Disease ID - Please help!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
look fungal which has to do with water quality, high nitrites or nitrates..or it can be ammonia burn from a spike .. my 2 cents
 
p.s. your water doesn't look crystal clear. i am not try to start anything but test your water before you start dosing all these chemicals, you will wined up killing everything in your tank.. i would 1) test my water 2) do a 50 percent water change 3) bump the temp up a few degrees 4) others may do this but not me..... add salt
 
I did test the water before I did anything. After I tested I did a 30% water change. I then tested again the next day before I treated and everything was still right on. Water is actually crystal clear, although that camera makes the water look cloudy because of the lights.

I don't personally believe it's hith because I have had experiences before with hith and this doesn't even come close...plus there are no holes in his head!

I'm having a hard time distinguishing between fungal or protozoan. It doesn't look fungal to me, but then again I don't really know the visual difference between fungal growth or protozoan problems. I haven't ever run in to problems like Costia, etc.

I have added salt, Quick Cure (Malachite Green and Formalin), as well as Pimafix and Melafix.

I have also noticed what looks like Mouth Fungus on my Rainbows and Congo Tetras in the same tank. I have lost my TSN and 1 Congo Tetra today...

I really appreciate all of the input, and I will try to get some better pics right now...

KEEP IT COMING!
 
I may have been jumping to conclusions... Can anyone describe to me what early signs of HITH look like? The problem looks like a white film over the head areas (same areas where HITH usually occurs and I have noticed small holes now. I assumed earlyer that they were always there, but I may be wrong. They are very small, almost as if they were sensory pits or something. Does HITH usually start out as white dust/slime on the fish?
 
I don't believe I ever noticed white slime or dust on the fish...maybe it is multiple conditions, HITH and ICH.

Sorry for what you are going through and GOOD LUCK resolving...
 
bOOsteN aUdI;2600789; said:
i would 1) test my water 2) do a 50 percent water change 3) bump the temp up a few degrees 4) others may do this but not me..... add salt

^^^ This is what i would do..
best of luck man.. hopefully the cichla pulls through..
 
Alright... I did something drastic. I removed all of the plants from my tank, along with 80% of the gravel. No more places for junk to linger and make it hard to clean! I also did a complete water change and treated the tank with salt. My P-Bass is looked much better and acting more normally now! He still has some white stuff on him, but it seems as though it's slowly clearing up. I think I'm gonna go 1/2 doses of Melafix and Pimafix as some of you suggested as well, and maybe a 1/2 dose of Quick Cure.

What's everyone's experience with salt that their Cichla?
 
If you're going to does with both mela and pima fix, make sure to add an airstone. That ****e depletes oxygen levels in a hurry.
 
Great advice. I put a big powerhead in with venturi to help with oxygenation. My P-Bass is looking better everyday, and he's eating like a pig again! I almost hate to say it, but I'm pro-salt now. I didn't always have a high opinion about it due to the horror stories I've heard. This was definitely a learning experience!
 
jamesliu2000;2600038; said:
maybe fungal infection??
thats a likely possibility
 
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