# blue malawi has hole in belly...please help!



## vi (Jul 26, 2009)

Came home tonight and notice that my big female cichild has a brownish hole in her belly. To be exact it's directly in front of the fin on her underbelly and is about the size of her eye. Noticed too, that the other fish are going after her which means she's ill, as she's one of the more dominant fish in the tank. I've put her in a nursery tank for the night. Can anyone help me with this?


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## BlueMermaid (Jul 26, 2009)

I just looked up on Google real quick and found this:

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/i ... seases.htm

Take a look until someone responds I guess.. I would be very worried as well. I hope she gets better. ):


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

Any symptoms leading up to this? Loss of appetite? Lethargy? Can you say for sure whether or not the hole was there the day before you noticed it? Was there previously a white fuzzy/patchy area at the hole location?

You haven't provided enough information to say for sure what it could be so I'll give you a few possibilities.

Columnaris. Columnaris is a bacterial infection caused by a bacteria that resides in the tank and is normally harmless to the fish until the fish comes under some kind of extreme stress. This stress could come from an injury, rough handling, or a radical change in water conditions. Depending on the strain Columnaris can kill a fish in a few hours or up to a week. It is contaigious. Treatment options include antibiotics, adding salt to the water, lowering temp to 76 and increasing water movement.

Internal bacterial infection. Treated with antibiotics

Bloat Treated with Clout or Jungle Parasite Clear

Determining which of these your fish has can be difficult but it helps to know what other symptoms the fish has now and what symptoms the fish had leading up to the problem.

Amazingly there have been quite a few fish here on this forum who have recovered from having a hole in their belly so its definitely not something you want to give up on and you've done the right thing in removing this fish. Just in case its Columnaris you should turn the heat down to 76 in the main tank.

Robin


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I'd like to add....it could just be a severe injury with a secondary infection. Usually external parasites will attack more than one fish....unless you have Argulus "fish louse" or something. Here's what I'd do.

1) Keep your ill/injured fish in a hospital/quarantine tank and treat with a good antibiotic...I've had great luck with Furan2 for severe injuries. It has both an antibiotic, and an anti-fungal ingredient.

2) Keep the water in your display and hospital tanks very clean. You want to prevent any new disease outbreaks in the display tank, and give your injured one a chance to heal.

3) Feed your injured fish any of it's favorite foods as soon as it will eat. Then feed it a little bit more than normal....it'll need the calories for tissue repair.

***Fish can sometime recover from pretty severe injuries if given the chance. I used to keep several different piranha species----sometimes with other compatible fish like silver dollars. I currently still have a large silver dollar (about 6 inches not counting the tail fin), that twice had a quarter size chunk taken out of his abdominal area--just next to the anal fin(he was about 4 inches at the time). The silver dollar healed on it's own without any treatment--except extra water changes, and increased feedings for his tankmates. The silver dollar is alive and is now living with more peaceful tankmates....New World cichlids.


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## g8tr73 (Apr 19, 2009)

My lab has what apears to be an erosion or ulcer of some sort...I quaratined it and added salt to his isolation tank,how can I tell if an antibiotic is needed? It's a juvenile fish,not very old at all,the other fish seem to be fine.Thanks.


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## g8tr73 (Apr 19, 2009)

No one has a clue huh?


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Keep the water clean and keep feeding him. Observe closely for 2-3 days. If he looks better, keep doing that. If not...it's time for medication.


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## JakeThaSnake812 (Jul 27, 2009)

oldcatfish said:


> Keep the water clean and keep feeding him. Observe closely for 2-3 days. If he looks better, keep doing that. If not...it's time for medication.


I'm having the same problem. what kind of medication do you recommend?

Is this something that aquarium salt would help?


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I've had good luck with Furan2 with wounds---it has a broad-spectrum antibiotic, plus an anti-fungal medication.

And yes, aquarium salt might help.


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