gar disease

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yoganathan_kn

Candiru
MFK Member
Jun 9, 2009
205
0
46
india
i have a new five inch gar
which has a small area at the anal region that looks like a wound.
now it has increased in size. any ideas on treatment?
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what is the right temperature for gars i have kept it at 72f
should i lower it?
what medication to cure this fish?
thanks in advance:cry:
 
i can't see anything, can you get a close up for us?

no you should not lower the temp. in most cases, it is advisable for the temp to be increased to treat illnesses. do not use medication, gars and other primitive fishes do not react well with medication.

cheers, do get us a close up pic
 
close up would def help.. but my first thought was anchor worm. sometimes early signs are a redening of the anal region and what may also look like a semi-prolapsed rectum. white poop is a dead give away usually for IP's. watch the area clsoely for what will appear to be white strings, Do not try and remove them! manually removeing anchor worms usually does alot more damage then good.

like xander said gar and meds are touchy and I imagine juvies are even more touchy then adults. so getting a correct ID is very important before running out and medicating. IME i've never had issues with de-worming my gar. I would also prolly up the temp to 76. I wouldn't go much higher then that. increased temps tend to also increase a diseases progression. Usually increasing temps is only really beneficial when treating for ICK.. because of it's life cycle ( and some parasite strains are killed in temps of the 85 range) The warmer your water is the less dissolved O2 it can hold, the faster the fish metabolizes ( with IP's this may be detrimental to the fish thats not eating because it's stomach is full of worms) But at the same time too low of temps can be as detrimental. Gators come from the warmer side of the US for the most part, so the low side of standard tropical temps I'm guessing are best.
 
MonsterMinis said:
close up would def help.. but my first thought was anchor worm. sometimes early signs are a redening of the anal region and what may also look like a semi-prolapsed rectum. white poop is a dead give away usually for IP's. watch the area clsoely for what will appear to be white strings, Do not try and remove them! manually removeing anchor worms usually does alot more damage then good.

like xander said gar and meds are touchy and I imagine juvies are even more touchy then adults. so getting a correct ID is very important before running out and medicating. IME i've never had issues with de-worming my gar. I would also prolly up the temp to 76. I wouldn't go much higher then that. increased temps tend to also increase a diseases progression. Usually increasing temps is only really beneficial when treating for ICK.. because of it's life cycle ( and some parasite strains are killed in temps of the 85 range) The warmer your water is the less dissolved O2 it can hold, the faster the fish metabolizes ( with IP's this may be detrimental to the fish thats not eating because it's stomach is full of worms) But at the same time too low of temps can be as detrimental. Gators come from the warmer side of the US for the most part, so the low side of standard tropical temps I'm guessing are best.
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thanks for the info, i'm in india and new to gars.here is the closeup u guys asked along with the problem area which i have highlighted

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this damaged skin area is now some what enlarged. i've stopped the heater now. it looks like some kind of infection with the scales and outer skin gone
 
looks like minor damage at best given the pics. are there any tankmates with the gar? if so, what are they? what is the size of the tank? is the gar eating? at this stage you should give the gar plenty of live food, but be sure to remove dead food, etc.
if the gar is eating well, just increase water change frequency and volume and also the temperature. definitely don't lower the temperature. in most cases with gars, increasing the temp will increase metabolism and help overcome disease moreso than the temps will encourage the disease (again, this is in most cases, and holds well with gars - not all other fishes).
i would change the water 50% every other day until you see the condition clear up - keep us posted on how it's doing and make sure it is continuing to eat. the gar should be fine. temps around 78-80F are fine for the fish during this treatment phase--
--solomon
 
this is the latest picture taken on 18.06.2011
the wound area is enlarged somewhat.
but the fish is very active and taking food. i doubt whether it's a bacterial infection



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E_americanus said:
looks like minor damage at best given the pics. are there any tankmates with the gar? if so, what are they? what is the size of the tank? is the gar eating? at this stage you should give the gar plenty of live food, but be sure to remove dead food, etc.
if the gar is eating well, just increase water change frequency and volume and also the temperature. definitely don't lower the temperature. in most cases with gars, increasing the temp will increase metabolism and help overcome disease moreso than the temps will encourage the disease (again, this is in most cases, and holds well with gars - not all other fishes).
i would change the water 50% every other day until you see the condition clear up - keep us posted on how it's doing and make sure it is continuing to eat. the gar should be fine. temps around 78-80F are fine for the fish during this treatment phase--
--solomon
Click to expand...

no tank mates at present. only feeder platys reared by me. it takes pellets very well. it's a growout tank of 2'*1*1. the gar is about 5" and is having a heater at 72f only because in india it's chilly in evening only. like your late summer now. water changed fully every 2 days. keeping my fingers crossed.
 
ok it seems like the gar is doing fine in terms of eating, but until we determine if the spot is actual damage or just some developmental anomaly, i would keep temperature bumped up at least at 78F...72F is actually on the lower end for YOY gars and growth - at least with gators. higher temp will increase growth, increase metabolism and immune response, and give it a better chance of overcoming the issue.

please keep us posted, but it looks like the gar should be ok--
--solomon
 
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