# It started with white lines that looked like scratches.....



## fuhreakz (Dec 5, 2010)

So 3 weeks ago I added a white pearl zebra to my tank. I noticed my mpanga had what looked like a white scratch on her. Then my pearlmut started to have horrible looking skin/scales.

Fast forward to last night (i was away for 2 days)....

3 Mpanga have white blotches on them (not spots, blotches looks like missing scales/colour)

My poor perlmutt now is only swimming with one fin and floating mostly and has redness where the fins meet the body, also her dorsal fin is only half flaring.

They are all still eating however.

The skin condition seems to have passed to almost all the fish in my tank, including my Auratus and Kenyii those 2 males have what look like bite marks (white lines) which is how the Mpanga were a few weeks ago.

They are all very jittery as well. Its like as soon as the perlmutt touches one of the other fish, it goes nuts darting around the tank. They are all flashing alot as well.

I perform %50 water changes weekly and a bi weekly gravel vac.

My water tests fine with the strips.

I've searched and searched online but I cannot find any photos that resemble how my fishes skin looks. I threw some salt in there and increased the temp in the tank. (they were flashing before the salt)

Any ideas?

I'm sorry I don't have a photo as they were too active yesterday to take any.


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## fuhreakz (Dec 5, 2010)

Not the best photo......


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

I would try Pimafix and melafix if the salt/heat treatment doesn't work. Good luck.


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## fuhreakz (Dec 5, 2010)

So I was going to try the Melafix but I saw API General Cure Anti Parasitic meds and grabbed those instead...

So far no good.....

Its been 72 hours now and well, none of the cichlids have died but 2 of my 3 cynos have.

I finally got a good photo of the fungus or whatever it is ....





The red and white zebras in my tank now have tiny black spots on them and the perlmutts still look like their skin is peeling off (doesn't show up in photos very well)



Could it be ick and not a fungus?

All fish are still very active.....


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I would likely treat with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to cover both fungal/finrot as well as bacterial. API General works against bacteria and parasites but doesn't cover fungal or finrot diseases, as far as I'm aware.
Ich should appear like your fish have been dipped in salt. Google image search Ichthyophthirius for examples to compare with your fish.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

This does sound like it's either a bacterial or fungal disease but take a moment here and get a real good close up look at the fish's skin. Take a flashlight and shine it on them from different angles. You're looking for anything ON the skin that shouldn't be there. Velvet, (Oodinium), will appear as a fine talc-like covering and can be gray, red or orange. Velvet will also show up well in flash pictures taken of the fish.

Before doing any treatment do several 40% partial water changes spaced 3-4 hours apart and siphon the gravel. Make sure you use a good quality dechlorinator. Take note of any changes in the fish's symptoms right after the water change.

Robin

BTW: When treating with salt, (sodium chloride: regular table salt without additives, aquarium salt, pickling or kosher salt), you need to use enough of it to make a difference for the ailment you're targeting. If, for instance you were treating for ick you need to add 4-5 TABLEspoons per five gallons for treatment without raised heat and 2-3 TABLEspoons per five gallons with raised heat. 
When you suspect a bacterial or fungal disease then adding 1 TABLEspoon per five gallons may help. It's not a cure all by itself buy it can help curb the spread.


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## fuhreakz (Dec 5, 2010)

Robin thank you for your post.

I unfortunately have not been able to do the daily water changes due to other responsibilities. Instead, I performed a 25% change after treating with gencure powder and started to treat with pimafix and melafix.

The other options were a little more expensive so I decided to try the tea tree oil based sustances first.

I lost my 3 cynos but all my mubna are looking much better. They are healing... YAY!!!! one more day of treatment and then i'll do a water change.

Thanks everyone!


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## Jack and Pete (Oct 27, 2010)

I was looking at your photos and my Acei looked very much like your fish with the missing scales (my post has not been far from yours). I too waited a long time to treat as I wasnt sure what was going on (fighting or illness). I tried Pimafix and Mela fix with no results. Finally used Maracyn and I m really glad I did. The Acei is healing nicely. I had never used medicine before and I was limited to one sick fish which I moved into a hospital tank, made treating for me a lot less expensive. I am far from an expert and I always look for help on the forum when something is wrong. I wish you luck!


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## fuhreakz (Dec 5, 2010)

So it looks like the melafix and pimafix have done the trick. All my fish are now looking healthy again and their scales have grown back nicely. The perlmutts were the worst off but even they have cleaned up nicely.

I ended up dosing with both melafix and pimafix for a total of about 12-13 days. They were looking better after 7 but figured it couldn't hurt.

Unfortunately all my synos couldn't make it through..... not really torn up about that though.

Now just gotta get this 75 gallon tank plumbed ....... sigh..... i'm so lazy...


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