Tetra with Bulging Eye and Red Hills

[JCarnes]

I have 8 priscillia tetras and one of the biggest ones seem to have bulging eyes a little bit and his gills on his right side are very red, almost looks like blood under the skin.

Tank is cycled, ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, nitrates are less than 5. (I use Nitrazorb in my canister filter to keep the nitrates down - I have two german blue rams in the tank as well). None of the other fish seem to be effected and the sick fish seems to be acting normally and eating normally.

Any suggestions on what it might be or how to treat it?

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[Berylla]

I have 8 priscillia tetras and one of the biggest ones seem to have bulging eyes a little bit and his gills on his right side are very red, almost looks like blood under the skin.

Tank is cycled, ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, nitrates are less than 5. (I use Nitrazorb in my canister filter to keep the nitrates down - I have two german blue rams in the tank as well). None of the other fish seem to be effected and the sick fish seems to be acting normally and eating normally.

Any suggestions on what it might be or how to treat it?

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Do you have a QT tank? Your fish is very sick and needs to be medicated.

A good start would be him in a 5 to 10G tank with methylene blue and bifuran. Change water 50% every day and redose for 7- 10 days. Heater and airstone.

How large is your tank? I looked them up and they can get up to 2" in length which is pretty big if you have 8 with 2 GBR's (which are highly aggresive fish).

These fish need room to move or they will get in each others way and stress will set in = sick fish.

 

[JCarnes]

It is a 55 gallon tank. There is no aggression from the gbr towards anyone but each other but they have their own territories established.

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[Berylla]

It is a 55 gallon tank. There is no aggression from the gbr towards anyone but each other but they have their own territories established.

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55G is a great size. Is your tank planted? Do you have a pix to show us? Your tank parameters are good and would like to see if there are any stressors in the tank setup. Also, what is the frequency and amount you change water?

Regarding your sick fish, it's bacterial in nature. Methylene blue in combination with furan2 will help the fish fight off the infection and heal. I would use methylene blue for the first 3 days of treatment, then just clear water changes with the bifuran after that.

This treatment is only for a QT tank and not the display tank.

 

[JCarnes]

I complete a 30% water change once a week. It is a planted tank but is only about 2 months old. All low light low tech plants that need to grow up yet.

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[Berylla]

I complete a 30% water change once a week. It is a planted tank but is only about 2 months old. All low light low tech plants that need to grow up yet.

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Your tank is very pretty. I like how you have created two very separate territories for the gbr's. I notice that the tetras are congegrating inthe left side of the tank behind the rocks. Are they schooling freely all over the tank ir do they seem to be in one corner?

Since your tank is only 2 months old and the plants haven't grown up , the fish may be skittish because lack of cover. I would plant some longer stemmed plants like amazon swords or some type if long hardy low light grasses. The gbr's also like a heavily planted tank.

 

[JCarnes]

The tetras dont usually crowd in one corner, they were just hiding there because I was taking pictures.

 

[Berylla]

There does not seem to be any obvious stressors in your tank. How is your fish doing?

 

[JCarnes]

He is hanging out by himself (well with my neon tetras) and he ate this morning. However the red has spread to both gills. I dont have a quarantine tank yet but will probably be setting one up tonight. I have an empty ten gallon I just need a heater and air pump.

 

[Berylla]

He is hanging out by himself (well with my neon tetras) and he ate this morning. However the red has spread to both gills. I dont have a quarantine tank yet but will probably be setting one up tonight. I have an empty ten gallon I just need a heater and air pump.

the methylene blue will help him absorb O2 easier since his gills are inflamed.

 

[JCarnes]

Update - as I was getting ready to set up a quarantine tank yesterday I found a dead Scissortail Rasbora. I closely inspected every fish (I usually watch my fish everyday for at least an hour) but now there are two or three priscillia tetras with the red gills and one of my cory cats is not looking good. Since this is no longer one fish or one species of fish I dosed the whole tank with Melafix tonight. (I could not see anything physically wrong with the scissortail and did not notice it not eating or acting any differently recently).

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[Berylla]

Update - as I was getting ready to set up a quarantine tank yesterday I found a dead Scissortail Rasbora. I closely inspected every fish (I usually watch my fish everyday for at least an hour) but now there are two or three priscillia tetras with the red gills and one of my cory cats is not looking good. Since this is no longer one fish or one species of fish I dosed the whole tank with Melafix tonight. (I could not see anything physically wrong with the scissortail and did not notice it not eating or acting any differently recently).

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Melafix is great for torn fins but it's not that affective against bad infections. Your're tank is really too big to treat all the fish. Can you net them and put them all in QT? A methylene blue bath for a couple of days with daily 50% water changes may turn them around. Do you have access to fish meds in your town?

For the main tank, do a thorough cleaning, even the filters. Do a massive water change of 80%. I would run a strong UV. For a 55 gallon tank you would probably need a 35 watt run at 100 GPH. You can attach these inline to your cannister filter. The UV run at a low GPH will reduce the pathogens in your tank so when you reintroduce your cured fish, they will be able to fight off infections because the tank water has less pathogens in it.

Edit:

I would run it on it's own pump so you can reduce the water flow through the UV. Slow is better in this case.

 

[JCarnes]

I really dont have any access besides petco and petsmart as far as medicines. Im also not sure about uv lights and all that either. I will have to do more research.

 

[Berylla]

I really dont have any access besides petco and petsmart as far as medicines. Im also not sure about uv lights and all that either. I will have to do more research.

If you have low PH tank water of under 7.5, I suggest you purchase bifuran or furan2. Your petstore may carry it. You can buy it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Aquatic-...e=UTF8&qid=1393211701&sr=8-1&keywords=furan+2

Treat for 7 days, changing the water out 50% a day. Use a heater and an airstone. Use in conjunction with methylene blue if you have it for 3 days, then continue with the treatment.

Amazon.com: Kordon/Oasis (Novalek) AKD37344 Methylene for Aquarium, 4-Ounce, Blue: Pet Supplies