Geophagus surinamensis problems

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amquel

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Jan 20, 2003
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I recently got a distressed Geophagus surinamensis from my lfs and have been trying to nurse it back to health. It was tankmates with some rather nasty critters from Southeast Asia that had it cowering in fear at the very top of the tank. Its fins were pretty beat up and had a majority of the scales missing around the base of the tail (from being bitten.) I've been involved with aquaria for most of my life and have never seen such a hearty fish! It's been in quarantine since I got it (around 3 weeks) and had large infections around the wounds which have since subsided after regular doses of Melafix. The fish eats well and is as active as other South American cishlids that I have. The problem that it is having now is that it seems to have infections popping up on other parts of the fish that had no noticable wounds before. There is nothing in it's quarantine that could cause abbrasions and there are no other fish with it. These "infections" are raised white bumps that look exactly like the infections that were around the tail. I'm sure it is not ich because the bumps are several millimeters wide and the water temp is 82. Also no fish in the tank have any signs of ich. I'm concerned this could be some sort of parasite or possibly the result of diet. I've been feeding it Matrix sinking pellets and frozen white mosquito larvae. It will not eat any type of flake food unless it is red in color and sinking, any type of floating pellet, frozen beefheart or spirullina sinking disks. I have not tried brine shrimp, however. Any suggestions are welcome. I did quite a bit of searching and haven't come up with much info at all on the species. It is difficult for me to take a picture of the fish since it's quarantine area is basically a large net suspended in one of my aquariums. My normal quarantine tank has Labidochromis caeruleus fry in it (what timing!)
 

Tiger15

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Jan 20, 1999
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shirley.stormloader.com
If they are white bumps severl mm large and do not affect the fish appetite, then they could be lymphocytes, which are virus infection . You just hope the fish will shed off the infection itself because virus is incurable, but fortunately, lympohcytes don't seem to spread.
 
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