thin bellied a.agazzi

[fishgeek]

just had a female agazzi who though constantly in yellow and black markings(spawn colouration) was always very tucked up and thin in the belly region
i thought this was because at feeding time she was more aggressive with other fish and more interested in chasing them than eating
male seemed unafflicted
seperated the female and feed high quality frozen and live foods ,found her dead 10 or so days after seperation , no otuward lesion

today approx 1 week after death i hvae noticed the male is hiding away in darker parts of the tank and has rapidly lost his rounded full belly and now looks very tucked up aswell
been neglecting the fish a bit lately as very busy with other things .. feeding has been reduced , no other fish are thin though

any ideas?
thanks in advance andrew

 

[tjudy]

If the fish is eating well, but cannot maintain mass, then I would suspect internal parasites. There are several medications that are designed to kill parasites, but internal beasties are a bit harder to knock out. I will let more knowledgable members name a product. I do not medicate as a general rule.

 

[Randall]

Thin A. agazzasi

Dear Andrew,

Intestinal protozoa (usually of the genus Spironucleus) can be species specific and are highly contagious. The symptoms include long, whitish stringy feces that adhere to the body for a prolonged period of time, a change in the fish's coloration and a lack of appetite. The recommended treatment is Metronidizole. Aquatronics makes a proprietary brand "Hex-a-mit" that is effective, but not if the infection has progressed too far.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[fishgeek]

strange thing is i havent seen any outward signs and the female always looked thin bellied and the male was quite fat until this last week , after i seperated the 2 of them
he has no physical lesions and is behaving listlessly
poss because he has lost his partner?

i can get metro as i work in a vets
thanks
andrew
ps anyone got dose's for piperazin, drontal dog wormer if used in fish?

 

[Randall]

after i seperated the 2 of them
he has no physical lesions and is behaving listlessly
poss because he has lost his partner?

i can get metro as i work in a vets
thanks
andrew
ps anyone got dose's for piperazin, drontal dog wormer if used in fish?

Dear Andrew,

Somehow, I don't think that your remaining male agazzisi is acting listlessly because he lost his partner. Forgive me, but fish don't respond to loss as people do.

Piperazin is used in aquaria for worms, but not for intestinal protazoa. Dosing with Metronidizole is the tried and true treatment.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[fishgeek]

not doubting your therapeutic knowledge randall, just havent seen any of the symptoms you listed for protozoal disesase
fish is normal colouration normal feaces and very thin, has appetite though

dont want to cause contention and do know that there are many things which we do not fully understanding
if a dung bettle can be monogamous for life and a fish can spawn and care fro young then it is possible that we as men do not fully understand all facets fo sociology in other species just yet , as such i would never totally exclude socila factors.. evidence to prove otherwise [/quote]Forgive me, but fish don't respond to loss as people do.

bloody fish disease ishard enough to work out without adding pyschology and i do agree with you on this that the fish is ill not emotional :wink:

thanks for the advice
andrew

 

[fishgeek]

Dead A. agassizii

dead male agassi now
red worms finally showed the day before he passed away
i guess that makes it columaris?

Dear Andrew,

So sorry to learn of your fish.

Columaris corresponds to a bacterial infection, not to nematodes. Did you see red worms protruding from the anal vent? If so, they were probably nematodes. Others here in the Forum, myself included, have experienced this before. Please refer to the "Nematodes" thread in the "Dwarf Cichlid Health" forum.

Best of luck.

Randall Kohn