This will be a lengthy post, so get comfortable!
Ok, first an overview of the problem:
My 29 gal. tank has been running for about 3 months now. It is well planted, and water chemistry has been stable. Ph=7.2, Ammonia=0, nitrites=0, nitrates at or below 5 ppm. Everything was fine and dandy until a zebra oto passed away about 2 weeks ago. I concluded that it had wedged itself between the driftwood and glass and had died. Well, the next day a halfbeak passed away, and the day after that another halfbeak passed away. This really had me worrying.....the water quality had not changed, and I religiously do 25-30% water changes weekly, with two changes every other week. The fish exhibited no apparent signs of illness prior to dying, they went from alive and seemingly healthy to dead in no time.
The only odd behavior I noticed in the halfbeaks was that they were at the bottom feeding on veggie wafers (which is quite strange). Since the oto had eaten these as well, I suspected the wafers may be the problem and stopped feeding them. However, all the other fish in the tank (with the exception of the two remaining halfbeaks in that tank) had been feeding on them as well, and are still doing fine.
Then a couple of days ago I read a thread on here that mentioned camallanus worms. This caught my attention right away, because I received a shipment of floating plants about 6 weeks ago that contained some worms. They were reddish in color and very long (4 inches+). I did my best to avoid introducing them to the tank, but it is difficult to thouroughly rinse azolla. One of the long worms escaped into the gravel before I could remove it, and I also noticed a couple of tiny wigglers that I was unable to remove. I saw no sign of the worms after that, so I didn't think much of it until reading that post.
Now I am wondering if I have camallanus worms. However,I never noticed any protrusions from the anus of the fish, and they didn't seem to "waste away". They just went from alive and active to dead seemingly instantly. I have noticed one of my remaining halfbeaks (one that is still in the 29 gal.) has been passing whitish/clearish feces though, and does appear to have a "pinched" appearance to it's belly.
I am very worried about the rest of my fish. Currently two of the halfbeaks are in the 40 BR and doing very well (or so it seems), and two halfbeaks, two honey gouramis, an oto, and three zebra otos remain in the 29 gal. I wanted to move the two other HBs and possibly the zebras out of the 29, but I do not want to infest my new tank with parasites if that is indeed what I have.
I have read about the treatment for camallanus, and it says the ph needs to be dropped below 7.0 for it to be effective. I don't like the idea of adjusting my ph, since halfbeaks and otos are known for being extra sensitive to ph shifts. Also I don't know where to get my hand on the treatment, or what it would cost me. And I'm not sure if I really have camallanus or some type of harmless worm. But something is killing my fish.......
Is there something I have overlooked, or does anyone have ideas on what my best course of action would be? I could really use some help on this!
Ok, first an overview of the problem:
My 29 gal. tank has been running for about 3 months now. It is well planted, and water chemistry has been stable. Ph=7.2, Ammonia=0, nitrites=0, nitrates at or below 5 ppm. Everything was fine and dandy until a zebra oto passed away about 2 weeks ago. I concluded that it had wedged itself between the driftwood and glass and had died. Well, the next day a halfbeak passed away, and the day after that another halfbeak passed away. This really had me worrying.....the water quality had not changed, and I religiously do 25-30% water changes weekly, with two changes every other week. The fish exhibited no apparent signs of illness prior to dying, they went from alive and seemingly healthy to dead in no time.
The only odd behavior I noticed in the halfbeaks was that they were at the bottom feeding on veggie wafers (which is quite strange). Since the oto had eaten these as well, I suspected the wafers may be the problem and stopped feeding them. However, all the other fish in the tank (with the exception of the two remaining halfbeaks in that tank) had been feeding on them as well, and are still doing fine.
Then a couple of days ago I read a thread on here that mentioned camallanus worms. This caught my attention right away, because I received a shipment of floating plants about 6 weeks ago that contained some worms. They were reddish in color and very long (4 inches+). I did my best to avoid introducing them to the tank, but it is difficult to thouroughly rinse azolla. One of the long worms escaped into the gravel before I could remove it, and I also noticed a couple of tiny wigglers that I was unable to remove. I saw no sign of the worms after that, so I didn't think much of it until reading that post.
Now I am wondering if I have camallanus worms. However,I never noticed any protrusions from the anus of the fish, and they didn't seem to "waste away". They just went from alive and active to dead seemingly instantly. I have noticed one of my remaining halfbeaks (one that is still in the 29 gal.) has been passing whitish/clearish feces though, and does appear to have a "pinched" appearance to it's belly.
I am very worried about the rest of my fish. Currently two of the halfbeaks are in the 40 BR and doing very well (or so it seems), and two halfbeaks, two honey gouramis, an oto, and three zebra otos remain in the 29 gal. I wanted to move the two other HBs and possibly the zebras out of the 29, but I do not want to infest my new tank with parasites if that is indeed what I have.
I have read about the treatment for camallanus, and it says the ph needs to be dropped below 7.0 for it to be effective. I don't like the idea of adjusting my ph, since halfbeaks and otos are known for being extra sensitive to ph shifts. Also I don't know where to get my hand on the treatment, or what it would cost me. And I'm not sure if I really have camallanus or some type of harmless worm. But something is killing my fish.......
Is there something I have overlooked, or does anyone have ideas on what my best course of action would be? I could really use some help on this!
