paratilapia small spot. Help

[tanyaelec11]

I had a 4 inch male paratilapia small spot shipped to me. Once I put him into a quarantine tank I noticed a growth on his lip. Turns out he had ich . So I treated the ich with paraguard and daily water changes / salt and a higher temp. Now the ich is gone but I'm running into another issue . He now has white covering his eyes and white patches all over his body. I'm suspecting a secondary infection from the ich. He was not active up until this morning. Laying at the bottom of the tank and not moving / eating . Today he is swimming / floating around. My question is should I be treating with an antibiotic for the secondary infection ( white patches ) or should I be doing water changes every day and hope for the best ? I desperately want to save this little guy I have been waiting for a male small spot for a very long time ! He has not eaten since I have received him and its been over a week and he looks really bad. I was pretty sure he was going to die yesterday but today he seems to be a bit better. Could anyone put some input into this to help me save this fish ?

 

[mrrobxc]

How bug is the tank and how long has it been established? I'd do daily water changes of at least 50 percent for now and be sure to keep the lights off. Post a picture with tank and water parameters into the disease section.

 

[jeaninel]

Did your fish recover?

 

[tanyaelec11]

yes he did . thank goodness. It took everything . I was pretty sure he was going to die.. I did 50 % water changes every day and treated with furan 2 . I don't usually go to such extreme measures but this time I did because I was completely lost. I posted in the disease and health section and didn't get an answer for a few days so I did some heavy research and tried that . he eventually started eating hikari omnivore frozen food that I mixed with some garlic guard and a very small amount of Epsom salt every two days. I did that for 10 days. along with the constant 50 % water changes. I think I'm stronger from it because I had to use the 5 gallon bucket for it was the hospital tank in my bedroom. hes now eating pellets and nightcrawlers but he did go blind in one eye. Its better than losing him and he is still a handsome little man ! However I am worried about putting him in with the rest of the population because he is blind in one eye and has trouble finding the food versus my other fish hit the food as soon as it hits the water. Only time will tell. and I am having a 120 custom build I'm hoping to put him in with a few other friendly fish .

 

[jeaninel]

That's great to hear that he recovered! Great job on your part. I think he should adapt well to the one eye. My nephew has a jag that survived a house fire. The tank sat in the house for a week or so with no filtration going (no power) before they could get in. All the fish died except this jag. Ammonia must have been sky high. It was horrible. Anyway, she is still alive today but was fully blinded due to the ammonia. She is in a tank with other cichlids and holds her own well, eats, etc. He did target feed her at first but over time her sense of smell guided her quickly to food.It's pretty amazing. Anyway hope your guy does well. Maybe he'll recover his sight in that eye.

 

[LS2012]

Just saw this thread. I remember when you lost your Paratilapia .
I'm really glad you have a new one and he's OK. I have a Bujurquina thats blind in one eye, from a run in with driftwood. He's OK and has a great appetite. When I feed the tank, I put food in two areas at the same time. He doesn't have a problem finding food. Good luck!