Juvie GT, eating but sunken belly

[DarylMac]

Hey All,

My 5 juvenile GT's are settling into their 135g tank. They're all eating and showing improved colour now that they're settled.

3 are fattening up, but 2 show signs of a sunk belly. Should I assume internal parasite/worms and treat with API general cure or something else?

On a possibly related note I have noticed what appears to be a fine white powdery film on the surface of the water. It showed up following last weeks water change. At first I thought it was just air bubbles and whatnot.

When it didn't clear up I thought, hmmm.. Maybe it's drywall dust? I was sanding a drywall patch on the wall adjacent to the tank that day as well (2 feet away). I used my shop vac for clean-up and thought it may have been drywall dust forced into the air by the shop vac exhaust (I was using a fine filter, but not the finest 'hepa' rated filter).

I had my hand in the tank tonight and the water surface kind of felt filmy.

I have no idea what this is if my drywall dust guess is wrong... I'll do a w/c tomorrow and try to skim this stuff off the top with my Python (it's too fine to scoop with a net).

Any advice appreciated.

 

[mrrobxc]

Don't treat unless you see white stringy feces. Otherwise, try to fatten them up over time. Feed some frozen and high protein pellets. If they are eating and their feces is dark. You should be fine.

As for your the water, do a large number after change and test your water. As long as fish are fine, don't worry to much. When in doubt, do a large water change.

 

[Frank Castle]

I've seen many GTs w/ those symptoms, including some I own and it sounds like Hexamita to me. I have feeding them food soaked in Epsom salts and Metroplex, then recently I started dosing the tank itself also

for the dust, I have an old net that was beat, so I stripped the netting off and re-fitted it w/ a Nylon stocking. Picks up the finest particles ever

 

[cichlidfish]

I agree with Frank. You can't be too careful. What Frank is mentioning won't cause any harm, so it can't hurt to try. Catching hexamita early is the best way to beat it.
Also if you can, get NLS garlic based pellets of some kind. I've beaten hexamita using these pellets and epsom salt.

 

[DarylMac]

I'll look into NLS garlic - is it the same as Thera-A or whatever that NLS is called? No matter - my LFS has every type of NLS you can imagine! I'm sure I'll find it. I don't mind spending money on Meds either. I plan on adding more Bleeding Hearts to the tank in a bit so I will want to use Meds on those fish too.

I've got a 15g tank I'll set-up some where As a QT tank for the bleeding hearts - much cheaper to treat 15g than 135g!

As for the white powder I have read that it could be a type of protein based scum - I'm not convinced that's what it is but I'll increase surface agitation anyhow.