Help with a rare disease

[AquaAlbatros]

Hi people, i have a problem with some apistos, it's seems to me that it's a viral infection, but i need help quickly !.
Some months before, a friend bought a "wild apisto from peru" (aquarium shop label). noted a few black spots over the body. we doesn't care at that time (big mistake). Today, the apisto looks like a black molly !, however, it's still alive !. Someway, this thing contaminated the others aquariums, now A. trifasciata have the spots and some borelli too !.
Somebody has experienced it ?, some treatment ?
I will try to upload photos.
Thank's
Juan.-

 

[fishgeek]

not sure how to move this to the health section

metacercaria encapsulated in the skin?
how large are these dark spots

if this is the case i believe the fish is the intermediate host and usually no treatment is required
snaills are more likely as a transmitter in this case if your fish are genuinely passing the problem

anyting that that irritates the nerves or melan cells in the skin can cause colour change though nerve and tumour conditions should not be transmissable

perhaps praziquantel may be f some benefit for these
no personal experience , just the only black skin lesion i can think of that is transmissable

andrew

 

[Konigwolf]

sounds like black spot to me to me, blow is a link to one of the better sights google came up with

http://fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/black_spot/

HTH

Andrew

 

[Z Man]

I have seen this in some wild fish that I have received. I was told that it is someting contacted in the wild but will do no harm in home aquaria. I have had several spawns from such pairs and all the fry were fine and had no sign of any spots at all.

 

[MikeNYC]

I have had a similar problem after introducing wild caught tetra to my tank. 2 danios and 2 pencils became very thin over the course of about 2 weeks while still eating actively. The pencils also developed small black dots on their body before dying. My Apistos have, so far, escaped this fate.

Does anyone know what type of parasite might cause emaciation along with black dots (the size of salt grains)? And, what type of medication should be used to get rid of this parasite?

Thanks

 

[fishgeek]

the black spots sound like metacercarial cyst's in the musculature of the fish
these are encysted tissue stages of digean flukes
the flukes themselves usually are found in the gastrointestinal tract, though rarely are they thought to cause probems

it is preposed that tissue damage casued by large numbers of the migrating cercarial larval stages
the life cycle though is complex and would very rarely be able to complete in a aquarium situation

praziquantel would most likely be effective against the adult flukes
the encysted black(other flukes cause different colours) spots are not able to be treated

andrew

 

[MikeNYC]

I believe that my Apisto would qualify as having "black spot" She has some small black "smudge" marks that come and go around her head area.

I have "rid ich" medication and considering trying a dose to see if it clears up. The med states that it controls ich, protozoan and dinoflagellate disease in fish.

Would this be effective against the flukes you describe?

thanks