Poorly Shubunkin

[julie02]

I was wondering if you can help me. We have had shubunkins for about 4 years now but one of them is feeling very sorry for itself. Its been at the bottom of the tank for over a week and all its fins are down, its back end seems inflamed and when it poos its really long, over the last couple of days it wont eat food. Do you think we will be saying goodbye to it soon or does anyone heave any ideas what could be wrong with it

 

[jsoong]

HI and welcome to AA.

We need a lot more info to even begin to guess at what is wrong. thing like:
tank size, water parameters, water change schedules ....

When you say back end inflamed - do you mean the tail fin, or the anal vent?

Any other signs? like spots, lumps, etc? What is the slime coat like? clear & shinny? cloudy? thick? dry looking?

And the poop, what color? thick or thin?

 

[julie02]

Thanks for getting back to me. I think the tank holds 68 ltrs the size of the tank is 45cm by 60cm by 38cm if thats any help.

The inflamation is on its anal end, his anal hole looks wide (sorry to be crude), its poop is clear thin, there are no lumps or bumps and Im not quite sure what you mean by the slime coat, i cant see any fungus on it. I have been told that it may of swallowed a stone and its got stuck is this possible. I have taken it out of the water and turned it over to rub its tummy to see if that may of been the problem, but the skin wasnt any more slimey than the other

We do a water change at least twice a week of 1 bucket and we clean the tank out once every 6 weeks or so depending on the water. We treat the water with Aqua plus Tap water conditioner and Biological aquarium supplement when we either completely wash the tank out or do a big water change the UV lights are usually on for 3 to 4 hours a day.

We have 5 other fish in our tank and they dont show any of the symptoms flame is showing and they dont seem to be bullying it. The other question is if we should put him in another tank in case he infects any of the other.

All advise is very much appreciated and if we can get him right it will save a lot of tears from my daughter.

Thanks once again

 

[maxima423]

isnt a shubunkin a pond fish like a koi? i dont think 18g is going to hold it for much longer and it grows to be about 1ft 4inches long

 

[Lowryder]

What are your water parameters?

 

[dkpate]

Cleaning the entire tank is not good. You get rid of all the good bacteria, and have to go through a cycle all over again.
You can try feeding some boiled, de-shelled peas, which is a laxative for them. Boil, pop the middle out, and feed.

 

[jsoong]

If the fish had swallowed a stone, it would be stuck in the throat & usu. unable to close its mouth. If the fish is eating, this is unlikely.

If you felt the skin (the slime coat is on top of it) and it felt normal, then the slime coat prob is.

That is a small tank for shubunkins ... although they are smaller than comets or commons, they do get big (8") and yes, they are best kept in ponds. I would suggest testing your water parameters. It is likely that the water quality had deteriorated, bringing on the illness.

QT of a sick fish is always a good idea, although if it is a water quality problem, you need to fix the water. ( ....water changes for start ....) Eventually you would need to consider a much bigger tank or rehoming the fish.

Long thin clear poop with a red anal vent is indicative of an internal infection, prob bacterial. Parasites are possible but less likely. Before treating this, you do need to make sure the water quality is good. Medications will not help in the face of poor water.

If the fish is not improved with clean water, then a course of medicated food (eg MediGold .... basically anything with kanamycin) is worth trying. <Depending on where you live if medicated food is available over the counter .... Eg in EU countries, you need a vet prescription to use antibiotics.>