Can anyone identify wnat is wrong with my fish?

ddevane

Hi all

I have an 80Litre tank for the past year.
I do a 10% water change every week.
I don't overfeed
I have two gourmai's, 3 cardinal tetras, a small Tiger Barb and two small Clown Loach in the tank.
I test for Ammonia, Ph, Nitritie, Nitrate every other week

I have two problems:

1. One of the gourmai (I think that is what he his) has been unwell for a few weeks. He tends to lie on the bottom and swims to the top for food and almost sinks to the bottom again. He has this black discolouration on one side that I don't know what it is. I have taken a photo of it as I have tried every other way of identifiyig what this could be so I can care for hi,m.

2. My second problem is that I lost a small angel fish yesterday who has been in the tank for a year. My nitrates were high (just under 110). Water changes has sorted that and today levels are back to normal. I have no idea why thi ssuddent spike happened and would welcome any advice.

Thanks to you all

Declan

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aquakid

Swim Bladdwe and this is a very hard to treat condition. you can try surgury

Twistersmom

Unless I am mistaken, I believe you have some type of cichlid there, not a gourami.
I have had a few fish develop these sores, I was not able to cure them, but I think your best bet would be to use Maracyn and Maracyn- Two together. The meds together are broad spectrum and wil ltreat for both internal and external bacterial infections. Good luck!
Not sure why the nitrate spike. Test your tap water for nitrates. Also, maybe try 25% water changes weekly, maybe that will help.
With the sick fish in the tank, I would do water changes every few days. Clean water can help the healing process.
One a side note, do you know the ph of your tank?

1077

Fish is Severum Cichlid. Problem appears to be bacterial. Ditto for maracyn. Follow directions exactly as instructions on package indicate. Reduce feeding. Vaccum substrate during water changes. 25 percent water changes with dechlorinator added to water before new water is used in the tank.

ddevane

Thank you both very much. I live in Ireland and unfortunately we are unable to get Maracyn (indeed we are unable to get all antibiotics without prescription).

I have ordered Kanaplex from an online store (fingers crossed), which is a blended kanamycin based medication. Do you think this will work? (If anyone knows an online store selling Maracyn with overseas shipping, please let me know).

I have heard that antibiotics can reset the cycle in a tank. Is this true? If so, I assume it best to set up a smaller tank for isolated treatment or should i treat all fish just in case as surely they too are susceptible? If my tank does go into recycle is there anything else I need to do?

1077

Can't help with medications,some affect the water in different ways, but I would as mentioned,follow the directions closely . I have also seen fish improve with water quality improvement. Were it me,(and it ain't) I might try small 10 percent water changes every other day for a week and observe the fish . If no improvement is noted,then you can always try the antibiotic available to you. Or perhaps you could consult vetrinarian for help. Do try and use gravel vaccum once a week to remove any uneaten food or poop that may collect on the bottom for this will cause water quality issues. Try feeding the fish once a day and only what you actually see the fish eat in a minute or two. This will require feeding a small amount at a time and waiting to see that it's eaten before offering more. DrsFosterSmith.com might be able to ship overseas but I am not clear on regulations for shipping such things as medications. Prolly best to call a vet who might be able to recommend proper medication. In any event, hopefully the fish will recover and regular WEEKLY 25 percent water changes along with vaccuming the gravel will prevent further problems. PS I have two severums, a green and a gold such as yours and am purchasing a red faced specimen today if fish store hasn't sold it already. The severums I am caring for get a wide variety of foods with emphasis on vegeatable matter such as Romain lettuce,Spirulina flake, and or spinach leaves. Also fed them Cichlid foods that are high in protein along with frozen chpped krill or blood worms once or twice a week. Also a good cichlid pellet food. Ocean Nutrition makes a very good food for cichlids. If you tanks temp is much above 78 degrees I might slowly lower it over a few days to 74 or 75 degrees. This will hopefully slow down the bacteria. I would not move the fish from the tank it is in as this could further stress the fish. Do try the water changes for medications will be more effective and helpful if water quality is maintained. Good Luck.

ddevane

Again, thank you 1077. I found my receipt when I nought the fish and it is indeed a Golden Serverum. I never knew they were Cichlids. In any case, he is a very placid little guy. I have been making th ewater changes in in the absence of the antibiotics (still waiting for them to arrive in) I am using melafix and primafix and it seems to have made a small difference but he still continues to sit on the bottom and the rear occassions he ventures up he seems to sink down very fast indeed. Another thing I did is remove my charcoal. I found that it had virtually disintegrated in the mesh bag and when I ran it under a tap before I threw it out I could see lots of powder dislodging from it. Might be possible that this is what is causing the black 'soot' like deposits on this wee guy in the pictures. Thnaks again. What a greta forum. Declan