HELP ! jewel cichlid sick ! (with pictures)

[Coler]

^ yup.

what kind of test kit are you using ? how many water changes are you doing and how much water are you changing ? it is hard to see how you could have the worms (probably planaria) at 5 ppm nitrtes.

how do you know the tank is not cycled ?

pima & mela will not necessarily clear up fungus particularly if water conditions are poor. equally the white patch could be a bacterial infection. again, pima & mela may not help if it is a severe infection and/or if water conditions are poor.

I would be doing large daily water changes until you see improvement; if no improvement within a week, or if it gets worse I would consider medication; you need to establish if bacterial or fungal; a better picture would help us help.

Visual inspection should tell you if the spine is straight or not. I think jm is asking you this to establish whether your fish could have fish TB.

 

[Rbishop]

^^ Yep.

 

[eylk]

so all i have to do is maintain good water quality and my fishes will heal?

can it be due to external parasites?

thanks

 

[Coler]

Not necessarily; it would be nice to make that guarantee but unfortunately not possible to do so.

If you maintain great water quality there is a) far less chance of your fish becoming sick in the first place and b) those little problems that may be picked up are likely not to require medication.

I don't see anything from your posts that indicates external parasites from what you have described. It sounds more likely to me to be either fungal or bacterial infection, and the fish does look quite sick.

Again, what kind of test kit are you using ? Without a good liquid drop test kit you can not be sure what your water reads at. Paper strips are useless. The white worms do indicate you have poor water conditions, most likely high nitrates at a minimum.

Do a water change using a good dechlorinator (Seachem Prime is great) and a very thorough gravel vac for a start...this can do no harm at any rate.

 

[eylk]

hello, sorry for the late reply.

I am using API freshwater master kit. Its test tubes with liquid drops, not paper strips.

I have moved all the fishes into a quarantined tank, and am trying my best to maintain optimal conditions. Grav vac, and water parameters monitoring.

I do not think there is the brand Seachem Prime where I live, and to be honest, is a good dechloriser really important? How to tell if it is a good one?

Thanks

----------------------------

I think that they have external parasites because I see white string like 'thingys' sticking out from my fish's body parts. Also, the 'worms' I saw crawling on the glass do not resemble planaria.

They are small, 1mm or less, white and will move around. (Too small to take pictures) If the worms are not planaria or external parasites, what are they? I am curious as to why they would appear only during poor water conditions.

I guess the plan now is to maintain optimal conditions and reduce stress and conduct observation right?

Thanks

-----------------------------

I'll try to take better pictures but I think its unlikely because the only camera I have... is on my phone. and its 2 mega pixels only...

Anyways, is this where the spine is? What should I be looking out for?





Thanks

 

[Coler]

hello, sorry for the late reply.

No prob

I am using API freshwater master kit. Its test tubes with liquid drops, not paper strips.

Perfect

I have moved all the fishes into a quarantined tank, and am trying my best to maintain optimal conditions. Grav vac, and water parameters monitoring.

Only quarantine the sick ones. Otherwise there's no point in quarantine

I do not think there is the brand Seachem Prime where I live, and to be honest, is a good dechloriser really important? How to tell if it is a good one?
Unless you are absolutely 100% your tap has no chlorine or chloramine, a good dechlorinator is crucial. Without it your fish will die

I think that they have external parasites because I see white string like 'thingys' sticking out from my fish's body parts. Also, the 'worms' I saw crawling on the glass do not resemble planaria.
Sounds like a possible parasite...but could just be deterioration of the skin/fungal problem. Are the worms motile (moving of their own account, clearly alive

I guess the plan now is to maintain optimal conditions and reduce stress and conductobservation right?

Pretty much. But you want to try and diagnose those parasites if indeed parasites they are. If they arn't and your fish is not showing improvement from water changes alone after a few days, you need to consider medications for fungal/bacterial infection. And to get a dechlorinator. Without it your fish will die. A good one, like Seachem Prime, will detoxify chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals too. Prime is also of assistance in alleviating the toxic effect of ammonia and to a lesser extent nitrite


Anyways, is this where the spine is? What should I be looking out for?
The spine is the backbone. Like in a person. You'd be looking for a kink/bend in it. Its a symptom of fish TB. It is statistically very unlikely that your fish has this, but because it can cause humans to become ill it is important to recognise the symptoms. Try this site for assisting in disease diagnosis http://www.jbl.de/onlinehospitaluk/perpicture/index.php?Step=2&GalleryId=2

Thanks

No prob I made some comments in red above. Get a dechlorinator.

 

[CamaroGurl]

No prob I made some comments in red above. Get a dechlorinator.

I know you didn't leave that link for me about the fish diseases, but I looked at it and saved it anyways. It may one day come in handy, but I pray that I never need it. Again thank you.

 

[eylk]

Thanks for replying,

I have already gotten a dechloriniser. However, will try to find out more on sea chem prime..

The 'parasite' that is stuck on the fish does not move on its own, so I will try to treat it as bacteria and fungus.


I did a search on the net for curved spine and frankly.. I still doubt my abilities to diagnose if the spine is curved. However, with what I can see, I dont think there is a serve case of spine curvature as the fishes' do not look very bent.

Lastly, thanks for the link!

 

[eylk]

One new observation, I was cleaning up the tank today, when I found a small about 0.5 - 1 cm red, round worm near the filter. It was moving and was curved up. I washed it away. Is that a parasite?

Thanks

 

[eylk]

Um.. I need to add something else in.. dont know why the edit button is not there..

Another observation, my fishes will rub itself on objects and just speeds around sometimes for no reason. And just now, I noticed a bulge near the mouth of my jewel, there is a white 'thing' sticking out from the bulge.

I seriously suspect its due to parasites now.. with the white round worms , the red round worm, rubbing on objects and all. Any medications I should use?

Thanks