illness among new tank mates?

[OoVWoO]

So on Thursday of last week, I added some new tank mates:
(2) P. sp "Hybrid Guinea", (1) P. Teugelsi, (1) P.E. Endlicheri new Guinea collection
current Bichir inhabitants were 2 Endlis, 1 Congicus, 1 Lap, 1 Guinea Lap.

Since then (and for the past 2 times I've added new Bichirs, always adding at least 3 at a time), I've encountered something I'm not familiar with from keeping any other fish. Every time, I always end up having some scales on a portion of the fish's body haze over, and become light colored. Anyhow, nothing I've ever medicated the tank with or pre-soak/medicated food with (Metronidazole, Kanamycin, Erethramycin, and some other parasite med from SeaChem) has ever done the trick.
Water quality has been spot on and harmless, each and every time, the tank is over filtered, water changes roughly twice a week, and never a spot of food left over at feeding time.
Anyway, I always end up losing 1 or two of the fish. In the past, it's been Endlis, a Koliba, and a Lap. But now that I've got a Teugelsi in the mix, I'd be pretty devastated if I were to lose some fish. Granted I understand that there may be some aggression going on, which would explain some split tails, but I still don't understand this hazed scale condition.
Aside from that condition coming over the fish, I typically end up having one of them swim around and stay near the top for the evening before death, and I've got one of the new "Hybrid Guinea's" doing just that now, though he appears physically fit and not at all infected or afflicted with anything.
Anybody else encounter this? Any advice? I'm getting a little tired of adding 2-3 fish, and losing 2-3 shortly after, given there's nothing obviously wrong with the tank, or my fish (until I add new ones)

 

[SUNFLOWER]

I have P.hybrid Guinea,s and it is doing well it has been over a month now .maybe check your water that you use when you do water changes .some times there area lot off heavy metels and harsh chlormine in the water and sedements once I lost my entire tank to tap water. 250gals and 4 bichirs fire eel and a sleeper gobie I had for 8 yrs somtimes normal test kits cannot detect. let a lab test your tap water.

 

[is300zx]

what none bichir tankmates are in there? any plecos? hazing of the scales could be caused by bacterial infection also. do you quarantine your new additions?

 

[uwe]

Hi Randy,

to cut a long story short ...

Do you have analyzed the water parameters?
Are there any other fish in the tank - especially Synodontis?
Do you know anything about preventive measures due to the common parasites before you got the bichirs?
Do you have any pics for better understanding?

I've lost during the time i keep bichirs only one of them - two days after i got him (an endlicheri). He was also covered with these cloudy areas ... due to his arrival (together with a lapradei and a weeksi) there was the unfortunate arrival of this ugly parasite: Macrogyrodactylus polypteri.
After the treatment with Flubenazol i'd killed these parasites. Unfortunately my dealer had also a breakout - he hadn't had a new delivery of fish since months. He had treated all his bichirs during quarantine with Praziquantel ... other keepers of bichir in Germany also had this experience after this treatment! For me it seems that Praziquantel isn't the best medication against Macrogyrodacrylus - sometimes it works, sometimes not ...
The effects you'd described looks like a bacteriosis. If the slime coat of bichirs is damaged this infection will grow sometimes in succession. It's hard to say but in most cases i heard about this infections from bichir keepers the fish died.
The best way to treat may be a salt bath (only 5 min to avoid an osmosis shock!) to disinfect the bichir's surface. But there's an unfriendly effect: salt may damage the slime coat once more!
Are there any medications against bacteriosis?
Another reason of slime coat destruction is the keeping of bichirs together with Synodontis sp. Sometimes the Synodontis feed down parasites, worms and other micro-organisms from the surface of the bichir. They'll do it "the hard way" - destructing the slime coat, opening the door for bacterias ...
Never keep Synodontis together with bichirs!

I've found a pic of my dying endlicheri with bacteriosis ... one pic to overview, one pic with the framed areas: (Sorry, the pic isn't as good as usual!)

 

[OoVWoO]

My non-Bichir tank mates are the following: Oxyoras niger, Auchenoglanis occidentalis, Lates angustifrans, and a Shadow Bass. I added a very light dose of epsom salt to the tank approx. 6hrs ago and dropped my water level an inch, so that the spray bar would agitate the surface and oxygenate the water more than usual, as the 2 Hybrids were panting. This seemed to help, as everyone is looking better today.
This evening, I'll add a second helping of epsom salt to bring the tank to a concentration of approx. 1tbs/10gal, and will treat with a parasite medication (unless you suggest a bacteria medication instead?). For parasite treating, I was planning to try a full tank bath with Jungle Parasite Clear, or PraziPro - both off which I haven't used on these specific fish before. My other option is to retreat them with Metronidazole. If I get replies back about which one to treat within the next 9 hours before I get off work, then I'll change my plan accordingly.

Uwe, my fish are afflicted with the same amount of tattered tailfin and white marks on the body as depicted on your Endlicheri. I have no pictures, currently, but I may be able to take some pictures tonight after work. I did re-decorate the tank when adding the new fish, by removing 3 medium rocks, and only leaving about 50lb of wood in the tank. Then, again yesterday, I pulled out one of the logs, and adjusted their placement, to make sure more of the sandbed was open for the fish, and there is less probability that they would run into any decorations and avoid injury in the event there is territorial behavior and they are chased.
Looking forward to more of the helpful input, and coming home to fish that are still breathing -_-;