please help sick fish!

[Aquanero]

I agree, remove and clean the decor in a 50% Potassium Permanganate soultion. Do a large 75% water change and deep grave vacuming. Treat the tank with Jungle parasite clear, following dosage and duration instructions on the package. Remember to remove carbon if used and always wate at least 30 mins after adding declor to the tank before adding meds.

Now for the Pearsei. The fish should be treated in a bath using a hospital tank or container of your choice. Fill the container with tank water, dose with Methylene blue at 1 teaspoon per five gallons of water (this is double in tank dosage), add 1 teaspoon per gallon of aquarium salt. Bath fish for 30 mins a day for five days while treating the main tank as discribed above. Treat the anchor worm first and then we'll go after anything else that may be wrong you can't bombard the fish with too much at once. The para gard does have Metro in it so that's a plus.

 

[ThalesThePearsei]

So, I vaccumed and did a good cleaning on the tank and treated with Tetra Parasite Guard. She continued to present interest in food but would continue to spit everything out. Now I'm on the second treatment on the Parasite Gaurd and after initially things seemed to be getting a little better (less critters around her face and gills) it seems to have broken out up along her back worse. She seems to be loosing more interest in food.View attachment 1043285[/ATTACH]

 

[Aquanero]

Are you treating the fish the way I suguessted?

 

[ThalesThePearsei]

Yes

 

[DMD123]

Good to see some progress. How long has it been since she has eaten?

When they stop eating, I find things go down real fast. I have done force feeding of meds in a food mix and had good success. Not fun to have to do but has worked for me now a couple times with different fish including my Pearsei when she was young.

 

[ThalesThePearsei]

Okay so I returned her to the main tank yesterday. The dips and parasite guard treatment seemed to have cleared to external ailments with great success.
She seems to be her normal self with the exception she hasn't kept down food at least food that I have seen. She approaches pieces of lettuce with enthusiasm but at the last moment hesitates or spits it out. Same with pellet foods. Does not seem to be deteriorating much in body condition. Has not eaten well in about a solid 7 days as far as I can remember.
When can I expect appetite to return? Should I consider a force feed and how would I go about it? I am nervous about damaging and stressing the fish.

 

[ThalesThePearsei]

She seems to be searching and looking for food but when finds it, is just indifferent.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I'd go with an internal parasite treatment now. I wouldn't worry about her not eating yet, a week isn't really a timeline that calls for concern with big fish. Give her a few more days, and if she still isn't eating I'd look into a prazi pro/epsom salt treatment for internal parasites.

 

[ThalesThePearsei]

OK, that makes me feel a bit better... Because its not as if she's slumped in the corner staring in oblivion....she's actively looking around and searching but just won't keep anything down right now...

 

[DMD123]

If you get to the point of having to force feed, here is what I use:


It is a baby medicine syringe and a small amount of silicone air tubing. You can usually ask a pharmacy for the baby medicine syringe and they will give it to you free. I used the silicone air tube because it was softer than the other type.

It is a pretty hard core method to catch them and pump the medicine food mixture but effective if they have stopped eating and show no interest in food. Since yours is still showing interest, that is a good sign.