whats wrong with my new bala shark?

[jarrette]

I really like this guy but since the day i got him (about 3 days ago) he has been missing a few scales on his side and now some white stuff seems to be clinging in the spot where he was missing them. here's a picture

 

[Megalofyia]

Maybe he has an infection. Sorry I don't know what to do about treating this.

I assume he is already in an isolation tank?

 

[jarrette]

no, he's not. Should i isolate him?

 

[jarrette]

the white spot you see above is cotton-like and protrudes from the skin.

 

[loach]

Sounds like fungus to me, but wait till someone else replies before you act. Of course I'd isolate him no matter what it is just to be safe, but that's just me.

 

[cindywindy]

Jarette,

Cotton wool fungus is a fairly common occurence in spots where the scales are knocked off because of a superficial injury, or having them nipped off during a bout of aggression with another fish. This likely happened prior to your buying him. However, whenever our fish have superficial skin injuries, they are at risk for fungal or bacterial infections, which is what you are experiencing now.

Since most fungal infections respond nicely to the addition of salt, I would recommend adding a bit to your water. If, for whatever reason the salt does not prove effective, I would recommend a course of medication with the active ingredient phenoxyethanol. This is a fungicidal and bactericidal medication so it should cover you from every angle.

Good luck, hope this helps !

 

[jarrette]

sadly, i woke up this morning to a dead bala.

i quarantined him last night.

Was it just because of his fungus on his injury that this occured? He only had the white cottony stuff for about a day and a half or so. Is this stuff communicable?

Also, on a side note. my rainbow shark is acting quite lethargic with no visible signs of infection but my 4 tiger barbs have tiny bubbles on their back fins. They also rub themselves against the rainbow shark! From what i'm reading on this site, this sounds like ick? All my fish except the rainbow are acting quite normal. The rainbow doesn't have much of an appetite either.

my tank is a 10 gallon tank with the following fish:

rainbow shark
golden goroumi
tiger barbs (4)
african cichlids (2)
bottom feeder black fish (dunno name)
silver sucker fish (dunno name)

operating at 78ish degrees with carbon filter. Water changed bi-weekly and weekly enzyme added(10ml).

 

[Megalofyia]

have you checked the water parameters. That is alot of fish for a ten gallon tank.

I think that you can use aquarium salt to treat ick but warm water is also used to treat ick.

I'd wait for someone else to confirm that though.

 

[cindywindy]

Holy wildly overcrowded conditions, Batman !

Jarrette, please do not be offended when I tell you that you are WAY overstocked. Overcrowded conditions in a newly setup tank is a recipe for disaster... not just because of the chemical chaos all those fish will wreak but also because of the potential for communicable and stress-related diseases. I would strongly recommend taking some (read : "most") of those fish back to the LFS as soon as possible if there is any hope for their health and survival. Sorry to sound harsh, but after reading your stocking levels, it is no surprise that there has been a death. I am terrified to ask what your ammonia and nitrIte levels are !

Please .... return some of them ... for the sake of your fish.

 

[Terry]

You have to many fish for a 10 gal tank, you will have to move some of the fish and take out the African Cichlids as well (they can be very aggressive). I would also try and find out the names of your mystery fishes.

 

[jarrette]

all the other fish are doing fine and most all have been fine for about a month now. I am buying a new tank in january which will be a 50gallon. They should be fine until then.

I medicated the tank today with Quick Cure just for the possibility of Ick in the tank and will continue to do so daily for 3 days, change the water 25% then an additional 2 days as per the shop keepers recommendation.

I also bought a new filter today, a whisper power filter 40, which is much much larger than what i was using before.

You know, everyone has told me how aggressive African Cichlids are supposed to be, but mine seem to be really laid back. I've had them for a month now and they don't even start to compare with how aggresive my tiger barbs are as far as nipping at others tails and what not. My old blue goroumis were WAY worse than the cichlids. So bad, in fact, that I had to return them to the store.

 

[jarrette]

does this look that overcrowded?

 

[cindywindy]

Yes.

10 medium-sized fish including two African Cichlids in a 10g is very overstocked.

What kind of Africans are you keeping ? If what you have are juveniles, then it is to be expected that they will be mild-mannered in their youth. Africans by nature are extremely territorial fish and depending on the type that you are keeping, they have been known to beat other fish to death for a peice of real estate in tanks three times the size of yours. Especially so in an overcrowded situation where competition for their own "space" becomes very tough. If you add to that the fact that as they grow they will reach the age of sexual maturity and if you happen to have a breeding situation going on in your tank where the Africans will defend their eggs and fry to the death, there is just the potential for a very unfortunate situation for you ... and your fish.

As a years-long keeper of African cichlids, trust me when I say you should get them out of that 10g as soon as you can. I'm glad to hear about your bigger tank at the beginning of the year, I think any fish that might be left by then will appreciate the extra space.

 

[jarrette]

alright, ALRIGHT, you nagging fish lovers! I took the cichlids out of the 10 gallon tank. For now they are in my standby tank (2.5 gallon). Do you think that a 2.5 is big enough for those two guys if that is all there is in there?

Those particular fish I got at Wal Mart, should I take them back? If I take them back what will happen with them?

so refresher:

10 gallon tank contains,
1 golden goroumi
1 rainbow shark
2 algae eaters
4 little tiger barbs

2.5 gallon tank contains,
2 african cichlids

 

[Allivymar]

You've heard it from the others, so I won't mention the overcrowding or the need to find out what fish you DO have (some of the bottom feeder/suckerfish can get to be 2 feet long) *grin*

I will strongly suggest getting a QT for new fish. Its quite possible your new guy actually had an infection called columnaris aka mouth fungus. It isn't limited to the mouth, and isn't actually a fungus. Its a bacterial infection which can LOOK like a fungus, is one of the most seen infections on aquariums and is infectious. Keep a VERY close eye on your guys for now. Having a QT would avoid the worry tho; keeping a fish in QT for a few weeks means you can watch it closely, and if it winds up to be ill, you won't have to worry about the rest of your fish. Also, if it IS sick and you have to treat, you won't mess up the nitrifying bacterial colony in the main tank.

 

[ferret]

Hiya.

The two african cichlids are, using common names, an Auratus and a Red Zebra (Probably a red zebra anyways).

These will both get very aggressive as they mature, the Auratus in particular. The 2.5 gallon is incredibly small for these two fish, as they will both easily reach 4 inches it not upwards to 6. Yours are very young but these two together will require at least a 10 gallon by themselves, if not a 20 gallon.

I have a 90 gallon and have just removed an Auratus because it decided half the tank belonged to it alone. This fish literally kept all of the others, 15 in total, on the other side of the tank. My red zebra, ironically enough, was his main rival for 'control'.

These two breeds will not do well in a smaller tank, especially once they mature and begin to fight for territory.

 

[Citicricket]

Just for future reference (sorry you lost your bala) I use a product called "MelaFix" for fish that have injuries or scale damage or other unidentified crud. It is an extract from the tea tree and I have been AMAZED at how it healed my veil tailed neon that got stuck in a (now removed) aquarium ornament.