Sick Texan

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

2 days ago I noticed my Texas wasnt acting right, not eating, not swimming around much, the second day comes around he starts to get some type of fungus and then he doesnt close his mouth, not even sure he can. So last night I put him in my 10 gallon hospital tank and treated him with Maracyn, is that what you all would recommend? I tested my water in the 125 and everything was normal, I've been doing 30% or so water changes once a week. I have bad luck with sick fish, they always seem to die, I'd have to see him pass on...

Here are his pics. No other fish in the tank have any "visible" disease, all are eating and acting as they should.

 

[Lupin]

How thick is the substrate in your main tank?
Do you vacuum it thoroughly?
Does it or any decors (if any) have abrasive edges?

You can try dosing salt at 0.3% concentration. Instructions are found here. Read the article carefully to find the part where salt dosing is stated.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2138158&postcount=2

In the meantime, if you have iodine solution, get Q-tip and try swabbing the sore areas with it. The salt should be able to keep off bacterial infections.

 

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

Sadly, he died. I spent $56 on medicine on the day he died. He got "I think" dropsy, scales started protruding out starting as his tail and worked its way up, stomach was bloated, more fungus was forming on his upper lip.

Have about 1-2" of gravel
I vacuum it throughly about once a week with weekly water changes.
I have a few texas holey rock and some wood.

I put him in a 10 gallon hospital tank, used fresh water, added salt, maracyn and then maracyn 2 with dropsy treatment, pimafix and stresscoat. I'm thinking either my water temps had something to do with it or the goldfish, or maybe both. I raised the temps and no more goldfish, did a 60% water changed today, added to fllter cartridges and cleaned the 3 hang on filters and 1 canister. Guess I'll see what happens...

 

[Lupin]

I posted this in another forum so I'll simply paste it here.

Possible causes:

1. Intestinal worms.
2. Internal bacterial infection.
3. Stress or trauma.
4. Improper acclimation process. This occurs almost immediately.
5. Clogged gastrointestinal tract.
6. Renal damage.
7. Too much accumulation of organic matter serving as nice breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria.
8. Bad water quality.
9. Bad food quality.

Most of the time, dropsy cases unfortunately have a slim chance of recovery. Your best bet would be euthanasia for full blown cases especially for suspected renal damage and improper acclimation.

For bacterial infection, use metronidazole and dose with aquarium salt at a concentration of 0.3% (3 teaspoons per gallon) to aid osmoregulation. You might want to elevate your hardness levels by at least 150 ppm. No lesser than that. Epsom salts can only help to an extent. Aquarium salt or table salt (without yellow prussiate) is your better alternative. Sometimes injectable antibiotics such as Baytril are best administered if you have the resource to it. Dosage is by weight of fish. Insulin syringes are needed to administer this intramuscular method. This is best done on large fish though.

To diagnose dropsy, look into the following.
1. Water parameters.
2. Tankmates.
3. Foods. Shelf life, quality, ingredients, guaranteed analysis, sources.
4. Acclimation process.
5. Maintenance schedule.
6. Filtration.
7. Thickness of substrate.
8. Kinds of decorations.
9. Behavioral patterns.
10. Physical changes especially stool appearance.