Do my fish have Velvet - help please?

[Daddynev]

Hi I have two issues please.

1. My guppy has started to go to the bottom of the tank and hide when the light is on. When it goes off he comes out again. His spine is slightly bent see picture. He is about 9months old.

2. A few of my tetras seem to have a good sheen down their spine see picture One forum member thought this was velvet. Any advice please as I don't want to start all over again or is the best ?

Thanks

 

[bkiggy]

Neon Tetra Disease could be #1 on tetra, - main reason to not get them IMO........
not velvet on guppies. Is there a hole or scratch on head??
Didn't see bent spine... Unfortunately a bent spine and acting weird is fish TB. Contagious to you and no cure to the fish.

 

[Daddynev]

Hi re the tb and the bent spine. The cobra guppy just looks as per the picture a bit curved to me when looking side on. The spine is straight if you look head down if you see what I mean. If it is tb how long would it survive or is it best to get rid of everything and start again a quick google seems to imply cant get rid of it ever from the tank.

 

[Rlavassor86]

Hi re the tb and the bent spine. The cobra guppy just looks as per the picture a bit curved to me when looking side on. The spine is straight if you look head down if you see what I mean. If it is tb how long would it survive or is it best to get rid of everything and start again a quick google seems to imply cant get rid of it ever from the tank.

If its tb I've always heard tank is junk. I don't think you can get out

 

[Ljk09]

If its tb I've always heard tank is junk. I don't think you can get out

Holy cow. TB as in the human TB?

 

[Rlavassor86]

Holy cow. TB as in the human TB?

Fish tb but is contagious even to humans.

 

[Ljk09]

Fish tb but is contagious even to humans.

Scary. (((

 

[Rlavassor86]

Scary. (((

Yea for sure. In the Craigslist insanity thread on here there was a guy who posted a tank for sale on Craigslist that had lab confirmed tb lol. If it were me I'd throw the tank away. Not worth the risk especially with two young kids in the house.

 

[Ljk09]

Yea for sure. In the Craigslist insanity thread on here there was a guy who posted a tank for sale on Craigslist that had lab confirmed tb lol. If it were me I'd throw the tank away. Not worth the risk especially with two young kids in the house.

Now I have one more thing to worry about!!! What are the signs?

 

[DragonFish71]

Tuberculos - Mycobacteriosis
Syn: fish tuberculosis, piscine tuberculosis, acid-fast disease, granuloma disease.
Symptoms: Emaciation, hollow belly, possibly sores. Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium piscium. Fish infected with tuberculosis may become lethargic, hollow bellied, pale, show skin ulcers and frayed fins, have fin and scale loss, and loss of appetite. Yellowish or darker nodules may appear on the eyes or body and may deform the fish.
The main causes for this disease appears to be over crowding in unkempt conditions; ie. poor water quality. All fish species could be susceptible though some are more susceptible than others. Those most susceptible are the labyrinth air breathers like the Gouramis, Bettas, and Paradise Fish. Others include Neon Tetras, Discus, and the Ram Cichlid.

• There is no absolute treatment. However the most effective treatment known for this disease is to treat with Kanamycin and Vitamin B-6 for 30 days. Kanamycin can be purchased at your local fish store. Liquid baby vitamins work well as s Vitamin B-6 source. They are available at your local pharmacy. Add one drop per every 5 gallons of aquarium water during treatment.
• If the treatment is ineffective, the best thing to do is destroy the infected fish.
• If either unkempt conditions or over crowding are the suspected cause, correct the condition.

It is possible for humans to contract this disease so we recommend using caution when dealing with it. Humans are very rarely are at risk from aquariums though. It is more common to contract this disease from public swimming areas or as a food contaminant.




Fish Disease and Treatment




Just to squash the rhetoric in the replies you've received, I highlighted a specific part in red.

 

[Ljk09]

Tuberculos - Mycobacteriosis
Syn: fish tuberculosis, piscine tuberculosis, acid-fast disease, granuloma disease.
Symptoms: Emaciation, hollow belly, possibly sores. Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium piscium. Fish infected with tuberculosis may become lethargic, hollow bellied, pale, show skin ulcers and frayed fins, have fin and scale loss, and loss of appetite. Yellowish or darker nodules may appear on the eyes or body and may deform the fish.
The main causes for this disease appears to be over crowding in unkempt conditions; ie. poor water quality. All fish species could be susceptible though some are more susceptible than others. Those most susceptible are the labyrinth air breathers like the Gouramis, Bettas, and Paradise Fish. Others include Neon Tetras, Discus, and the Ram Cichlid.


[*]There is no absolute treatment. However the most effective treatment known for this disease is to treat with Kanamycin and Vitamin B-6 for 30 days. Kanamycin can be purchased at your local fish store. Liquid baby vitamins work well as s Vitamin B-6 source. They are available at your local pharmacy. Add one drop per every 5 gallons of aquarium water during treatment.
[*] If the treatment is ineffective, the best thing to do is destroy the infected fish.
[*] If either unkempt conditions or over crowding are the suspected cause, correct the condition.

It is possible for humans to contract this disease so we recommend using caution when dealing with it. Humans are very rarely are at risk from aquariums though. It is more common to contract this disease from public swimming areas or as a food contaminant.

Fish Disease and Treatment

Just to squash the rhetoric in the replies you've received, I highlighted a specific part in red.

Thanks for that lol and thanks for the clip.

 

[Rlavassor86]

Tuberculos - Mycobacteriosis
Syn: fish tuberculosis, piscine tuberculosis, acid-fast disease, granuloma disease.
Symptoms: Emaciation, hollow belly, possibly sores. Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium piscium. Fish infected with tuberculosis may become lethargic, hollow bellied, pale, show skin ulcers and frayed fins, have fin and scale loss, and loss of appetite. Yellowish or darker nodules may appear on the eyes or body and may deform the fish.
The main causes for this disease appears to be over crowding in unkempt conditions; ie. poor water quality. All fish species could be susceptible though some are more susceptible than others. Those most susceptible are the labyrinth air breathers like the Gouramis, Bettas, and Paradise Fish. Others include Neon Tetras, Discus, and the Ram Cichlid.


[*]There is no absolute treatment. However the most effective treatment known for this disease is to treat with Kanamycin and Vitamin B-6 for 30 days. Kanamycin can be purchased at your local fish store. Liquid baby vitamins work well as s Vitamin B-6 source. They are available at your local pharmacy. Add one drop per every 5 gallons of aquarium water during treatment.
[*] If the treatment is ineffective, the best thing to do is destroy the infected fish.
[*] If either unkempt conditions or over crowding are the suspected cause, correct the condition.

It is possible for humans to contract this disease so we recommend using caution when dealing with it. Humans are very rarely are at risk from aquariums though. It is more common to contract this disease from public swimming areas or as a food contaminant.

Fish Disease and Treatment

Just to squash the rhetoric in the replies you've received, I highlighted a specific part in red.

Yea it's still not a risk I would take tho. No tank is worth more than my family's health, even if its unlikely. Good info to have tho.

 

[DragonFish71]

Yea it's still not a risk I would take tho. No tank is worth more than my family's health, even if its unlikely. Good info to have tho.

The risk is there every time you get new fish or stick your hands in your own tanks. The risk is low however, so to be afraid and light up a thread with replies about TB without having all the facts is ridiculous.

And, if you clean a used tank properly, the chances are again minimal.

 

[Rlavassor86]

The risk is there every time you get new fish or stick your hands in your own tanks. The risk is low however, so to be afraid and light up a thread with replies about TB without having all the facts is ridiculous.

And, if you clean a used tank properly, the chances are again minimal.

Ok you win geez,It's not like I was trying to give any kind of info on the topic of treating or diagnosing tb. I was just saying what I've heard from other members here about the difficulty of cleaning an infected tank and the possibility( however small) of humans contracting it. I wouldn't try giving any kind of treatment advise on the subject though, as I am admittedly not knowledgable on it.

 

[byork]

It is unlikely that your tank has TB. Guppies particularly have been inbreed for generations which frequently causes deformities both early and later in life. I have had several in my breeding group that have been deformed. The curve in the cobra is not even close to a curve that you would see with TB. I think you should improve their diet. I don't know what you are feeding them now but I feed mine tetra flakes, with dried blood worms, dried krill, and the smallest spectrum pellets they sell, all equal parts. I also add vita chem with each water change. Since I have started this I have only had one female that has been bent and have had more than 3 that have recovered, become unbent, fir lack of a better description. Guppies frequently have vitamin deficiencies.

I can not see the tetras very well but they don't look bent enough to me. I think a TB diagnosis is jumping to conclusions.

 

[Daddynev]

Thanks that sounds really positive! I was thinking about jacking it all in today. I did go to my lfs today and the guy said something similar in terms inbreeding. I did get some aquarium salt to add to the water but I'll definitely look at varying the diet too. Currently they're on nutrafin tropical flakes.

 

[Daddynev]

The other question though is why he's started hiding when the light comes on. Any ideas? Thanks all for your input

 

[byork]

Salt is great. Turn the heat up to at least 80, 82 would be better but I don't know if the tetras would appreciate that. Hiding when the light comes on could be because that activity of the tetras increases and tetras can "run a muck" if you know what I mean. Does the guppy show outward physical signs of trauma or disease, aside from the disfigurement?

 

[Daddynev]

Thanks. Good news is that he's out and about tonight and not hiding. He could be fed up with the other guppy as he's constantly chasing him. Ive been put off buying more as i've lost a few since the summer and I've been worried about disease but maybe i need some more guppies back in the tank to distract the chasing guppy. Have been out and bought some bloodworms to change the diet as well so will give that a try. In terms of other ailments his tail is slightly frayed although it seems a bit better than it was the other day. He does have big black eyes too but they've been like that for a while.

Having said all that one of my tetras has started swimming with his body in a diagonal position head down since I fed them tonight so hope he's not sick as well

 

[byork]

Sorry I took a few days to reply. I hope that you have not experienced any loss. Neons are sensitive A couple of things specifically related to neons:
1. is the color band interrupted, and the musculature, cloudy and white, shows through. If describes the sysmptom it could be sporozan plistophora. If this is the diagnosis there is no treatment. Humane sacrifice..clove oil.
2. The skin becomes cloudy, in neons, the color band at this spot looks pale. If this is hte diagnosis then teh pH is to high or the fish has parasites.

Based on what I know about your situtation (which is very little) I would treat the tank with rid ick, quick cure, malachite green or formalin.

Additional information would be helpful in order to help you further. pH, temp, size of tank, all inhabitants including live pants and inverts, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and carboate hardness (KH).

Guppies can be agressive toward eachother if improper male, female (1/2.5) ratios are not maintained. Additionally guppies are live bearers and prefer higher pH 7.5+, and harder water, with salt. Neons on the other can hand thrive in soft black waters and prefer lower pH typically 6.5 or less.

Hope this helps.