Skin Eating Condition - Rainbow Cichlid

[Boomer24]

Hello all

I have had my cichlid for about 4 years now. For the last 6 months or so she has been slowing rotting away. I have tried several different things to fix the problem with no avail.

Its started as a tiny white opening looking like a cut and has basically spread over time. It looks as though something is eating away at the scales on her. One the scales on 1 side of her body are almost completely worn away from whatever this is. Recently it has spread to her gills and there is literally a giant hole in her face and i can see the muscle undernear. Its really gross!

I want to note here that the reason why i havent euthanized her is because other than this rotting she shows zero signs of being sick or hurt or unhappy. She eats a ton of food and plays with the other fish and flirts with her boyfriend in the tank all the time. I am still hoping that this can be figured out and dealt with.

I have tried several different fish rot medicines with no luck at all. Tried new filters, changing the water every day, etc. Adding salt.

Hopefully someone has some ideas that I can try. I have been searching the disease directories and I cant find anything that sounds quick like this. I thought it was tuberculosis but i am not sure that is the case because other than the skin rot shes totally fine.

I am pretty sure there is something external eating the skin off of her like a parasite or something.

Oh also - very important - none of the other fish in the tank are having this problem. There are 5 or 6 fish that have been in this tank with her for 3+ years and they are completely fine.

Last thing - this has been going on for several months - its not something that started yesterday and now is rapidly spreading. Its been going on for at least 6 months maybe even longer. Seems to be spreading fairly slowly

Also - all tank stats are completely normal. Its a 30 gallon tank and the other 9 fish in the tank are 100% fine and have been for quite some time.

OK Thanks

 

[betta989]

ooo that must sting i think you need to change the water and give it some medication (im not so sure i havent had that hapen)

 

[WILDER]

Poor thing she a right mess.

Rotting skin can be bad water quality, columnaris, ulcers that ulcerate into a hole, parasites.

Any signs of flicking and rubbing, darting, erratic swimming, laboured breathing, excess mucas, red sores, or red pin prick marks on the fish, red inflamed gills, or pale gill with excess slime.

For now I would issolate her and use antibiotic. Antibiotics wipe the benefical bacteria out in the filter.
Don't bother with the salt its not doing anything.

Holes in the gills can be a sign of fish tb.Any black colouration on the body or iris of the eye.
Get you some symtoms if fish tb.


Your tanks sounds overstocked.
Can you post your water stats please.

 

[WILDER]

A link to tb.
http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html

Head & Lateral Line Erosion



Symptoms:

This disease is marked by open pitted wounds around a fish's head and along the lateral line, as if something is slowly eroding away the flesh. It is very similar to the freshwater disease Hole-In-The-Head. Head & Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE) is not fatal in the short run, but if the disease continues to progress, the fish will stop eating and become lethargic. Furthermore, the open wounds caused by HLLE make the fish susceptible to other infections which in turn leads to the further deterioration of its health. These secondary infections are usually the cause of death.



Cause:

Unknown cause, although it is thought that there may be several contributing causes including stray voltage in the aquarium, poor water quality and environmental conditions, high nitrate levels, lack of vitamins and poor nutrition, stress, parasitic infestation (the protozoan Octomita necatrix), or using carbon. Some fish, like Tangs and Surgeonfish, seem to be genetically predisposed to this disease.

The lateral line aids fish in detecting small microvoltages emmited by prey or predators during muscle contraction. The induced voltages from any submerged coil device such as a powerhead, heater, and pump can all add voltage to the tank. This stray voltage can irritate a fish's lateral line if it's constantly stimulating it and eventually lead to erosion of the skin overlying this structure.



Treatment:

Medications do not seem to do much for this disease, although the use of medicated food is recommended to prevent bacterial secondary infections. The best intervention, however, seems to be improving the water quality and supplementing the fish's diet with vitamins, particularly vitamins A, B, D, and E as well as iodine. This can be done several ways. Food can be soaked in water with a drop of liquid multivitamins, such as Selcon or Zoe. Alternatively, fish could be fed fresh or frozen vegetables, such as broccoli, zuchinni, and peas.

The importance of good regular aquarium maintenance cannot be stressed enough. Eliminate any stress-inducing factors. It might also be a good idea to add a grounding probe to the aquarium if you suspect that there may be stray voltage in the aquarium.