Help Me Out Here. 2 Fish 2 Completely Different Ailments.

[CrazyAirborne]

ok so first things first, tank has been set up for over a year. This Rainbow Cichlids fins have been deteriorating for months and months, no matter what I do. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about fish, but I dont know what else to do for him. Ive tried two different fin rot treatments, and all they do is kill my floating plants, and dont affect him at all. He is one of my original fish, and he is my biggest, and I feel bad for him everyday looking at the condition of his fins, and knowing how great he could look compared to now. His fins have been in the state they are now for at least 3 months.

and now this guy is my newest addition, hes a Blue Acara, he was pretty beat up when I got him, the store told me he was shipped in a single bag with like 4 other males, and they beat the crap out of eachother in transit.

for about a month now, ive noticed no matter how much he eats, his belly is always looking underfed, and then more recently, ive noticed his tail area has this wierd curve in it. you can see it in the pics. the curve is always there no matter what he is doing, and it doesnt seem to affect his eating or swimming in any way. he is always first to the top at feeding time, and is one of my favorite fish, merely because of his inquisitive nature. Im going to try to find some internal parasite meds for him 2morow to see if that will help him at all.

any and all thoughts are appreciated, im hoping some of the great fish experts are still around this forum to help me out. thanks everyone.

 

[minnnt]

IMO the Rainbow looks like he has suffered fin rot that wasn't successfully fully treated and that is how his fins will stay. I could be wrong though (and probably am!) but if they look 'healed' then i doubt they will return.

The Acara would look to have some kind of internal parasite. Treatment is definately needed i would say. Especially given the info you have with regards to food and feeding habit? Is the curve in his spine? It is often common with fry that are kept in too small a grow out tank for too long. Livebearers are sometimes born like it, but with Cichlids, the small tank is usually the cause i have found. It won't affect the fish as you say, but just looks terrible.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

IMO the Rainbow looks like he has suffered fin rot that wasn't successfully fully treated and that is how his fins will stay. I could be wrong though (and probably am!) but if they look 'healed' then i doubt they will return.

The Acara would look to have some kind of internal parasite. Treatment is definately needed i would say. Especially given the info you have with regards to food and feeding habit? Is the curve in his spine? It is often common with fry that are kept in too small a grow out tank for too long. Livebearers are sometimes born like it, but with Cichlids, the small tank is usually the cause i have found. It won't affect the fish as you say, but just looks terrible.

yeah I have a feeling my rainbows fins might be like that forever he always had issues with his fins, but it was never this bad. it doesnt seem to affect his behavior at all so thats good at least. i wish there was something I could do.

the Acara is going to get parasite treatment asap. I dont know if his curve is related, but Im pretty positive it wasnt this obvious when I bought him (or I wouldnt have)

thanks for your thoughts Minnnt.

 

[minnnt]

Hmm... I bought a tank that came with an EBJD and never even noticed that he was like a boomerang It was no problem to the fish and he just went about his daily business perfectly fine.

BA's can be stunning fish when in full health and colour.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm going to agree with minnnt, I think. The rainbow certainly shows no signs of having fin rot atm, I'm not sure what else you can do

My best guess on the acara would be some sort of internal parasite or infection as well.

It's awful when you have fish that are sick and you just can't pin down why or get them better

Let us know how they get on.