Sick Rtbs

[black jack1]

I have a RTBS who for the past few days has been ill. He has been flicking/rubbing and since yesterday i have seen him crapping out whitish stringy stuff. He hasn't got any weird marks on his body apart from his gill which look a little sore, thats probably from flicking and rubbing not sure. I doubt hes been eating properly either. He ain't looking too skinny and hes colours look good. BUt hes just feeling like crap. I figured its probably some kind of internal bacterial infection and am treating him with Myxazin. He was swimming around yesterday but today hes just been hanging around under his bogwood. I have increased airation and the temp is just over 27C. His tank mate is a Banjo Catfish and they are both in a 20 gallon.

The water stats are ammonia=0 , nitrite=0 and nitrate=5.

I hope it hasn't progressed too far i have started him on med today because i couldnt tell what was wrong with him but when i saw the poo i thought maybe its internal bacteria.

 

[WILDER]

Like to look at the gill, red inflamed gills can be a number of things, but also can mean gill flukes which they can flick and rub with them as well, water stats are good so the red sore gill is not due to that.
With the flicking i'm more inclined to say flukes.
Any laboured breathing.

White stringy poo can be constipation due to a bad diet so lets take a look at what you feed the fish.
Also white stringy poo can mean bacterial infection or internal parasites, i would just try some shelled peas to clear him through for now.

http/article.dphnet.com/cat-02/flukes1.shtml

 

[black jack1]

Hi, i tried taking pics but my cameras too crap and it comes out blurry. They look a little red, a little because he is black and its kinda hard to see...but theres nothing coming out of them or anything and they are intact and are not even swollen. In terms of his breathing he does have rapid gill movement. I've had increased airation since yesterday because he was going to the top for what looked like air. Since i added extra airation he immediatly stopped. One thing i can't explain is his poo. Do you reckon it could be a secondry infection? Do you think i should carry on with the Myxazin? It seemed like the best bet, I can get melafix/pimafix if i can use them in conjunction with Myxazin tommorrow! I don't wanna lose this guy, he used to always put on a show for me!

 

[WILDER]

Read that gill flukes link i left as i thinking flukes.

I would try and get this med, as the waterlife med for gill flukes is crap, my fish have had them, and they are nasty things that cause alot of damage, and can cause bacterial infections on top.
plus flukes are quite hard to get rid of.


http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...bb88ecadf913bd8

I would treat for the flukes, only time they flick and rub is with the bacterial desease columnaris, that why i think there is more to it than a bacterial infection.

 

[black jack1]

Well i only got him a few days ago and since i got him, he was eating veg pellets/algae tabs/flakes but he hates bloodworms as do i. Other than that ...i had a re check on the gills and still can't see anything. No paracites unles they're microscopic. I did a large waterchange yesterday too, i can't add salt as the Banjo's going to get ticked off (wherever he is). I'll try getting that med asap. I'll also see how hes reacting to the current med, i just went to see him and he actually came out to say hello...first time today after i've given him the med, hope he gets better. So you recommend JBL Gyrodactol? I'll order it from this site but i hope hes still around for me to use it on him. Thanks

 

[WILDER]

Or look for signs of whitespot, yes gill flukes are hard to see, but in the med details it says, remove the fish from the tank, wrap a cloth round the fish that has been soaked in tank water, gently pull the gill flagment back with a pair of tweezers and with a magifying glass see if you can see white worms there.

Ok, good luck hope he gets well bless him.

 

[black jack1]

I ain't got a microscope, and he hasn't got whitespot none of that salt sprinkly thing going on and he does rub from around his gills. I just ordered that med you suggested...hope they deliver quick. I',m thinking that the other symptom he is getting are from a secondry infection so i hope the Myxazin can keep him going for now until the JBL stuff arrives.

 

[WILDER]

Fingers crossed, good luck.

 

[black jack1]

Just an update. I treated him this morning with Gyrodactol. I have stopped using Myxazin incase it rects badly with the Gyrodactol but am instead using Pimafix which is less likely to. His poo has returned to normal, although he is still not eating. He seems to be sucking algae of the glass although i can't see it. One thing though, the front bottom part of his body has gone a white/silvery colour. It like hes rubbed of the black part. This is part on his gills too. The rest of the top of his body is normal...including his fin...he only uses the front two to swim the rest are clenched.

 

[WILDER]

You mean he's clamping his fins, thats stress, it does sound like a parasite if he has lost his colour and rubbing on things, give the med a while, does the patch that faded look shiny.

 

[black jack1]

Yeh, he has his fins clamped, i just had a check now and hes got the a little open but still not normal. And the color the patch looks kinda silvery so yes it is abit shiny. Its not a totally silvery/white patch because its has tiny specs of black withing it too. This isn't found anywhere else on his body, onlly under his body and only the front half at that. The rapid gill movement has slowed though.

 

[WILDER]

Good that his heavy breathing has slowed down, just check water stats, forgot to mention did that med say anything about its affectiveness is only good in a certain ph.

 

[black jack1]

Hi, yeh it said that do not use when PH is under 7, mine is around 7.4 up from 7.2 because you have to do a 30-50% water change before you add the med.

 

[WILDER]

I wish they would print these sort of details in the articles, hate companies that do this, just want you to buy the med, then it can be useless.
http/www.jbl.de/uk/aqua/uk_10038.html

 

[black jack1]

Yeh i know, I was quick to check the PH when i read it as ive had PH around 6.8. I think it was due to the bogwood, so i got rid of it just incase for the duration of med and put a cave in for him.