Gold Severum Weird Behavior - Symptoms of Ich

[mc12345]

I have a 4" Red Spotted Gold Severum that is temporarily in a 20 gallon tank. I placed him in a 75 gallon tank first and then added other, smaller fish, which he was not happy about and showed some aggression. I decided to place him in a 20 gallon tank until all other fish are added.

Recently both tanks had an outbreak of ich. I've been treating for 4 days with Tetra Ick Guard and have the temp at approx. 80 degrees F. Also, as the directions for the Ick Guard stated, I did a 25% water change before adding each new dose every 24 hrs.

Ich looks like it is gone but my severum is acting strange. His fins are clamped and he is either hiding or at the top of the tank. He also occasionally swims with his body vertically meaning he mouth is up towards the water. I know severums have weird swimming behaviors sometimes but it seems different than how he normally acts. He also isn't as interested in food as usual but is still eating. Do you think this is just because of the stress of ich and large water changes? Or should I be more concerned? Everything else seems fine. No more white spots, no paleness, torn fins, fungus, etc. Maybe he is still out of sorts because I recently placed him in a smaller tank.

 

[charliebankston]

Have you checked the water parameters in the 20g?

 

[mc12345]

Have you checked the water parameters in the 20g?

The tank isn't cycled because I wasn't planning on putting him in this tank. I had to take him out of the larger tank because he was showing aggression likely due to the fact that another cichlid was placed in his territory. As of last night the ammonia is about 0.25ppm with no nitrites or nitrates. The pH is around 7.0. The water was dechlorinated and heated before adding to the tank for the water changes too. The ammonia may be higher now as my filter broke last night. I have to get a new one later today. I have really bad luck lol. The ich has been gone for at least 2 days now also.

 

[charliebankston]

Oh OK, well, the clamped fins are a sure sign that something is wrong. Could be illness, could be water issues. Start with the obvious and cheapest to fix, water issues. Use some cycled media, water changes, or move him back. Then go from there

 

[mc12345]

Oh OK, well, the clamped fins are a sure sign that something is wrong. Could be illness, could be water issues. Start with the obvious and cheapest to fix, water issues. Use some cycled media, water changes, or move him back. Then go from there

I mean again it could be stress. Between being moved to a new tank, getting ich, having daily 25% water changes in a smaller tank and the broken filter could be stressing him out. Unfortunately at this time I have no filtered media. I bought tetras from a big chain pet store (big mistake) and they had mouth rot. I ended up sanitizing everything in the 75 gallon because of how bad it was. Lost all beneficial bacteria... unfortunately. And the 20 gallon he is currently in is brand new that I was planning on setting up later after having the 75 gallon established. I do have some microbe lift nite-out II that has nitrifying bacteria that I could try. I'll set up the new filter to help get more water circulating and maybe help if there are lower oxygen levels in the tank. I may look into some sort of stress coat product too when I go pick up the filter. I'm going to stop the treatment for ich because it cleared up a few days ago. Maybe he is sensitive to the product I was using too.

 

[mc12345]

Oh OK, well, the clamped fins are a sure sign that something is wrong. Could be illness, could be water issues. Start with the obvious and cheapest to fix, water issues. Use some cycled media, water changes, or move him back. Then go from there

I actually took a closer look at him a minute ago and he now has this white cloudy stuff on his tail and eyeball. Pretty sure it's a fungus. Probably a secondary infection from the ich. Honestly, I wish I had better pet stores around me because it seems that the fish I keep buying are sick almost immediately after bringing them home. I do daily water tests, water changes, I've used seachem prime and stability to the tank, don't overfeed, constantly monitor temperature and quarantine all of the fish before adding them. The place I got the severum from seemed sketchy and gave me awful advice on what fish to keep. They told me I could keep a single denison barb with a severum and pearl gouramis, all of which have different tank requirements and temperament. Had to return some of them, but kept the gouramis for a different tank. I've had tanks in the past and never had the problem until purchasing from them. Hopefully I can find some sort of fungus cure for the severum.

 

[charliebankston]

I hope so. Sorry it's being a hassle for you. Most ich meds that have green or blue dye, and esp the ones with formalin, are also the best fungus cure medications

 

[mc12345]

I hope so. Sorry it's being a hassle for you. Most ich meds that have green or blue dye, and esp the ones with formalin, are also the best fungus cure medications

So I got some Imagitarium Bacterial Infection Remedy. I went to 3 different stores near me and not one had anything for fungal infections. This said it treats bacterial and fungal infections without harsh chemicals and it had good reviews. My severum is now running into things and hitting his left side against objects in the tank. Never done that before. I got it on video:
https://youtu.be/fg5mNn1aG7s