Is He Ill?

[foley69]

hi sorry to butt in but i have had a similar issue with my thread fin acara and recently seen it on my JD the only symptoms i have seem are the ripped fins nothing else is this similar to the problem in hand

 

[Davo86]

In this case i think the ripped fins are being caused by the keyhole scapping and scratching itself on objects in the tank, shredding its fins in the process.

Edit:, Also a high nitrite reading can cause increased aggression in cichlids which could be an obvious explanation for the problems with the JD and Heckelii

 

[foley69]

well iid have a nitrite spike which it was raised to 0.7 im just gonna keep on doing water changes till the levels are back on track

 

[Jimbo1984]

Hi all. Just to update, I did a large water change last night and then dosed the tank with flubenol.

Not sure whether to treat with something else aswell. What do you all think?

 

[Athena]

I've never used Flubenol but as it's for parasites (such as flukes) I think you are on the right track. I know you said you can't see any white dots - but flukes can be internal as well as external. Gill or body flukes are very hard to see, anyway - you have to look at the fins through light and you sometimes see a vague, whitish dot - sometimes only one or two will be visible to the eye. In your second pic down, I can see one on the fin, quite clearly.

Yes, it is quite possible that a parasitic infection has lowered its immune system, causing a bacterial infection too. This is often the way, where they start off with one thing and if it's not treated correctly and cured it then can snowball into something else.

Maybe do as Wilder suggests and use an anti-bacterial med along with the Flubenol?

Either way, hope your fish recovers soon!

Athena

 

[Jimbo1984]

Which would be better for this problem, Myxazin or Interpet No. 9 Anti Internal Bacteria? Looking at the bottles they both contain formaldehyde.

Or is it worth buying something else? I'd be gutted if I lost this fish.

 

[Athena]

I suppose it's personal preference really - you try something and if it works you tend to stick to it. I use the Waterlife medications for my fish and have always had good, fast results. So I can only recommend what I've had experience with, and that's the Myxazin. Someone else might tell you to use another brand.

You can use Myxazin along with the Flubenol, apparently, but ensure you are getting the dosage correct based on the volume of tank water, not the tank size itself.

Hope the treatment works and that the illness isn't too far along. Let us know if you see some improvement in your fish.

Athena

 

[minxfishy]

I would go with myxazin too, its a good anti bacterial, just as Athena says, make sure you get the correct dosage as this stuff will really knock your water stats if you overdose, in fact slightly underdose to be on the safe side.

 

[Jimbo1984]

Ok, thanks for the help. He seems a lot more active today, back to his old self. Doing some digging and more swimming about. He's such a friendly fish! I'll keep you posted...

 

[WILDER]

Good Luck bless him.

 

[Jimbo1984]

Hi all. I've been dosing the tank with Myxazin since Tuesday. He's been very inactive today, but came out this evening for food. He was immediately scraping though. I noticed if he's been sat around for a while, he develops these clear/whitish barely visible strands on his upper body which collect small particles of food/detritus. I mentioned this in a previous post. Is this excess mucus or fungus? It was really noticeable before as he's been sat still for a long time. He was very eager to scrape it off!

http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/treat6.htm

Hmm...

 

[minxfishy]

This isnt sounding good, if it is indeed what you think it is and only you can tell as we cant see him, then you will need to stop the meds you are using, do a 50% water change and run some new carbon in your filter for a few days before you can start the treatment.

 

[Jimbo1984]

What, for fungus?

 

[WILDER]

Dosn't sound lke fungus to me sounds more like slimecoat.
Does it look like he's pruducing more slimecoat as fish will produce more when there protecting themselves.
Has your ph changed.

 

[foley69]

just out of question do cichlids scratch off the subsrate every now and then because my JD an thread fin have done it once not all the time just seem em do it once each... and btw reli hope your keyhole gets better lovely little fish those guys might get some myself when i get rid of my convicts