HELP PLEASE MY CHANNA ?

[JayP]

I noticed yesterday that my Channa Diplogramma had like smokey look to them with there natural color showing in patches. I did a 50% water change right away and added SALT and STRESS COAT temp was at 80f.

Than today I came home and found what I thought was their slime coat being over produced or shed per say. But I am worried what if Im wrong? Someone please help me if you can ? Water Temp is now at 82f high as I feel comfortable putting it.

 

[-DC-]

At first glance from those pic's it looks like slime coat production as a result of bumps and scrapes, perhaps they had a bit of a fight with each other, also check for hides that are just a bit to small that they are squeezing into/out of. It might just be the angles but it even appears in some pics the have bite shaped scratches down the back, which would be a typical attack from young channa (before they learn to rip of tails, thats when fights get messy)

80-82 temp wise should be fine, don't worry about that.

Couple quick questions to help rules things out, Have there been any new introductions into the tank or live feeders that could have introduced disease/parasites ? Any major temp or parameter swings that may have caused stress ? Any change in behavior or feeding habits ?

I've seen infections that will cause that sort of coloration on channa, but it normally has more of a pattern to it, blotches with a clear starting point, and normally it'll start off with small patches and grow.

 

[-DC-]

just a quick example of infection (i know you've seen this one first hand, but it's a good comparison for others who have not ,just to show what i mean)

As you can sorta see the cheek and top of the head had started to grey, at the base of the scull you can see the clear patch that is starting up, the top of the head started with the same circular patch before spreading to more of a blotch.

What you fish have looks a lot more like the results of either stress or injury.

 

[lil neet]

Channa need very soft water .What is your ph ?It could be a change in your water treatment center doing something else or getting water from differnt local .Betta get this too and then it usually turns in to cotton and then death is for sure .Get some peat from hardware store like same powder style for plants and make sure pure peat not anything else put it in a filter bag and float in tank .It will turn tank kinda brown tint like tea but this what they like .When a water change triggered it that usually always what it is .This will bring ph low and give him best chance

 

[Miguel]

I do not think it has to do with fighting. It seems a reaction to conditons, see post above, or something fungal...

 

[-DC-]

Channa need very soft water .What is your ph ?It could be a change in your water treatment center doing something else or getting water from differnt local .Betta get this too and then it usually turns in to cotton and then death is for sure .Get some peat from hardware store like same powder style for plants and make sure pure peat not anything else put it in a filter bag and float in tank .It will turn tank kinda brown tint like tea but this what they like .When a water change triggered it that usually always what it is .This will bring ph low and give him best chance

Although soft water with low PH is ideal , most channa species will do just find in a wide variety of water parameters, I've always found that fish do best in stable PH, trying to lower/raise the PH and hardness in your water will often lead to harmful swings. My advise dont mess with these parameters unless your tap water is testing at extreme levels.

with that said, lil neet brings up an excellent point ,i find 1-2 times a year the city does something with their water supply and the water comes out with completely different parameters then normal. I've lost fish , and know many others who have because the city had been messing with their systems right before a large water change causing a major PH swing which is incredibly stressful and often deadly for almost any species.

If you did a WC right before this popped up it might be worth testing the tap water to be safe.

 

[JayP]

Ok first thank you for the reply's, I was so stressed the first two days as someone suggested to me VELVET. After day one and a water change and heat raised and adding some salt things seem to be getting a little better. the smokey grey that was all over the bodies except dark normal skin color patches.all of that has changed it ent o a slimy white string subtance what i tik could be slim coat. and now tonight hwen I checed most of it as left the body and went the top fins. with that being said the fins both top and bottom were tucked but last night and tonight they are not just stringy lime a bit but most is gone. Color seems to be returning to the norm, as they were when healthy.
I have not changes water parameters and I am not on city water. I HAVE A WELL. nothing has changed at all.
I did recently by a RTC and kept him qt for a week than had him with them. everything was fine than one day i was leaving for school and noticed RTC was breathing very heavy. I could not do much and not much could he been done as i did a water change the night before. So when I got home RTC was upside down dead in the water for however many hours. (STRESS) maybe this is what brang this on or caused the stress. ? DC as for fighting I have never seen any fights or aggression toward each other.
THE TOP FEW PICS ARE FIRST DAY AND THAN SECOND.
REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP GUYS THANKS SO MUCH ANY MORE IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREAT.

 

[JayP]

 

[-DC-]

They look better in these new pic's , watch carefully keep the water clean and hopefully the keep getting better ! It's not unusual to have sudden or speratic aggression between snake heads but I'm sure you would have seen at least some signs of it, so they always seem to get along then you could probably rule that out.

For future I highly recommend 30 days QT as a min, even this is not a guaranteed thing however MOST disease/infections will show at least the first visible symptoms within 30 days, anything less and your risking it because a lot of diseases/infections will not show visible signs for the first few weeks of infection.

I'm not saying the RTC brought anything into the collection, but if you want to keep them healthy and happy proper QT goes a long way, prevention is far easier then treatment and less stressful on the owner as well !

 

[JayP]

So I came home today and to my surprise my Channa look like they did a week ago HEALTHY no marks no slime no nothing look great and are swimming around as they did before. I understand that im not out of the woods yet per say. But what a relief. I will keep a very close eye on them and make sure nothing else pops up. Thanks again to all you guys for helping me and for aiding me in my time of need.
So no more fish are being added nothing will change until these guys are ready to go in the big tank too much stress on me and the fish.
PLUS THESE ARE CHANNA AND ARE MY PRIZED POSSESSIONS. FOCUS ON WHAT I GOT HAHHAHA THANKS AGAIN GUYS I WILL KEEP THIS THREAD UPDATED JUST IN CASE.