Trouble with my Ryukin?

13BRAVO

AC Members
Sep 18, 2004
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Hey All,

It's been awhile since I last posted as things have been going well. I hope all is well with everyone here too!

Anyway, I think over the past week or so (and moreso over the past few days) my Ryukin has been getting sick or something. for the past couple of days he is continuously excreting a clear white string, sometimes even about 6 to 7 inches long. There appear to be some bubbles in the excrement at points but it is other wise clear. For the past few weeks he has seemed to have some trouble swimming. For one, the filter seems to constantly exert a slight pull on him and he has to keep paddling just to stop from drifting back towards it (he used to like going in the corner where I am assuming the pull was not as strong). Secondly, one day he will seem as if he is developing swim bladder, losing his equilibrium and sorts, and then the next day he seems fine...only to repeat itself a couple days later. He also used to suck air a lot, hover around the top of the tank, suck some in, swim down and then blow bubbles out of his mouth.

Today I got worried and figured I had to make a post because he doesn't seem to have an appetite. But other wise he looks fine (although sometimes his dorsal? (top) fin seems to sag like its lazy...although most of the time it is up nice and straight.

Now, here is where I am confused - the water conditions are ALWAYS just perfect after you all on the forums taught me how to keep it so. Ammonia of 0ppm, nitrites of 0ppm, and nitrates of about 5-10ppm. pH is constant, no fluctuation. The only thing that I can think of that could be contributing is that the water is around 80 degrees f and I know GF like it cooler.

Anyone have any ideas? Your help, as always, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

13BRAVO
 
I am sorry to say that it sounds like internal parasites. The stringy white poo is indicative of that and the little bubbles you see in it are likely eggs. If he is in a community tank, I would remove him to a quarantine tank to try and treat him, so the other fish don't ingest any eggs and come down with it as well. . I have yet to find a decent cure for internal bugs like this, so maybe someone else can come along with an answer. I am guessing he acts like he has swim bladder when the parasite(s) are in egg mode and he fills up and then looks fine after he releases them into the water.
 
Aqualung said:
Here is an article on the treatment of internal parasites.
Great article, Aqualung, thanks for that. I've used this stuff a hundren times or more when I worked in a reptile shop. Just so you know, 13BRAVO, it's a prescription drug and the name brand is Flagyl. If you call a vet, they may be willing to give you a script for it. Hope that helps.
 
Thank you both for the repsonse and the article! I thought it may have been intestinal parasites but wasn't sure. Where could they have come from? I actually have some metro that I bought with a bunch of other stuff for a "just in case" situation. Looks like I may have found that situation. So as the article said I should be removing my carbon filter so as not to absorb the meds, right? Also, should I remove the biowheel (the wet/dry wheel)??

Lastly, I have two otocinclus affinis in the tank with him. Would it be bad to treat the tank with metro while they are in it? Please advise as soon as you can as I want to start this as soon as I get home...my ryukin was laying on the gravel this morning apparently not wanting to move so I fear that his condition is worsening!! Thanks in advance!!!
 
The jury is out on wether or not Flagyl will harm your bio-filter significantly. If it does, you'll have to cycle again. But, if you take off the biowheel, you're definitely gonna lose your cycle. So, play the odds and hope that Flagyl kills parasites and not nitrifying bacteria and leave the biowheel on. I would normally say to Qt the fish in question, but these things can be ingested by other fish. If it were me, I'd treat the tank and hope for the best. As to where they come from, heh, everywhere in the trade. Wild caughts almost always have them. Some fish can fend them off better than others. So they can come from anywhere that someone deals in a lot of fish and has a central water system for them, like most LFS.
 
Yeah - leave the biowheel on for sure, and take out the carbon.

Leave the otos in. Otos are known for having problems with internal parasites (they are basically all wild caught), so even if they haven't caught parasites from the other fish, it's possible that they do have them. It shouldn't hurt to leave them in during treatment, and could very well benefit them.
 
OK, well here goes nothing (or hopefully everything)! Thanks for your help guys, I will let you know how it turns out...poor nemo (the name my son gave the ryukin) isn't looking to hot....he has terrible equilibrium problems, worse than yesterday and worse than this morning...

Here goes....
 
Yes, please keep us posted. I have worried about this one for a long time as I was unsure if it would work. Keep track of your cycle to with a test kit. Some good facts to back this up would be wonderful! Good luck to Nemo!
 
OK, here is the update. After using metro for five days as per the article, my Ryukin's feces are back to being a normal brownish color. His swim bladderesque symptoms have reduced in severity but still exist. Some days are worse than others.

He is DEFINITELY doing better as he no longer just lies on the gravel and he has gained his appetite back. All of which is a good thing. He still does loopty loops from time to time and gets tossed around but not as sever as before. Any suggestions?

There is still one major thing that bothers me (and moreso my GF), he keeps getting pulled by the filter. He can never just sit still and relax, right away the pull of the filter starts sucking him backwards and then he has to struggle to break free of the pull and finally does but it all just starts over again. I am pretty sure this isn't normal. It is an eclipse tank so the filter is stock, nothing excessive or fancy. Any thoughts as to why this is? Or what to do about it? I am thinking he must be getting exhausted going through this everyday.

As always, thanks in advance for your help!!
 
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