Emaciated Fish

[Lorraine313]

Hi there,

I keep, Platys, guppies and albino catfish

I used to feed them every other day, but they are now dying, due to extreme weight loss. There are no other signs of illness.

I am now putting a little food in 2 times a day not excessive as dont want any wastage.

The ones that are extremely thin are barely eating and are getting shoved away by the ones that appear well. My PH was was high, amonia etc tested normal, and could not understand what was making them ill so have done a 70% water change. I have yet to recheck as only did it the other day. Will check water again tonight. Can anyone advise on the cause of drastic weight loss in fish?

Hope to hear soon, Lorraine

 

[WILDER]

Are you sure you are feeding enough.
Weight loss can be due to old age, internal parasites, external parasites, bacterial.
Any fish producing long stringy white poo or clear mucas poo.
Can you see any red worms prutruding from anus.
Check the fish anus to see if its enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish ever suffered from a bent spine.

 

[LauraFrog]

If it's largely livebearers this will probably be either parasites, TB or the parasite/bacterial complex.

What happens in the latter is the fish is weakened by parasites. This causes weight loss, stringy white poo or pooing mucus like Wilder said, and you will sometimes see the inflammation of the anus. Then once they have weakened the fish, it gets invaded by an opportunistic bacterial infection, which kills it. If you treat with antibiotics (tetracycline, two days) then antiparasitics (praziquantel, two days) then five days' rest with good food, then another two days in praziquantel, they often recover.

The other possibility is fish TB. It's very common due to poor husbandry by LFS/LPS. It causes emaciation, bent spine, lethargy, sometimes lesions or sores on the body or finrot, often with dropsy shortly before death. It is unfortunately incurable.

With the corys, are you using any bottom feeder pellets? If you just feed flakes, the livebearers are probably eating most of the food before it sinks to the bottom. Use an eyedropper to put some on the gravel for them, then distract the other fish with more flake. Otherwise, try them on some bottom feeder food.

 

[Colin_T]

if the fish have lost weight in a few days then it could be hexamita or coccidiosis or another internal problem. If they have been losing weight over the course of a month then it is probably intestinal worms.

 

[Lorraine313]

Are you sure you are feeding enough.
Weight loss can be due to old age, internal parasites, external parasites, bacterial.
Any fish producing long stringy white poo or clear mucas poo.
Can you see any red worms prutruding from anus.
Check the fish anus to see if its enlarged or red and inflamed.
Any fish ever suffered from a bent spine.

I have noticed string white poo coming from a couple of them actually, have not seen any worms at the moment, I have now increased feeding a little twice a day although the ones that are extremely thin are not eating much at all, and are rapid in movements, and there colouring has become dull, the platys tail area so to speak is extremely thin and begining to get crooked, whilst the guppys stomach seems to be shrinking.

 

[Lorraine313]

If it's largely livebearers this will probably be either parasites, TB or the parasite/bacterial complex.

What happens in the latter is the fish is weakened by parasites. This causes weight loss, stringy white poo or pooing mucus like Wilder said, and you will sometimes see the inflammation of the anus. Then once they have weakened the fish, it gets invaded by an opportunistic bacterial infection, which kills it. If you treat with antibiotics (tetracycline, two days) then antiparasitics (praziquantel, two days) then five days' rest with good food, then another two days in praziquantel, they often recover.

The other possibility is fish TB. It's very common due to poor husbandry by LFS/LPS. It causes emaciation, bent spine, lethargy, sometimes lesions or sores on the body or finrot, often with dropsy shortly before death. It is unfortunately incurable.

With the corys, are you using any bottom feeder pellets? If you just feed flakes, the livebearers are probably eating most of the food before it sinks to the bottom. Use an eyedropper to put some on the gravel for them, then distract the other fish with more flake. Otherwise, try them on some bottom feeder food.

Will give the antibiotis a try, am feeding the tank with both flakes and pellets for the catfish/loach. Apart from the thiness in th body, tje rapid movements and their colour becoming dull, I can see no other signs off ilness although as both yourself and wilder has said I have actually noticed white string poo, which I have never thought to look out for until now, I have currently added salt to the tank but am unable to find a shop at I can buy anything for internal parasites from so will now being searching on line, I appreciate the advice.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's worth calling your local vets for the meds if you get no joy locally, not all of them will treat fish but some do.

 

[WILDER]

There this med you can buy online for internal parasites, camallanous worms.
It's best to worm your fish anyway.
It's hard to say fish tb wiith out more symtoms and tests done on a dead fish.
Will leave a tb link for you to read.
Here the internal parasite med.
[URL="http/www.thegreenmachineaquatics.com/mal...ol%20001/198936"]http/www.thegreenmachineaquatics.com/mal...ol%20001/198936[/URL]

TB Link.
http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html

 

[LauraFrog]

Hey Wilder, does levimasole treat all internal parasites or just camallanous worms? (The link is dead but I'm assuming that was levi?)

 

[WILDER]

You can only get levaimsole from a vet in the uk I think.
Here the link again, some links don't work when you edit a post.
http/www.thegreenmachineaquatics.com/mal...ol%20001/198936

 

[Colin_T]

Levamisole Hydrochloride will treat camallanus worms and a couple of other types of intestinal worms, but it doesn't treat everything. Tapeworms need to be treated with Praziquantel and certain threadworms need a different medication again.

 

[WILDER]

I've copyed and pasted the info incase the link dosn't work.

Sera Nematol


Sera Nematol is a very effective remedy against nematodes such as Camallanus, roundworms (Capillaria) and discus pinworms (oxyurids) for fresh and salt water fish. A sensational R & D success: sera med Professional Nematol is the first ornamental fish treatment against Nematodes that may be sold freely. It is based on a patented Emamectin/solvent complex, highly effective and easy to dose. sera med Professional Nematol is particularly effective against Camallanus and round worms of the genus Capillaria, which mainly occur in angelfish and discus. It can also be optimally used against pinworms (Oxyurida), dreaded by discus keepers. At the same time it combats the small copepods that Camallanus uses as intermediate hosts. Result: With sera Nematol a well tolerated and highly effective ornamental fish treatment that can be sold freely is now available for the first time! It is a liquid and therefore can be dosed easily and precisely.



Dosage for sera Nematol:

Add 1 ml sea Nematol per each 40 litres of aquarium water. Distribute the treatment on the watrer surface from the dosage cup while stirring it into the water with a spoon or staff. Aerate the aquarium well during the treatment, switch off UV-lamps and do not filter through active carbon. A water change of at least 80% must be carried out after two days (or during the treatment if the water gets cloudy). You can combat larvae that have hatched from the eggs in the meantime with a second application of sera Nematol three weeks later.



From £11.89