Bala Shark sick - need diagnosis

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jhoelter

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 6, 2004
Messages
37
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
So just today I put one of my Bala Sharks into "quarantine" - just a big vase with some tank water in it. (any better solutions?) but it's been sick for a week or so at least.

Anyway now another fish seems to have caught it too - so guess the quarantine was too late. Here's the symptons:

Shiny spot on bala shark near top fin
shiny along top and bottom
Fins starting to disintegrate (whitish/red color)
Quick, short breaths

Any ideas what this could be? And effective treatments?

Thanks so much - the last thing I need is my whole tank dying because of this....

Jeff
 
Hmmm... the shiny spots don't ring a bell, is it like a gold dusting? Could be velvet with a secondary infection that has infected the fins. My balas will split their fins ocassionally racing around the tank and if a fish is already weak from something else they could get infected.
 
Try looking through these sites:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm

Answer these Qs:
~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp)?
~ How large is the tank?
~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are there current sizes?
~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
~How long have you had the fish?
~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlor, new substrate, etc.?

Right now, I'm clueless.
 
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