Rio Olimar possible HITH

[Beetlebug515]

Is it hith? I know the pics aren't great, but I think it is. I'm not sure why he could be getting it. He eats NLS, blood worms, krill, cucumber, and shrimp. My water parameters are good,
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Ph 7.8
9dkh
18dgh

Is there anything he could be missing in his diet? What is the best way to treat hith? Thanks in advance.

 

[duanes]

HITH is bacterial, and usually breaks out as a response to some kind of stress.
I found when I kept Gymnogeophagus at tropical temps they were susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections.
The diet you are providing sounds fine.
What is your average temp?
Mine did best when kept in the high 60s, low 70sF, lower in winter.
I found temps that were cooler at night, and warmer during the day also helped.
Although in my pond temps would hit high 70s during late afternoon, by late night, and early morning temps would drop into the low 60sF.

 

[Beetlebug515]

My average temp is 80f. I didn't know they were cooler water fish.

 

[dogofwar]

Yes - typical for Gymnogeophagus that aren't allowed a winter cool down.

Matt

 

[Beetlebug515]

Well looks like I will be setting my 20gal back up for her. Think she (I believe the fish is female) will do well in a bare tank?

 

[RD.]

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/hith-revisited.650466/

Treatments are given in last 2 paragraphs, but you might want to read the entire post.

 

[Beetlebug515]

That's a great read, thank you. So checking all my boxes:
I currently feed nls
Water is clean, though nowhere near blackwater conditions
Tank temp is high for my olimar
Reading the bits about stress got me thinking, my nicaraguense are major bullies, maybe contributing to the stress levels.
I can treat with nls hex
Backwater setup may also help.

Does that sum everything up sufficiently?

 

[duanes]

Gymnogeophagus are not really black water fish.
They come from Uruguay, and other South American areas that have more neutral waters and pH, and the climate is closer to the state of Georgia, than to Amazonia in Brazil.
The constant 80' temp sounds like the stress cause to me.

 

[dogofwar]

+1

Gymnogeos don't live in anything like blackwater - neutral to slightly alkaline with moderate hardness.

They live in a temperate climate, so cold winters and hot summers are what they need...

Matt

Gymnogeophagus are not really black water fish.
They come from Uruguay, and other South American areas that have more neutral waters and pH, and the climate is closer to the state of Georgia, than to Amazonia in Brazil.
The constant 80' temp sounds like the stress cause to me.

 

[Beetlebug515]

I understand now. Apologies for my ignorance, there isn't much information about them on the net. I'm starting to get the feeling that something else is going on in my tank. My silver aro has been laying at the bottom all day today. I don't know what could be stressing him out as well, but I need to get it sorted.