Flesh Rot

[jamie11971]

I have had a two foot community tropical tank for a few years now. I try to keep the pH neutral, temp at 23 degrees celcius, and don't check any other factors. I change 1/3 of the water every two weeks. I have 4 kuhli loaches, 2 black kuhli loaches, 2 julii catfish, 4 harlequin rasporas, 4 glo-light tetras and a red tailed shark. Also heaps of rocks and plants(I don't know what). Black growth(no idea what) covers the rocks.

Illness showed it's head about 6-9 months ago. A julii(a 3rd, now deceased) came out in a few areas with what I could only describe as rot. The skin was opened up and a white area of the fish's insides showing. Where it was nearer the gills, the colour was red and white. Every now and then the fish would swim wrong. Upsidedown, spinning around, that kind of thing. Both the other julii's showed symptoms which later cleared up. About a month ago I lost my female siamese fighter the same way. Now my shark is showing symptons. It's got the rot on one side and the other day I saw it swimming wrong. What can I do?

 

[Bloo]

to TFF !
Sorry to hear you have all these problems

How do you clean and maintain your filter ?
What filter do you have ?
Do you dechlorinate your water ?
You say you try to keep your pH neutral - how do you do this ?
How many US gallons (or litres) is your tank ?

I strongly suggest you get a test kit that reads at least ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - check those levels and let us know what they are. I can recommend the API range (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals).

I'm not sure what the flesh wounds are, but the are almost certainly related to some water issue and maintenance. Disease usually rears it's head in a number of ways but quite often if the water quality is not up to scratch.
During periods of disease and illness you should do water changes more often - or as the medication describes.
You might want to change your tank clean regime to 20 - 25% once a week.

I would suggest raising the temperature to 24 or 25.
23 is on the very low side for tropical fish.
My tropical tanks are at 26 - 27.

Before medicating your fish, make 100% sure that you have diagnosed correctly.

The black growth on the rocks is probably just Black Brush (Beard) Algae - usually forms under low light conditions and takes hold on slow growing plants.
Very hard to get rid of, but don't use "algae removers" - additional chemicals to your tank are no good for your fish and will only ever work for as long as you use the product. The moment you stop, the algae returns. If it becomes too much, scrubs wood and rocks and replace plants.

 

[WILDER]

You might have a parasite if the fish is spinning about, not the writer of the information below.
Gill Rot



Symptoms:

Symptoms include breathing difficulty, gasping, lethargy, and discolored and eroding gill filaments. The fish may hover at the top of the aquarium, gasping for air. If left untreated, the fish will suffocate and die.



Cause:

Gill Rot occurs as a result of low oxygen content in the water, which is often the result of overcrowded aquariums or ponds. Such a scenario is a problem because the heavy loads of organic matter, high nitrate levels and high temperatures allow the Fungi of the genus Branchiomyces to infect and destroy the gills of your fish.



Treatment:

Perform an immediate water change in an effort to increase the water’s oxygenation. Gravel or pond bottom filters should be cleared of debris. Added aeration should be supplied. Formalin is the medication of choice for Gill Rot.

 

[jamie11971]

Thanks for the replies,

How do you clean and maintain your filter ?
What filter do you have ?
Do you dechlorinate your water ?
You say you try to keep your pH neutral - how do you do this ?
How many US gallons (or litres) is your tank ?

My filter? I don't know what the different kinds are called. Mine is small and it doesn't filter particles out. It's just a couple of substrates(they look like those green kitchen scourers) that water is pumped over. I only clean the substrates and filter when I do a water change. When I do this the substrates are really slimey. I clean the substrates with the tank water, and the rest of the filter with tap water.

I dechlorinate the water I add to the tank. Lately I've swapped from just a dechlorinater to a solution which claims to also remove ammonia and detoxify nitrite and nitrate. The product is called Prime.

In between water changes I add a small amount of water with pH up in it to neutralise the water.

The dimensions of my tank are 600mm x 290mm X 290mm. I think this gives me about 47 litres of water. I fill it up to 20mm from the top.

 

[WILDER]

No wonder that you are having problems it's because you are overstocked for a 10gal tank, the red tailed shark needs a 40gal tank, check water quality as I bet the filter is coping with the load of fish in the tank.

 

[Bloo]

OK, a few things you will need to start doing to stop this from continuing :

- Start cleaning your tank once a week with a 20 - 25% water change
- Increase the temperature slightly to around 24 or 25.
- Stop using Prime - other people here have had endless problems with it. Just use a normal dechlorinator such as "Stress Coat".
- Stop using any PH adjuster - this is not good for fish unless you have some sort of extreme pH problem. What is your pH from your tap ? Anything between 6 to 8 will be absolutely fine for the majority of community fish - and certainly yours. A stable pH is far better than a chemically adjusted fluctuating one.
- You should rehome your shark or take it back to the shop - they really are not suited for 10 Gallons.
You can just about get away with the amount of fish you have left in your tank to keep things OK - technically you'd be over the 1" per gallon guidline but Kuhli's are low waste producers and the tetras & Rasboras aren't very high waste producers either. But this will only work if you maintain your tank.

Once a tank has established, there is no reason you should ever need to remove ammonia or nitrite (because these levels will always be zero) - unless you are not maintaining your tank or have a filter crash. Nitrate levels are fine up to anything around 60ppm.

To treat the fish if the flesh rot continues - you could perhaps try some Interpet No8 (fungus in fin rot medication) - but someone else might have a better suggestion.

Hope that helps

 

[jamie11971]

Thanks for the replies,

Hope that helps

Yes, that helps a lot.

One thing though, I'm not sure how I might give away a diseased shark. Any suggestions?

 

[Bloo]

You can't rehome a diseased fish I'm afraid but you can start with the tank maintenance and perhaps treat the tank with a dose of medication and once they are all healthy again, ask you lfs if they will take the shark back.

Good luck