rare Malawi cichlid disease
Please don't panic,
this disease is truly rare.
I call it "Malawi plague"
I forget the real name.
Shows up every 3 years or so...
a nasty flesh-eating bacteria.
Allegedly the bacteria is endemic to Lake Malawi,
but virtually never shows up on wild fish.
I know of at least one Florida fish farm that has had it,
and frankly I suspect some Asian fish farms have it.
Only affects Malawi cichlids,
maybe sometimes Tanganyikans.
Never affects South or Central American Cichlids or non-cichlids.
But it is highly contagious, water born, so a wet net or anything can transfer it,
including another cichlid or any fish going from tank to tank.
It is so scary, I always warn the staff
and we all wash our hands with the hottest water possible and soap
after working with water suspected of containing the rare bacteria.
I also throw away hoses, nets and other equipment used in working with a suspect tank.
Fortunately I haven't seen it here in four years.
Got it from a Florida fish farm I won't name because they have since eradicated the problem (hopefully).
The disease was going around New England PetCos about 3 years ago.
Starts out looking like ordinary mouth-fungus
(which would not be too unusual for Malawis because they mouth fight.)
Next the fungus shows up on the dorsal and back.
Next the fungus attacks the center of the body,
this (and the mouth/face) damages is what causes death.
In as little as 3 days!
The rapid spread over the body,
and the almost totally predictable effected body areas in succession,
is what is different with Malawi Plague from regular "fin & tail rot".
Fin & Tail Rot appears anywhere on the body at random,
and progresses slowly (7 to 14 days usually.)
Regular Fin & Tail Rot is normally treatable with ordinary Tetracycline, clean water and good food.
This disease is so nasty it will kill every Malawi cichlid in your tank.
No amount of water changes
(the normal solution with Malawi or any fish tank with problems)
Maracyn, Clout, Quick Cure, Metronidazole, salt, or heat (my usual favorites)
will help at all.
The good news is
Oxylinic Acid
(an unusual antibacterial powder)
destroys the Malawi Plague bacteria in as little as one dose.
I usually give it 3 doses, just to be sure.
Usually when using antibiotics,
I leave the filter foams, but remove the carbon.
In the case of Oxylinic Acid,
I find that removing even the sponges is more effective,
because the powder is almost non-dissolving
and would be caught in the filter foams.
You are virtually "dusting" the fish.
We always keep Oxylinic Acid in stock.
It happens to be good on other flesh eating bacterias,
such as "Neon Tetra disease".
So
nothing to panic about...
just something to be aware of.
Please don't panic,
this disease is truly rare.
I call it "Malawi plague"
I forget the real name.
Shows up every 3 years or so...
a nasty flesh-eating bacteria.
Allegedly the bacteria is endemic to Lake Malawi,
but virtually never shows up on wild fish.
I know of at least one Florida fish farm that has had it,
and frankly I suspect some Asian fish farms have it.
Only affects Malawi cichlids,
maybe sometimes Tanganyikans.
Never affects South or Central American Cichlids or non-cichlids.
But it is highly contagious, water born, so a wet net or anything can transfer it,
including another cichlid or any fish going from tank to tank.
It is so scary, I always warn the staff
and we all wash our hands with the hottest water possible and soap
after working with water suspected of containing the rare bacteria.
I also throw away hoses, nets and other equipment used in working with a suspect tank.
Fortunately I haven't seen it here in four years.
Got it from a Florida fish farm I won't name because they have since eradicated the problem (hopefully).
The disease was going around New England PetCos about 3 years ago.
Starts out looking like ordinary mouth-fungus
(which would not be too unusual for Malawis because they mouth fight.)
Next the fungus shows up on the dorsal and back.
Next the fungus attacks the center of the body,
this (and the mouth/face) damages is what causes death.
In as little as 3 days!
The rapid spread over the body,
and the almost totally predictable effected body areas in succession,
is what is different with Malawi Plague from regular "fin & tail rot".
Fin & Tail Rot appears anywhere on the body at random,
and progresses slowly (7 to 14 days usually.)
Regular Fin & Tail Rot is normally treatable with ordinary Tetracycline, clean water and good food.
This disease is so nasty it will kill every Malawi cichlid in your tank.
No amount of water changes
(the normal solution with Malawi or any fish tank with problems)
Maracyn, Clout, Quick Cure, Metronidazole, salt, or heat (my usual favorites)
will help at all.
The good news is
Oxylinic Acid
(an unusual antibacterial powder)
destroys the Malawi Plague bacteria in as little as one dose.
I usually give it 3 doses, just to be sure.
Usually when using antibiotics,
I leave the filter foams, but remove the carbon.
In the case of Oxylinic Acid,
I find that removing even the sponges is more effective,
because the powder is almost non-dissolving
and would be caught in the filter foams.
You are virtually "dusting" the fish.
We always keep Oxylinic Acid in stock.
It happens to be good on other flesh eating bacterias,
such as "Neon Tetra disease".
So
nothing to panic about...
just something to be aware of.
