Scubasteve88
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
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Sick Cardinal Plz Help
- Thread starter Scubasteve88
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Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
My first thought was an external parasite however, am I mistaken that the bottom end appears to be coming from the anus? If so, it's possibly a dead internal worm making an exit and got hung up on a fin or an active intestinal worm. Many fish straight from the ocean have a white colored feces so the color is not all that concerning......yet. 
cardinal fish are schooling fish and if it is alone, the stress of being alone may have something to do with this condition. Has it been through any kind of quarantine? Does it have plenty of places for it to hide in? How's your water chemistry? All these can have a role in your fish's health.
cardinal fish are schooling fish and if it is alone, the stress of being alone may have something to do with this condition. Has it been through any kind of quarantine? Does it have plenty of places for it to hide in? How's your water chemistry? All these can have a role in your fish's health.
Scubasteve88
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 4
My first thought was an external parasite however, am I mistaken that the bottom end appears to be coming from the anus? If so, it's possibly a dead internal worm making an exit and got hung up on a fin or an active intestinal worm. Many fish straight from the ocean have a white colored feces so the color is not all that concerning......yet.
cardinal fish are schooling fish and if it is alone, the stress of being alone may have something to do with this condition. Has it been through any kind of quarantine? Does it have plenty of places for it to hide in? How's your water chemistry? All these can have a role in your fish's health.
Hey thanks for the reply. It looks like it might be coming from the back, it’s hard to say tho. He’s got a buddy (another cardinal fish from the same tank). I wish I could give you more info re: tank chemistry; I can say I just brought a sample to a reputable aquarist here and they said the salinity was a bit down but everything else was normal. He’s been lethargic for a few days now.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
It definitely does not look happy. Kinda skinny actually ( which is why I was thinking intestinal worm). Has it eaten anything in your tank yet? If not, you can try some cut up pieces of shrimp ( make them small pieces) or some live brine shrimp to get the feeding reflex going. When you say salinity is a bit low, how low?
Scubasteve88
Aquarium Advice Newbie
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I’ve been feeding him gut filled brine shrimp. He’ll eat once in a while but not too often he just hangs out on the bottom. Not sure the specific numbers re: salinity but it was reccomended to add about 1/4 gal of saltwater to correct it so I imagine not to bad.
Sniperhank
Giant Clam Addict
Can you tell us more about the system and the fish? Without more information it is difficult to point you in the right direction.
What Andy has told you is correct as he is an amazing wealth of knowledge.
In general, the bangai cardinals can be more difficult to keep when it comes to cardinals. They can be difficult to get to eat at times, but with them being aquacultured now there have been many more success rates.
Due to there possibly being a parasite, I would suggest removing it from the display tank so it can be treated in a bare hospital tank. This will let you utilize copper based medications that would have negative affects inside the display.
What Andy has told you is correct as he is an amazing wealth of knowledge.
In general, the bangai cardinals can be more difficult to keep when it comes to cardinals. They can be difficult to get to eat at times, but with them being aquacultured now there have been many more success rates.
Due to there possibly being a parasite, I would suggest removing it from the display tank so it can be treated in a bare hospital tank. This will let you utilize copper based medications that would have negative affects inside the display.
Scubasteve88
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
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Well, I went down to qt him this morning and it looks like he passed in the night. I’m guessing he was eaten by the snails and crabs because there’s no trace of him. RIP little guy.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sorry to hear. I would suggest that in the future, make sure you QT all new fish until they are eating heartily and show no signs of disease. Intestinal worms are easily transmitted to other fish via consumption of a dead fish or the eggs in the substrate. A bare QT tank will help you see what's coming out of the fish in the tank and better help you diagnose problems that need treatment.
I would suggest that in the future, make sure you QT all new fish until they are eating heartily and show no signs of disease. Intestinal worms are easily transmitted to other fish via consumption of a dead fish or the eggs in the substrate. A bare QT tank will help you see what's coming out of the fish in the tank and better help you diagnose problems that need treatment.
Sniperhank
Giant Clam Addict
Though sad, can you still tell us more about the system? That was awfully quick for such a parasite to cause a fatality IMO...
Was the tank cycled? Is there 1 lbs of rock per gallon in the system?
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