HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!! HELPPPP!!!!!!!!

[xspainx69]

I apologize for being such a pest over the same stupid issues, but I just realized that my 4 inch Largemouth Bass was scratching himself against the gravel for a few days now and this is what I saw now. Sorry if the pics are not all that super clear. I attached pics of the Bass below to show you what I am talking about, It kind of looks like a mucus white thing coming off of his scales or skin. Im not sure if its Ick all over again or something else. What I have began to do is "SLOWLY" raise temp. to 74 degrees. I have been adding tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons. (My tank is a 75 gallon tank)

My Bass seems kind of down and lethargic, I am worried and I need advice on what I should do next.

Thank you.

 

[tunerX]

Ich is little white spots that look like grains of salt. When it gets real bad the cysts will be close enough together to get really large. I have noticed that it usually starts around the gill plate and on the head.

The pictures are kind of fuzzy and it really doesn't look like ich to me. It looks like scale damage, maybe from deco or another fish. Is the white starting to look like cotton or anything?

A close up of the wound site would be a little easier to identify what it is. If it is scale damage you can move the fish to a 10 gallon and treat with melafix and pimafix, to help stave off secondary infections. It doesn't look bad enough to start a full spectrum antibiotic.

 

[xspainx69]

Yeah the bass also has a white mucus looking thingy hanging out of his anal hole. Its like just sitting there on his anus. All the others are starting with the flashing and scraping against the gravel now. I wonder what it can be this time????

 

[guppy]

Since the other fish are flashing it is probably ich with a secondary bacterial infection on the bass. Use 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water for the ich or (unless you have catfish) go ahead and use rid-ich or a similar med. You can the use melafix and pimafix for the secondary infection. As to the whitish mucisy feces , this is probably a protozoal infection of the gut. This is very common in wild caught fish. I use jungles anti-parasite tank tuddies as a matter of course when acquiring wild fish, it helps get rid of protozoals and worm infestations. Or you can just use metronidazole instead.

 

[ShadowBass]

That appears to be fungus more than anything. Fungus is usually a secondary infection or can appear on injuries to your fish.

I can't emphasize this enough, do NOT automatically raise the temp and add salt without knowing what your fish is infected with. I see too many people doing this because it is a common treatment for ich, but there are common infections such as columnaris that will only spread faster and kill quicker with raised heat, and they are generally much more dangerous and lethal than a small ich infection. Combine this with the fact that many natives are much much more stressed from high heat than tropicals (albeit 74 isn't all that high, but I would not raise above about 77) and you may only be hurting your fish.

Fish flashing can be, but is not necessarily an indication of ich. Fish will flash when their body is irritated. This can be caused by any external diseases or parasites that cause irritation, things you add to the water (such as salt) and I have also noticed excess flashing in fish that have internal parasites, relieved after they are fully treated. Internal parasites are quite common in wildcaught fish, as guppy mentioned.

The next thing is to figure out WHY your fish are getting sick. Natives such as bass are usually extremely resistent to parasites such as ich. So automatically you should be looking at your water quality and parameters and determining if this is a factor in your fishes poor health.
Fungal infections can sometimes an indication that you have an excess of solid waste in your tank. Fungus grows on pieces of food and other organic matter that is laying in you tank or sitting in your filters and releases spores that can infect your fish, especially if your fish already have injures or infections. Siphoning your gravel on a consistent basis and doing plenty of water changes will lower the chance of your fish contracting fungal infections. It also seems to be more prevelent at lower temperatures.
You will probably never completely eliminate the chance of fungal infections in your tank because natives such as bass will fight with the other fish and end up with small injuries (magnets for fungus), but you can lower the amount of fungus present in the tank that will infect your fish. Keeping very good water quality will also help your fishes immune system take care of small infections before they become a problem.

 

[xspainx69]

That appears to be fungus more than anything. Fungus is usually a secondary infection or can appear on injuries to your fish.

I can't emphasize this enough, do NOT automatically raise the temp and add salt without knowing what your fish is infected with. I see too many people doing this because it is a common treatment for ich, but there are common infections such as columnaris that will only spread faster and kill quicker with raised heat, and they are generally much more dangerous and lethal than a small ich infection. Combine this with the fact that many natives are much much more stressed from high heat than tropicals (albeit 74 isn't all that high, but I would not raise above about 77) and you may only be hurting your fish.

Fish flashing can be, but is not necessarily an indication of ich. Fish will flash when their body is irritated. This can be caused by any external diseases or parasites that cause irritation, things you add to the water (such as salt) and I have also noticed excess flashing in fish that have internal parasites, relieved after they are fully treated. Internal parasites are quite common in wildcaught fish, as guppy mentioned.

The next thing is to figure out WHY your fish are getting sick. Natives such as bass are usually extremely resistent to parasites such as ich. So automatically you should be looking at your water quality and parameters and determining if this is a factor in your fishes poor health.
Fungal infections can sometimes an indication that you have an excess of solid waste in your tank. Fungus grows on pieces of food and other organic matter that is laying in you tank or sitting in your filters and releases spores that can infect your fish, especially if your fish already have injures or infections. Siphoning your gravel on a consistent basis and doing plenty of water changes will lower the chance of your fish contracting fungal infections. It also seems to be more prevelent at lower temperatures.
You will probably never completely eliminate the chance of fungal infections in your tank because natives such as bass will fight with the other fish and end up with small injuries (magnets for fungus), but you can lower the amount of fungus present in the tank that will infect your fish. Keeping very good water quality will also help your fishes immune system take care of small infections before they become a problem.

Yeah the Bass is now sitting behind the fake plants and using them to suspend him from not tipping over. He seems like he is on his last leg and is ready to die. Its sad because this happened in the matter of hours. Im not sure whether to put him out of his misery or to just let him sit there in the tank....

 

[xspainx69]

Well just to update everyone on the situation with the Largemouth Bass thats sick, he got worse now and I just got home from work and noticed this inflammed redness on his pectoral fin and the white mucus spots on his skin got bigger and now its raised. I am putting some pics here below I dont like this camera but this is the best that i can do.

Let me know if you know what It is, I am taking a trip to the pet shop and may be able to pic up antibiotics or medicine for him tomorrow morning.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Bizzaro]

Heat Plus Salt! i had that problem a few month back and it blow up when i gave him salt and WARM water.... It was on his lip tho... after a day or 2 it looks like his lip was split in half... and then healed soon after..

 

[tunerX]

Looks like red sore disease, an external bacteria or protozoa that usually affects game fish. The fish can heal without treatment but yours is pretty young. Pull the fish out and put it into smaller hospital tank. Treat with melafix and pimafix, to stop secondary infections, and hopefully kill the protozoa. If you can find potassium permanganate then before putting the fish into the hospital tank give it a bath then put it in the hospital and treat with the pima and mela.

If you can get some amoxycillian that will work as well but will kill all of the beneficial bacteria in your filters, which is why you use a hospital tank with filter and air-stones.

 

[xspainx69]

Ok heres the update, I went to Petland discount and the guy told me its a bacterial infection. He suggested that I buy Melafix and follow the instructions. He said to treat the whole tank just in case the bacteria effects the others as well. I asked him if I should take out the filter catridges and media containers and he said that since I got it like 3 weeks ago, it wouldn't be effecting the medicine in any way so just leave it there. But I removed the Media containers anyway , since they got extra carbon and ammonia chips. I pretty much just leave the filter catridges thats just pretty much filter pad and little carbon.
The Largemouth Bass is now swimming around all messed up crashing into plants and gravel, almost like he is losing his pilot skills. He sits down at the bottom of the tank and just tilts over to his side like he's dead and then tries to get up again and swim into the air curtain and then goes up and falls down crashing into the fake plants and then just lays there on the plants. I feel bad for him, I hope he's a fighter and waits for that Melafix to kick in and help the restoration of the white-red ulcers on his body. I was told to also continue adding salt daily he said 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons.(75 gallon tank).
What do you guys think ??? Do you think the Bass will make it through the tough trial ahead or do you think its a matter of pure luck from this point forward???