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Dwarf Cichlid Plague
Chad Attlesey wrote: <<<Subject: Dwarf Cichlid Plague
Last week I picked up a shipment of 6 Pandurinis (that is what they were
labeled) that one after another died one after another, ~6 hours apart.
They looked listless, struggled and eventually died. The feedback I got
from the description I gave was that they probably died from ammonia
build-up during the shipment.>>>>>
ALTHOUGH THIS IS A REASONABLE HYPOTHESIS, THE EVENTS THAT
FOLLOWED SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MORE
THAN THAT. I SUSPECT THAT THE FISHES WERE INFECTED WITH
A VERY AGGRESSIVE BACTERIAL PATHOGEN, AND THE STRESS OF
SHIPPING, WITH OR WITHOUT AMMONIA POISONING, CONTRIBUTED TO
A VERY FAST AND FATAL DISEASE PROGRESSION. AMMONIA
POISONING BY ITSELF WOULD NOT EXPLAIN THE EPIDEMICS THAT
THE REST OF THE TANK IS EXPERIENCING.
<<<<Newest problem:
Last week I noticed that a Farowella (in long-time established, well-planted
tank) I have had for ~ 3 years was looking bloated and was staying on the
bottom corner. (...) The Farowella, like the
Panduros and, eventually, the Rams had stringy excess mucus about the mouth
and gills. Over a period of ~3 days I lost 11 out of 13 of my prized Rams -
all of my productive breeding stock. In addition to the the mucus, the Rams
also had red striations on their under-bellies. According to what I have
read, this indicates an internal bacterial infection. At the point where I
had 5 Rams (2 of them noticeably in distress) and all of my 5 Veijitas
left, I started treating the tank with Mardell Maracyn and Maracyn II
antibiotics. I am only on the 3rd day of treatment and 1 male German Ram, 1
wild caught female, and all 5 of the original Veijitas have survived. Today
I noticed, in yet another tank, that my original male and female triple red
Cacatuoides and another female are acting strangely. (...)>>>>>>
YOUR DIAGNOSIS WAS REASONABLE, AND THE RESPONSE YOU
OBSERVED INDICATED THAT YOUR SOLUTION IS HAVING SOME
POSITIVE EFFECT. DO NOT CHANGE APPROACH BASED ON
THEORETICAL SUGGESTIONS. YOUR CHOICE OF MEDICATIONS
WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MY CHOICE, BUT YOU ARE SEEING
SOME RESULTS AND THIS IS WHAT COUNTS.
MAINTAIN THE TREATMENT FOR TEN DAYS, MAKE LARGE WATER
CHANGES BETWEEN DOSES SINCE PROBABLY THE BIOFILTER
WILL BE KILLED. MONITOR AMMONIA AND KEEP UP WITH DAILY
30-40% WATER CHANGES UNTIL THE BIOFILTER IS BACK.
YOU MAY STILL LOOSE SOME FISH SINCE EVEN THE BEST
TREATMENT CAN NOT SAVE THE SICKEST INDIVIDUALS, BUT
OVERALL YOU SHOULD HOPEFULLY SEE SOME DROP IN
MORTALITY.
YOU ARE PROBABLY SPREADING THE DISEASE TO OTHER TANKS
THOUGH INFECTED EQUIPMENT AND YOUR HANDS.
USE SEPARATE NETS, HOSES, ETC. FOR EACH TANK, AND DISINFECT
EVERYTHING BETWEEN USES IN A STRONG SATURATED SALT
SOLUTION (SALT FOR WATER SOFTENERS IS CHEAP AND YOU CAN
MQKE A BUCKETFUL OF SATURATED SOLUTION WITH IT). THIS IS
RECOMMENDED BY UNTERGASSER IN HIS BOOKS, AND IT WORKS.
SOME SALT LEFT ON THE EQUIPMENT WILL BE HARMLESS.
SOME COMMENTS ON THE COMMENTS YOU RECEIVED:
- THE BLACKWORMS HYPOTHESIS IS IN MY OPINION INCORRECT IN
THIS CASE, SINCE THE EVIDENCE INDICATED THE PROBLEM WAS
INTRODUCED BY THE NEWEST FISHES THAT WERE NOT
QUARANTINED. NOTHING TO DO WITH DIET.
- METRONIDAZOLE WOULD BE THE WRONG CHOICE: IT WORKS ONLY
ON SOME ANAEROBES (NOT THE CAUSE OF THESE PROBLEMS) AND
ON A FEW PROTOZOANS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE
ACUTE OUTBREAKS. CONTRARILY TO WHAT WAS SUGGESTED, IT
DOES NOT WORK IN ACUTE GRAM-NEG INFECTIONS, WHICH IS
ONE OF THE POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT YOU SEE.
Dionigi Maladorno
dionigi.maladorno@roche.com
This message presents personal opinions which are not necessarily those
of my employer.
"gkadar" <gkadar@idirect.ca>
Subject: Re: Dwarf Cichlid Plague
Do you remember the TV commercial about 'finicky Morris' the cat who would
only eat 'Nine Lives'? (Or maybe I'm showing my age. :) ) That's Apistos
for you. They can spit flakes faster than any other fish in the world. I
know that there are people on this list who have managed, painlessly
apparently, to accustom their Apistos and other dwarves to eat flakes. I
have not, despite the fact that flakes were always available in the
community tanks. Ornery little buggers they are. But all the more lovable
for it. ......grumble, grumble...
You are in major trouble given that you've already lost so many fish. The
only drug that I would recommend under the circumstances would be
metronidazole 250mg per 10 gallons every other day with a water change
before each dose. Then return carbon to the filter on the 7th day. I like
metro(Flagyl) because it kills both protozoans and gram negative bacteria.
Plus it doesn't harm the filter because it is effective against anaerobes,
whereas the nitrifying bacteria are all aerobes.
Apparently algae in the tank can pick up antibiotics and store them so that
they're not available in the water column for the fish. You have to put
sick fish into quarantine. Minimum substrate and a mature filter. Black
paper around three sides of the tank. The situation though sounds as if
the prognosis is not very good.
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