# sick paradise fish



## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

10 gallon tank
1 male paradise fish
5 peppered Corys
feed flakes and 2 sinking wafers once daily
30% pwc and gravel vac weekly
planted tank 
water tested within normal ranges with master liquid kit--ammonia was at 0.25 last night when I performed the PWC-but otherwise has been at 0-even when the symptoms showed up. Nitrates at 10. Nitrites 0. pH 7.2 Temperature 78.

For the last week or two my paradise fish has been very lethargic--mainly just laying on the bottom in decorations or floating at the top in the plant cover. He hangs out with the Corys some-but mostly 'mopes' 

He has a "bump" like growth on the left side of his mouth and a reddish streak on that same side of his face that looks kind of raised. 

I treated the tank with more frequent water changes and Melafix for a few days and he seemed to get a little better then back to the laying around. 

I thought about putting him in my 29g so he could have more room but Im afraid my rainbow shark will bully him in there.

Im at the end of my rope with this fish--I wish I hadnt purchased him. I wish he would get better--but if he is going to stay sick I wish he would get it over with and die--that sounds bad but suffering is worse than death.

Ideas?

I cant access this site during the day from work due to websense---if anyone would like to email me suggestions my email is my user name here with @gmail.com added to it.

Thanks in advance.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Can you post any clear photos of the sick fish and 1 of the whole tank? How long has the tank been set up? Do you have a quarantine tank?


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

Well, the tank has been setup for a couple of months now. I can take some pics, but it is hard to get him to come out of the plants long enough to take a picture of him. I just purchased another 10 gallon tank but I dont have a filter or heater for it yet. Actually, I guess those arent an absolute 'must' with the Paradise-but he is used to the 78* temps. These pictures actually make him look better than he does--figures. One of them you can see his mouth bump-the others you can kind of see his sores-the one on the left side of his face almost looks like a hole-it seems that his scales dont really look normal to meas well. He hasnt eaten in about a week now as far as I can tell. I also have a Peppered Cory in the same tank that is hiding now. I hope I dont have some H1N1 type crap in my tank-lol. All the Paradise Fish does is hide in the Sprite or hang around on the bottom of the tank. He just seems miserable IMO.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

While I am having a difficult time identifying the bump on his mouth, I am able to see clearly that he has a bacterial infection. I would really like to see that bump on his mouth before I suggest meds for the bacterial infection, in case something more is needed and can be done all with 1 med. The stress of having to medicate twice (not to mention the expense), plus not knowing if one med will cause issues for another problem... its kind of risky and I don't like to take those risks.
Is there any way to get a closer up pic of his mouth?


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

Yeah, it is VERY hard to get a straight shot of his mouth. I took 23 pics last night to get those that I posted-lol.

It looks almost like he has fuzz on his lip or like he has something hanging off of his mouth. 

Thanks for any help. 

I have another 10 gallon tank that isnt setup and I also have a one gallon bowl if I needed to medicate him seperately. 

He has recently started doing some weird things so I am concerned even more. He 'attacked' the ship ornament in my tank last night--repeatedly running into it. Ive never seen anything like it. Then he just stopped and looked at me. 

Currently Im treating him with Melafix and water changes. I dont know of anything else to do--Ive never treated sick fishes before. Im really concerned that it is a water quality issue and Im going to lose him and my Peppered Cory x 6. I do frequent water changes with Prime, I have healthy plants in the tank and I still have a sick Paradise Fish and my Peppered Corys dont seem to do anything until feeding time--otherwise they just lay around and hide.

I also had two Neon Tetra deaths last night in another tank. The remaining 6 look as healthy as can be, but 2 of them just died with no real warning. My rainbow shark has been chasing them some and may have caused too much stress. There were no wounds on the Neons but I know they cant like being chased.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Ok, I need to make sure I'm clear on all of this before I suggest the meds. The paradise fish... the lump on the mouth... does it look "fuzzy" or does it look more like a chunk of cottage cheese stuck to his lip or growing out from it? The sick cory.. what exactly is he displaying for symptoms other than inactivity? 

If your test results are accurate I see no problem with the water quality in the paradise fish and cory cat tank. Please stop the Melafix treatment today, add the carbon to your filter to remove remaining traces of it, and perform a 25% - 30% water change each day for the next 2 days. Melafix is not going to fix this problem but it is not safe to mix it with the meds we will be discussing/using. We will need to wait at least 48 hrs after you begin the process of removing the Melafix before we can add the proper medication.

Now, lets address your neons. Neons should not be in any size tank with a rainbow shark. Those fish simply are not compatible. It was very likely stress that killed the neons, and as time moves forward the rest of them will die also if they remain in a tank with a rainbow shark.. either from stress or from being eaten. As the shark grows so will its aggression level and territorial issues.

I am planning to use a medication in the paradise tank that will treat all of those fish together safely. You may need to remove any live plants during the course of treatment, but I see no need to use the quarantine tank for them. My suggestion is to take that 10 gallon, set it up, borrow some filter media from the current rainbow shark/neon tank and get it filled up and running... add heater and watch for temp to stabalize as same as what's in the shark/neon tank now. Basically the idea is to match the conditions in the shark/neon tank as closely as possible, then move the neons to that other tank. This will buy you some time to figure out who is going to go where, stay where, etc. without the issues of rainbow shark/neon incompatiblity killing neons steadily until they are gone. I am wondering, how big is the tank they are in now?

I will be around for another few hours and then probably again late tonight. We have time so I am in no rush... isn't much else I can do for you for the next 48 hrs or so anyways. I will get you the name of the proper meds once I am sure about what you need to be using... after I understand for sure what you are describing.

Hang in there... once we get it all straightend out things will get better, easier, and you can get back to just enjoying your fish.


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

OK--rundown on the tanks--and thanks a ton for helping with this.

Water tests done with API master kit.


29 gallon tank with Rainbow, 6 remaining Neons and 5 Julii Corys planted with lots of live plants and filtered with a new this weekend Fluval 205 ( I put the filter media out of my Penguin HOB in the canister filter--no carbon in the filter-just foam, ceramic bio tubes and water polishing pad ) Heated to 78*---there is no disturbance on the surface of the water--which is what I was going for with the canister filter--I hope the plants give enough oxygen for thefish--but the Neons appear to be gulping all the time.

2.5 gallon with male betta ( I only list this because I had purchased the new 10g to attempt a divided tank with 2 bettas--my current one and a new one in the near future.

Current 10 gallon has am Aqueon filter with no carbon and is heated to 78*--planted with 10+ live plants. Paradise Fish, 6 Peppered Cory and 2 Mystery Snails--one came with some plants I put in Thursday. They only thing weird about the Corys in this tank is that they arent as active as the ones in the 29g--some of them just lay on the bottom of the tank unless I walk up--then they hide in the plants or ornaments. The Paradise Fish is constantly hiding unless he comes out to get a gulp of air from the top. I feel awful that I cant do anything for him.

I last added Melafix last night--I will add carbon to the filter in a couple of minutes.

Thanks again for your help.


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

ok--just came home to check on the fish--the Paradise Fish looks like he ate a cotton ball--something fuzzy in his mouth--Im sure this isnt good--any ideas?


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## southamericancichlidguy23 (Oct 22, 2009)

hmm that cant be good dude put some aquarium salt in there its worked the best for me in the past


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## southamericancichlidguy23 (Oct 22, 2009)

my fish play rough and get hurt alot in the tank rough housing aqurium salt seems to cure all cuts and infections if they get them


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

I am going to suggest using Acriflavine for treatment. Acriflavine is safe for everything in the tank, but I would remove all live plants during treatment... or treat in a quarantine tank. 

Please be forewarned, Acriflavine will stain the water, and also anything else it comes into contact with. Please take care when handling it. It also has the ability to stain the silicone seals in the tank, and is why some people prefer to use it only in a quarantine tank rather than risking staining the main tank.

Effective options that are safe for both species of fish is somewhat limited, and the reason I suggest Acriflavine is because it is potent enough and has the right ingredients to treat both fungal and bacterial issues at the same time. It is the most practical choice I can find for you. Many other good meds for this type of issue are either not safe for one species or the other, or cannot be mixed to treat both problems at once.

Keep me posted and let me know if you need further help.
Good luck!


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

Sadly, Dice passed away sometime after 3pm today. Thanks for the suggestions.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this post. 
Treatment for the paradise fish and corys, in their main tank... remove any live plants before beginning this treatment. Dose the tank with Fungus Eliminator as directed on the bottle. Please do not substitute for Fungus Clear or other fungal medications. What you are dealing with here is bacterial and fungal both... if you treat just the fungus then the bacteria is going to continue to run rampant... and when the meds are stopped, the fungus will simply return. Fungus Eliminator has no equal on the market as of yet in its ability to conquer both bacterial and fungal problems in these types of fish.

If you need help finding it online let me know and I can post a link or 2 for you.

Let me know if you have further questions.
Good Luck.


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## neon100 (Apr 7, 2010)

i would quarantine him


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## shane3fan (Sep 5, 2009)

neon100 said:


> i would quarantine him


 
Should I dig him up, or is the backyard a good enough quarantine?

Hes been dead for 6 months now-lol.

Thanks for the help though.


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