Fish Disease of some sort

[ROC Dogfarm]

@Kraxammer on youtube,.... what's wrong with the Geophagus?, is the name of the video.
This is the 3rd fish (all different times however) I've had recently that has died from whatever this is? I have 5 other cichlids that are fine and have been. 20 or so dither fish that are also fine. NO white spots/ich that I can see on any fish. Tail is falling apart, fin clamp, losing color, scales/ skin falling off. Any ideas?
Jeff

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

here is a link to the video,....

ROC Dogfarm

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[Andy Sager]

@Kraxammer on youtube,.... what's wrong with the Geophagus?, is the name of the video.
This is the 3rd fish (all different times however) I've had recently that has died from whatever this is? I have 5 other cichlids that are fine and have been. 20 or so dither fish that are also fine. NO white spots/ich that I can see on any fish. Tail is falling apart, fin clamp, losing color, scales/ skin falling off. Any ideas?
Jeff

Looks like a post attack bacterial infection. For scales and skin to be falling off, that's usually is a sign of attack from another fish. What other cichlids are in the tank and how large is the tank?

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

Hello. Thanks for the reply. I have a 90 gallon tank with dither fish and 4 other Cichlids. Red spotted Golden Sevrum, Chocolate, Yellow Acara, Electric Blue Dempsey. These are all juveniles, still very small. The only bully believe it or not is the Sevrum. He thinks the whole tank is his top to bottom. All others keep to themselves for the most part. They all have their own part of the tank....well accept for the sevrum.
I just wen to the store where I bought him, and I showed him my video and he seemed to think Ich,....so I did my first treatment at lunch.
If your theory is correct, what meds would ward off a bacterial infection?
Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[Aiken Drum]

Why did the pet store guy say it was ich? What symptoms lead them to that belief?

Did you show them something we haven't seen?

Is this a pet stores or specialist aquatics store?

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

Showed him same video. He seemed pretty sure even though I told him that NO OTHER fish had any white spots or similar symptoms. I did one treatment for Ich in my tank this afternoon. I can stop that and try something for a bacterial infection? Any recommendations? If bacteria, should I treat whole tank I(infectious/spread?) or isolate him on my 20 gallon quarantine tank?
Thanks.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I'm curious what lead them to say ich. There is nothing in the video to suggest ich.

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

Probably does not know any better. I didn't think Ich either. Did I now just kill ALL my fish by using Ich-X?
It was a pet store. There is only 1 true aquarium store in my area. I might stop by there after work and show the owner of the store if he is there. He has been in the biz for 30+ years. Probably a bit more knowledgeable.

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

He told me to turn my temp up to at least 84 F as well,....speed up the cycle. I'm guessing I should Leave my temp where it is ,....79F if we don't think Ich?

 

[Aiken Drum]

I think the guy in the store just wanted to tell you something so you would buy something.

Medicating fish is always stressful, so unnecessarily medicating to no benefit isn't a good idea. But its no more likely to kill your fish than it would if they had ich.

I would leave the temperature at 79f.

Ich X isn't something we haven't here in the UK. Not sure if its a prescription only medication here, or just a product not sold in the UK. Is it the hikari product i can find on the Internet?

If so, it's active ingredient is malachite green, which has "some" anti bacterial properties, so its probably having some positive effect, but not as much as genuine anti-biotic medications you can get over the counter in the US.

When/ if you change medication make sure it is either safe to use alongside what you have already dosed, or that the original medication has been removed from the water.

 

[Andy Sager]

It's actually not that unusual that the Severum is running the show especially if he's bigger than the other fish.
The Ich-X is not going to harm the fish but if you use it too often with no visible parasites, you can create a situation where the fish or pathogen will not respond to the medication in the future. If it were me, I'd remove the Geo to a hospital tank where you can treat with an antibiotic ( Seachem Kanaplex or Triple Sulfa if your water pH is above 7.2, maracyn 2 or Nitrofurazone if your pH is below 6.8 but if your water pH is between 6.8 and 7.2, I'd use a combination of Kanaplex and Nitrofurazone as directed. ) and once the infection is over, place the fish in your quarantine tank until it's fully recuperated and can defend itself again. The reason not to use antibiotics in a quarantine tank is that they can suppress the nitrifying microbes and since this fish is going to need quarantining for some time, that is not a good thing to have happen. If you need instructions on setting up a hospital tank, I address that here in post #2: Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?