# Yellow Lab with clamped fins and shimmying side to side



## shark75 (Jan 13, 2007)

i noticed one or two of my labs rubbing themselves against the sand a few days ago so i figured they possibly had ich. After closely inspecting them i didn't see any white spots on them. Now one fish has it's fins clamped to its sides and is shimmying side to side. This fish will also erratically rub itself against the glass. After trying to get a closer look, there seem to be some white protrusions on both of the fish's sides. I think it's a fungal infection from either scratching against the sand or rocks in the tank. Unfortunately, i think i made a big mistake when i selected the decor for this tank. After reading many articles for and against feather rock, i went ahead and added seven large pieces to my 265 gallon tank. They were the most natural that i could find and look awesome in the tank. But i really didn't forsee this problem. There is no way that i can catch this fish and move him to a quarantine tank without emptying the tank so do you think i should treat the whole tank for the fungal infection? My other question was what was causing the scratching in the first place? So i have been trying to keep an eye on all the fish for signs. A couple look like they could possibly have a spot or two that might be ick but there definitely isn't an infestation. I decided to treat the the tank with Maracide just in case it was some type of protozoan. What should i use for the fungus? I read Methylene Blue was good. Can that be mixed with the Maracide which contains Malachite Green and Chilosan? I have been seeing many warnings about Columnaris on here. Would the fish exibit the same behaviour i described above? Thanks for any help you may give. I realize i might need to remove the rocks to be on the safe side. Oh, my tank parameters are 0 for Ammonia and Nitrites and 10-30 for Nitrates- the color looks to be somewhere in the middle. Ph is 8.2 Thanks again for your help.


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

to be on the safe side since you're already using Maracide, a Mardel product, I would choose a Mardel product to treat the fungus but first read the package insert directions as some Mardel products should not be used together.

Can you better describe the 'white protrusions' on the fish's sides? Also: are the fish scratching against things constantly? As you probably already know some scratching/shimmy-ing is normal for these fish.

I would do a partial water change of 30-40% using a good quality declorinator as your first action against any fungus. Increasing water movement may also help. If the tank has ich then it may take a few weeks before you see a lot of the white specs on your fish. Keep trying to determine if what you are seeing is in fact ich. Not easy, I know, with a 265 gallon tank!

Are any of the fish choosing to hang out close to a strong current--like in the flow of the filter return? Have you added new fish or plants in the last month? Are any fish gasping? Are all fish eating normally? What species and how many fish in this tank? How long has the tank been set up?

Robin


----------



## shark75 (Jan 13, 2007)

Thanks for your reply, Robin. It looks like I do have Ich as I have spotted in on my Multis, one of which turned up dead this afternoon. The yellow lab definitely has fungus growing on his side from wounds from scratching against the feather rock. I sadly removed all the feather rock from my tank as i do not want any more fish to injure themselves. I'm hoping I can take it back to the rockyard i bought it from and maybe get store credit or at least half my money back. I had some doubts when i purchased it but i saw quite a few people use it here with no problems. Lesson learned the hard way and now i have to listen to my wife complain about the lost money.

Getting back to the fish, i removed the yellow labs and moved them to a 55 gallon where i will treat them. I did another 30% water change on the 265 and will treat for ich accordingly. I am also raising the temp to 84 degrees. What i have left in the 265 is 7 Multis, a F. Rostratus, a C. Moorii, a Blue Regal Peacock, Eureka Red and a Red Empress. All these fish were newly added to the tank and unfortunately not quarantined as i don't have the room for an extra tank right now. Yes, i know better but what can you do. The tank itself has been running for about 4 months with very few fish added to start. I have a Fluval FX5 and an Ehein 2217 on it right now with another FX5 being added soon. Also, a Eheim 2260 will replace the 2217 as soon as i can fix a leak in the water pump. Hopefully, i can get this ich under control and limit the losses of my Multis which haven't been eating well. Thanks again for your help.


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Raising the heat is an effective treatment for ich but if there's any concern at all that any of your fish have a bacterial infection and not just a fungus then you do NOT want to raise the heat.

And just to be clear: any tank that a fish infected with ich has been in needs to be treated. Ich only spends part of its life cycle on the fish where you can see it. 
According to the package info, Maracide should not be used with any other parasite med.

Have you checked out the ich article linked below? It gives a complete run down of all the various ich meds. 
In addition to any medication I would do as many partial water changes and gravel siphonings on the tank(s) as possible. This will reduce the overall numbers of the parasite in your tank.

Personally I like the heat and salt method for killing ich. And if there's concern over the raised heat then just salt. (2-3 tablespoons per five gallons WITH heat; 4-5 tablespoons per five gallons WITHOUT heat). Kosher or pickling salt, found in the grocery store, is far cheaper than the salt at the fish store. All you need is salt, sodium chloride, without additives. Make sure you dissolve it first and add it gradually. When you do water changes you'll need to replace only the amount of salt removed with any water.

Ich is a drag but thankfully if you catch it early enough it's relatively easy to get rid of.

Too bad about removing the rock--and the expense. Once all this snow melts you can probably find some cheaper sources of rock. 

Robin


----------

