Real sick but hanging on central American cichlid

[vaindioux]

Also one of its eyes had a lot of flesh exposed on the top.
This has healed pretty well.

 

[Andy Sager]

Epsom salt works the same in fish as it does in humans. It's a muscle relaxer. The anus has a sphincter muscle that keeps it closed so the epsom salt helps relax that so that anything in the intestines can flush out. Whether that is dead worms or the intestinal lining due to a lack of eating, all that stuff needs to come out in order to make the fish recover. You are correct that neither Kanaplex or Epsom salt will " cause" parasites but the Epsom salt will help aid in releasing them from the inside. There is a good chance now that some of the dead stuff in the intestines is decaying inside which is causing a gas to build up. That needs to come out. The epsom salt can help this. The proper dose for Epsom salt in a tank ( vs a bath) is 1 tablespoon per 20 gallons of water to start. If no response after 7-10 days, increase to 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons of water.
It would be highly unlikely that this would be a swim bladder issue because you used a medication that helps heal many swim bladder issues. It's more likely a gas buildup than an organ issue. So basically the fish needs to take a big " dump" to rid itself of what's inside him. It's not that the fish is constipated. It's that there is no new food to push out what is already in there. After adjusting the level of Epsom salt, watch for a big excretion. Make sure you clean it all out after it happens.
The good news is that the area by the eye is healing so the cause of it has been remedied, just not the total healing. If the fish is not eating, which if you had a full belly full of gas you wouldn't be hungry either, is not as big a concern as you make it out to be. The fish doesn't feel well. It doesn't want to eat. Just because you want it to eat does not mean it will eat. If you try to feed him and the fish refuses to eat, all you are doing is polluting the water with uneaten food. Personally, I wouldn't try feeding him until after there is that post epsom salt " dump".

 

[vaindioux]

Ok, so i will put the second dose of Kanaplex today.
I added Epsom salt per your recommandation.
What about water changes with the Kanaplex and epsom salt?
I never leave uneaten food in a tank and i stop feeding a fish as soon as it seems full.

Thxs

 

[Andy Sager]

Ok, so i will put the second dose of Kanaplex today.
I added Epsom salt per your recommandation.
What about water changes with the Kanaplex and epsom salt?
I never leave uneaten food in a tank and i stop feeding a fish as soon as it seems full.

Thxs

Follow the Kanaplex directions for water changes and just add epsom salt adjusted to the water you are replacing.

 

[vaindioux]

Andy

Amphi passed.
I m devastated but also glad his suffering is over.
I m actually crying.
I m never ever getting such a smart, intelligent, attaching fish like him.
From now on it’s danios, tetras and the likes.
It’s not the same when they pass.
It took a lot of time, effort, and money from me, you and my wife to try to save him.
I don’t regret any of it.
You taught me a lot.
I want to thank-you very much for all the help.

Best regards

Pat

 

[Andy Sager]

Andy

Amphi passed.
I m devastated but also glad his suffering is over.
I m actually crying.
I m never ever getting such a smart, intelligent, attaching fish like him.
From now on it’s danios, tetras and the likes.
It’s not the same when they pass.
It took a lot of time, effort, and money from me, you and my wife to try to save him.
I don’t regret any of it.
You taught me a lot.
I want to thank-you very much for all the help.

Best regards

Pat

I'm sorry to hear. It's always tough to lose pets. The pain may be worse now but you may feel different in the future. Having an appreciable interaction with something as simple as " A fish" hopefully makes you understand that they are not just some "stupid animal". That applies to Danios , Tetras and the like as well. No, they are not going to wrap their fins around you to give you a hug but if you really observe, they also interact with you.
Relatively early in my fish keeping career I was raising Oscars. Oscars are extremely intelligent fish. I had one that would cuddle in my hand when I was cleaning the tank. I had another that would grab onto my thumb, gently, when my hand was in the tank. In one of my old books on Oscars, there was a story of a man in Germany that taught his Oscar to pull a string which rang a bell when the fish wanted to eat. These are not the actions of a dumb animal for sure. It made me understand how every fish is different and some make better connections than others. I eventually ended up with 13 breeding pairs of Oscars of different color forms. While it was a mistake to have so many, it was also a good lesson for me. So what we do is learn from what happens and move forward. Hopefully, you learned that you need to act faster when your pet(s) are having issues. Time is very valuable. Things can go bad quickly. You don't always have days to fix things. If you still have the body and have the stomach for it, I'd be curious if you could do an autopsy and see if when you opened the body, gas was released. That would show whether my diagnosis of the rotting worms inside the fish was correct. ( The symptoms had all the markings of that but it's always nice to know if A) my diagnosis was correct and B) if there was something else going on inside. )
In the future, I strongly suggest that all new fish go through a quarantine period in a separate tank from the main tank for at least 6-8 weeks to ensure that you don't introduce non genetic diseases/conditions into the main tank and depending on what fish you get, if your store has not done so, you de-worm any bottom fish or larger cichlids that typically stay close to the bottom. This will save you a lot of grief with your tank(s) .
This is a post I wrote on quarantine and hospital tanks that may help you. Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?

Once again, I wish this had a better outcome.

 

[vaindioux]

Andy

I appreciate the good words.

Anyway to answer your question about doing an autopsy i just can’t.
I asked my wife and she can’t either.

I can Fedex it to you if you want at my cost in an insulated box if you want.

I honestly wouldn’t mind knowing what killed him also.
It would definitely help other fish you or me might have to help (Especially you).

Thxs

Pat

 

[vaindioux]

Andy

I m sending you a private message.

Pat

 

[Andy Sager]

Andy

I m sending you a private message.

Pat

Check your PMs.

Andy

I appreciate the good words. I m a very resilient and a pretty tough person.
I have put up with some seriously tough situations in my life and faced them.
When it comes to animals, i m weak.
Just can’t help it.
I have asked my wife to euthanize small pets or animals suffering outside as i can’t.
Anyway, i was going to bury him in my backyard, as stupid as it might sound.
I have a cat buried in my yard already.
Put him in a tough box to prevent wild animals from digging and opening it.
Anyway to answer your question about doing an autopsy i just can’t.
I asked my wife and she can’t either.
I have him in a Tupperware on my back porch and it’s 32 degrees, he ain’t going to decompose.
I can Fedex it to you if you want at my cost in an insulated box if you want.
I can keep him frozen overnight in my second freezer where i keep only drinks and ship tomorrow.
You are in Florida and me Georgia, not far.

But i am wondering what you will do with him afterwards?
I m not asking you to burry him but i hate for him to be thrown in the trash like this.
Some nicer way.
I honestly wouldn’t mind knowing what killed him also.
It would definitely help other fish you or me might have to help (Especially you).

Let me know

Thxs

Pat

For those who are curious, please know that NO, do not send me your dead fish. I am not set up as a laboratory for doing testing. If you do want to have experts do an autopsy on your fish, I suggest looking for Veterinary schools located close to wherever you are. They will be better set up for doing this kind of work. Some schools may even do it for free for the students to get supervised experiences.