# Internal Parasites



## Vince7424

Hi, I had bought a Cichlid and noticed it was breathing hard, pooping white, and staying in the upper portion of my aquarium. I took the fish back to the pet store as soon as I noticed the white string like feces. The fish was in my tank for at least five days until I noticed the white feces. I was just wondering, how contagious is something like this? I suspect internal parasites... I have several other Cichlids in the tank, and I am worried that the parasite could spread to my other fish. Should I be worried? Is there any precautions that I should be taking? If the other fish get the same symptoms what should I do?

Thanks in advance to any replies.


----------



## triscuit

You're right to worry. First thing you need to do is a large water change (don't forget the dechlorinator)... I suggest doing 50% today, and 50% tomorrow. Another water change midweek would be good. In the meantime don't feed your fish, and purchase some metrinidazole (FishZole, eg) so that you are ready if your fish start showing symptoms.

Now is also a good time to talk about quarantine... I think you can see why. :wink:


----------



## Vince7424

triscuit said:


> You're right to worry. First thing you need to do is a large water change (don't forget the dechlorinator)... I suggest doing 50% today, and 50% tomorrow. Another water change midweek would be good. In the meantime don't feed your fish, and purchase some metrinidazole (FishZole, eg) so that you are ready if your fish start showing symptoms.
> 
> Now is also a good time to talk about quarantine... I think you can see why. :wink:


Thank you so much for the advice. *** been a paranoid wreck over this. When I removed the sick fish (three days ago), I did a 30% water change. Today after reading your post I did a 50% water change. 
The treatment you mentioned (metrinidazole) is it a powerful medicine? Will I need to worry about how my fish react to it? If I end up needing it...
Curious why you said "Now is also a good time to talk about quarantine... I think you can see why". If I didn't remove the sick fish I would understand this but, I already returned the fish. So now if one of my other fish gets sick, I feel I should probably treat the whole tank. 
When I returned the sick fish I expressed that I was concerned about my other fish in the tank. The guy told me to turn my heat up to 85 degrees compared to 82 degrees. Is this good advise? 
Also, what other symptoms should I be watching for? *** been looking for white feces and heavy breathing so far.


----------



## triscuit

Metronidazole is my favorite antibiotic for treating gastrointestinal diseases in cichlids. It has no discernible side effects, doesn't kill fry or stress out holding females too much, and is relatively cheap for dosing the whole water volume.

The time for quarantine is BEFORE you add the fish. So, next time you look at purchasing a new fish, plan on keeping it separate for 3 weeks before adding it to your tank. So, yeah- now you have exposed all of your fish, and thus would have to treat the whole tank at the first sign of disease.

Signs you are looking for? Excess hiding, labored breathing, spitting food or not eating, bloating, white, stringy feces. But, there's a decent chance that your fish are healthy enough to fight off any disease, and you won't need to treat them. To help them fight disease, clean water is the best medicine. :thumb:


----------



## Vince7424

triscuit said:


> Metronidazole is my favorite antibiotic for treating gastrointestinal diseases in cichlids. It has no discernible side effects, doesn't kill fry or stress out holding females too much, and is relatively cheap for dosing the whole water volume.
> 
> The time for quarantine is BEFORE you add the fish. So, next time you look at purchasing a new fish, plan on keeping it separate for 3 weeks before adding it to your tank. So, yeah- now you have exposed all of your fish, and thus would have to treat the whole tank at the first sign of disease.
> 
> Signs you are looking for? Excess hiding, labored breathing, spitting food or not eating, bloating, white, stringy feces. But, there's a decent chance that your fish are healthy enough to fight off any disease, and you won't need to treat them. To help them fight disease, clean water is the best medicine. :thumb:


Thanks for the info you have been a big help! I'm hoping they are healthy enough to fight any illness. And from now on I will quarantine new fish. How long do you suggest I don't feed them? Also as I mentioned above, I was told that turning the heat up a couple of degrees can help. Is that true? I haven't done it yet since the advice came from the pet store where I got the sick fish. And one more question, how long should I be worried about this? I have no idea how long it takes for fish to show signs of illness. I'm sure it depends on the fish ,size, species, and much more but, if you could give me any answer at all it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again


----------



## triscuit

Yeah- don't turn up the heat. That usually speeds up the life-cycle of any disease, and is really only recommended for treating something like ich- where the vulnerable part of the life cycle needs to be reached in order for the treatment to work.

For bloat or wasting, it doesn't help. What fish are you keeping? That will tell you more about the proper temperature to keep them at.

I'd skip feeding for three days, then feed very lightly for a couple more days. When you put them back on food is when you'll be looking for signs of trouble.


----------



## Vince7424

triscuit said:


> Yeah- don't turn up the heat. That usually speeds up the life-cycle of any disease, and is really only recommended for treating something like ich- where the vulnerable part of the life cycle needs to be reached in order for the treatment to work.
> 
> For bloat or wasting, it doesn't help. What fish are you keeping? That will tell you more about the proper temperature to keep them at.
> 
> I'd skip feeding for three days, then feed very lightly for a couple more days. When you put them back on food is when you'll be looking for signs of trouble.


I have all cichlids, a Cobalt Blue, Yellow Lab, Jewel, Red Zebra, and two Bristlenose Plecos. So 82 should be a good temp from what I have read.


----------



## triscuit

Vince7424 said:


> I have all cichlids, a Cobalt Blue, Yellow Lab, Jewel, Red Zebra, and two Bristlenose Plecos. So 82 should be a good temp from what I have read.


"Cichlids" isn't nearly descriptive enough... there are more than 1500 species that come from all over the world. :wink:

Thankfully, all of your fish can thrive in the same basic water. If you had cichlids from South America mixed in with your African cichlids, you'd likely be having some other issues.

But- your temperature should be closer to 74-76 degrees F. There's no reason to have your tank at 82 degrees. Where did you read that?


----------



## Vince7424

triscuit said:


> Vince7424 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have all cichlids, a Cobalt Blue, Yellow Lab, Jewel, Red Zebra, and two Bristlenose Plecos. So 82 should be a good temp from what I have read.
> 
> 
> 
> "Cichlids" isn't nearly descriptive enough... there are more than 1500 species that come from all over the world. :wink:
> 
> Thankfully, all of your fish can thrive in the same basic water. If you had cichlids from South America mixed in with your African cichlids, you'd likely be having some other issues.
> 
> But- your temperature should be closer to 74-76 degrees F. There's no reason to have your tank at 82 degrees. Where did you read that?
Click to expand...

I have looked up every fish in my tank and 78 - 82 is what *** read for all of them. 74 - 76 would be on the low end for all of them. I figured that by giving you their common names you would assume they are African Cichlids.
Look at the links below.

http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/marine ... callainos/
http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/af ... 100004.asp
http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=jewelcichlid
http://www.freshwater-tropical-fish-car ... pleco.html
http://www.cichlidfishcentral.com/cichl ... -cichlids/


----------



## triscuit

Yes, if you read my post again, I pointed out that "your Africans" had comparable WQ needs. :wink:

Next- except for the first, your links suggest a temp range of 72-82 degrees F. And the first link isn't where I'd be getting any reliable Rift Lake cichlid information from.

You're not hurting your fish by keeping them at 82 (unless they're fighting a disease that grows better at higher temps), there's just no reason to.


----------



## Vince7424

triscuit said:


> Yes, if you read my post again, I pointed out that "your Africans" had comparable WQ needs. :wink:
> 
> Next- except for the first, your links suggest a temp range of 72-82 degrees F. And the first link isn't where I'd be getting any reliable Rift Lake cichlid information from.
> 
> You're not hurting your fish by keeping them at 82 (unless they're fighting a disease that grows better at higher temps), there's just no reason to.


Alright, sorry about the confusion. 
Ill turn the heat down a couple degrees. No need to keep it at their max temp if I don't need to.
I was talking to the guy at my local fish store (not where i bought the sick fish) and he recommended treating the tank just as a precaution. Should I only treat if there are definite signs of illness, or is it OK to treat as a precaution with metronidazole? 
I feel like I'm bothering you with a bunch of dumb questions, I just want to make sure I do everything right and minimize my chances of other fish getting sick the best I can. You seem like a real knowledgeable person on the subject.
Thanks again for all of your advice.


----------



## Vince7424

Well my fish seem to doing good so far. I gave them some veggie flake yesterday evening, they all ate without hesitation. I think I'm going to do another 30 to 50% water change today or tomorrow as I was advised to do so. My Cobalt blue and Yellow Lab are showing better color than ever. Probably because you suggested to turn my temp down, and I did. 
Thanks again for all your advise.


----------

