# Multiple disease outbreak in mbuna tank?



## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

I have a 55 gallon tank with the following fish:
5 adult labidochromis caeruleus
5 adult pseudotropheus acei
3 hybrids of the labs and the aceis

Over the last two days, it deems I have had an outbreak of disease. I don't know whether it's one disease or multiple diseases. Some of the fish appear to have ich. Two of the fish have developed cloudy eyes but are not showing signs of ich. And several of the fish are showing red areas at the bases of their fins (it looks like some sort of internal bleeding). Several of the fish are listless. And one of the aceis died this morning. The acei that died did not have cloudy eyes, but did have ich-like spots and red at the bases of his fins.

Yesterday I did a 1/2 water change. Today I did another 1/2 water change.

I don't know what the water conditions were like immediately prior to the disease outbreak, but the current condition is as follows:
Temp - 79 F
Ph - 7.8
Nitrate - ~5 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Filtration - 2 Aquaclear 70s (the old 300s)

This is a fairly old tank. I have had most of these fish for about 4 years, and I have not introduced a new fish in about 2 years.

I have two other tanks that I use for hospital and grow out purposes, but they have juveniles in them right now, so I'm looking for a treatment that I can apply to the 55 gallon tank. I don't want to use anything that will stain the silicone. I have an extra 10 gallon tank that I could set up if I needed to.

Any treatment suggestions?


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## mfdrookie516 (Dec 14, 2009)

if its ich, i never use meds... turning the temp up and adding more surface agitaion has always worked for me. some people like to use aquarium salt as well, but i just use heat. it doesnt kill the ich, but it speeds up its life cycle.


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Can ich cause cloudy eyes and redness in fins?


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Here are two pictures of the fish that is probably in the worst shape.

Right side:









Left side:


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

When I was writing the previous post, that fish died.

Underside view of fish:









Closer view:









If you look at the larger version of this picture, you can tell that he had a thick slime coat:









Blood on the plate from the fish:


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Here's what I'm doing to treat them.

(1) Turned temperature up to about 83.

(2) Added 8 ounces of salt (to 55 gallons).

(3) Added Melafix (25 ml).

(4) Added Coppersafe (60 ml).


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Three more died last night and one more died this morning.

At this rate, they're all going to be dead in a day or two.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

This seems like a pretty nasty outbreak of something.
How it happened is a mystery if there are no new additions to the tank.
Maybe aggression or something getting into the tank.

Keep doing the water changes to maintain the best possible water quality.
I would use maracyn and maracyn 2 together for the cloud eye and what looks to be a serious bacterial infection on the body of that acei.
Since all fish have been exposed to everything I would treat all fishes for the same things.


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

All of the larger fish are dead now.

Here are some of the fish that died today.


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## jasien (Apr 1, 2007)

This outbreak seems very similar to one I had two months ago that wiped out some of my best fish. I am thinking it was bacterial, perhaps columnaris. Although I did not start soon enough to keep most of my fish, I was able to salvage a few by use of maracyn plus for about a week.

My fish had the following symptoms: cloudy eyes, growths on the mouth area, bleeding from fins, and loss of scales.

Good luck, hope its not too late.


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Things aren't going so well.

I'm now down to 2 fish.

It seems that all the larger fish died first.


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## jasien (Apr 1, 2007)

Just to ask, was there anything you did recently that was not normal? You say you did not add any fish in a long time, but did you do a larger than normal water change or use any new chemicals? Can you think of anything atypical you did recently?


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

I can't think of anything abnormal. No new chemicals (no chemicals at all). Same water changes. Same pellet food.


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## Ishkabod (Sep 12, 2008)

Could some of those symptoms be a secondary symptom of an initial Ich outbreak? The only other thing i can think of is that your Water Supply was the source of the problem and maybe a change in the initial water chemistry was a stressor. Phone your water treatment plant to see if any changes have been made or any possible contamination from construction or things might be the issue.
Good luck
L


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## mobiusnu (Aug 30, 2006)

Ishkabod said:


> Could some of those symptoms be a secondary symptom of an initial Ich outbreak?


That could have been the case.

In any event, it looks like I will have two yellow labs that pull through.


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