What happened to this fish?

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DaveB

DaveB

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2008
1,244
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Miami
(Warning, awful photos below)

My old Uaru had what I thought was a jaw injury the other day. I assumed it was from a fight, even though I don't know who it would've been with. She couldn't close her jaw and there was a clear wound on the front, but she showed interest in food and even ate a bit.

Yesterday I wasn't around. I guess I made a big mistake not isolating her.

Today she was near death and not resisting the current of an FX5. I netted her out. I'm going to give her a few hours in a highly salted QT to see if she's able to pull through before I euthanize her. I am not optimistic.

I don't really think it was a fight anymore, given the way her skin rapidly disintegrated.

But I don't know what else it would be. It was sudden and it hasn't affected anyone else. They live in an understocked brand new (but with their old established filters) 220. It is a peaceful tank and being new and mostly empty, there are only trace nitrates. Under 5.

This same fish had what I believe to be some mild bacterial issues and was bullied by some other Uaru (sold in February) a while back, and she's old. Still, she seemed to have plenty of life in her til the other day.

My main concern at this point is that maybe the tank has some other issue to be worried about. Like a major one. (But if I had a major issue, I'd expect eartheaters and discus to die immediately. They're all fine.)

Does this jump out as any disease issue, or was she simply not strong enough to heal from a wound?

Two pics. One with flash, one without:

IMG_0992.jpg

IMG_0993.jpg
 
Yeah, me too. The question is what. And why it wouldn't bother any of the other more sensitive fish. In my experience, Uarus are nearly invincible. Eartheaters and discus are not.
 
Since you have had this fish along time .. i am leaning towards injury.. either swimming fast away from something and smashing the glass or perhaps some ornament in the tank.. just unlikely that it would have this type of infection this fast.. and that you would not have noticed it... i definitly say injury.. and it does not always have to do with tankmates.. it just could have been startled..
 
The jaw is showing signs of Nocardia sp. take a look at the copied text below. API Erythromycin or Maracyn are usually good on gram positive bacteria. See the information below. If you are going to try to treat with an antibiotic keep it in the hospital tank.

  1. Gram positive filamentous rod (weakly acid fast positive)
    The organism is a problem with mostly aquarium fish. However, it is occasionally observed in cultured salmonids.
    Clinically this is a chronic disease characterized by raised granulomatous masses in the mouth, jaw, gills and skin (The mouth and jaw are the most common sites). Dermal masses eventually ulcerate. Numerous white raised nodules (granulomas) are often observed in the viscera.
  2. The exact route of transmission is unknown. However, it is felt that entry through wounds and abrasions is the most common source of infection. (Ingestion of the bacteria has been known to cause the disease.)
 
Yeah, it is a new tank that is temporarily in a spot where people coming in are kind of sudden. That said, she was never spooked that I noticed. And the only ornaments are smooth rocks and a piece of driftwood.

My concern is that the wound clearly progressed from what looked like a dislocated jaw and small scrape to a series of large scrapes and decay, more like columnaris or something awful. I wouldn't expect that of a simple flesh wound in clean water. This fish has, in the past, had giant chunks out of her side from spooking that healed in about two days. In fact, that's most of the reason why I shrugged off the injury when I first saw it. Like I said, in my experience Uaru are basically invincible. I figured she'd just heal right up as long as the water was clean.
 
Aquanero;5038214; said:
The jaw is showing signs of Nocardia sp. thak a look at the copied text below. API Erythromycin or Maracyn are usually good on gram positive bacteria. See the information below.

  1. Gram positive filamentous rod (weakly acid fast positive)
    The organism is a problem with mostly aquarium fish. However, it is occasionally observed in cultured salmonids.
    Clinically this is a chronic disease characterized by raised granulomatous masses in the mouth, jaw, gills and skin (The mouth and jaw are the most common sites). Dermal masses eventually ulcerate. Numerous white raised nodules (granulomas) are often observed in the viscera.
  2. The exact route of transmission is unknown. However, it is felt that entry through wounds and abrasions is the most common source of infection. (Ingestion of the bacteria has been known to cause the disease.)
Click to expand...


Whoa. Now that's a diagnosis.

And I buy it 100%. Why? It meshes quite well with this:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4878882&postcount=7

White mass (more noticeable when not on the camera) present two months ago, post-bullying.

Perhaps they were bullying her because she had weakened and they could tell. They had lived as a group for over a year prior to that.

So I have to wonder - too late to fix? I believe I have some gram-positive meds, possibly eryth...
 
Yes it is defenatly showing clasic symtoms. I saw this once a few years ago and the antibiotics did the job. Yours is in an advanced state but it's very difficult to ID befor this. You could also apply a 3x topical anitbiotic ointment directly to the affected area in conjunction with the antibiotic added to the tank. keep us posted on the progress.
 
Turns out I only had one packet of erythromycin left. If she lives through the evening I'll go get more. She seems to have given up.
 
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