Help! My Malawis Are Dying One By One

[jamesmacc]

hi folks, im in the real sh1t. as some will know my fish started to scratch heavily on rocks etc and then devoloped little air bubble looking things, i had done a water chnage the day before so it could have been bubbles from the water change temp drop but i travelled 240 mile round trip to my local fish shop to get some ich treatment. did a 75% water change today and then added the treatment. now my auloncara jacob went upside down and breathing slowed. i moved him into a small goldfish bowl with airstone as i dont want to put him in my 120l as it has a few fish and i dont want the disease to spread. there are also little white worm things in the water which is aparantly caused from over feeding.
please please please help, i dont want my fish to die

 

[jamesmacc]

checked water stats last night and they were fine. done a water change about 1 hour ago. could it be swim bladder from overfeeding? if i have them worms and this problem with the fish upside down maybe i need to cut feeding to once a day

 

[jamesmacc]

also noticed some of the fish have developed a slight cloud over the eye. my auloncara jacob died

 

[Fishy friend2]

Could you please fill this out



Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[jamesmacc]

Could you please fill this out



Tank size:385l
pH: 8
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate: 10ppm
kH: no tester
gH: no tester
tank temp: 25 degrees

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):iratic behavour,scratching on wood and sand, flickering, all gathered at top of tank at surface but no gasping, also some have their head in the corner of the tank and a couple on the bottom. some have slight cloudy eye, i think there may be ich,some look like they have mouldy patches, they dont seem to be pooing, there are some very small white worms in the tank. my fish have always swam towards the lower end of the tank but a few days ago my ndumbi red top was holdinng and they started to all stay at the top, i thought she was giving them agression. she spat a few days later and nothing changed. i think i was overfeeding them and thats what caused the worms and maybe i have given them swim bladder. also the mrs describes them as looking stoned and then they have a burst of energy. i did a 75% water chnage today and cleaned all the filter intakes and spray bars, does the tank with 40ml of ich treatment. a few hours later my jacob went on his back and lay there with slow breathing. i moved him to hospital tank but he died

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 50% every week, done 2x 75% this week

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: bio balls, ceramic rings, medium and fine sponges. dosed with ich treatment

Tank inhabitants: see my signature below

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): moved plec from 120l tank to this tank a week ago, also started leaving magnetic cleaner stuck to the glass

Exposure to chemicals:

 

[jamesmacc]

my firefish ice got cloudy eyes over dinner and is now upside down on the bottom of the tank...please help i dont know what to do, at this rate my whole tank will be gone by tommorow

it looks like he is tryin to poo and its coming out very slowly, looks like its body is coated in some kind of fur

there is also clear pieces of stuff lying on the bottom that have come ooff the fish, looks like scales or bits from its eyes and there are quite a few lying on the bottom of the tank

 

[jamesmacc]

my mpanga just died and my f1 malaunas eyes are clouding right over and he looks like he is giving up

 

[Malawi MaD]

This sounds like it could be columnaris James Has their body or head got cotton wool like patches?

 

[jamesmacc]

This sounds like it could be columnaris James Has their body or head got cotton wool like patches?

yes they their bodys do. what is columnaris and is it gonig to wipe my entire tank? its realy stressing me out

 

[Fishy friend2]

Here you go

•Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth, Fins rapidly disingrate, starting at the edges
Gray areas around head and gills, As the disease progresses the gray lesions may change in color to yellow/brown/red, Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
•Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while acute can kill within a day. It is contagious so isolate sick fish. If more than one fish shows symptoms then treat the entire tank. Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II, API Erythromycin, OR API Triple Sulfa, combined with Jungle’s Fungus Eliminator (if possible).

http/www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73333

 

[jamesmacc]

Here you go

•Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth, Fins rapidly disingrate, starting at the edges
Gray areas around head and gills, As the disease progresses the gray lesions may change in color to yellow/brown/red, Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
•Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while acute can kill within a day. It is contagious so isolate sick fish. If more than one fish shows symptoms then treat the entire tank. Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II, API Erythromycin, OR API Triple Sulfa, combined with Jungle’s Fungus Eliminator (if possible).


http/www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73333

i have raised my temp to 29 degrees to kill of the ich but if they have columnaris then it says that temperature will make it thrive. a couple of the fish have white mouldy patches and the rest have what looks like small salt grains which im told is ich

 

[Malawi MaD]

It can be very deadly yeah, Salt baths can help also but everything fishy friend has said is helpful and spot on.

Potassium Permanganate can also be used, but this is not a treatment for the inexperienced and you must not walk away when using it and I also highly recommend having the neutralizer on hand - hydrogen peroxide (have to watch the solution strength as there are three strengths of HP available). This treatment can kill in minutes if not handled correctly.

 

[jamesmacc]

It can be very deadly yeah, Salt baths can help also but everything fishy friend has said is helpful and spot on.

Potassium Permanganate can also be used, but this is not a treatment for the inexperienced and you must not walk away when using it and I also highly recommend having the neutralizer on hand - hydrogen peroxide (have to watch the solution strength as there are three strengths of HP available). This treatment can kill in minutes if not handled correctly.

all these things are items i can not get hold of in under 2 days, i had to travel 240 miles just for ich treatment. i dont even know anyone with aquarium salt that i could use

 

[Squidward]

What ich treatment have you used?

Esha 2000 will treat ich and other skin parasites (which is what columnaris is).

I must say though, that I find it strange that that all your fish have it at once. I would expect one or two fish to have it and then pass it around the tank. (That's what happened with me).

I still wouldn't rule out some sort of poisoning.
Are you sure byour test kit is accurate? Mighjt be ammonia?
Or have you used something else in the room? Paint? Windowcleaner?
Maybe someone used your water bucket for something else and you didn't know about it?

 

[Squidward]

It can be very deadly yeah, Salt baths can help also but everything fishy friend has said is helpful and spot on.

Potassium Permanganate can also be used, but this is not a treatment for the inexperienced and you must not walk away when using it and I also highly recommend having the neutralizer on hand - hydrogen peroxide (have to watch the solution strength as there are three strengths of HP available). This treatment can kill in minutes if not handled correctly.

all these things are items i can not get hold of in under 2 days, i had to travel 240 miles just for ich treatment. i dont even know anyone with aquarium salt that i could use

If you got it mail order would that not be easier?