# Keyhole stopped eating



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I am SO frustrated with my tanks 

I had a kribensis in my 40G who wasn't eating, but I thought it was because she was so scared being with bigger fish that I moved her to my 25G. That was last week. She didn't start eating, so I figured maybe parasites and put her by herself in a 5G to medicate. I medicated with Praziquantel, Metronidazole, and Fenbendazole (briefly saw some camallanus many months ago). I don't ever medicate like this, but she's SO SO thin that I was sure she was at death's door. Fenbendazole is really really mild so I added that on top of the parasite guard (not parasite clear).

Anywho. No progress on the kribensis. Still not eating, though she often takes food into her mouth. It just doesn't stay there.

BUT NOW, my baby keyhole who is in the 25 stopped eating last night. She hides in a corner and I thought she looked a little "fat", but she's been that way for about a month so I thought that it was because she's a little piggy. Maybe it's bloat? From WHAT??? I haven't had ANY problems in my tanks for months, and I haven't gotten new fish, food, or plants in months. The only thing that changed was moving the kribensis.

Tanks:
40G: juvie Sev, 4 angels
Nitrates: 10-15
ammonia and nitrites: 0
pH: 7.5

25G: Bolivian Pair, 3 fry, Keyhole, dwarf cories
Nitrates: 5
ammonia and nitrites: 0

Water change schedule: 30% every 4 days or so. Please help. fish illnesses seem so abstract to me. I just can't wrap my mind around this! I'll charge my camera and try to get a picture of the keyhole.


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## Morcs (Jun 1, 2009)

Bloat is something that can just happen. Look up how to treat for bloat, I cant remember off the top of my head.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Hmm.. Still not eating. She's breathing really really fast. Meds don't look like they're working. What are the chances that she'll live if it's bloat?

But I don't get it! If bloat comes from parasites, where did the parasites come from? Could my fish have parasites for months and months without showing any symptoms?


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

> briefly saw some camallanus many months ago


More details on this would help. Were the parasites ON/ATTACHED to the fish?

How long did you medicate for with the metronidazole and what dosage did you use? Metronidazole is a great medication, effective against some parasites and some bacterias but the dose has to be strong enough and long enough to do any good.

Could be a couple of different things going on here. The 'baby' keyhole may be overeating as you suspect. This can lead to serious health problems with fish--both long term and immediate. I would hold off on feeding this fish for the next few days. You can add *epsom salt at the rate of 1 tablespoon per five gallons to work as a laxative and mild analgesic. 
Its also possible that the 'baby' keyhole has what the other keyhole has. At any rate the epsom salt / fast is a good idea.

With the other keyhole you're probably looking at either a bacterial disease or bloat--parasites. 
At this point its hard to say if the extreme skinniness is from lack of food or a bacterial disease commonly known as 'skinny disease'. Typically with skinny disease the fish will linger for weeks, even months, getting skinnier and skinnier. The bones on their head will appear to stick out. 
With bloat the symptom start off with the fish mouthing it's food but not swallowing, then it stops eating, becomes lethargic, has stringy white or clear feces, gasps and may or may not become bloated or extremely skinny looking. Without treatment a fish usually dies from bloat within a couple of weeks and it's also common for only one fish to get bloat at a time.

So you see you have some symptoms that seem to fit a bacterial infection and some that fit bloat. 
I think I would try treating all the fish with something like Jungle Parasite Clear. It mostly targets parasites but also has ingredients that work on bacterias. 
If however you feel the symptoms more closely resemble Skinny Disease then you should treat all fish with a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn-two.

Robin


> But I don't get it! If bloat comes from parasites, where did the parasites come from? Could my fish have parasites for months and months without showing any symptoms?


Bloat is thought to be caused by intestinal flaggelates, (parasites) that reside harmlessly in the fish's intestines until the fish comes under some sort of stress at which time the flaggelates multiply to such numbers that they overwelm the fish. This 'fish stress' can come from just about anything: improper diet, rough handling, fluctuating water conditions, overeating, aggressive tankmates, etc. 
Bloat is thought to be spread when healthy fish mouth infected feces so its a good idea to increase the frequency of partial water changes and gravel siphonings--temporarily--whenever bloat is suspected. 
*Epsom salt: dissolve it first and add it gradually over several hours time.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Thank you so much for your response. No deaths, but still no progress.

1. The camallanus worms were sticking out of the fish's vent (kribensis). They looked like tiny red needles coming out of her vent.
2. The medication I'm using is a combo one. It's Jungle Internal Parasite Guard (different from parasite clear--I can't get parasite clear here). It has metronidazole and praziquantel, but doesn't specify the amounts. I followed the instructions on the bottle which say to dose at 1 teaspoon (5grams) per 5 gallons. I've used it twice so far, two days apart.
3. As for overeating, maybe it's true, but I only feed twice a day what my fish will eat in 30 seconds.
4. The skinny fish (kribensis) looks to be in good spirits--not lethargic, not gasping, and no stringy feces. Just skinny. Very strange.
5. The baby keyhole is bloated, and breathing quick shallow breaths. She's not at the surface of the water, but rather, resting on the sand.

I hope this helps! I will get the epsom salt today and give that a shot. Thanks again!


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

RIP little keyhole  In her last few hours, she was breathing really really hard. Poor little thing


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## iwishihadmorefish (Jan 3, 2011)

my keyhole just died of the same thing like 2 mins ago i found a cure but since its 2:30 am i couldnt get it in time im worried because i read an article tht said it can spread in the tank and from coming in contact with nets feeding untensils and splash and spray from the infected tank i use the same equipment for all my tanks and i ve invested to much money to lose them all im scared


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