Is this too far gone?

[MattW]

A young male Sawbwa I bred last year has recently hit a bad patch. All colour has pretty much gone, the stomach has shrunk in, and fins are clamped. I do have a spare 10L tank that I can use for quarantine/medication available, as I can't treat the whole tank, as shrimp and snails inhabit it as well. I'm now wondering if I should try a course of medication or remove the fish and humanely euthanise it. If I were to give it some medication, what would be the best to go with? I did have some fish a couple of years back be infected with FishTB; however they had heavy breathing issues, while this one does not.

You can see the difference in colour between my eldest male and this fish in the 1st pic.

 

[MattW]

Put him in a quarantine tank and dosed Esha 2000, which is out of date. Better than doing nothing, I suppose
Not accepting any foods either. I have ordered some Esha NDX as well, but whether I will be able to dose it in time is something I don't know

 

[MattW]

Things are not looking good at all. Ive lost a third of my sawbwa colony already, and another one has heavy breathing and wide gills. I'm now down to one male out of 3, and 2 females have also died. I don't know what to do. The original fish got slightly better after the Esha 2000, but then took a turn for the worse and died, and another one was given Esha NDX (anti-parasite) medication and died the next day.. At this rate, my whole sawbwa colony will be gone by next month . What's weird is that the infected fish do not eat at all.

 

[Naughts]

Oh dear, it’s very disheartening when this happens. Sorry I can’t offer any advise.

 

[MattW]

Gonna order some Esha Gdex as well. I'm setting up a bucket next to the tank and will be removing all the remaining Sawbwa into that. Then start a 3-day Esha 2000 treatment, and then Gdex when it arrives.

@Naughts
Quick question before I put them in the bucket, should I do a quick salt dip on all the fish too?

 

[Naughts]

I would think that would be stress without benefits.
Keep on top of your large, frequent water changes until this stabilises. And maybe in the future avoid the species that have succumbed in case any pathogens continue to lurk in the tank.

 

[MattW]

Fish are now in fresh water along with Esha 2000

The 2nd video shows how heavily it's breathing and its gill plates are wide open

 

[MattW]

Just found it dead. Whatever this is, it doesnt waste its time

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've lost most of my original sawbwas to something similar, but they were pretty sickly when they came in. I noticed the gourami picking at another dead one today, and there are still two of them with the shrunken bellies. Hopefully whatever it is isn't contagious, as I have a new colony on the way Tuesday.

 

[MattW]

I've lost most of my original sawbwas to something similar, but they were pretty sickly when they came in. I noticed the gourami picking at another dead one today, and there are still two of them with the shrunken bellies. Hopefully whatever it is isn't contagious, as I have a new colony on the way Tuesday.

I reckon Sawbwa are more susceptible to bacterial/parasite issues than other species. I think overall, around 40 Sawbwa have lived in my tanks since 2022-23, both bred and bought. I've had mysterious holes develop on the stomach, multiple fish affected by TB, breathing difficulties, prolapsed anus, bloating, and even not eating..

It's a shame as I love these fish, but with the recent issues happening Im wondering if I should give them up. I know I preach a fair bit about them on the forum, but they are an underrated fish (if they work)

 

[MattW]

Managed to pick up Esha Gdex today. The Sawbwa in the bucket have not shown any symptoms since the last one died. However, one of the Giraffe loaches had lost all colour and had a strange red line internally across its body. So I made the decision to put the sawbwa back in with the loaches and dosed the Gdex. It's a 5-day treatment plan with 3 days of dosing (day 1 full /day 2 & 3 half).

Reading the included pamphlet about symptoms & dosing, I found that 4 out of 5 symptoms listed my fish have had. This treatment is listed to be "Effective against skin flukes, gill flukes, tapeworms and flatworms". Perhaps one of these is the cause of all my problems? I hope this medication works

 

[Innesfan]

For any of those parasites you would see symptoms that you are not describing. I personally would not resort to meds until I had a pretty good idea what the dx was. This doesn't sound parasitic to me. More viral or bacterial.

 

[MattW]

For any of those parasites you would see symptoms that you are not describing. I personally would not resort to meds until I had a pretty good idea what the dx was. This doesn't sound parasitic to me. More viral or bacterial.

Ive previously dosed bacterial medications on affected fish, and they did not improve at all, sadly. I know it's not the right thing to do, but after losing half my colony already, this is my last resort I suppose within 3-4 days, I'll find the answer.

I'll grab a pic of that pamphlet to look at, as I appreciate any help with this matter

 

[MattW]

4 & 5 are the main sysmptoms Ive seen in every fish, as well as clamped fins. The majority have also had discolouration & been rubbing against plants