywhere else or any necrotic flesh, the fish is still swimming and eating vigorously.

Despite all my efforts nothing seems to be working, Ive tried:

• Large water changes, keeping the nitrates under 10ppm.
• Raising the temperature and adding salt.
• Adding Catappa ( Indian Almond Leaf).

I then asked my good friend and fellow GSAS member Cory McElroy ( Owner of Aquarium Co-Op in Edmonds Washington) what my next course of action should be. He suggested that I apply Ultimate by Aquarium Solutions directly to the affected area. It would help with the swelling, regrow skin/scales and help replace the slim coat. Several members of my aquarium society have tried this healing method and also agree with this recommendation. When I went to pick some up I was very surprised to learn that ultimate was a water conditioner and not a medication.


As a secondary precaution I also picked up Artemiss by Microbe-lift which is a 100% Natural expellant for bacterial diseases. I have used their Herbal ich formula with good results, so I am confidant this product will work to help prevent or cure any underlying infection/diseases I can't see.


This evening I preformed the following tasks:

• 50% water change
• Applied ultimate to the affected area on the fish and slightly overdosed it in to the tank using it in place of Prime.
• Add a dose of Artemiss, which I will continue to dose over the next 10 days to ensure no infection will take place.

I will report back in the morning any changes I observe and will continue to update this thread over the course of the healing process.

Product and other links

• Greater Seattle Aquarium Society
• Aquarium Co-Op | Enjoy nature daily.
• AQUARIUM SOLUTIONS & POND SOLUTIONS ULTIMATE - Great For Freshwater, Marine or Pond Environments
• MICROBE-LIFT :: Artemiss (Freshwater)

 

[Mogurako]

12 hours later the swelling around the abrasions has gone down quite a bit and it looks as if they are starting to "scab" over.

 

[vance1013]

I am following along as I am planning a cichlid tank this kindve info in the future is helpful also I'm glad to hear of improvement I'm in Mountlake Terrace Wa where abouts you from I've been considering joining the gsas

 

[mikem691]

Good information

 

[haleybeth30]

following, thanks for the info., glad your fish is better!

 

[HUKIT]

Your fish is a wussy, rub some dirt on it and tell him to swim it off.

 

[Tandanus]

12 hours later the swelling around the abrasions has gone down quite a bit and it looks as if they are starting to "scab" over.

Great info to use for reference in future, I'm sorry to see your beautiful mixteco with that nasty wound. My Thorichthys have a special place in my heart. I am really happy with my pair of maculipinnus.They're currently raising their second batch of fry which appears to be larger than the first. I'm glad to read that his wound is improving. He's a beautiful fish.

 

[Mogurako]

I am following along as I am planning a cichlid tank this kindve info in the future is helpful also I'm glad to hear of improvement I'm in Mountlake Terrace Wa where abouts you from I've been considering joining the gsas

I'd be glad to help you with planning your tank or answering any questions, feel free to PM me. I am down south in Auburn. GSAS is a great bunch of folks, the meetings are always a blast and the speakers are top notch.

Your fish is a wussy, rub some dirt on it and tell him to swim it off.

LOL, maybe that's where I went wrong I forgot to do that!

Great info to use for reference in future, I'm sorry to see your beautiful mixteco with that nasty wound. My Thorichthys have a special place in my heart. I am really happy with my pair of maculipinnus.They're currently raising their second batch of fry which appears to be larger than the first. I'm glad to read that his wound is improving. He's a beautiful fish.

Thanks Tan, he seems to be doing allot better. Over the course of the whole thing he hasn't been put off food or skittish. He's a pretty tough little fish. Glad to hear your Maculupinnus are doing well, you'll have to share more pictures with us.

 

[HUKIT]

12 hours later the swelling around the abrasions has gone down quite a bit and it looks as if they are starting to "scab" over.

That's basically the same recommendation I had but with Ulitmate instead of Stress Coat which contains Aloe which is feel is a better product than Hikari.

 

[Mogurako]

That's basically the same recommendation I had but with Ulitmate instead of Stress Coat which contains Aloe which is feel is a better product than Hikari.

I was under the impression that ultimate contained Aloe as well, if not then I agree Stress coat would have been the superior choice. Ultimate must contain some mixture of chemicals that mimics the Aloe.

For the record HUKIT did suggest the use of stress coat in the same manner Cory and the others suggested Ultimate. It's not that I disregarded his recommendation but complied a list of solutions and choose the best one. Which originally HUKIT suggested just with a different product. However if I were to do this again I would indeed use Stress coat over Ultimate since stress coat contains more nature elements than Ultimate.

All hail HUKIT!!

 

[HUKIT]

It doesn't contain Aloe like Stress Coat so it must use some synthetic compounds, I couldn't find much for the ingredients. The main issue is that if it works that's all that matters, let us know.

 

[Mogurako]

It doesn't contain Aloe like Stress Coat so it must use some synthetic compounds, I couldn't find much for the ingredients. The main issue is that if it works that's all that matters, let us know.

Ultimate contains : ClorAm-X, electrolytes, buffers and a proprietary polymer formula in aqueous solution

I couldn't find an ingredients list for stress coat but here's the link to its MSDS:
http://www.apifishcare.com/pdf/Stress_Coat_NG.pdf

 

[Mogurako]

It's been 24 hours since the addition of the Ultimate and the Artemiss. The over all area has not decreased in size but does not look as swollen and looks a little more "scabbed" over than it did this morning. So far so good, the fish continues to eat and chase around the two smaller males.

 

[vance1013]

It's been 24 hours since the addition of the Ultimate and the Artemiss. The over all area has not decreased in size but does not look as swollen and looks a little more "scabbed" over than it did this morning. So far so good, the fish continues to eat and chase around the two smaller males.

Sounds like its going well good to hear that

 

[Mogurako]

36 hours:

At this point the overall circumference of the wounds have started to decrease, the swelling of the area remains down and the while the wounds are still open they seem to be continuing to slowly close.

I feel as if it would be prudent if I preformed another 50% WC this evening at the 48 hour mark. Mainly to ensure that the nitrates stay low and to get another big dose of Ultimate in there because its allot of work to try and net that fish out of a densely planted tank to apply a direct dose.

 

[vance1013]

36 hours:

At this point the overall circumference of the wounds have started to decrease, the swelling of the area remains down and the while the wounds are still open they seem to be continuing to slowly close.

I feel as if it would be prudent if I preformed another 50% WC this evening at the 48 hour mark. Mainly to ensure that the nitrates stay low and to get another big dose of Ultimate in there because its allot of work to try and net that fish out of a densely planted tank to apply a direct dose.

I would say that sounds like a lot of work I had a hard enough time catching neon tetras when I had to move and it was a ten gallon lol

 

[Tandanus]

That's good news. It seems as though his injury doesn't hinder him in any way. Still eating well and chasing subordinates around. Do you know if he was in a fight or freaked out and injured himself? Also you mentioned a heavily planted tank. My Thorichthys always shift the substrate until the plants are uprooted. So because I like plants in the tank I replant in a different area hoping they won't bother with them. In the end they always manage to send them floating. How do you prevent this?

 

[Mogurako]

That's good news. It seems as though his injury doesn't hinder him in any way. Still eating well and chasing subordinates around. Do you know if he was in a fight or freaked out and injured himself?

I believe it was a fight, potentially with one of the females that got killed

Also you mentioned a heavily planted tank. My Thorichthys always shift the substrate until the plants are uprooted. So because I like plants in the tank I replant in a different area hoping they won't bother with them. In the end they always manage to send them floating. How do you prevent this?

I've had plants with them from day one with out any issues. The only time I've seen them dig is when they would make pits in front of the caves after a spawned. My plecos actually are the main culprits for any uprooted plants. To keep plants from floating I put rocks around the bases of the plants until the roots have been established for a month or two.

 

[Tandanus]

I believe it was a fight, potentially with one of the females that got killed
That's a real shame. I didn't realise you also had a fatality. Do you have more females?



I've had plants with them from day one with out any issues. The only time I've seen them dig is when they would make pits in front of the caves after a spawned. My plecos actually are the main culprits for any uprooted plants. To keep plants from floating I put rocks around the bases of the plants until the roots have been established for a month or two.

Maybe the maculipinnus are more inclined to uproot plants. I plant them away from their spawn sites but the male especially goes out of his way to dig by their roots. I will add more rocks around the base. Thanks for the tip

 

[Mogurako]

Yes I had two females that were killed most likely because they didn't want to spawn with the large male. I have 1 female left that I moved over to a 40 gallon breeder to get more size on her, she was only about 2-2.5" when I moved her. All the males are easily 4"+