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Cockatoo unhappy

Chris Boitz

New Member
Messages
3
Hello all. I have a male cacatuoides that is stressed, and I can't figure out yet how to help him. His color has been getting darker and darker the past month or two, he's began to be more skittish, and now his tail seems to be clamping.

About 2 months ago his mate died of what I am assuming was a kidney failure. Posted Here. She had suddenly appeared bloated one day, I treated her with kanaplex and she did really well for about a month then within 48 hours her swim bladder failed and she died. I've attributed that to high nitrates. I had been doing weekly water changes, but not testing diligently, and not consistent amounts. So I believe my nitrates were resting at 40 ppm and up. Since she died, I have changed a pitcher of water, and tested daily, the nitrates don't get above 10 ppm any longer.

Soon after I lost the female, he got a bit of fungus on his head, I cured that in a hospital tank with kanaplex, but ever since he has been back in the community he hasn't been the same. his color is dark grey, he eats at feeding time, but doesn't swim around and pick at sand like he used to, and now his tail fin is slightly clamped.

He lives in a heavily planted 20g tank with 19 neon tetras, 4 bandit cories, 6 otocinclus catfish, and 2 panda garras.
I feed once every morning rotating from frozen food to dry food every other day. Dry food day is one small pinch of cichlid flakes, 5 shrimp pellets, 1 algae wafer. Frozen day is small amount of brine shrimp, blood worms, and cyclops.
PH 7
Nitrates <10
C02 during the day, monitored with Fluval c02 indicator. Stays consistently in the green.
NilocG Liquid Micro and Macro fertilizer alternating Monday through Saturday.

Please suggest tests that I can do. Thanks for reading!!!
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gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Might be a slow-growing internal infection, such as Mycobacterium. It's especailly common in older fish, but can infect stressed fish at any age. They may live several months to a year or more with symptoms coming and going before it finally kills them, often from kidney, spleen, and liver damage. Pink-white sores on the head and nostrils and jaw deterioration can also be symptoms of Myco. Kanaplex can slow it down, but nothing reliably cures it.
 

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