Weird issues in 2 of 3 tanks

[Shinyshiny054]

I bought 3 apistogramma, 1 male 1 female agasizzi (sp?!) and one female cacutoides (again, sp?!) Within a week, my other fish started displaying worrying issues. In one tank, the male apisto is prolapsed. He lives with conga teras and checkered barbs. Two of the barb females look pretty bloated. In the other tank, weird growths have started appearing. I know I should have quarantined and treated but I buy from the a lot and haven’t had issues before. What’s done is done, I’m now just looking for advice on the issues, so i know how to treat

 

[GaryE]

There's nothing to be done for a prolapse. That one looks very bad.

The praecox appear to have Mycobacteriosis - fish tuberculosis. That can only be proven with a biopsy or an autopsy, but if it were in my tanks, I'd consider it that. It is a fatal, communicable and untreatable disease.

You are not having luck with your fish right now. Mycobacter infections can brew for years, and are usually a chronic problem that radically shortens fish lives. The sores open when the disease is spreading, and it can survive bleach. I euthanize affected fish.

 

[Shinyshiny054]

Oh no!!!!! I have several fish in with the rainbows, should I separate them all now or is it too late? Is there anything I can do for my remaining otos, gourami, hillstream loach, rummy nose tetras and apistos? Or are they all now doomed?

In terms of the apisto with the prolapse, what caused this? Are other fish in the tank at risk? Two of the barbs look a bit bloated, though not pineconing - is the issue related? Should I just leave him and see if he pulls through or is he a risk to the others? I only have one spare tank, the other functioning tank is healthy.

This is a sad day

 

[GaryE]

It is sad news, and I'm sorry to be the messenger. I would absolutely love to be wrong, but those are praecox rainbows and their tb rates are notorious.
The only way to exercise short term control is to euthanize affected fish. They probably had the disease from when they were very young, before you even saw them. It works slowly, unless a sore opens or unless a diseased fish is eaten by tankmates. It's probably unrelated to getting new fish.

The sore is open, so the fish has to go. Beware, as in rare cases, it can transfer to you if you have open cuts and are run down or immune suppressed. It's rare, but it happened to lucky me years ago.

A fair percentage of fish seem to have tb, and its main effect is that a fish that might live 10 years dies around 3 or 4.

For the other tank, a dewormer might be in order. One that affects both helminth and nematode worms would be best, but I can't comment on names as every country has its own brands. That's a shot in the dark though. The prolapse could be (if this is the male you had already) from the female walloping him there. A newly introduced couple can do that. Or, a prolapse can just happen at random.

 

[Colin_T]

The dwarf cichlid has thread worms.
One rainbowfish has a gill tumor (pink growth under the gill cover. This is usually Fish TB.
The other rainbowfish has a wound on its dorsal section near the fin. This could be Fish TB or the start of anchorworm.

I would deworm the fish and don't put your hands in the tanks if you have any open wounds, cuts or scratches. Then wash your hands well with warm soapy water after working in the tank.

Section 3 of the following link has info on deworming fish.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Shinyshiny054]

So following the TB diagnosis, several of the rainbows have died. The rest of the tank look good as new. I suppose I just need to let them see out their days then rip the tank down and start from absolute scratch. Weird thing is, many have become quite amorous; my honey gourami has made a bubble nest and I saw one of the two girls embrace the male earlier today. The hillstream loach are also dancing, and the apisto pair are flirting a lot.

In the other tank, I’ve discovered that the worms in question are Callamanus which seem to be notoriously hard to treat. I have ordered some meds but the apisto male is so emaciated, I don’t think he’ll last much longer. I also have checkered barbs in there; male is fine, but 2 of the 4 females look like they’re going to explode. They must be so uncomfortable. The Congo tetras seem untouched, could it just be their larger size hides infection? Seems that if one fish gets it, anything with a stomach can fall foul. That’s 2/3 tanks in complete tatters. I’m so gutted

 

[Colin_T]

Camallanus thread worms can be easily treated with Levamisole or Flubendazole. Fish can have these worms and show no signs so treat all your tanks for worms at the same time.

If anymore rainbowfish die, take their body to a fish health lab or fish vet and get them necropsied (animal autopsy). Ask them to look for Mycobacteria. That is the only way to confirm the disease.

Mycobacteria doesn't affect fish like a normal disease does. It's a slow growing bacteria that is more like a tumour in behaviour. It grows slowly and gets bigger over time (months to years depending on the size of the fish). Eventually the growth damages the organ it's growing on and the fish dies suddenly from internal organ failure. Up until that point they will be acting normally, including breeding.