Fish disease

[zapins]

I'm starting to see damage on my angel fish. They seem to have injuries that look like bite marks. They mostly seem to appear around the upper fin and head area. There is no fuzz inside the wounds. This is an example of what the injuries typically look like. I've lost 3 of my 22 angels from this issue. I bred these and raised them to adult size in my 90g tank. Weekly 50% water changes, the temperature is at 80F and it is fully planted. I recently moved (two months ago) to a new apartment with a different water source but I have not added any new fish in about 6-8 months so I don't know if that has something to do with it. Any ideas what this could be?

My tank:

 

[Andrewtfw]

They don't appear to be bite marks imo. To me they look like bacterial wounds. Try adding melafix and see if things don't clear up.

 

[blkmjk]

Hard to believe that there are any problems in a tank that beautiful! I have had good luck with salt and more frequent water changes.... Good luck and keep us posted on what happens next...

Drew

 

[golsama]

+1 on what Andrew said. I'm a big fan of using melafix.

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[festaedan]

I'd use melafix or salt, if that dosent work copper probably will.

 

[zapins]

Thanks for the complement. I will try melafix. Can it be used in a planted tank or should I remove the fish and treat them in a separate tank?

I was planning on selling a few of them at this weekend's auction and then moving the rest to my other house to the 180g tank. But if they are sick rather than just bitten up from squabblin then I don't think I'll do that.

Any ideas how this might have happened? Nothing seems to have changed...? Well I suppose the temperature did. For the summer it was too hot to have a heater on, so I had it off and then the weather took a turn for freezing. I noticed a dead fish around that time and a few fish looked like they had the beginnings of ich so I plugged the heater back in (70F to 80). Does bacteria also infect fish like ich when the temperature swings?

Oh I also took more pictures, all these below are from one fish.

 

[golsama]

I've used Melafix in planted tanks with no ill effects.

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[ddavila06]

i had the same issue w one of my silvers. separated because i thought they were fighting but this thing is now a hole. i thing i will cut its head off soon.

 

[zapins]

What about Hexamita?

What are the odds of curing them successfully?

 

[DougGosnell]

What about Hexamita?

What are the odds of curing them successfully?

That is what I thought. I would think a good treatment with Metro would fix it up. Here is a link fwiw

http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/freshwater-conditions/hexamita.aspx

The other holes could just be secondary infections. Try metro for the 5 or so day treatment and follow with a antibiotic if needed, but probably not

 

[neut]

IMO it looks like a flesh erosion/hith type of issue, whether spironuclues (or hexamita) or another cause. Bit of a mess of a subject, since there is a lot of theory/speculation on the part of people with widely varying fishkeeping knowledge and experience. In any case, it's not something to take lightly.

Rather than write a lengthy post, here are some links that may be helpful--
Marine article-- but much of it relevant to fw as to varying theories on cause-- In other words, there are a lot of fingers pointed to different theoretical causes or contributing factors, but reality is it's still an open question. My take is there may well be multiple potential factors-- diet, water quality, lack of or imbalance of minerals in water, poor redox, stress, possibly some types of carbon (I've tested different carbon products and they are definitely not equal ime)-- and contributing factors may differ in different cases, although it's clear that whatever leads up to it, spironucleus (hexamita) is one definite cause.

symptoms and treatment info

Alternative to metro treatment

Discussion and ultimate solution in one case

 

[zapins]

Thanks for the detailed write up.

The issue is definitely getting worse, now all my fish have some sort of mark on them and the one with the hole in its gill flap has several more injuries and is breathing hard. Still acting normally otherwise.

Last night I removed them all, and put them in a separate tank. I've got the temperature at 84F and I dosed with metronidazol. It says two doses are needed to cure the fish. So I will know in 72 hours if it has worked.

I've got to admit though, that besides fish who get ich, treating with medication has never really worked well. Most fish that get sick die shortly after. I just hope I can save a few to keep breeding them.

 

[Andrew]

I've got to admit though, that besides fish who get ich, treating with medication has never really worked well. Most fish that get sick die shortly after. I just hope I can save a few to keep breeding them.

Many internal infections are too far advanced to treat once the fish are showing external symptoms.