Hello everyone,
History:
I have a halfmoon female whom I purchased (on Oct. 31 of this year), along with two other females (another HM and a crowntai) from a woman a few hours away from me who got them in a batch of Thailand imports. These ladies were from her sorority, and therefore they were somewhat damaged (just torn fins and minor scrapes) from sorority life, she said. Because she was selling, they had been jarred and unheated, so their color was dull and in the pictures they looked very sad. She assured me, though, that she had no serious health concerns and, as I had had extremely positive experiences with her in the past, I thought that sounded alright.
I had work the day she wanted me to pick them up so a family member picked them up for me and I didn't see the fish until they had been home for a few hours. The three were together in a 32oz soup container. One of the halfmoons was outgoing, so I named her Blossom. The crowntail was a darker color and "edgier" looking, so I named her Buttercup. The final female, another halfmoon, was very shy, so I named her Bubbles. (The PowerPuff Girls)
Immediately, I noticed a white, fuzzy growth on Bubble's dorsal fin, Buttercup seemed to have a small "hole" of missing scales, and that all three (especially Buttercup, the crowntail) looked a bit "wide" and bulbous around the front. I contacted the lady, who said she had not noticed the fuzz and that it was probably just a small fungus that would clear itself up with clean water and time. She also said that the bulbousness was just because the females were egg-bound.
I set up each female in her own one-gallon tank (treated with the appropriate amount of Seachem Prime) with a 7.5 watt submersible heater. I give my fish 25 - 50% water changes weekly, and 100% water changes as needed. About every three days I use a large pipette to suck out any uneaten food or large particles of waste.
At my LFS's suggestion, I began to treat Bubbles with Pimafix for her fuzz, and give preventative half-doses to the other two ladies. After a few days, the fuzz seemed to have fallen off of Bubbles and her color (as well as the other two's) started to come back, though she was not eating much (the other two were). As I left for school about three days later, I noticed that Buttercup (the crowntail and by far the healthiest of the three) still seemed bulbous, though now it seemed uneven and almost lumpy. By the time I got home (the earliest time I could've done anything), she was dead.
I kept treating Bubbles with Pimafix, but her fuzz came back and she still wouldn't eat. One night (about two days after the crowntail's death), I came to check on her as usual and the majority of her right side had essentially become a giant, open, red lesion, and the front area of her belly was washed-out, white, and puffy. Horrified, I (tried to) took pictures and sent them the the lady who sold me the fish. Just as horrified as I, she had no idea what to do. Again at my LFS's urgent suggestion, I rushed to add Melafix to her regime. Again, Bubbles seemed to improve, but after two days she unfortunately, but expectedly, died. This all happened in the first week or so of November.
For the next few weeks, Blossom, my remaining female, did very well. Her fins mostly grew back (though not completely; they still looked a bit ragged). She ate very well, was very active in her bowl, and was attentive and curious when I would approach her tank. Her color also imporved incredibly, though at one point, I feared she had velvet because of her coloring. Because she still ate and did not try to scratch herself, I did not worry too] much, though I kept my eye on her. Since I did not really know her true coloring, I was not too worried. She was doing really well.
Then, she became very lethargic and disinterested in everything, even food. She would barely swim around and stay near the bottom of the tank. I also noticed a small, white dot by her gills, but that may have been there before. Again, at the LFS's suggestion, I started up Pimafix and Melafix to be on the safe side, but she soon recovered and I assumed it had just been an off few days. Again, she was good for a while, but then, during a water change last Friday, she developed stress lines that included a thick, white line on the bottom of her body, and another across her lateral line (it looked almost like she was missing scales or had a big gap between the rows of scales). I have never had a fish of mine get noticeable stress lines before, even during a water change, so I kept my eye on her. After an hour or so of being clean and relaxed, the lines went away except for the bottom line and the "missing scaled" became almost unnoticeable so I assumed is was just stress. Yesterday she barely ate and today I noticed white PATCHES on her body. They, too, looked like missing scales (they are not fuzzy), but were only clearly visible from some angles. The lateral line gap game back, and the bottom line never left. Both of those are obvious from all angle. Now, when I moved her tank -slightly- in order to take a picture, she got stress lines! I did not even reach into the water or touch her, but she did. That was about an hour and a half ago. She has calmed some now, and still will not eat. She moves slowly, preferring to stay in one place. Her bottom line is still there, as well as a few other patches, but but her lateral seems almost normal.
I have no idea what this is. Is it related to the previous illnesses or is it something new? My velvet concern has mostly faded since it has been a few weeks since her color has been that way and I read that velvet kills fish in the first week.
Obviously, my most important questions are what is this and how do I treat it? My current, on-hand chemicals are Melafix, Pimafix, Seachem Prime, Stress Coat, Stress Zyme, and Aquarium Salt. I have a bottle of Paraguard on its way from Amazon. As far as medicines go, I would like to try and stick with Seachem products but I am open to anything that works!
I am also curious as to what might've happened to Buttercup, the crowntail?
Thank you so much and sorry for the long post.
-Ailey
IMAGES:
(and video)
w/ Stress lines:
http://img6.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=img0023wf.jpg
Since she calmed a bit:
http://img689.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=img0154wl.jpg
History:
I have a halfmoon female whom I purchased (on Oct. 31 of this year), along with two other females (another HM and a crowntai) from a woman a few hours away from me who got them in a batch of Thailand imports. These ladies were from her sorority, and therefore they were somewhat damaged (just torn fins and minor scrapes) from sorority life, she said. Because she was selling, they had been jarred and unheated, so their color was dull and in the pictures they looked very sad. She assured me, though, that she had no serious health concerns and, as I had had extremely positive experiences with her in the past, I thought that sounded alright.
I had work the day she wanted me to pick them up so a family member picked them up for me and I didn't see the fish until they had been home for a few hours. The three were together in a 32oz soup container. One of the halfmoons was outgoing, so I named her Blossom. The crowntail was a darker color and "edgier" looking, so I named her Buttercup. The final female, another halfmoon, was very shy, so I named her Bubbles. (The PowerPuff Girls)
Immediately, I noticed a white, fuzzy growth on Bubble's dorsal fin, Buttercup seemed to have a small "hole" of missing scales, and that all three (especially Buttercup, the crowntail) looked a bit "wide" and bulbous around the front. I contacted the lady, who said she had not noticed the fuzz and that it was probably just a small fungus that would clear itself up with clean water and time. She also said that the bulbousness was just because the females were egg-bound.
I set up each female in her own one-gallon tank (treated with the appropriate amount of Seachem Prime) with a 7.5 watt submersible heater. I give my fish 25 - 50% water changes weekly, and 100% water changes as needed. About every three days I use a large pipette to suck out any uneaten food or large particles of waste.
At my LFS's suggestion, I began to treat Bubbles with Pimafix for her fuzz, and give preventative half-doses to the other two ladies. After a few days, the fuzz seemed to have fallen off of Bubbles and her color (as well as the other two's) started to come back, though she was not eating much (the other two were). As I left for school about three days later, I noticed that Buttercup (the crowntail and by far the healthiest of the three) still seemed bulbous, though now it seemed uneven and almost lumpy. By the time I got home (the earliest time I could've done anything), she was dead.
I kept treating Bubbles with Pimafix, but her fuzz came back and she still wouldn't eat. One night (about two days after the crowntail's death), I came to check on her as usual and the majority of her right side had essentially become a giant, open, red lesion, and the front area of her belly was washed-out, white, and puffy. Horrified, I (tried to) took pictures and sent them the the lady who sold me the fish. Just as horrified as I, she had no idea what to do. Again at my LFS's urgent suggestion, I rushed to add Melafix to her regime. Again, Bubbles seemed to improve, but after two days she unfortunately, but expectedly, died. This all happened in the first week or so of November.
For the next few weeks, Blossom, my remaining female, did very well. Her fins mostly grew back (though not completely; they still looked a bit ragged). She ate very well, was very active in her bowl, and was attentive and curious when I would approach her tank. Her color also imporved incredibly, though at one point, I feared she had velvet because of her coloring. Because she still ate and did not try to scratch herself, I did not worry too] much, though I kept my eye on her. Since I did not really know her true coloring, I was not too worried. She was doing really well.
Then, she became very lethargic and disinterested in everything, even food. She would barely swim around and stay near the bottom of the tank. I also noticed a small, white dot by her gills, but that may have been there before. Again, at the LFS's suggestion, I started up Pimafix and Melafix to be on the safe side, but she soon recovered and I assumed it had just been an off few days. Again, she was good for a while, but then, during a water change last Friday, she developed stress lines that included a thick, white line on the bottom of her body, and another across her lateral line (it looked almost like she was missing scales or had a big gap between the rows of scales). I have never had a fish of mine get noticeable stress lines before, even during a water change, so I kept my eye on her. After an hour or so of being clean and relaxed, the lines went away except for the bottom line and the "missing scaled" became almost unnoticeable so I assumed is was just stress. Yesterday she barely ate and today I noticed white PATCHES on her body. They, too, looked like missing scales (they are not fuzzy), but were only clearly visible from some angles. The lateral line gap game back, and the bottom line never left. Both of those are obvious from all angle. Now, when I moved her tank -slightly- in order to take a picture, she got stress lines! I did not even reach into the water or touch her, but she did. That was about an hour and a half ago. She has calmed some now, and still will not eat. She moves slowly, preferring to stay in one place. Her bottom line is still there, as well as a few other patches, but but her lateral seems almost normal.
I have no idea what this is. Is it related to the previous illnesses or is it something new? My velvet concern has mostly faded since it has been a few weeks since her color has been that way and I read that velvet kills fish in the first week.
Obviously, my most important questions are what is this and how do I treat it? My current, on-hand chemicals are Melafix, Pimafix, Seachem Prime, Stress Coat, Stress Zyme, and Aquarium Salt. I have a bottle of Paraguard on its way from Amazon. As far as medicines go, I would like to try and stick with Seachem products but I am open to anything that works!
I am also curious as to what might've happened to Buttercup, the crowntail?
Thank you so much and sorry for the long post.
-Ailey
IMAGES:
(and video)
w/ Stress lines:
http://img6.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=img0023wf.jpg
Since she calmed a bit:
http://img689.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=img0154wl.jpg
