Apisto Pandurini sick!

[Mystic Fish]

PH 7.5
Ammo 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

Due to an ill tetra and then a white fuzzy spot showing up on my Pandurini, I treated my tank with Myxazin. The Pandurini's symptoms seemed to be getting worse* so i also treated my tank with Blue Planets Triple-Sulfa.

*White fuzzy spot turned into a line going down both sides of his face, a chunk of his lip gone.

Now... 2 days after the treatments and a 30% WC... Hes not looking good...
The whiteness on his face has cleared up but its like a little hole now which i can see a separate gill movement within the hole. Theres a whiteness around the bottom of his dorsal fin. Hes breathing fast/constantly compared to the other female Pandurini, and hanging at the top of the tank, staying in one spot, not moving around so much. So ive put on the air stone. I also caught him dashing off and rubbing the sides of his head? i think, on a piece of wood about 5 times. Hes also bloated and twitches/jerks sometimes. He also has a long clear stringy poo. Should i feed him brine shrimp or anything even though hes bloated? He cant be bloated from food cause atm hes eating slowly and only takes like 2-3 bites. What else should i do or is he a goner?
I think the Pandurini's infection came from frogbit that i bought online and didnt wash.

 

[Mike Wise]

If you really want to get him healthy again you need to let him help heal himself. This is a fish that in the wild normally occurs in water below pH 6.5 and relatively soft. Putting him in a similar water condition will help immensely.

 

[gerald]

That may be Mycobacterium infection; the symptoms are consistent with Myco. There is no reliably effective treatment for Myco in fish, but sometimes they do recover for awhile as the disease goes into "remission" for months or years, usually at an earlier stage than your fish. Once the fish has gaping sores and severe kidney and intestinal damage (as evidenced by bloating) they usually die within a few weeks. Mycobacterium are facultative pathogens (exluding the one that causes mammal tuberculosis), and are present in most aquatic environments and aquariums. Most fish can carry low levels of Myco for years without any symptoms. Improper water conditions, diet, stress, other diseases, or old age can make fish susceptible to getting sick from it. Soft-water cichlids, bettas, gouramis, and rainbowfish seem to be the most susceptible. More info here:

http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00388mycoarticle1.pdf

 

[Mystic Fish]

Myco B... Does that mean my other fish might have it now since it's contagious?

Alright, should I do this then?:
Quarantine him, go buy some clove oil for euthanasia, use if it doesn't look to be getting better within 2 days?
Get rid of any biofilm that might be on the top of my main tanks water. Change main tanks water again? Replace the indian almond leaves in there.

Or do I need to redo everything?

 

[gerald]

If he's stopped eating, then I'd euthanize him. If he still eats (try live mosquito larvae) and you have a quarantine tank available, you can keep him. Back in the 80's I had curviceps with pretty advanced Myco I think (I didn't know how to diagnose it back then, so cant say for sure) and they still spawned and produced healthy fry. IMO Myco is just too common, difficult to detect, and difficult to kill to bother with "sterilization" attempts. It can be present on anything wet you bring in -- fish, plants, driftwood, frozen food, even your tap water supply. My approach is learn to recognize the symptoms and manage it. Removing surface film and wiping off the scum just above the waterline with paper towels whenever you do water changes might help, based on the info in Diana's article. And as Mike suggested, provide water conditions and diet appropriate for the species to keep their immune systems strong.

 

[Mystic Fish]

Today i noticed his bloating has decreased quiet a bit. But his dorsal fin, he doesn't want to lift it up anymore. So his swimming is different now, hes more on a diagonal slant facing upwards. From what i can see, it looks white and fuzzy.

Hes still eating/wants to eat. He takes a piece and fumbles around with it in his mouth, spits it out, takes it back in. It seems hard to swallow for him. I cant get mosquito's to spawn even though we have a lot.

I also have a tetra thats breathing fast with what looks like worms sticking out of it, around its bum. And another tetra thats also breathing fast. Should i get another medication? which one?I also have a tetra thats breathing fast with what looks like worms sticking out of it, around its bum. And another tetra thats also breathing fast. Should i get another medication? which one?

 

[Mystic Fish]

His dorsal fin is all the way down now, compared to those pics.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
"I also have a tetra thats breathing fast with what looks like worms sticking out of it, around its bum. And another tetra thats also breathing fast. Should i get another medication? which one?"

That is not good, it is Camallanus and you need a medication containing "Levamisole HCl". Have a look here: <"A. agassizii wasting away"> & <"Camallanus worms">.

cheers Darrel

 

[gerald]

If the Apisto has had Camallanus worms for awhile too (very likely, if the tetras are showing worms), that might be what weakened him and allowed bacterial and/or fungal infections to take hold. I dont think Camallanus worms alone would cause those sores on the head & body, or dorsal fin damage. If you can kill off the Camallanus, maybe the bacterial issues will improve. I'll be surprised if the Apisto recovers, given his current state, but the other fish might be OK if they dont yet have secondary infection issues along with the worms.

 

[Mike Wise]

This is a good example of why I always recommend quarantining fish for at least 4 weeks before adding to other fish.