My one guess for what it might be is Hexamita. I had a Dwarf Gourami go through some of those symptoms before it died. No other fish of mine have had problems like that.
Fish die for no reason?
- Thread starter bobandfiona
- Start date
Hexamita aka HITH (hole in the head disease) caused by a flagellated protazoan in the digestive tract(it exists in healthy and not so healthy fish)..this lil guy will cause loss of appetite but is treatable with metro and water changes..every other day.
the best method is to deliver the meds via food.but a bath has proven effective .
it is a good idea to clean out the filter and a good vac of the gravel is recommended.
oddly I had an angle get this in a tank that get regular 20-30% water changes every week with a heavy vac..however..I use an ac 70 in this tank with an extra sponge..I was rinsing the sponge one one week then one the next..I will now make sure it get rinsed every time I clean.
bte, it gets the name HITH due to lesions that usually accompany this disease..they usually cause anerosion of the tissue around the face of the fish.
clean water usually helps and some use pimafix and melafix
the best method is to deliver the meds via food.but a bath has proven effective .
it is a good idea to clean out the filter and a good vac of the gravel is recommended.
oddly I had an angle get this in a tank that get regular 20-30% water changes every week with a heavy vac..however..I use an ac 70 in this tank with an extra sponge..I was rinsing the sponge one one week then one the next..I will now make sure it get rinsed every time I clean.
bte, it gets the name HITH due to lesions that usually accompany this disease..they usually cause anerosion of the tissue around the face of the fish.
clean water usually helps and some use pimafix and melafix
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Is that a common practice using an occupied tank for a hosp tank? Mine sits empty until I need it. Some diseases are water born and even if you put it in a little box, the tank itself can be effected, thus harming the other fish.
I found this stuff called General Cure. It contains metronidazole which is used to cure Hexamita. I used it in my tank right after the Gourami died and I have had no other fish show any symptoms of the disease. General cure can also cure fish of other parasitic diseases.
With the hole in the head disease, wouldn't there have been some visible sign of illness? I mean, the three fish I have lost all looked perfect. Beautiful coloring, fins perfect, scales perfect.
As to my hospital tank, I have so few times that I've used it and my Betta is perfectly fine. I also separate with separate filtration (I have a double filter) that it works fine for the purpose intended. But, no, I would never put a visibly ill fish in there...the only other illnesses we've had have been swim bladder type issues, so I have never really had a communicable disease to worry about.
Also, this is a Newbie forum, so being rude does no one any good for the poster who said, "so, let me get this straight...you put a sick fish in with other fish." Better wording to help might have been, "its not normal to put..." "Here are some other ideas to keep a hospital tank running..."
So, back to the post...why is it a gourami problem lately, and why are there not visible signs of an illness for us to know what it is? Is there any other illness that would cause a curvature of the body, lack of swimming, and floating?
Thanks all for your helpful replies.
As to my hospital tank, I have so few times that I've used it and my Betta is perfectly fine. I also separate with separate filtration (I have a double filter) that it works fine for the purpose intended. But, no, I would never put a visibly ill fish in there...the only other illnesses we've had have been swim bladder type issues, so I have never really had a communicable disease to worry about.
Also, this is a Newbie forum, so being rude does no one any good for the poster who said, "so, let me get this straight...you put a sick fish in with other fish." Better wording to help might have been, "its not normal to put..." "Here are some other ideas to keep a hospital tank running..."
So, back to the post...why is it a gourami problem lately, and why are there not visible signs of an illness for us to know what it is? Is there any other illness that would cause a curvature of the body, lack of swimming, and floating?
Thanks all for your helpful replies.
TheZoo said:
I wasnt sure if I may have misunderstood your wording as to your q-tank...Sorry that I sounded rude! I honestly didnt think I was being an a**, just asking a question.... Anyway: A quarantine tank is used to seperate a potentially ill fish from the others in order to minimize contact in case of contageons, to minimize stress on the sick fish and to allow you to treat if necessary in a more contained tank. You should quarantine all new arrivals for a week or two. Many people keep a fish or two in their q tanks to keep them cycled, but move those fish to another tank so that the q s now empty. A divider will still allow for some water exchange, not good in case of contageous diseases or parasites, and having seperate filters wouldnt change that. Also, if you had to treat for something, youd be exposing the original fish to that unneccesarily.
As for the lack of swimming, floating, curved body, Id think abut swim bladder problems... if you catch it early, several good water changes may help.
If kept with lots of active tankmates, a Dwarf Gourami may tend to be shy and hide a lot. May stop eating and as he goes days without eating he will become inactive and just lay around till he dies. Dwarf Gouramis are also more susceptible to illness and will not tolerate poor water conditions.
Thanks for the info and clarification, the Zoo. No hard feelings...your second explanation definitely helped!
Maybe I am losing these fish to swim bladder problems. What I've read on the other posts archived is the concensus that swim bladder is caused by diet and wateras you said earlier.
Ok, I'll admit I am not the best water changer...I try 30-50% changes with python gravel vac and amquel as the water comes back in weekly, but sometimes it goes 2-3 weeks if water parameters test ok.
I feed flake variety with shrimp, potatoe, cereal and algae. Also, I'll feed frozen brine shimp one feeding per week and tetramin granules that are thicker than flakes. I'll also drop an algae wafer in once a week for the shrimp, snails, cory cat, and baby pleco. I feed approx 1/2 teaspoon daily. Very little food hits the ground as the community comes right up when I come to the tank and gobble all the food from the surface.
What (besides changing water more it sounds like) could I do differently on feeding? Am I giving too much protein causing the swim bladder issue?
Maybe I am losing these fish to swim bladder problems. What I've read on the other posts archived is the concensus that swim bladder is caused by diet and wateras you said earlier.
Ok, I'll admit I am not the best water changer...I try 30-50% changes with python gravel vac and amquel as the water comes back in weekly, but sometimes it goes 2-3 weeks if water parameters test ok.
I feed flake variety with shrimp, potatoe, cereal and algae. Also, I'll feed frozen brine shimp one feeding per week and tetramin granules that are thicker than flakes. I'll also drop an algae wafer in once a week for the shrimp, snails, cory cat, and baby pleco. I feed approx 1/2 teaspoon daily. Very little food hits the ground as the community comes right up when I come to the tank and gobble all the food from the surface.
What (besides changing water more it sounds like) could I do differently on feeding? Am I giving too much protein causing the swim bladder issue?
Only thing Id suggest is more frequent water changes...make it part of your routine, dont wait for water parameters to indicate a problem. I recently brought my pepperd cory back from a swim bladder issue with wc's. I did 2 on that first day then 1 a day for the next 2 days. Now hes back to normal! I did put in some melafix, panicked, but I think the water changes alone would have done it.
Thanks, Zoo...your advice has been great. Hopefully I won't have any more issue,s but I will committ to weekly water changes and if there ever is a problem, I will do more rather than quarantine with less water changes. (who knew?!?!?! learn something new every day!)
From your signature it sounds like your household is alot like mine! We live in north Dallas...sweating our skin off! I have a 2 1/2 yr. old son, a husband that is very much like my fish...swimming his own way until I bring food! (ha,ha,ha!) a 6 yr. old Husky, a 10 week old Basett hound, (just put my 13 yr. old cat down...sad sad day...she's seen me through alot!) and 2 fish tanks. The Zoo is definitely the right description!
Thanks again, and take care!
From your signature it sounds like your household is alot like mine! We live in north Dallas...sweating our skin off! I have a 2 1/2 yr. old son, a husband that is very much like my fish...swimming his own way until I bring food! (ha,ha,ha!) a 6 yr. old Husky, a 10 week old Basett hound, (just put my 13 yr. old cat down...sad sad day...she's seen me through alot!) and 2 fish tanks. The Zoo is definitely the right description!
Thanks again, and take care!
