White Cloud Dying! Doubt It'll Make It Through The Night

[lyolya]

in my 5.5 gallon i got 2 white clouds. i got the second one not more than a week ago. he seemed fine when i bought fim, but today this is what i noticed!! look at the tail area. its red and in the middle of it is like white fluff line. he/she has it aaall around the tail; it's like a red circle with a white fluffy line in the middle.

i do have a pretty strong current and sort of sharp branches, im thinking maybe it cut itself? and i have some fungus on my wood, could that infect the wound? or am i overthinking this?

seems pretty lethargic to me, just hanging around the very top of the tank and barely moving. not eating. i think he/she might die tonighy. but i really don't get what it is.

i don't really have medication but from ick. and also this was supposed to be my hospital tank in case a fish gets sick. i have 2 baby danios, 1 healthy looking white cloud and 1 cherry shrimp.

tank recently cycled, but i checked my water, it's 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia. didn't test for nitrate, but i change water every week so doubt it's too high. but i'll check.


can anyone help me please???

 

[lyolya]

actually if its fungus, maybe i could treat it with quick cure? it says ick and protozoan parasites. thats fungus right?

am i making the right diagnosis?

 

[primagen]

looks bacterial to me, most likely gram negative. i'd treat with kanamycin or maracyn 2 in a separate hospital tank, with daily 25% water changes and remed. the idea is to keep the water clean during treatment. did you cycle the tank with the white cloud? if so, that most likely stressed him and opened the path for infection. also, your fish need at least a 10g tank. it's also easier to keep water parameters stable in a larger tank, so there'll be less problems.

 

[lyolya]

primagen, thank you for your reply.

this white cloud was the second to go in, so it actually wasn't exposed to high ammonia and nitrites. i got some gravel from my LFS, so the whole cycling process was a joke really. i do have a 20 gal, but my half beaks tried to eat my white cloud, so that wouldn't work. i do agree though that this tank is probably too small for a white cloud, plus they like to be in groups, so i'm actualyl thinking of making it a microrasbora tank, or mayeb even a pea puffer tank. right now it's just to grow out my 2 baby danios.

my sick white cloud is almost gone, still breathing, but unable to swim good. i netted him out in a hospital set-up, which is really just a large glass jar with a heater and a sponge filter. and a sock with some gravel from my 20 gal. i guess i'll just let him die in peace. the wound up close he has looks much bigger and more like nipped even. it's strange because i didn't notice anything like this even a few days ago.

is this contageous?
i'm sad now, this is my first fish to ever die.

 

[primagen]

yes, it's contagious like most if not all bacterial infections. taking out the fish was the wise thing to do, as the other fish might peck at it after it dies and spread the infection directly to them.

 

[lyolya]

the fish has passed. still can't believe what just happened. this came out of nowhere!

tomorrow i'll bring the fish to my LFS and show it to them.

so would you recommend bying smth general like melafix and do half dosage just to make sure nothing spreads? or specific medication for gram negative? i do have the shrimp though, so id rather see if they have anyth natural that i can use for all.

is it as contageous as ick for example, or fish has to nip on the other fish to get it?

Edit: maracyn 2 looks good. safe for invertebrates and won't kill beneficial bacteria