Red Tail Black Shark seems unhappy

[Halcion]

Hi everyone,
So in the last week or so my Red Tail Has begun acting really strangely.

Ive had him for about 4 years now in his 30g tank and all this time (even through moving house 2 years ago) he has been happy, gets along with the other fish in there and he swims about and eats normally and just kind of exists like he should.
But recently his tail, which is normally a vibrant bright orange, has started going a bit black, like its been dyed, he's barely moving, staying on the bottom and he has gotten skinnier. His scales also used to be completely flush with his body, but i notice a few patches has started slightly lifting up,(not flush along his body).
The other thing to add is that his body seems a bit bent, like his tail is lower than it used to be?

I do 40%pwc every 2 weeks, and clean the filters, and up till now he's been absolutely fine. The other fish are still normal and nothings changed in the tank for a while. (No new fish, or plants or decs etc)

I feed them on flakes mostly, with treats like bloodworm and green pleccy disks and (sometimes if he's lucky) cucumber for the shark.

Its hard to explain, but i hope my ramble will make enough sense for a bit of advice.
Ta in advance, he is my favourite fish (don't tell the others!!)



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[mrgazza]

Following! My RTS is my fave so I know how you feel ? hope he pulls through


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[ImACoolguy]

If all the other fish are acting normal and healthy he could just be old. 4 years is a long time. Not sure on their life spans though..

If not maybe a parasite?

Caleb

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[Halcion]

If all the other fish are acting normal and healthy he could just be old. 4 years is a long time. Not sure on their life spans though..

Caleb

I went into the shop i bought him from originally today, and the bloke in there said it wont be old age, and they go to about 10 years. He wasn't sure either.

I don't know about parasites, any parasites that have similar symptoms?

 

[ImACoolguy]

A Google search and they live around at most 6 years.


Caleb

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[Halcion]

Hmm okay, so maybe old age, its just the fact hes only started showing signs in the last week, i didnt think old age symptoms would come on that quickly. :/ dont wanna lose my fav!

 

[Halcion]

So my shark has moved off the bottom for the first time in a week, but still seems bad. This morning ive noticed all his fins seem to be rotting away. Is this finrot? If so, could it be causing his other symptoms? this is the best picture i can get at the moment. You can just about see his fins, and his tail especially.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Something is definitely not right about him. Delapool knows a lot more about diseases than me yhough


Caleb

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[shellyx]

What are you parameters?
I would up your water changes until you find out the problem. I use to own rts and these guy's are sensitive to ammonia and nitrate.


55 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon vampire shrimp, green lace shrimp and snails.

 

[Halcion]

Last water change was 40% on saturday, did water test yesterday
Water temp 26 (at test time, though it fluctuates slightly between 25&27 normally)
Ph 7-8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
So everything seems good on that front. Will be doing another water change this weekend.

 

[Halcion]

Just managed to get a video, which should make it a but clearer whats going on. http://youtu.be/ysmVH6Fl_ZI

 

[Halcion]

Ao i think he has developed finrot, but im not sure what else it could be. He has sore patches where his fins come out of his body, and his gills look quite red.
he has also lost a lot of weight in the last few days.

So should i now treat for finrot? Or a bacterial infection?

 

[shellyx]

Just watched your vid and he's definitely struggling poor guy. I take it he's been ok with the other fish in the tank? No sign of bullying? He looks like he has fin rot, I'm not sure on the red gills? I always thought that was ammonia poisoning but your parameters are fine. I hope someone else chimes in for you.

55 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon vampire shrimp, green lace shrimp and snails.

 

[Halcion]

Yea he has always been fine with the other fish. Usually he's the one doing the chasing, but they all normally live in harmony and he never gets bullied.

I think ill start treating finrot, and hope he improves. Do fish stop eating when they have finrot? Because i haven't seen him eat in a while either.

 

[shellyx]

I think there's also something else going on with him. I'm just hoping someone with experience can help you.
On eating my fish didn't go off his food when it had fin rot but every fish is different.

55 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon vampire shrimp, green lace shrimp and snails.

 

[sinibotia]

The nature of that fin rot suggests it's being caused by a ciliate protist- a parasite which also attacks the entire rest of the body. Treat with Metro, or any medication with metronidazole as the active ingredient. Best of luck.

 

[Autumnsky]

Hi,

I have kept a lovely RTS and she was a highlight of my day. She lived around 8+ years.

I would treat for the fin rot for immediately, but he looks like he is wasting away. Personally I haven't used many medications, and clean fresh water will always help the healing process. I might add a little aquarium salt, increase to 1 tsp per gallon over the course of a couple days. Say divided in 4 parts - add some every 8-10 hours, then just add correct amount per gallon with each pwc.

As a side note, this fish can get to 6-7 inches long and 2.5-3" tall in the body (females are wider triangle shaped body and larger and less black, males are more sleek looking, more black, ) and a 30G tank is way too small for an adult fish. 55-60G would be the smallest tank ideally in the 70G range. They are great swimmers and love to patrol the tank. Something to be aware of for the future. Right now is the critical issue.

 

[Halcion]

Hi, thanks for the comment, i am going to get some fin rot meds tomorrow, would you agree with the previous comment and get something with metronidazole in it or just regular fin rot stuff? Im not clued up on medication.

As for the salt, would this be like the Epsom Salt bath ive heard about? Or have i got the wrong idea?
Thanks

 

[sinibotia]

Hi, thanks for the comment, i am going to get some fin rot meds tomorrow, would you agree with the previous comment and get something with metronidazole in it or just regular fin rot stuff? Im not clued up on medication.

As for the salt, would this be like the Epsom Salt bath ive heard about? Or have i got the wrong idea?
Thanks

To me, it looks like fin rot caused specifically by a ciliate, which is best treated by something with metronidazole. I don't think regular fin rot stuff will work on this form of fin rot.

 

[Halcion]

Okay, thanks, i will attempt to get some tomorrow and proceed.