please help sick fish!

ThalesThePearsei

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2014
17
0
0
Brooklyn
I'm pretty sure there is something going on with my fish and I need help. So here is the whole situation, I recently lost a beloved gold severum of 8 years due to what I think is a parasitic infection. I tried to treat in a hospital tank but I think it was too late. I treated with metronidazole and praziquantel. I treated the main tank as well. Full treatment, one dose then another after 48 hours.
Now my Pearsei seems to be losing interest in normal food. Not interested in seaweed strips or vegetables she would normally devour in seconds. Still will eat cichlid pellets though. Now I just saw her defecate white stringy feces the severum had. Apparently the medication I used failed. She also had a few spots of fungus and twitches every so often and likes to rub on rocks.
Please tell me what I need to do to help her.
 

Rivers2k

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2011
1,528
46
51
NY
First sorry for the loss of your fish that is rough after caring for something for so long. White stringy feces means it is an internal parasite. Most people swear by Prazi but for some reason it has never worked for me. API General cure has worked every time for me while dealing with IP's. After all the meds you have been dosing with I would do a minimum 50% water change and then try API. When you start treatment if you are running any carbon in your filters take it out as it will remove the meds.

Next is to figure out how it got introduced. Do you feed live food or introduce any new fish recently?
 

ThalesThePearsei

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2014
17
0
0
Brooklyn
I introduced new fish a few weeks ago. Never feed live food. But for the Sev to be so sick I assume it had to be there before. So don't know.
Tank is 125 gallons. 30 to 40% water change weekly. Usually add 1/2 cup salt. Cascade cansiter filter (forget the exact model but it is the biggest one) and a small powerhead.
 

ThalesThePearsei

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2014
17
0
0
Brooklyn
How long would I do the general cure treatment for? I am trying to research and am finding mixed results...some say the medication wont work unless it's soaked in food and feed and others say it should be fine if treated for 7 days?
 

DMD123

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Oct 23, 2009
7,067
8,709
478
Lakewood, WA
If your fish is eating still that is a good sign. The Epsom salt treatment to the food is a good start. I also like to use Tetra Parasite Guard which has a nice cocktail mix of meds that seems to work but make sure you do the maximum allowed treatments. I learned the hard way a few years back from introducing fish to my main tank without first doing a quarantine. Lost lots of fish and spent tons of money on meds to try to save them. Never again! I always quarantine now.
 

Rivers2k

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2011
1,528
46
51
NY
How long would I do the general cure treatment for? I am trying to research and am finding mixed results...some say the medication wont work unless it's soaked in food and feed and others say it should be fine if treated for 7 days?
I just follow the instructions on the box. I treat for 7 days and I don't add it to the food. It must have come in with your new fish. It has to have some sort of host to come in on. A few weeks is enough time for an IP to take out a fish. I agree with the others on Epsome salt it works wonders.
 

ThalesThePearsei

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2014
17
0
0
Brooklyn
I did a water change yesterday and added some Praziquantel. Today she goes after the pellet food and shows interest but spits it back out, same with seaweed sheets and will not even approach the lettuce any more. Is still very active in the tank though. She was pooping what seemed to be completely undigested pellet food with white . (however she did eat some lettuce leaf yesterday, so hoping the healthy green poop I saw floating on the bottom was hers...)
I added Epsom salts directly to the tank since she is spitting food out. I added 15 tablespoons.
Should I progress to force feeding the salt solution? I am afraid the stress would harm more than help...she is very large and very rambunctious when caught... But after this short time of the salts being in the tank, her body, or "complexion" so to say does appear to be a cleaner and clearer.
 
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