Ornate Bichir 16" has pale white patches, bleeding. pics disease? bruise?

[mike_sema]

YES, I see them now with my led flashlight. Small white and red tubes, wiggling in the current. All outside of the damaged areas spreading outward it seems. They're getting the nuke now. Let's keep our fingers crossed for this cool guy.

Not good,,do not add any other polys to your tank for at least a week after you confirm they are all gone


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[Dieselhybrid]

if the damage was there before he had a chance to hang out with the pleco, then the pleco can't be the cause...although the pleco would probably start causing problems down the road.

but, if the damage was there before you got the bichir then bichir worms are the likely culprit. I just had this issue about a month ago and i have become very educated on the subject... but i could see little planaria like worms on my fish. I dosed with prazi pro at 1/2 dose for 2 weeks and that seemed to clear it up.

I think the parasite guard should work just as well according to other threads, but treat at half or 3/4ths dose as bichirs are sensitive to these meds.

Hey Nim, did your bichir have the white spots?

I used prazi pro 3/4 strength. upped the temp and added a little salt. I'll get up to 1 tbsp per gal over the course of the next week. I don't want to fluctuate the water chemistry too much at once.

 

[Nim Dibbley]

Hey Nim, did your bichir have the white spots?

I used prazi pro 3/4 strength. upped the temp and added a little salt. I'll get up to 1 tbsp per gal over the course of the next week. I don't want to fluctuate the water chemistry too much at once.

Mine had just a slight discoloration in one spot but no red marks like yours....mine didnt get anywhere as serious as yours.

I got two new laps about a week apart that looked fine and i even kept them in QT for a week each. then i added each one to the main tank about a week apart. everything was fine for another week or so then i noticed one of them had the start of what looked like might be happening to your fish.

i stared at it for a while when i noticed a little worm or something crawling on it. then i noticed more. then i saw some on one on an endli that i have had for over a year.

i got lucky and caught mine very early. i also added salt and kept the tank at 82. after the first week i was freaking out because they were still there and i wasnt sure what to do. i just gave them another round or prazipro and the worms disappeared within a day or two of the second dose.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

thanks for the response. I don't see many on mine, but I suppose many could have burrowed into the poor fish. Thanks for the response. I'll wait it out.

And my last post was supposed to say 1 tbsp per 10 gallons.

thanks again I'll update as the situation progresses

 

[Nim Dibbley]

How is the fish doing?

 

[Dieselhybrid]

sorry such a delayed response. I've been on the road travelling for work with the roommate watching the tanks between trips.

Thank everyone so much for your help and input! The big fat Ornate has healed! the white patches are now back to regular coloration. The ornate pattern is a little off in those spots if you really stare but the scales are back and it's active like I've never seen before. My other Bichirs are a little lazy, motivated by food and commotion but this one never stops moving all through the water column. Is this normal? It's been powerfeeding nicely on shrimp, tilapia, massivore, algae wafers (loves them!) and frozen and chopped striper bass chunks. It has grown a bit longer and gained a ton of girth. It didn't eat for two weeks with the bichir worm issue, I guess it's making up for lost time. About as big around as a soda can now.

Thanks everyone for helping save my fish!