# Breathing problem with mt male M.Callanios.



## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

Hi,

I have a male Metriclima Callanios in a mixed malawi tank. I have had him for a year but just in the last few days he has developed a problem with his breathing. He is breathing a bit harder and faster than the rest of my fish and is also opening his mouth quite wide with each breath.

He is breathing like he has been getting chased constanly and just in a panic and tired out but i know this is not happening and causing it because after lights out last night i sat at the tank for nearly 2 hrs and he was just resting but still continuing to breath hard. This moring it is the same.

This is what i can tell you -

Bad Things -

He is breathing harder and faster.

Good Things -

He still has all his colour
No clamped fins
He isn't hiding or sitting at the bottom ot top of the tank
He isn't sitting near the outlets for the filters
He is still swimming about 
He is still eating

I had purchased a few new fish in the last few months and i was worried that maybe one of them has brought something into the tank but the new ones are all fine. I also just recently had a male Fryeri get some type of internal infection possible Malawi Bloat without the bloated body. I medicated the whole tankand the Fryeri is back to full health now and i doubt it is this because the Fryeri was very noticably ill but the Callanios just has a breathing problem.

I have two filter outlets that break the water surface a lot and i also have a big air pump that is on 24/7 so there is plently surface aggitation.

I do 2 water changes a week with AquaPlus and the water is brought up to temprature.

My water parameters as follows -

pH - 7.5
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10

I'd be very grateful if anyone could help and Yes i have learned my lesson and i will quarantine every fish i bring home from now on as this has really paranoid me not knowing why/where this has came from.

Ash :fish:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What about thready white poop? The fact that he is eating makes bloat less likely. I'd isolate him in a hospital tank and observe. Sometimes all you can do is wait until additional symptoms make it possible to diagnose something.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I agree on removing him and observing him closely.

If you did lose a fish to bloat (and they don't always look bloated, FYI) you should have treated the main tank, as well. Did you feed them medicated food or do anything preventatively?

Does your water conditioner remove chlorine and chloramines?

All the other fish seem fine?


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

haven't lost a fish to bloat but i do have a male Fryeri which had suspected bloat so because of this i paid the extra money to treat the whole tank just to make sure all fish were medicated. I actually stll have the Fryeri and since medication he is back to himself and eating again luckily. I used Octozin as a medication as here in the UK you can't buy Cloat or Metronidazole which is pretty bad because none of the medications here have any antibiotics in it.

I didn't think the Callanios has bloat as he isn't showing any type of syptom of it as the Fryeri did and he doesn't have white poop. As far as i can see all the other fish seem ok up till now.

I have just been really paranoid as all this seems to have happened after adding new fish from a couple of places but all the new fish seem in perfect health nothing to worry about so maybe this hasn't happend due to one of the new fish.

I use Aqua plus which removes Chlorine and Chloramines i also add an extra cap just to make sure.

I have just today found out at my local fish shop that the guy from Poland who works there can give me Metronidazole as he gets it brought back from Poland. If i need some he said he would give me it. Do you think it would be a good idea to get some and retreat the tank as this medication can help with more than just bloat can't it? and see if there is any improvment?

Look forward to some replys.

Ash :fish:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I think it might be a good idea to feed the fish some medicated food, if you can access enough metronidazole to soak the food in. IMO, people have far more success eradicating internal parasites if they can get the fish to ingest the meds.

You can also add epsom salt to the tank at 1 cup per 100G as a preventative. Just make sure you dissolve it in some tank water first.

There could be a "power shift" within the tank, and the Cobalt could be stressed.


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

Hi again,

Just to give an update.

One of my female Callanios is also stared breathing harder today and one of my peacocks. I have noticed on the peacock that it has a little tiny white bit hanging from one of its gills.

I will say again tho that apart from the heavy breathing and what i have noticed on the peacock they have not been showing any other signs of illness yet ie. clamped fins, sitting at the surface, hiding,lost colour, they are still eatin, no white poo. I was thinking it might be a bacterial gill problem and thats why it just seem to be the gills affected. i don't think its flukes as even tho i sometimes see the occasional fish flick every so often like what all malawis do it isn't anything like continious. What do you think? What could i use?

I HATE why i can't get Clout or Metronidazole here in the UK. Nothing here has antibiotics in it so its just pure pot luck if something actually works.

Also another thing my Male Fryeri which had suspected bloat which i used Octozin for is still eating and swimming about but has went a really dark colour again nearly black so i think maybe the Octozin is helped to a certain extent but hasn't fully erradicated it.

I don't know what to do but i have a very bad feeling if i don't discover what this is and medicate that i am going to start losing a good few fish. If anyone reads this who doesn't already do it it BUY A QUARANTINE TANK and use it !! This is probably why i am in this situation now and my lesson is well and truly learned.

Please someone help.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Are they flashing at all? Any redness in the gill area?

It may be gill flukes.

Do you have access to praziquantel? (Any Jungle meds, or PraziPro?)


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

Hi there,

Just to let you know that i have called 2 fish shops that i regulary go to and they have been no help whatsoever which i have been annoyed about. I then called up a diffrent fish shop and explained the symptoms. Because the fish that are ill are showing no other signs of illness that i can see apart from heavy breathing they thought it could be bacterial or a virus.

They recommended that i try a pond medication that they have used in the past when they have had fish shipped in that haven't been very well but with no signs of visable illness and it had done the trick.

They said its a bit stronger and would hopefully cure the fish.

The medication is Tap Acriflavine - Advanvced Bacterial Treatment. It says it is to be used against Flagellates,Fungi,Flukes,Protozoa,Bacteria and some Viruses. I hope i have done the right thing by taking their advice. Does this mediacation sound like it was the right type of stuff to put in? I did try to see if i could get any of the meds cichlidaholic mentioned above but i couldn't get any of them in this country.

Could you let me know if the medicine i have got deals with similiar things as the ones advised to get by cichlidaholic? As for

As for the fish flicking i have seen a few doing it every now and then but nothing more than what they have always done.

I am getting really frustrated about this and i am paniking about losing fish. Hopefully that won't happen anytime soon though as the fish are still readily eating and swimming around as normal. I am sure that this problem has came in with the little Fryeri i bought as the fish shop still has the other one at the shop in the same tank and it used to be silver and is now sitting in the tank and is nearly black and with a really bad hollow belly there is also new fish in the same malawi tanks and they have been showing really heavy breathing problems also but with no other signs of illness etc still swimming about. This is why i think i have brought something into the tank from that fish shop. What do you think?


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

ash01 said:


> As for the fish crazy i have seen a few doing it every now and then but nothing more than what they have always done.


This should of said -

As for the fish rubbing off of the sand i have seen a few doing this but none more than what they have always done.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

If it's used to treat flukes, you may be okay with this med. It sounds like it's a pretty "all around" treatment, and probably the best you can access. I was wondering if it might be gill flukes, anyway, so hopefully this will work.

It's frustrating trying to make the right decision when treating fish, and it can be very difficult to decide where to start, since so many illnesses/diseases manifest in similiar symptoms. Basically, at this point, you're doing the best that you can.

Throw in all the water changes you can...This always helps. If the medication doesn't specify water changes, just do them prior to adding the dosages.

You are probably right, you probably introduced this with those fish. A quarantine tank is a good thing to have available. I QT tank raised fish for 2 weeks, and wild fish for a month.


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

Hi just an update today. This is the 3rd day of the medication being in the tank. I haven't seen any improvment so far with him. He still is nowhere near looking like he is dying. He is still colourful, swimming about the tank as normal, eating, scraping algae off the rocks etc, no weight loss. I have noticed since adding the medication a good few of my fish have been scratching slightly more than usual but i don't know if the medication might have something in it that could be irritating their gills or if it might be symptoms of the possible illness starting to show. It is just their gills they are rubbing on the sand they are not rubbing any other part of their bodies on the sand.

I have looked and looked on the internet to try and diganose what is wrong with a few of my fish but i can't seem to find anything with just the symptoms being heavy breathing apart from bacterial gill rot. Which if it is this then the medication that is in the tank should hopefully fix it. They don't seem to be showing anything externally.

Because he is showing no signs of dying whatsoever i am going to give him a few more days in the tank with the med and if there is still no improvment i have found a vet locally to me that deals with fish and it will be Â£24 for them to look at it but it will be well worth it just to find what the problem is and hopefully cure it. They will probably take some scrapings from him and look at them under the microscope, won't they?

Its killing me not knowing what is going on in the tank with my fish :-?  :-?

Ash


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

New update again !!

I have just stared at all my fish to cheack them over again this time with the lights out. What i have noticed is this - A couple of the Callinios and my male Saulosi looks like the are bold ie no scales or they have just changed to a silvery/white colour behide their fins on their sides they use for swimming with. I then checked all other fish for this and they seem fine ie yellow lab is yellow right up to their side fins none other fish have colour/scale loss in this area. So this had made me think their is an external problem as these fish should have been blue right up to their side fins.

I wish i had checked them this properly when the lights were out before now as i have always done it with lights on if i had i would of noticed this before now. You can't tell they have this problem when the lights are on.

Let me know what you think.


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## ash01 (Feb 24, 2008)

Update from tonight.

Still only a couple of my fish breathing hard and acting normal apart from.

Noticed a few fish have now what looks like a bold patch behind their pectrol fins.

Red Empress, Hap Sp44 and Saulosi have now lost the blue colour from their mouth up to their dorasal fins the colour is now a matt grey colour where the blue was, They seem to have also lost their shine on their bodies.

One Callanios female has a couple of darker patches on her side and on the other side it looks like a couple of black type thread veins on her scales.

A few fish have little bits hanging off the base of their dorsal fins.

A few fish have what looks like in one to two areas on their bodies a raised scale.

I have 5 bar Trets and they have always been bright white and black but now their white has went like a really dirty white.

Switched the light on and noticed straight away my absaloute favourite fish Aulunacara Calico has got what looks like a larger raised scale on his side and a white thing about 1cm long hanging/flapping about from it. What the **** is going on ??

Are these things that seem to be on my fish adding up to be a certain disease ??

Please can someone get back to me please.

I am going to try and get an appointment at the vets for tommorow and take a couple down to see if they can figure it out.

All fish are still very intrested in food and eating.


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