# Please help! Internal parasite?? Pic Attached



## mullene (Apr 4, 2011)

On April 20th we got an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey. He's about 7in and a real beauty! I'm absolutely in love with this fish, so any help is GREATLY appreciated!

When we got him all seemed well, he acted fine, ate normal. I noticed that on one fin he's got reddish streaks and on the other a few spots that look like they resemble ich, but I think they are scars of some sort. So, to try and get the reddish streaking in the fin to go away, we were recommended to use Melafix. We used that for 6 days ( I know treatment is supposed to be for 7 days, but we didn't have access to any more). After that, we did a water change last Sunday, April 30 and since then, he hasn't been eating, has been acting more lethargic, and has long, white, stringy poo. (pic of poo below) We have treated with Jungle Parasite Clear tabs, treated, waited 48 hrs, pwc, then treat again, and he hasn't shown any signs of getting any better.

Here is a pic of his poo, aside from the lack of interest in food this is the only visible symptom. I have no idea what to do from here out, I just want to make him better! And, I know in this pic, he looks like he has the coloring of a regular JD, it's just the flash that drowns out the blue. (link will be in follow up post since this is my first post)

Oh and:

Amm. 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 5-10ppm

It's a 75g tank and cohabitants are an Oscar, Green Terror, 3 Bala Sharks, 2 Clown Loaches, EBJD, and 2 Mystery Snails. I know that when the fish get to full size, our tank will be overstocked, we've made arrangements for that already. The EBJD being ~7in is the biggest fish in the tank.

Thank you in advance for any help!!![/img]


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## mullene (Apr 4, 2011)

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https://flic.kr/p/5711467434


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## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

I have had the best luck with Clout if the fish isnt eating. If he is eatimg I use Metro soaked food and then dump in the contents of the water, meds and food to treat the water column also.

Since he isnt eating I would go ahead and QT him if he is the only one not eating and with stringy poo and treat with Clout as the link on here for bloat describes. I have brought back some rough looking fish with that treatment.

Good luck with this.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Wait 48 hours after your last dosing of JPC. Perform another 30-40% water change and vacuum.
Add epsom salt in the amount of 2 tbsp per 10g, pre-mixed with tank water in a glass and added gradually over 5-6 hours.
You can try another treatment of JPC (1 tablet per 10g with 48 hours between dosages and each dosage preceded by a 30% water change) or you can try a different medication such as metronidazole or Clout. Without quarantining, I would likely attempt another round of JPC or switch to metronidazole. With other fish in the tank, I would use Clout last in order of preference.
If dosing metro, add 250mg metronidazole for every 10 gallons daily for 5-10 days with each dosage preceded by a 30-40% water change. If after 5 treatments youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve noticed an improvement as well as a bowel movement, attempt feeding metro treated food*, otherwise, wait 24 hours and begin treatment again, starting with a 30% water change. Remove any uneaten food after 5-10 minutes. If eating and bowel movements return to normal, continue the metro treated food for a further 3 days with water changes before each feeding. It's important for all fish to eat the treated food.

*Metronidazole dosed in food: In a disposable cup, dissolve 150mg of metronidazole in a tablespoon of tank water. Then add food pellets appropriate to the number of fish in the tank. After the pellets have soaked for a few minutes, pour all of the contents of the cup into the tank.

It's a good idea to periodically check your water parameters while dosing meds, to ensure that ammonia and nitrite aren't creeping up as a result of meds killing off beneficial bacteria in the tank and filters.
Also, I can't be sure that the meds won't have a negative effect on the snails.


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## mullene (Apr 4, 2011)

Is it okay to add epsom salt if we already have regular aquarium salt (API) in there? I do not know what the difference between them is. I will look for some metronidazole tomorrow when I go to our LFS. Thank you for your advice! I'm not so worried about the snails! lol at a dollar something, they can easily be replaced!

I have also noticed 3 spots that are raised, they are just on his fins, they resemble a skin tag to me. Any idea what that could be or is it just scarring from an injury?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

mullene said:


> Is it okay to add epsom salt if we already have regular aquarium salt (API) in there? I do not know what the difference between them is. I will look for some metronidazole tomorrow when I go to our LFS. Thank you for your advice! I'm not so worried about the snails! lol at a dollar something, they can easily be replaced!
> 
> I have also noticed 3 spots that are raised, they are just on his fins, they resemble a skin tag to me. Any idea what that could be or is it just scarring from an injury?


Epsom salt acts as a laxative to aid in digestion. Prior to medicating, I would perform a series of small water changes to restore the normal salinity of the water, over a period of 5-6 hours.
At this point, I'd likely wait another 12 hours before adding the epsom salt in the manner discussed above. If you have the metronidazole before this point, you can begin dosing before the epsom salts are added.
Unsure regarding the raised spots. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words .


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## mullene (Apr 4, 2011)

I will do my best to get a picture! I've been tryin', he just isn't very cooperative!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

I have had good luck with the Jungle tabs, doing the 3 treatments as prescribed. Having 3 drugs in it is beneficial in my mind since the actual parasite isn't known.
As far as adding Epsom salts, or salt, adding the salt directly to the tank and allowing it to dissolve on it's own, will accomplish the same thing as premixing and adding doses slowly. Either way the TDS will not rise abruptly risking osmotic shock. The fish store I frequent puts the salt in a jar or bowl and puts it in the tank so it dissolves slowly.


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