Mystery Angelfish Disease

[phreeflow]

Tough call….meds can accelerate the demise of your fish because it’s hard on their organs. Often, pristine water conditions, good aeration and temps, and maybe some salt will help an otherwise healthy fish bounce back.

However, if you’ve read about septicemia and think it matches your fishes symptoms, then you need to make a decision as that is a pretty fast moving illness.

 

[Oompaloompa]

At this point, it is all a guess based on the pics and info you provided. Seeing how the skin is sloughing off in certain areas, red streaks, the big ulcer, and various other descriptions, my guess would be septicemia but again, there’s no way to be sure without a skin scrape and a trained eye to examine it under a microscope.

You should research septicemia: here are key terms viral/bacterial/hemorrhagic septicemia. Not much you can do if it’s viral but if bacterial, you can try Furan 2 mixed with Kanamycin at full dose and super clean water.

Someone on another forum has advised me to try applying meth blue directly to the pale area on the angelfish from my tank so that if the meth blue stains as meth blue apparently doesn't stain when the slime coat is intact but does if it is missing or damaged. So if it's missing or damaged that area will be open to infection too. I'll update how that goes on here too!

 

[finadic]

You might want to try purple magic from iaqua that most breeders, importers and hobbare using to treat there fish with great success. It is highly recommended and It does wonders in many cases. I have personally used it, and always keep some on on hand for imports. Keep in mind, Sometimes angelfish get to a point if no return. Take any carbon out and Use one capful of the 16oz. Bottle per 30 gallons of water once a day for 5 days, then do a large water change and repeat the treatment up to one or 2 more times if needed with same directions. It will also clear your water. Here is a link to there video, and website :

iAqua Carbon, Fish Tank, Aquarium Carbon Products, Santa Clarita, CA

iAqua Carbon offers a range of carbon products that will keep your aquariums clean and healthy.

www.iaquacarbon.com

Good Luck

 

[finadic]

Also turning up temperature to 82-84 with good air supply, and a little bit of aquarium rock salt on top of treatment could also aid a little bit to good results.

 

[phreeflow]

Turning the heat up when there’s a bacterial infection is not a good idea. It will accelerate the proliferation of bacteria.

Raised temps are good for treating external parasites and protozoans

 

[Oompaloompa]

Tough call….meds can accelerate the demise of your fish because it’s hard on their organs. Often, pristine water conditions, good aeration and temps, and maybe some salt will help an otherwise healthy fish bounce back.

However, if you’ve read about septicemia and think it matches your fishes symptoms, then you need to make a decision as that is a pretty fast moving illness.

Hmm thank you for your help! I'll try a bit of salt first and maybe adding some blackwater. If after a week I'm not seeing any improvement then I'll try kanamycin and furan 2! I'll finish up the final round of levamisole as they only have one more left next week (large water change will be done before adding the antibiotics if I end up needing to use them) but I'll stop the use of praziquantel.

The only fish that seems to have been affected by septicemia is the one with swollen vent (reddish purple bruising, ulcer, stomach bloated on one side). The rest of the fishes symptoms still seem quite general (not eating, stomach sunken in but could be from not eating, white poop that could be any internal infection or from not eating, the darting forward and flicking ventral fins and body only indicate some sort of itch or irritation). The red on their body for the rest of them is still normal and is kept to only the upper third of their body where it's supposed to be, nothing looks like the typical septicemia streaks I've seen on my other fishes before thankfully. I still have no idea what the black dots are as they don't seem to be a symptom specific to any freshwater pathogens that I'm aware of?

For the slime coat sloughing off you're referring to the large pale area on one of the angelfish right? Does slime coat shed like that? I've normally only seen it comes off kind of in patches and not so neatly following the lines of the scales?

 

[finadic]

A few almonds leaves can’t hurt either, just keep an eye on the ph. The purple magic has been tested and is safe to use and is extremely effective you can’t go wrong and it is not as rough on the fish like the strong pharmaceuticals. Highly recommended.

 

[Oompaloompa]

The meth blue did stain some of the pale areas, the pictures don't show it well but there is a faint blue stain! So the slime coat in those areas are missing/damaged

He does have some white stuff on his mouth, likely to be a bacterial infection, if it doesn't clear up with other treatments in a few days I'll use kanamycin