Dead Cory - Please Help!

[robyngunston]

Dear All,

I desperately need your help....I have been battling with my tank over the past few weeks and have been treating it for skin/gill flukes as my fish did not seem to have any symptoms other than regular flicking and rubbing themselves against the gravel.....I am currently on the last day of treatment and last night I noticed my shwatrz Cory - Conan was just lying in one corner and he appeared very pale.....on feeding the others he did not seem to want to eat anything...I then moved him to a little isolation tank which was quite easy as he didn't put up a fight at all....I even tried to hand feed him some algae wafer by putting it right near his mouth but he didn't seem interested at all he just lay on top of it?
This morning when I woke up he was dead On closer inspection of his body I noticed he had a yellow/brown mark on the underside of him.....does anyone know what this could be?? His mate seems to be slightly discoloured as well and I am worried I might lose him the same way? At the moment he is still swimming around and eating well but worried this may not last long Another this I noticed in Conan before he died was his body seemed paralyzed almost like parts of it were stiff? Any help would be great!!!

Sorry......

my tank stats are as follows:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 12.5
PH - 7
Temperature = 25
Internal filter um....anything else?

 

[WILDER]

The yellow brown mark deos it look like a dusting or is it fluffy looking, sorry for your loss, R.I.P.

 

[robyngunston]

The yellow brown mark deos it look like a dusting or is it fluffy looking, sorry for your loss, R.I.P.

It didn't look fluffy as far as I could tell....it quite of looked like a dirty mark?

Thank you

 

[WILDER]

I would watch out for signs of parasites.

 

[robyngunston]

I would watch out for signs of parasites.

I have been treating the tank for skin flukes....would they leave a mark like that?
I also noticed tiny small grey/white round things have been appearing on the side of the tank, do you have any idea what these could be?

 

[WILDER]

If it did have a dusting of yellow to brown varnish on the fish it's velvet, which also can attack the gills, are you sure they have gill flukes and don't have velvet, there is a med called anti slime and velvet by interpet.

 

[robyngunston]

If it did have a dusting of yellow to brown varnish on the fish it's velvet, which also can attack the gills, are you sure they have gill flukes and don't have velvet, there is a med called anti slime and velvet by interpet.

No not sure?? To be honest I couldn't see any symptoms at all other than them flicking and rubbing themselves against the gravel?? That was why I came to the conclusion of gill flukes/skin flukes? I was treating the tank for bacterial infections when they started flicking and rubbing themselves? I noticed this on the Shwartz's tummy after death.....he also appeared to get very thin before he died....and weak...but I suppose most illnesses would do that?

 

[WILDER]

Velvet can cause them to go thin, i think you might have velvet.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/heal...thprotist.shtml

 

[robyngunston]

Velvet can cause them to go thin, i think you might have velvet.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/heal...thprotist.shtml

I was just looking up an article on Velvet and it says they would die very quickly....my Panda has been sick as well for ages...with no visible signs...and seems to be doing better?? My Sterbas has been sick for the longest as well..but he seems to have good days and bad days?? I am confused

 

[robyngunston]

Velvet can cause them to go thin, i think you might have velvet.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/heal...thprotist.shtml

I was just looking up an article on Velvet and it says they would die very quickly....my Panda has been sick as well for ages...with no visible signs...and seems to be doing better?? My Sterbas has been sick for the longest as well..but he seems to have good days and bad days?? I am confused

Thanks for the link Wilder, very helpful
The symptoms do sound correct, with the exception of the patch....well not as far as I can tell anyway? With teh Sterbai it would be diifcult to tell though as he is totally black...and on the Shwartz that died it was on his belly so I only noticed it after he died when he was upside down?

How would you be able to tell the difference between gill/skin flukes and Velvet if the symptoms are so similar?

 

[WILDER]

It's not easy, but columnaris can come in yellow and brown patches plus infect the gills.
http/www.nippyfish.net/flexibacter.html

 

[robyngunston]

It's not easy, but columnaris can come in yellow and brown patches plus infect the gills.
http/www.nippyfish.net/flexibacter.html

thanks again
To be honest this all started with my black Sterbas Cory becoming ill.....he was just found almost dead in the tank one evening when I got home from work.....I managed to isolate him in another tank and the next morning he seemed a lot better...he then developed a white patch almost fluffy looking which was treated with Protozin (which I believe is used to treat velvet as well) this was used on the whole tank. He got a lot better but never became himself....this was about three months ago...he is alive today and as I say has his bad and good days...? Some days it appears as if he can't keep his tail completely on the gravel..like it is floating up behind him....and he used to spend a lot of time by himself and lying still doing nothing...but he is still alive?? I then lost one of my Panda's very suddenly, he was always the energetic one and I never suspected a thing....I was then advised to treat for bacterial infections? So.....that is what I did...treated the tank for bacterial infections.....in the last days of the treatment I noticed all the fish seemed to be flicking and rubbing themselves against the gravel.....my little Similis and my two Shwartz's seemed to have red gills as well......so of course I was then told no....it is skin/gill flukes as once it was safe to change treatments that is what I did.....thereafter I lost my Swartz ......so you can understand why I am now wary to try something else but at the same time I am worried if I do nothing they will die anyway
Throughout...I have tested the water and all the stats have remained the same??

 

[WILDER]

By the sounds of it the first sick fish had columnaris.
See parasites and bacterial infections like columnaris can show the same symtoms, even can flick and rub with colunmaris, plus also columnaris can attack the gills, so it not easy trying to find which one it is.
Is it possible to get some pics up to take a look at.

 

[robyngunston]

By the sounds of it the first sick fish had columnaris.
See parasites and bacterial infections like columnaris can show the same symtoms, even can flick and rub with colunmaris, plus also columnaris can attack the gills, so it not easy trying to find which one it is.
Is it possible to get some pics up to take a look at.

Can try....but battle to catch them....if they are lying down it is in the back

 

[robyngunston]

By the sounds of it the first sick fish had columnaris.
See parasites and bacterial infections like columnaris can show the same symtoms, even can flick and rub with colunmaris, plus also columnaris can attack the gills, so it not easy trying to find which one it is.
Is it possible to get some pics up to take a look at.

Okay here are some pics....who should I send first??
Here is Dino...this is my Sterbai who has pretty much survived everything....

Ping....