Lost 8 African Cichlids overnight

[Soaup]

I lost 8 cichlids last night all of which were covered in like a while slime the next morning, I have no idea whats wrong in the tank. One of the cichlids had his insides turned out and it didnt look like an injury or attack. I lost my breeding femal Auratus who was 4 years old. Im at a huge lose Please anyone i need any advice. Oh and i still have about 7 still in the tank what should i do to save them??

 

[tttnjfttt]

Can you please post your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, tank size, and tank mates?

 

[Soaup]

The PH is 7.8, Temp is 84F, Ammonia is 0.25 ppm. I lost a rusty a kenyi auratus banded leoprirus, 2 unkown spotted cichlids. a yellow lab and a blue cichlid also unk. Currently there are 2 auratus M and F. A Kenyi a banded leoprirus 2 albino looking fish with yellow heads unk. I dont have any info on Nitrites and Nitrates i dont have a test kit here with me it has been borrowed. Im unsure if that would be the problem. I lost a fish 2 nights ago and he had been looking sickly but i was unable to pull him from the tank because he was hiding in a large shell. I also pulled a pleco after he was beaten up by one of my cichlids i will let you know how he is doing if he starts to take a turn downhill. The tank size is 55 gallons.

 

[Def]

White slime sounds like velvet. If they get that, they're as good as dead. Look closely at the rest of your fish for either very tiny white dots (much smaller than ich) or for a shiny white coating that unsurprisingly looks like velvet. If you see it, turn the tank lights off, cover the tank with a blanket to keep the light out and treat with protozin. You'll probably lose the rest of your fish though.

 

[Soaup]

Come to think of it, I took a pleco out 2 nights ago, and i do recall looking at him and seeing a few white spots on him very small similar to what you might be talking about. He is down in a 20 gallon in my basement now. Im not sure how he is going to turn out and well they beat him up. Most of the fish were covered in the white film. Out of the 6 remaining one isnt looking to good but he doesnt seem to have any signs of velvet and the others like fine and healthy. Can i get the medication at a pet store and if so, is it worth treating? Do i have a chance at saving any of them? Its like the bubonic plaugue in my tank i was finding bodies everywhere i had to dig them up it was horrible.

 

[Bloo]

If it is indeed velvet, here is a great article on the whole disease.

Good luck with your plec.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Actually, if they are covered in slime, it is most likely cosita, another parasite, which is also sometimes called slime disease.

Not the author of this...
Costia

Symptoms:

Infected fish have soft, film-like skin turbidity. A grayish white film of excess mucous covers the entire body of the fish including the eyes. Severe infestations can lead to skin inflammation and deterioration. Reddening of the skin and bleeding, most often occurs on the underside of the mouth and the pectoral area of the body. Sick fish often rub or scratch against objects in the aquarium in an attempt to relieve irritation. Severely infected fish may become reclusive, listless, lie on the bottom of the aquarium and stop feeding.


Cause:

The parasitic flagellates Costia necatrix and Ichthyobodo necatrix. Costia is a small bean-shaped flagellate which attaches tightly to all areas of the skin, destroying the flesh. This parasite can only survive for approximately one hour without a host and does not tolerate temperatures above 86 - 90 F.


Treatment:

Raising the water temperature to 86 - 90 degrees may be helpful if your fish can tolerate the high temperatures. Quick Cure, Formalin, Malachite Green and Copper Sulfate are the drugs of choice for Costia. Costia infestations are highly contagious. All fish, including the aquarium, should be treated.

 

[Soaup]

Thanks, yeah i raised the temperature up to 88 and have a blanket over the tank. My LFS had no medication and were completely oblivious as to what was wrong. They also told me the nitrate/nitrite test kits were for salt water tanks and that was not a problem. Anyone know whats up with the test kits. I think they are just very uninformative.