sick rainbow mysterious disease

[tao]

Last week I bought 2 pseudomugil furcatus One looked healthy the other was swimming at the surface, but appeared otherwise ok. I should have known better, but at least I quarantined them. I got them home and one (the one swimming at the surface) refused to eat. The other ate everything I gave him. So, I let them go for a day or two. Then the one at the top starts to show signs of fin rot and remains at the surface with fins clasped. I treated them with coppersafe (CuSO4 for the white spot and against any external parasites) and MelaFix for the fin rot. The fin rot clears up and the fin begins to grow back. He comes down from the surface. THe next day his gasping was worse and once again his fins were clasped. The other one stops eating, so now neither of them is eating. I continued to let him go since I couldn't get to the fish store anytime soon. They both have raised scales but no bloating. I figure he has gill disease b/c the coppersafe would have killed any external parasites. Also I thought the raised scales could only come from dropsy (the major problem being his abdomen never expanded and he still refuses to eat). I treated with maracyn 2 b/c it would treat the now gone fin and tail rot, the possible dropsy and the swollen gills. As of day 2 it isn't working and now they are both starting to get black patches around the outside of their scales.

Summary of symptoms:

shortening fins w/ fungus on the outside (now gone)
one white spot (on formerly healthy one, has disappeared after treatment)
clasped fins
raised scales, but no accompanying swollen body
swollen gills (on the one at the surface, stopped swimming on the surface after coppersafe)
black patches around the outside of their scales (may just be discoloration from stress)
neither one will eat

Tank parameters:

ph 7.5
temp 84
gh ~ 9
5 gallons (quarantine tank)


Thanks for your help, I & the lfs ( including the one I got them from are stumped).

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hmm....when you put the fish in the QT, did you acclimate them at all by letting the bag float for a while? Sounds to me just like initial shock. Then, perhaps some weakening of the slime coating on the body, allowing a bacterial infection to move in. This would cause the raised scales and perhaps the blackening of the scales.

Also, did they have these symptoms from the fish store (or as soon as you put them in the tank?) or did they develop the symptoms?

I'm a little stumped as well. All I can reccomend is to add some stress coat, perhaps a little aquarium salt, and continue with the treatments.

If you have no ich present, you might want to lower your temp too (gradually). That is a pretty high temp to have the fish at, and *might* be stressing them out a bit.

Hope this helps some.

 

[Bearfan]

Last week I bought 2 pseudomugil furcatus

No offense, but if you use the scientific name, please include the common name so I don't have to think/look so hard.

 

[Fruitbat]

Shame on you Bearfan!!!!! I spend half my time trying to get people to use the SCIENTIFIC name!!!

tao....as for your Pseudomugil...I'm at a loss as well. The meds you used should have taken care of almost anything. On the off chance that it might be something like gill flukes you might consider trying Jungle Parasite Clear. It also has a dye-based antibiotic in it that will help with bacterial infections. If they were my fish I'd start with a half of the recommended dosage because I'm not sure how sensitive Pseudomugil furcatus is to medication. I've used similar meds on Pseudomugil signifer before at half strength with no problems.

 

[Menagerie]

I'm at a loss as well, but just wanted to say~
[center:cacf15ce1f] Welcome to AA, tao! [/center:cacf15ce1f]