# Sick Green Severum - Gasping, Bloated, Not Eating



## zanala (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello all!

I have a green severum that is about eight inches long. I just noticed today that he is gasping for breath, open mouth breathing with his lips extended, his eyes seem to bulge and his abdomen is distended. He won't eat and he has a sore on his side near the swollen abdomen. This may just be a scuff - he's always been a little 'special.' Otherwise, his fins are fine and his scales don't protrude out like the descriptions of dropsy.

I have a 80 gallon tank with a full grown red oscar, a four inch long albino oscar, a 7 inch common pleco, a full grown electric yellow, a 8 inch orange pike and a full grown african knife. All of these guys seem to be doing fine.

I recently got the pleco and albino oscar - about 4 to 5 weeks ago. About two weeks ago, I noticed these small, worm like things moving on the inside wall of the aquarium glass. The parasites, since that's what I'm guessing they are, were very small - almost like a small fiber of some sort. I initially didn't even notice they were moving until I got a flashlight and looked up close. These things were around for about a week, maybe less, and now they are no where to be seen.

I also noticed a thin layer of slimey bubbles at the top of part of the tank that look similar to a beta bubble nest.

One note - my light hood died a few weeks ago and I've been taking my time finding a new one (I have a custom hood that makes fitting one a pain) and so my fish have been without light. I don't think this has anything to do with my severum, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I don't feed my guys very regularly or often - big meals every other day to every four days. The tank is clear and the levels are good, but I am doing a water change as soon as this post is up.

I don't have a tank to quarantine him in currently and I'm scared to leave him in with all of my other fish, but I don't want to lose him if possible. My oscar is like my puppy (I've had him for almost 7 years) and I'm very attached, but I've had the severum for over three years now and don't want to lose him nor make him suffer.

I can post pictures if need be.

Thank you in advance for any and all help!


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I don't think the worms are parasites but your fish is very ill and needs treatment ASAP. The bulging eyes, called pop-eye would call for an antibiotic.

If you can't quarantine him, treat the whole tank. I recommend using Furan2 or a combination of Marycin and Marycin2.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What are the exact water parameters on the tank?

What is your normal tank maintenance routine? How much? How often? How long since your last water change?

These are messy fish you're keeping in a very confined space (for the species you have chosen).

It truly sounds like the issue may be aggression or water quality. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 100G for 2 oscars, never mind the other fish that you have in the tank.

The "worms" that you are describing can also be an indicator of poor tank maintenance, especially since you admittedly feed "big meals" irregulary. Why are you feeding like that? Excess waste in a tank contributes to planaria/hydra...Harmless to the fish, but the toxicity from the waste is far from harmless.

It also sounds like you don't have great surface agitation if you've got clusters of bubbles at the top of the water. What kind of filtration do you have on the tank?

I wouldn't add meds just yet, you may need to do some clean up first.


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