Eroding scales on aero - help please

[osprey 1]

I have a 26" green aero with eroding scales and tumors on its jaw area. It's in a 300 gal. Tank alone I have used tetracycline and furan 2 .did 2 treatment of tetracycline and 6 doses of Furan 2 .It seems to be very stubborn. Temp is 80, 81 and ph is 7.2 . Wet/dry filter 4.5cubic feet of bio balls , little giant 4mdqxsc, no carbon , have had him for 5 years, it's my favorite fish, HELP PLEASE !!!!!!

 

[Charney]

water quality ok? what are the other tankmates? any new additions?

 

[osprey 1]

He's been alone for 3 months, before that he was with tank mates: parrots, bichirs, bala shark, plecos,. I did loose 2 parrots they were floating funny-swim bladder disease. Water is good now , but it may have gotten away from me before. I was thinking it was a gram negative bacteria. So that's what I was treating it for. Probably 2 years since new additions and they were raised for year plus by me . Probably longer

 

[tlindsey]

If possible could you list your water parameters so it will help in solving you're issue.

 

[osprey 1]

I don't normally test the water , my thoughts are normally when in doubt, do a water change , I changed 1/3 of the tank about 100 gallons. Did one on 5/10 and one on 5/12. I will see if my salt water kits are usable or use LFS service. This has been an ongoing battle since September. My bio load is at 1/3 of what it was and my water changes has been stepped up by 2 or 3 times. I know that's not what you asked for. One fish in a 300 gal tank . The whole system is an actual 300 gallons, been measured and calculated. Ps bare bottom tank no gravel and no decorations, I vac it everyday or two, just trying to give the best picture I can . Again not what you asked for. I'll work on getting the parameters ASAP. Thanks for your interest.

 

[jsodwi]

I bet your ammonia is off the charts definitely check that. And what about the water coming into the house? Well water or city water ?

 

[osprey 1]

City water. Ammonia =0, nitrate =20, nitrite =0, hardness =150, chlorine =0, alkalinity =180, ph =between 7.2 and 7.8 . Just got it tested today . Thanks guys, keep the questions coming.

 

[narayanang76]

It looks like Arowana Head Rot in my view. You already mentioned, no carbon, that is strange. What is your filter cleaning schedule? Is it eating normal?

HEAD-ROT SYNDROME
This unique syndrome affects Asian Arowanas more than their Australian and south American counterparts. It is also more common in younger Arowanas. The head of the fish starts to swell, followed by a layer peeling off from the skin, starting from the front of the head and moving backwards. Activated carbon is believed to be the cause, due to its close association with the syndrome. It is thought that activated carbon removes vital elements in the water; hence it disallows head tissue to form normally. It is also believed that microscopic carbon particles deposited in the fish head irritate the fish. Healing usually begins within days after carbon is removed. Zeolite products could cause a similar problem too, but less severe and less common. Large Arowanas are less sensitive to Head rot Syndrome.

 

[osprey 1]

Rinse prefilter about once a month, pump out sump mum about every month . Feeding is a little different,he's in a mealworm mode. He would normally take them 1 by 1. Now I put 6 in the tank and eats them when I have left the room. seems to be more hyper or over excited to see me. Almost like he wants to swim threw the plexiglass to get to me. He's been like that after the 6 doses of Furan 2. Doesn't want any fillets right now. He's always been a difficult aro to feed , won't take any kind of pellets, food sticks , Ect.was wondering about a vitamin deficiency ,maybe like vitamin C . Like a weakened immune system. He's also got those bulges/ tumors on the bottom of the jaw and I haven't seen anything like that before.I just keep on banging my head trying to make sense of why this disease is being such a pain to overcome. Thanks for all the questions, feedback it helps me to look at this at angles that I wouldn't have thought of.

 

[osprey 1]

Hi guys I'm giving you an update on my conclusion of what's going on. I figure out I've sucking air into my sump pump. I have gas bubble disease as primary problem and chip scale disease as secondary problem. My intake would suck a air tornado into it here and there. I raised the sump water level and made my intake is lower in the sump. The next day the water looked clearer ( no ultra fine bubbles, in which would make the water a little cloudy) then . I did ph test and it seemed higher , about 8.0 an old test kit not sure how accurate . 24 hours later I did a 30% water change tank looks really clear. When over saturated water reverses the Ph goes up. I m trying to get my water back to normal slowly, with no additional Ph stress. I'll update you in a couple of days on the progress.looking good so far