Cichlid dying ?

[Tpalmer]

He has white lips which is not normal and is swimming very weirdly. Is it dropsy or cotton mouth or what please help!


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[Tpalmer]

Just did a water change yesterday. Water levels are all good. Temp is 76. 90 gal tank (in 5 gal hospital tank now) with 18 other fish. Is it anything that can spread to the other fish?


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[ImACoolguy]

Looks like columnaris to me but I'd like someone to give a second opinion.


Caleb

 

[Matt68005]

Bacterial infection. Could you get any better pics or a video, its hard to see....

 

[Tpalmer]

He croaked but I want to figure out what this was in case it spreads to the other fish.



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[Matt68005]

Flexibar columnaris.

 

[Tpalmer]

Thanks everyone for your help identifying the columnaris. I will treat the tank with Furan-2 and Kanaplex. I have another fish that has white blotches and I have him in a hospital tank so I don't have to medicate the whole 90 gal. Can I avoid dosing the whole 90 gal tank?

 

[ImACoolguy]

With columnaris the whole tank is infected. If you want to treat outside the main tank you need to leave the main tank empty for like 30 days I think it is so it will all die from no host


Caleb

 

[coralbandit]

Sorry about your fish.
The treatment you have chosen is the most effective for columnaris.
I am usually the one to say columnaris, but honestly I don't see it!
Your other fish having white patches does sound like columnaris though...
I was kind of interested in your tank stocking and water pararameters,along with how long it has been running.
Surprised no one else asked(especially after saying you have 18 fish....)
They could/can easily work in a 90 but no way to say???

I would treat the whole tank as 30 day life cycle with out a host is still just a guess by the industry..
Argricultural fish farmers have annual issues that make some think there may even be a columnaris season much like our flu season.....
It is the new fish flu IMO.

 

[Tpalmer]

Is 18 too many for a 90 gal? I read everywhere to overstock an African cichlid tank and they get along pretty well. I do about a 20% water change every weekend and add cichlid salts to the new water. If I'm doing something wrong let me know and I will try to fix it as soon as I can. There weren't any new additions but they were living in two connected 30 gal buckets during the move for a week or so and they have been in their tank for about 2 weeks now.

 

[coralbandit]

Surprised no one else asked(especially after saying you have 18 fish....)
They could/can easily work in a 90 but no way to say???

Is 18 too many for a 90 gal? I read everywhere to overstock an African cichlid tank and they get along pretty well. I do about a 20% water change every weekend and add cichlid salts to the new water. If I'm doing something wrong let me know and I will try to fix it as soon as I can. There weren't any new additions but they were living in two connected 30 gal buckets during the move for a week or so and they have been in their tank for about 2 weeks now.

I meant to say there is no way for us to tell if they are all getting along or properly stocked unless you tell us what you have in the tank!

Unfortunately the phrase African Cichlid can pertain to many fish that should never be kept together..

What you got in your tank man?

 

[Matt68005]

Sorry i did not understand that there were alot of other sick fish in the tank....
I think 18 is indeed too many
Furan+Kanamycin is the quickest way to stop a bacterial infection, because kanamycin is a Batericidal antibiotic, meaning it quickly kills bacteria rather then most other drugs which only "inhibit" its growth and leave it up to the immune system to finsih the job.

 

[Tpalmer]

Stocking in 90 gal

-2 Socolofi Cichlid (1 albino 1 male)
Bought them thinking they were different fish
-1 Bumblebee Cichlid
-1 Livingston's Cichlid
-1 Acei Cichlid
-1 Auratus Cichlid
-1 Red Fin Zebra Cichlid
-1 Cobalt Zebra Cichlid
-1 Red Zebra Cichlid
-1 Yellow Lab Cichlid
-1 Demasoni Cichlid
-1 Red Empress Cichlid
-1 Jacob Cichlid (jacobfreibergi)
-5x trying to identify. (Peacocks of some sort)

-3x Syno catfish (Syno Eupterus)
-1 Psycodelic Pleco (L 66)

I tried to get one of various breeds to limit breeding. The auratus is a bully but the rest of the fish get along nicely and just stay out of the auratus' way.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Stocking in 90 gal

-2 Socolofi Cichlid (1 albino 1 male)
Bought them thinking they were different fish
-1 Bumblebee Cichlid
-1 Livingston's Cichlid
-1 Acei Cichlid
-1 Auratus Cichlid
-1 Red Fin Zebra Cichlid
-1 Cobalt Zebra Cichlid
-1 Red Zebra Cichlid
-1 Yellow Lab Cichlid
-1 Demasoni Cichlid
-1 Red Empress Cichlid
-1 Jacob Cichlid (jacobfreibergi)
-5x trying to identify. (Peacocks of some sort)

-3x Syno catfish (Syno Eupterus)
-1 Psycodelic Pleco (L 66)

I tried to get one of various breeds to limit breeding. The auratus is a bully but the rest of the fish get along nicely and just stay out of the auratus' way.

Whew, that will lead to problems. You've mixed aggressive and non aggressive species, you need to pick a direction. I would remove the peacocks or all the aggressive mbuna(which is most of those).

 

[coralbandit]

Whew, that will lead to problems. You've mixed aggressive and non aggressive species, you need to pick a direction. I would remove the peacocks or all the aggressive mbuna(which is most of those).

^^Sooo, this is kind of what I thought may be a possibility in the beginning.^^
Thanks TMRC!
You may infact be developing columnaris if these fish are more then just "at each other" all day.
Mbunas are known to do better over stocked and I think you did good with 1 only species to control breeding.
Some species cross breed is next to be detrermined also IMO?

Treat whole tank and get some good advice from fellow cichlid keepers here as to proper stocking!!
I am pretty sure you can easily have 18+ fish in your tank successfully...
Just not those 18.....

 

[ImACoolguy]

^^Sooo, this is kind of what I thought may be a possibility in the beginning.^^

Thanks TMRC!

You may infact be developing columnaris if these fish are more then just "at each other" all day.

Mbunas are known to do better over stocked and I think you did good with 1 only species to control breeding.

Some species cross breed is next to be detrermined also IMO?



Treat whole tank and get some good advice from fellow cichlid keepers here as to proper stocking!!

I am pretty sure you can easily have 18+ fish in your tank successfully...

Just not those 18.....

+1

You can certainly have 18 fish in a tank this size. TMRC knows better than me. You just have to know what will work long term and what won't.


Caleb

 

[Matt68005]

Sorry I don't know much about chiclids, if they all get the size of Oscars, 18 sounds like too many in a 90g tank, but I'm assuming they all don't get that big?

I agree with these guys palmer, you got to be careful mixining species even of the same kind of fish, aggression will lead to disease outbreak from stress and wounds.
My brother in law had like 2 Oscars in a 50 gallon tank. Granted he could have put more probably..