# Sick fish?



## laney_miller85 (Jan 8, 2013)

I have a 55 gallon all male setup. For the past week some of my fish seem to be showing less color. All of my fish have been flashing almost constantly (Even my syno cat, he never does that). I keep testing the water parameters and all seems fine. Ammonia and Nitrites are 0 ppm, and nitrates are currently measuring at 20 ppm (today is water change day). The PH is a consistent 8.0, temp is 78 degrees. The fish all have very healthy appetites. They also appear to have normal waste. Other than the constant flashing, all seems perfect. The tank has been running for over a year, but less than a month ago I got rid of all the fish I had and replaced my stock with all males. I would like to treat the whole tank to make sure my fish stay healthy, but without knowing what is ailing the fish how should I treat them? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!


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## bluenapG (Mar 30, 2011)

First thought is - it could be aggression with all males. How many fish? What species?

If it's not aggression, did you quarantine the new fish before putting them in your display tank? If not, you may have brought home a "special surprise" parasite along with the new fish. It can take weeks or months before you see the effects of some parasites. You can try a course of PraziPro to get rid of some parasites, though it isn't effective for ich. Some folks treat new fish with PraziPro as a prophylactic.

Flashing can be flukes - which I got from a fish I didn't quarantine - and it took almost a year to completely get rid of the flukes. Luckily it didn't affect my main tank.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Prazipro is a good choice, and it sounds like something came in with the fish. I take it your syno cat was a hold over from when you swapped stock? Anyway about it, all fish will need to be treated, and make sure you vacuum the substrate with your water changes. And for now, add a few extra water changes into your schedule- pristine water is the best thing for fighting disease.


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## laney_miller85 (Jan 8, 2013)

My current stock is:

-1 aulonocara baenschi
-1 aulonocara ruebescens
-1 otopharynx lithobate
-1 placidochromis electra
-1 aulonocara stuartgranti (red shoulder)
-1 copadichromis trewavasse lupingu
-1 astatilapia caliptera
-1 ngara flametail
-1 lethrinops
-1 Synondontis cat
-1 bristlenose pleco

Since I did a full swap with my fish (the 2 catfish are the only ones I kept) I was not able to quarantine the fish since my QT tank is only 10 gallons. I ordered all the fish at the same time from the same breeder.

There is some aggression issues in the tank from my astatilapia caliptera, but he is going into a timeout tank for a bit. I think I will do a treatment of prazipro and see how the fish respond to that. Thanks!


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

My experience is that it is best to treat every 2-3 days for at least 5 treatments, with water changes in between. It seems that shorter duration treatments are often unsuccessful.


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## laney_miller85 (Jan 8, 2013)

Today I noticed that the one fish that seems to be flashing the most (my red shoulder) suddenly had a different color waste...long, white and stringy. From my experience that definitely means a parasite, correct? Also some of the other fish have some abrasions on their sides, but I think that may be from my bully fish who is now in his own tank.

Is prazipro the best treatment option? None of the fish stores in my area carry it. I would have to order it online. My LFS carries API general anti-parasitic. It says it treats flukes, hole in the head, velvet, fish lice and anchor worm. They carry tons of anti-fungal and stuff for ich, but that is about my only option for parasites. Has anyone had any luck with this particular medication? Am I better off ordering the prazipro?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

API General Cure has praziquantel in it- and metronidazole. Pick it up, and do at least four treatments (each preceded by a large water change). I also recommend that you stop feeding for now, and add Epsom salt. The stringy feces is a concern, so with the API General Cure every 48 hours, and added Epsom Salt (predissolve and add 1 TBS per 10 gallons slowly over a few hours).


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## laney_miller85 (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks for your help... Just to clarify and make sure I do this correctly:
-1 API anti-parasitic treatment every 48 hours for 5 treatments.
-1 Tbsp Epsom salt per 10 gallons added slowly every 48 hours
-large water change between each treatment (50%?)
-No feeding for the duration of the treatment (10 days)

Correct? Anything else?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Be sure to add epsom salt after your water changes to replace what you took out.

For example, if you remove 30 gallons, be sure to add 6 tbsp of epsom salt when filling your tank back up.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Yes... but I think you can start feeding and stop adding more epsom with after the third treatment. You may have multiple things going on, so the fasting/Epsom combo will ensure you don't loose fish to bloat while treating flukes.


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## laney_miller85 (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks everyone. I will do just as you have instructed to make sure my fish stay healthy and happy


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## cprings (Sep 10, 2003)

Digging up an old thread here but I have similar symptoms and am currently treating with General Cure and epsom salt. I treated yesterday and plan on the second treatment tomorrow preceded by a 40-50% water change. My question is should I only add the amount of General Cure recommended for the amount of water that is replaced with the water change? I get that this is the correct approach for the epsom salt but was wondering if the same applies for the Gen. Cure. Thanks!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Use enough General Cure for the entire volume of tank water.


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## cprings (Sep 10, 2003)

Thanks Iggy and to confirm with Triscuits method I want to only add the gen cure with the 3rd treatment and don't add the epsom salt and continue to feed with 3rd treatment as well?


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## cprings (Sep 10, 2003)

Update: Here is what I have done since beginning treatment:
Day 1: 40% WC treated with Prazipro 
Day 3: 40% WC treated with API General Cure and 1TBSP epsom per 5 gallons and stopped feeding the tank
Day 5: 40% WC treated with API General Cure and 1TBSP epsom per 5 gallons of replaced water

Today is Day 7 and I will be doing a 40% WC and treating with the API General Cure but not continuing the epsom salt. I plan on starting back the feeding lightly today or tomorrow. Since beginning with the salt I have seen stringy poop from a bunch of the fish. I would think that this should be normal due to the fasting and the epsom clearing out the bowels. Any thoughts/experiences with that? The illness has claimed two fish so far. One on day 0 and another on Day 4. My blue neon has been staying in the top corners which is usual for him but all of the other fish still are active and appearing hungry.

My best guess for the cause of this illness is the fish I added about 3 weeks ago now. I think they brought flukes into the tank causing the flashing and twitching causing stress throughout the tank and subsequently causing secondary infections/bloat symptoms to some of the fish.

Any suggestions are welcome. I will continue to update this thread (even though I'm not the OP) as things progress hopefully for the better. Thanks!


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