Sick Fish

[saz326]

I have a group of 3 P. Acei (2 F 1 M) in with P. Soulosi and Rusty cichlids.

The Male Acei developed some damage to his fins - just pectorial fins - no damage to tail, anal fin etc
I think this was due to swimming in and out of the rocks too eagerly chasing females.....

Anyway - this has developed into some worrying symptoms.
He is just about pineconing. He appears bloated and his scales are just starting to stick out. None of the other fish show any issues, and He is still wanting to eat.

I have been treating with melafix for the past 7 days to help with the fin healing - did a large water change and clean up and am intending to retreat with melafix in the hope that this is a bacterial issue..

He is normally fed on small cichlid pelets (vegetable based) and Spirinula (spelling?) flakes from JBL, with a starve day every week.

I am currently not feeding the tank in case he is bloated

pH - 8.0
GH - 15
KH - 13
no ammonia
no nitrite
nitrate 20-40

I cant think this is malawi bloat..

Any ideas what could be causing it?
And any suggestion on a treatment plan - do I need to get the hospital tank out and dose the water up?

 

[eggo]

could you post a photo of the effected fish

 

[saz326]

could you post a photo of the effected fish

I tried yesterday but he goes into hiding when I bring anything new out. I guess he is feeling super cautious. Short of removing the rocks which would up the stress I cant get him out infront of a camera

His fins are looking better and he is still coming to see what the fuss is when I open the lid. I continued to dose melafix
and have fed the tank sparkingly with spirinula only.

I'll try again tonight

 

[saz326]

http/s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu306/sarah326/?action=view&current=SickmalepAceifromabove.jpg

here you can just make out some low level pineconing. Doesnt seem to be getting any worse - fingers crossed.

http/s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu306/sarah326/?action=view&current=SickmalepAceibody-1.jpg

Here the fish looks mildly boated and he doesnt have the usual sparkle to his scales.

thanks all

why does light coloured sand get so dirty so quickly *sigh*

 

[eggo]

to me it looks like malawi bloat.

and i would move him to a quarantine tank if no other fish are showing symptoms has it will be easier to treat but not many survive this, try to feed your fish on a diet of less than 40% protein.

 

[eggo]

why does light coloured sand get so dirty so quickly *sigh*

if you havent already try to add a wavemaker/powerhead to get a good circulation of water to stop the detritus from settling

 

[saz326]

Luckily he is continuing to improve. As the only med i am using is melafix i will not move him yet. Should i need to use a stronger more targetted med then i shall do just that.

I havent fed anything high protein but the fish have been having babies and he has been chasing the fry... could eating the babies cause bloat?

Even my vegetable feeds have 43% protein.. Fed regularly would this do harm. Mostly feed spirinula but do feed algae wafers and cichlid pellets too. These have some fish derivatives in them.

 

[Malawi MaD]

Malawi Bloat is usually fatal if its not caught early( so you could be lucky) What's your feeding regime saz? How many times/How much/what food etc?? You can use Clout probably the best treatment available for bloat.

 

[saz326]

Well its good news in that the scales are nolonger raised. Huge sigh of relief.

Feeding regime is once daily during the week. Twice daily at the weekend with water change, clean up and starve day on monday.

I will feed 2 days spirinula flakes (jbl). 3rd day cichlid algae mini (tetra). Day 4 back to spirinula flakes then a mix of algae wafers (king british) sp flakes or cichlid algae mini until the starve day on monday. They dont get fresh food very often. Perhaps twice a month i will feed cooked peas (shelled) or cucumber.

Any advice on this?