A Devastating Week In My 48X12X15 :(

[N0body Of The Goat]

About 5 weeks ago, I added 4 Synodontis nigriventris to this tank, adding to an existing group of nine. About two weeks ago, Lionhead Cichlid "dad" moved in after killing his biggest son in the current brood and beating up "mum" a little (but not as much as during their first brood in October 2010).

On Monday and Tuesday, Lionhead Cichlid "dad" starts unusually surfing in the water surface current (lot of efffort for a fish with an evolved small swim bladder to combet the Congo River current), but seems like he is having fun.

Tueday evening I notice one or two of my Ilyodon xantusi are not just current surfing on the water surface, they have their heads slightly higher than their bodies.

No sign of ammonia or nitrite, but I'm worried, so I do a ~66% water change.

Thursday teatime, the true reason for unusual behaviour reveals itself, the Synodontis decora are completely covered in white spots. On closer inspection so are the Ilyodon, but no signs on the Weather Loach or Lionhead "dad." The secretive Upside Down Catfish appear clear too.

I raise the heater thermostat to 32C and add a half dose of Protozin (even though it may have been open for >12 months), raising the filter spraybar above the wter level for intensive rippling.

Friday I buy a new bottle of Protozin, but come home to find two decora dead. Given the heavy breathing by everyone , I question whether they maybe have Velvet rather than Ich, so I let the water naturally cool to 23C.

Saturday afternoon, I come home from work to find two more dead Syndontis decora and Lionhead "dad" dead. Just before dinner, another decora dead. After dinner, a Synodontis nigriventris dead.



Fish are dropping like flies, I've lost the father of 45-50 Lionhead Cichlids over the ~20 months I've had him and all but the largest of the decora youngsters I've raised from 3cm babies to chunky 8+cm catfish, whom I bought to introduce to my ~18cm specimen (they are very social for synos). The goodeids and their 7 fry are all covered in spots and I'm expecting the worst as regards the youngsters.

Feeling sick to the stomach, horrid introduction to what appears to be Ich after a timely visit from some experienced fishkeepers.

 

[fishprotector]

Je**s mate that is really upsetting to read

 

[Blubble37]

i'm gonna neeed more than one box of kleenex here :cry:

 

[Primous]

Wow! Real sorry to hear that. I hope things turn around soon.

 

[Wills]

Awww no that really sucks Really bad.... Hope the remaining fish pull through.

I believe Protozin can deal with a range of parasites including Velvet if thats what it is. It sounds like it has moved quickly through what is an undoubtedly well kept tank - just to double check, no white patches near the tails or white lips on them?

Wills

 

[KISSfn]

So sorry to hear...

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Cried myself to sleep last night, just like when Ruby our hamster suddenly became an old poorly girl last autmn and we felt we had to "put her to sleep" at the vets. Not feeling much better now, having not long ago finished a major vacuuming of the gravel and finding the last of the decora (who had grown to a chunky 12cm TL specimen from a ~4cm TL) dead, out of view under the Anubias bogwood.

So I'm back to "square one" like I was ~15 months ago, with one ~20cm TL specimen in my 5x2x2, which after buying discovered they do far better in groups (it was the last one in the shop at the time). Its not 100% definite yet, but I might well be giving this big "fella" to someone who already has one of a similar size and is on the lookout for more. In which case, I will then add my four Pyjama Synodontis to the 5x2x2, to go with my recently purchased 25+cm beauty Synodontis notata and my two Synodontis brichardi (that I intend to add another few to spread their slightly aggressive tendencies (I was planning to turn the 5x2x2 into a Zaire River rapids fish biotope anyway before this awful few days, my Barilius went to a good home yesterday to someone making a temperate Thai riverine biotope for his lovely Glyptothorax siamensis catfish).

Edit: Wills, no sign of any white patches near lips or any fins. The nigriventris that died yesterday was in an awful way when I got home from work, covered in spots and had what looked like patches of "lose dead skin" around its fins, a couple of others have this same syptom in a relatively minor amount today.

While this is my first known outbreak of ich since starting out in April 2010, the speed at which I've lost seven fish has shocked me, I had it in my head that as fishkeepers we have a decent sized time window to react and help the fish recover

 

[KISSfn]

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Wills]

the speed at which I've lost seven fish has shocked me, I had it in my head that as fishkeepers we have a decent sized time window to react and help the fish recover

Unfortunately I have experience of white spot all to much of it - pretty much every time I add fish, I usually add a dose of protozin for a few days just to clear things up in case now. I think for me its a mix of bad shops and the travel they go through

But that said 7 days is a really really odd time frame to loose fish to white spot, though if fish were covered in it each time one of them popped the parasites were building up a massive colony.

Loosing pets is awful and when it gets dragged out over a number of days/weeks it only makes it worse. I have been faced by some pretty dire situations in my tank, though luckily most have worked out eventually and harsh as it sounds all you can do is look forward and decide on the restock Takes your mind off it a bit I find and if you think of restocking with something totally different it is something to occupy you. Given your hard water what about a Central American cichlid set up

Wills

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Just done a quick recap of a post of mine regarding Synodontis decora, because I remember trying to get photos of my group to show the telltale signs of a true specimen rather than a hybrid, while the photos were unworthy of uploading I distinctly recall seeing no signs of spots on the catfishes' fins. This was around 20th Feb, so around two weeks ago, in which time each decora became absolutely covered "head to toe."

If memory serves me right, I must have moved Steatocranus "dad" in there on 17th Feb, after coming home from work to discover he had killed his biggest son and semi-beaten up "mum" in the nursery 620T. I'm kicking myself for not moving him to the 5x2x2 like I did in winter 2010 when he badly beat up "mum." I keep wondering was he secretly bullying the decora, was he perhaps carrying something from the 620T (although I have no visible evidence to support this) which contaminated the 4-footer, or was his death a result of the depleted oxygen levels when I initially rose the temp to 29C combined with the "bad water" effects of decora dying around him?

Another thought is was my stupid actions of not quaranting my four new Synodontis nigriventris a factor, my first non-quarantined fish for a while?

Some of you may recognise the forum names "MartinS" and "MatsP", both of whom visited me yesterday to collect my Barilius group and their perspective and advice helped me make a better informed decision, if I am going to have any fish survive in this tank. I am now dosing Protozin at full levels despite the 3-6 week Ilyodon xantusi; I've added 0.25g/l of Sainburys Course Sea Salt this afternoon (will add the same again tomorrow after work); the APS2000EF spraybar is now fully above the water surface for major rippling (~1200lph in ~100l of water); the temperature is moderately raised to 26/27C to partially speed up the Ich cycle without hopefully stressing the fishes' breathing too much).

Wills, If I have survivors, I will have a mainly Central American 20C riverine theme in my Rio240...
8+7 fry Ilyodon xantusi [I would worry about predation of the fry I want to breed from these if a CA cichlid was added, perhaps I'm "pigeonholing" too much here (although I believe some are very piscivorous)?]
1 Chaetostoma milesi (from MartinS yesterday, fingers crossed this one works out!)
4 Megalechis thoracata
1 Aborichthys elongatus (there's something about "Mr Squidgy" that stops me from advertising him, but the cool riverine setup will do nicely)
6 Puntius denisonii (currently advertised with some of my other non-African fish on AC, but while I have no suitable offers they will work fine in this 20C setup)

 

[Wills]

Sounds like you are in good hands

I would guess it was the new cats rather than the blockhead. But thats all it is Your doing your best for them so just hang in there and hopefully they will as well

Wills

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

You would not believe how relieved I was to see no new dead fish this morning, after a horrid four day run! I was convinced my Microsynodontis polli was waiting for the Grim Reaper last night, as it was unusually in sight and "treading water" in the flow of the current, something most of the perished decora group did.

Added their "day 3" full dose a while ago, along with another 25g of Sainburys Coarse Sea Salt disolved in boiling water and then made up to ~7l of dechlorinated tank temp water, dribbled in on the "firing line" of the exposed filter spraybar. Thermostat has been raised a little bit more to 28C, which should speed up the Ich cycle a little bit more and get them to the medication vunerable stage.

 

[scotty]

hope things get better for you mate