Green terror Lost a Gill Plate  - 01/09/2006
Hi crew. Read the instructions on contacting you. About  4 weeks ago I lost my Texas, at the time he had some small red sores on his side. Hopped online and came across your site. Did the water change, scrubbed everything, ensured levels stable, temp was at 25C. I have African cichlids mostly so trying to find middle
medium on pH at 8.0. Added salt to stimulate skin protection, treated with Melafix. Lost him anyway (he was 13cm so was pretty harsh to lose). Tank
since seamed great. Went on holiday returned after 5 days from Sydney. Still tank was 100%, all levels right. Adjusted pH to 8.2 for the Texas is no
longer in the tank. My Green terror has now just had his right gill detach at the base. I have removed him and placed in hospital tank. Separation of
gill happened in 2 days 1 night. I have him in stable hospital tank but cannot find anything online that comes close to what has happened. I'll
treat with Melafix until I get better advise on what I can use. Awaiting your response. Thanks Lisa
< Your green terror probably got into a fight with one of you African cichlids and got it ripped off. African cichlids have incredibly strong mouths with lots of teeth to back it up. They eat by scraping algae off of rocks. These same teeth and mouths make pretty good weapons. In the wild obviously these fish never see each other so the green terror really didn't expect such an opponent. This is why I recommend never to mix rift lake cichlids with other cichlids. Keep the water clean and treat for infections if needed. The gill cover probably won't grow back.-Chuck>

Flowerhorn With Cloudy Eyes  - 01/09/2006
Dear WWM, My male Flowerhorn, has a white film over both of his eyes for about 2 weeks
now. I've noticed that at the center of the eyes there's a circle that's
fuzzy. I thought that it was cloud eye, and have been using Melafix +
methylene blue + salt for 2 weeks, also I changed 30% of the water every
week and there has been no improvement. I want to know what can I do or
which medicine I should use, to help cure my fish of this eye disease?
Thank You Rodney
<  Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Try erythromycin. Follow the directions on the package. When the fish is cured the add carbon to remove the excess medication and then add Bio-Spira by Marineland to reestablish the good bacteria in the tank.-Chuck>

Severum Cured From Popeye  - 1/6/06
Hey Chuck, remember that 3 inch green Severum with the eye problems in the tank full of cichlids that I rescued? Well its eye is almost completely clear and normal, except for one thing. Around the outer edge of the eyeball, there are swollen skin and white colored growths that make it almost as though the eye is riding on a pillow. Its impossible to get a good picture of this, and I don't know how to explain it any other way. I treated with Metronidazole and Rid Ich for almost a week now. The situation is much much better now than ever. But I am absolutely stumped as to what this is. Perhaps you know?
<When a fish has Popeye, some of the connective tissue around the eye is stretched out. When the Popeye is cured and the pressure is released the eye falls back into place but the surrounding tissue may stay loose for awhile. Give it some time and I think it will go away on its own.-Chuck>

Re: Cichlid Death  - 1/6/06
Thank you for the help. It worked. One of them died and I am not sure why.
It looked healthy, but one day it just stopped eating and just hit behind
a plant for a week until it starved to death. It didn't look diseased at
all. What do you think the problem was?
< Probably an internal blockage or an internal bacterial infection.-Chuck>
Robert Miller

Re: Cichlid Death  - 1/6/06
Should I treat the water with anything so my other fish don't get sick
too?
< Bloat is caused by stress and a poor diet. I would change the diet to include more vegetable matter. If a fish stops eating then that is a symptom that you need to medicate.-Chuck>
Robert Miller

Pike Cichlid Beat Up And Hiding
Hello, I have a 3 inch golden pike which has a  problem.  He was originally in a 55 gallon tank along with a 5  inch tiger Oscar, a 3 inch jack Dempsey, 2 inch Pleco, and a 2 inch  catfish.   The 55 gallon tank is temporary and eventually they  will be in a 90 gallon tank.  Yesterday I noticed that my pike had  some red spots on his side which I could tell were not part of his  colorization.  I spoke to a guy at the LFS who knows his stuff,  and he told me it is probably hemorrhaging, caused by the other fish who  are picking on him.  Then today I noticed that he would not come  out of his cave and when he did he got viciously attacked by the Oscar  and Dempsey.  I took him out of the tank and placed him a 10  gallon tank which I had bought recently as a quarantine tank.   However the tank has gotten a chance to cycle and has only been running  for half a day.  I placed the pike in there because I though he  wouldn't make in the 55 tank another day.  He has been in the 10  gallon for about four hours and hasn't moved at all, he's still  breathing but I don't know what to do.  Any advice that you could  lend me on this situation would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you. Jim
<Pikes really don't do too well with other aggressive cichlids. The pike cichlids mouth is for catching smaller fish. It doesn't do too well against other cichlids that may bite it and break it. Your pike is pretty tough and will probably recover from the attacks, but the tougher question is where to put it. The other fish get big but your pike will not be able to tolerate the more aggressive cichlids. Your pike will get about 18 inches when full grown s will need at least a 55 gallon tank all on his own.-Chuck>

Pike Beat Up II    
Thanks for your quick response.  However since I sent my email to  you the Pike while in the 10 gallon still hasn't moved, eaten and is  breathing  heavy and looks really stressed.  He still has the  red marking on his side. I even put so live food in the tank with him  and he didn't even acknowledge it.  When I took him out of the  other tank  (55 gl) I was treating it with quick cure for protozoan  parasites which some of the fish had especially the Oscar.  Can  the parasite from the 55 gallon be the reason for his heavy breathing  and stressed out condition.  I put PimaFix in the 10 gallon to  help him, but nothing.  Is there any medication that I should give  him that would help him recover.  Thank you in advance for your  help. Jim
< Sounds like you pike really got beat up. The Nitrofuranace will help with both bacterial and fungal infections. If you pike is listless and non-responsive you could try adding a teaspoon of rock salt per 5 gallons, but after that there is not much you can do except keep the water clean and warm (80+F).-Chuck>

New Cichlids Don't Do Well In New tank  12/24/05
Hi, I had been keeping a Green Terror in a 75 gallon tank by itself. I
decided to get another fish. I went to my LFS and bought the gold Severum.
When I put it in the tank, it began to look like it was about to die and my
Green Terror kept on tearing at it. I decided to take it back. The employee
recommended a Tiger Oscar. I bought it. Same thing happened except my Green
Terror was afraid to go near it. I've had it for 2 days now. I've been
giving the tank 50% water changes. Green Terror is fine, but every fish that
comes from LPS lays on its side. After the first 50% water change he became
a little better. I gave him another today, but he still seems sick. What
could be the problem. Please answer back fast, my Oscar seems like it
doesn't have much time. Thank You
< Check your water. Ammonia, nitrites should be zero. Nitrates should be under 20 ppm. I suspect that the water chemistry from the store is very different than your own. Too big a change in pH can be stressful to fish.-Chuck>

Flowerhorn Floating  12/15/05
Hi, I went on vacation and left a Flowerhorn fish alone.  It's been 2 weeks that he's lying on one side on the surface.  He has a bump at the side tummy and is exposed ( not submerse in water). No color change and fin is still moving.  What can I do?  Please help, I do not know what to do.
<Sometimes when people leave on vacation they try and fatten up their fish before they leave by feeding them extra food. The problem with this idea is that they eat too much and sometimes the food blocks their intestines. The bacteria in the gut start to feed on the blocked food and they generate gas and the gas develops into pressure and bloating. Do a 30% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Treat with Metronidazole as per the directions on the package. You fish is pretty well along and you may not have caught it in time.-Chuck>

White Worms With Baby Fish  12/1/05
Hi, I am currently breeding Ps. demasoni. Tonight, when I stripped the female of her fry (still with egg pouch attached), into a small, plastic breeding container, what I noticed with the babies was tons of these little white worms. They obviously came out of the mothers mouth with the babies. My question is, is this a parasite, and if so, will it hurt the babies or other fish, and should I expect this parasite to be in my tanks, i.e., in my other fish as well? What do I do?
< This is not normal. I am guessing that these may be gill flukes. Treat with Fluke-Tabs. This will get rid of any invertebrates in the tank.-Chuck> 

Fluke-Tabs With Fry  12/2/05
Really cool. Thanks. I'll try that. But will fluke tabs hurt my babies?  They still have the egg pouch.
<I have not heard of any problems with fry, but to be safe you could put the fry in another container while you treat the main tank.-Chuck> 

Cichlid Feeling Blue  11/30/05
Hello: I've had my blue cichlid (not sure what kind it is exactly, do you know?)
<Could not get your photo to come up.>
on Maracyn II for 6 days now (today is the 6th day).  I've examined it tonight and her eyes are clear now (they were a slight bit cloudy last Thursday) and her left front fin is growing back (her tail fin and front side fin were showing some rot before I started meds). She's looking much better but she lays on the bottom of the convalescent tank I have her in. I noticed at her anus that it was red and looks a little infected in that it appears like it protrudes out a bit when you're looking across the bottom of her body. I'm not sure what her problem can be.  I started her on Mela Fix and Pima Fix for the first 4 days (I treated the entire 30 gal tank) and then I thought she had a more serious infection because she was staying on the bottom, like she can't float. So I've now put her in a convalescent tank that I've actually placed in the big tank to regulate the water temperature (about 78 degrees). I have an air filter in it for her and every morning and night, I change the water with the water from the regular tank. The temperature stays constant as it's in the big tank.  Twice last Thursday, she jumped out of that tank into the big one so I took a small bit of water out and now she's been okay in her little tank. I was thinking of putting her back in the breeder net (I had her in a breeder net when I was treating the entire tank with the Mela and Pima Fix) but if she still has an infection, I should probably run another round of something but I don't know what. What do you think?
<I think your fish has an interior <<Internal, maybe?>> bacterial infection. Keep your fish in the the hospital tank and treat with Metronidazole for the interior infection and Nitrofurazone for the exterior bacterial infection.>
I've attached a picture showing my fish and also another view of her anus area.
< The bacteria inside are growing and pushing out the colon. The metro will help.>
Any help you can give me would be much appreciated. I've got 4 cichlids in that tank, one just gave birth to 8 babies from which 4 are still alive in another 10 gallon tank. I've grown pretty close to these guys. They are great! :)Also, as some background info, I bought this fish as a baby back in April of 2003. How long do fish last generally?
< As a rule of thumb I generally think it is an inch per year. Of coarse many fish last longer than this. I have had a little tetra for a number of years and is still going strong.>
I've been taking care of fish since mid 2002 so I'm not too experienced but I've kept a spreadsheet and logged everything I do so I can understand when I make mistakes, etc.
< Great. Keep it up and you will be an aquarist for a very long time.-Chuck>
Thanks again, Joann Joseph Rhode Island 

Kribs And Exophthalmia - 11/25/2005
One week ago, I noticed my female Kribensis eyes were popped out of her head. She lived for about 2 weeks and then died.  Two days ago, I noticed that my male Kribensis had the same problem. I need to understand what is happening.  Thank you,  -Sherry
<Thanks for correcting and re-sending your question, Sherry.  Exophthalmia, or "pop-eye", is usually caused by poor water conditions.  First, you need to test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate; ammonia and nitrite should be ZERO, nitrate less than 20ppm.  If any of these are higher, you'll need to do water changes to get them back to normal.  Also, please read here for more information:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwpopeyefaqs.htm .  One to two tablespoons of Epsom salt per ten gallons of water may help a great deal, once the water quality is back to good.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Treating An Old (and He Means OLD!) red Devil With Hole-In-The-Head  11/16/05
Hello, I have a 17 year old Red Devil Cichlid (Fred) who was in the peak of health until I stupidly (over) adjusted the pH a month ago, and he took quite a roller coaster ride before I was able to stabilize things. Unfortunately, even after I got the water back to acceptable levels, he would still not eat (he had stopped eating when all the water troubles began). It was suggested that I put feeder fish in with him to stimulate his appetite, but the feeder goldfish was in there 5 days and nothing happened. I was thinking that Fred (the Cichlid) might just be going crazy in the confines of his 40 gallon tank, so I got a 100 gallon tank for him and started it cycling. The other day I noticed that Fred had a couple lesions on his head. I'm afraid he has Hole in The Head disease, especially because he exhibits some of the symptoms associated with HITH disease:
*A tendency to 'hang' in corners.
*A tendency to stare at food but without eating it, or if it does take a sample it immediately spits it out again.
*The decline in food acceptance, is often accompanied or followed by lethargy, and a reduction in muscle tissue which gives the fish a 'pinched' appearance behind the head and the skin 'texture' may take on a roughened appearance
*White, jelly like excreta can often be seen trailing from the anal vent, on the floor of bare bottom aquaria, or sometimes white, stingy 'rotted plant-like material' is 'adrift' in the aquarium.
*The wasted fish may develop a bloated stomach region.
*Skin lesions may start to appear, especially on the body and the head, in the region of the lateralis system - these holes may eventually expand and connect to from considerable size 'craters'
The only symptom here that Fred didn't exhibit was the 'jelly like excreta'. Thing is, this could also be Head and Lateral Line Erosion - HLLE, or both together, couldn't it?
< They are often associated with one another.>
I took the carbon out of his canister filter, gradually raised his water temp to 84 degrees F, did a 30% water change, and added 250mg of Metronidazole for each 10 gallons in his 40 gallon tank. About 12 hours later I did another 25% water change and gave him another dose of Metronidazole. 
I intend to do this for 3 days, based on articles I have read on the subject. Most of the fish store "Experts" that I have spoken to have rather heartlessly told me to give up all hope since he's so old. That is a little defeatist for me, thank you. If it's Fred's time to go, then so be it. Until then, I intend to give him a fighting chance. Period. As it is, he seems to be less 'sulky' than before, but on day 2 of the Metronidazole treatment, he is still not eating. 
Of most concern to me other than the not eating is that his stomach is distended only on the left hand side, and his tail tends to curve around to his left. I know that the Protozoan Parasites responsible for Hexamita (HITH disease) naturally occur in the fish's stomach, and just get out of hand when the fish gets stressed, as Fred was recently. It's just got me worried that it's only on one side, which he seems to be favoring, almost like it's a tumor. I know one of the symptoms of HITH is swelling of the stomach, but just on one side?
<It depends where the infection has manifested itself.>
And does it sound like I'm taking a reasonable course of action here?
< Metronidazole breaks down very easily in dirty water. I would vacuum the gravel and clean the filter and medicate with Nitrofurazone as well.>
I would hate to make any more big mistakes that might end up doing Fred in at this point! Speaking of mistakes, I made a big one when I removed the activated carbon from the canister filter. I squeezed out the sponge and washed out all the good goop that was in the canister, thereby destroying the biological filter. The gravel bed in the aquarium is still undisturbed, so I haven't killed the biological filter completely, but I know I screwed up. I have been adding AmQuel with the water changes, so that helps. Would it get in the way of the Metronidazole treatments to add Bio Spira, in order to get the biological filter back on track?
< The Nitrofuranace will definitely affect the biological filter. Your fish is not eating anyway so discontinue to feed until a cure is achieved. When a cure is achieved then add carbon to remove any medication and then add the Bio-Spira to the water to get the tank cycled again.>
And can I add NovAqua to ease Fred's stress a little?
< Follow the directions on the bottle.>
Oh, and I've read that feeder fish can infect a Cichlid with HITH. They get it through the feces of the feeder fish. Is this plausible?
< Feeder fish can introduce many parasites but this is not one of them.>
It occurred to me that he may have gotten it from the feeder fish I put in with him. There are 5 feeder fish in the 100 gallon tank that is now cycled and ready for Freddy when he gets out of hospital. I was planning on putting the feeder fish into the 40 gallon tank when I put Fred into the 100 gallon tank, but I would hate for Fred to get infected all over again when I put him into the 100 gallon tank that the feeder fish just left (infected from the feeder fish waste still in the tank). Would you share your thoughts on these things?
< The feeder fish are not the immediate problem right now. Go to Cichlid-Forum.com and search the data base for a rather lengthy article on hole in the head. This will give you some insight on how hard this is to cure.-Chuck>
Thank you for your help on this! Chris Haller
pH: 7.8; Nitrite: 0; Ammonia: (I don't know because the AmQuel messes up the Nessler reagent); Nitrate: negligible; General Hardness: 140 ppm; Carbonate Hardness: 5 German degrees 

Green terror Lost His Head 11/3/05
Hi, I have a question regarding my Green Terror. He suddenly died yesterday. Our cichlids started scratching a lot and we thought they were getting Ick.
< Probably high nitrate concentrations. Should have checked the nitrates. If they were over 20 ppm then you needed to change some water instead of add medication.>
We started treating on Monday with Super Ick. Yesterday we added another dose and not 30 seconds after that our Green Terror was at the top floating and then dropped to the bottom. When we got him out of the tank, my fiancé noticed that the bottom of his head was not attached to the bottom of his body. Don't know if that makes sense. I was wondering if you could tell me perhaps what happened.
< Neither ich nor any medication can account for your green terror's cut throat. I suspect that he cut it on something in the aquarium or on the top of the tank while thrashing about.>
Nothing else seemed wrong except for the scratching. He was eating fine. We have a 26 gallon tank with yellow cichlid, electric blue cichlid, OB peacock, 2 parrots, 1 Texas, 1 albino zebra and a common pleco. The terror was in there to. All of the other fish seem fine. I cannot understand what happened. Thanks for your help. Lori Michalski
< Do a 50% water change and add some carbon to the water to remove the medication. Then add some BioSpira to get the nitrification cycle started again and check for ammonia spikes.-Chuck> 

Green Terror Died Losing His Head II - 11/4/05
Hi Chuck, Thanks for the reply. The terror was not trashing around it was the other fish that were doing the scratching. Sorry if I was unclear. We are going to do the water change tonight. What causes the nitrates to rise?
< A build up of uneaten food and fish waste.>
How should I add the carbon?
< Place it in the filter. Many filters now require the purchase of an additional carbon cartridge.>
Do you mean just drop some in.
< No, add it to the filter.>
I do believe we just put an new filter in. Also, do you think that the bio wheel not spinning all the time would cause any of this? Thanks, Lori
< Some Marineland filters have little baskets that the carbon can be placed. Others have the carbon in the filter cartridges. The BioWheel contains the bacteria that breaks down the fish waste from toxic ammonia to less toxic nitrites and then to the even less toxic nitrates. Nitrates are converted to nitrogen gas by anaerobic bacteria or absorbed by plants. In the aquarium without plants the must be removed and reduced with water changes. Some chemical compounds claim to remove them but they have yet to be tested over a long time.-Chuck> 

Black Fungus Attacking FW Fish 10/18/05
One of my cichlids has a few white spots come up on his side fin. I am assuming ich and also a few of the others have like this black mildew stuff showing up. So I have raised the temp and I am treating the tank. My Pleco is very unhappy cause I took his hiding place but I don't want to loose any more fish because I lost one already. Is the black a fungus? Laura
< Most likely it is the ich parasite attacking the gills of your fish. Be patient and the heat treatment should work on the ich.-Chuck> 

Re: Black Mildew on Fish  10/19/05
Yes the ich is gone but the black mildew is still on the body and fins but
still treating and hoping. They seem to be getting color back but lost
another fish this morning. He has been really sick, the others are swimming
and acting fine. Can I add MelaFix in my tank with the other meds? Laura
< I would recommend that the single sick fish be moved to a hospital tank for treatment. I really don't like the idea of mixing medications because you could cause more harm to the rest of your fish. I have recently heard from some friends of mine who have had some success with MelaFix. If the other medications are not working then it is worth a try.-Chuck>

Half Black Jewel Cichlid  9/26/05
My jewel cichlid has turned black on the front half of the body.  Do you know what could be causing this.  I do a water change about every two weeks as was recommended by the fish store.   I did have an algae problem growing on the sides of the tank but got rid of that.   I don't have a test kit for the water but my other cichlids seem to be fine.  Thanks
STELLA
< I have seen this a few times and it always turns out to be am attack of the fishes nervous system. sometimes it is a disease and sometimes it is trauma like an injury. I have seen the back half being black but never the front half. Isolate him in a hospital tank and treat with Nitrofurazone in case it is bacterial related. Jewel fish are pretty durable fish and hopefully he will bounce back.-Chuck>
<<Possibly also an iodine deficiency....  Look for the book by Dieter Untergasser, "Handbook of Fish Diseases" (or something similar to that....) - there is a great deal of information there on this condition, including treatment options.  -Sabrina>>

Gold Severums With Black Ich  9/26/05
Hi guys, I'm sorry if this question has already been answered but I couldn't seem to find what I was looking for.  I work in the fish dept. of a pet store and we have several small (3") gold Severums who have developed a coat of small black spots.  They are mostly concentrated in the dorsal area.  I was able to find out that it's "black ich" but all other info I find leads to a Marine disease.  I've treated the fish with Copper twice but still little black spots.  Any suggestions??? Thanks a lot :) Mandi
< There is a black spot disease that is associated with wild South American cichlids. It is not treatable but it is not contagious either since it has a fairly complex lifecycle that includes snails and birds. Your gold Severums are a genetic mutation created by fish farms. There are many commercial foods today that can create this darkening. Foods with too much spiraling for example can do this. On most fish this is not to noticeable and even desirable on some fish. Unfortunately it doesn't look too good on gold Severums. If the fish are showing no symptoms of disease I would recommend a change in diet and try a different quality fish food.-Chuck>

Parrot Cichlids Stressed By High Nitrates  9/19.5/05
I had 2 parrots and a pleco in a 30 gal. tall tank.  They were all about 5
inches long.  Unfortunately, I let the nitrates get too high!  The parrots
started hovering around the bio-wheel filter like they couldn't breath and
then sunk to the bottom of the tank. I started with an aggressive water change of about 40% to reduce the nitrates and the gravel was cleaned and filter changed.  Nitrites were
non-existent, PH was good. The only problem seemed to be the nitrates.  The
next day 1 of the parrots was dead and the nitrates were sky high again!  I
did another water change and headed to my neighborhood aquarium and fish
store.  They specialize in fish and their tanks and fish always look clean
and healthy. Their answer was the nitrates removed the oxygen from the
water.  They recommend not adding any meds for ich or internal bacterial
infection although parrots are prone to infection with bad water quality,
because this too will remove oxygen from the water.  They recommend adding
an aerator powerhead to add oxygen and also aquarium salt to help with the
stress. Since then I have continued testing nitrates and making water changes and
the tank seems to be stabilizing to 10 to 20 ppm in nitrates, but the parrot
is still not eating, spends most of it's time on the bottom of the tank
seeming to gasp for air, or perhaps just too weak to swim. It also seems to
be showing slight signs of ich.  The pleco doesn't seem to have been
effected by any of this. The tank is about 82 degrees (normal for this tank).  It's been about seven days since this all started and about 6 water changes later.  Will the
parrot recover?  Could there be anything else wrong?  Have I done the right
things, or can anything else be done?  When should I treat with meds for ich
or bacterial infections, if at all? Thank you, Angela
< The 82 F will take care of the ich. You parrots have been stressed by the high nitrates and probably have an internal bacterial infection. Keep the nitrates down and treat with Metronidazole for internal bacterial problems.-Chuck>

Cichlid With Popeye  9/17/05
Hi, guys, I desperately need help with a Popeye.  My sajica has developed a Popeye within 2-3 hours.  I isolated him in the q-tank that had aquarium/Epsom salt 1 tablespoon/5 gal. with a dose of Maracyn plus.  A few days later I don't see any improvements in his condition. (Water is changed daily) Now his eye got cloudy as well.  He doesn't eat anything so medicated foods are out of the question.  I am not sure what else I can do.  Would you have any suggestions Thank you,
< Treat with Nitrofurazone and Metronidazole in a hospital tank. Change 30% of the water while vacuuming the gravel in the main tank. Clean the filters too.-Chuck>

Pop Eye Coming Back (2) 10/13/05
Hi, guys, A few weeks ago I emailed you about my sajica with a Popeye. I was recommended to treat it with Metronidazole and Nitrofurazone. I treated him with Parasite Clear (has Metronidazole + other things) and Fungus Eliminator (Nitrofurazone, Furazolidone + other things) It took more than 2 weeks but the Popeye was gone, so was the film over the eye. 
I transferred him back to his tank but a little bit of the film has reappeared after a while. In addition to that I saw a few white spots around his eyes. Once in a while he tries to swat at his eye with his fin and shake as if he's got some parasites in his gills. His poop looks white/clear and long (internal parasites???). I definitely need to treat him but what do I use??? Parasite Clear and Fungus Eliminator seemed not so effective. Could you advise anything else? 
Thank you, Evgenij
< What ever caused the pop eye in the first place is still at work. You have cured the symptoms but you need to determine what is wrong with the tank and makes this disease reappear. Check the ammonia, nitrites and especially the nitrates. Get them below 25 PPM. The lower the better. Check the water temp. Should be up around 80 F. Do a 30% water change , vacuum the gravel and change the filter.-Chuck> 

Sajica Cichlid With Popeye (3) 10/18/05
Thank you for your fast response. The tank parameters are fine: ammonia, nitrites are at 0, nitrates are between 10-20 ppm, pH 7.0 GH 250 ppm. I do water changes every week about 25% with gravel vacuuming. I don't think it's the problem. I was wondering if you have any suggestions about medicating him. It appears that he's got parasites but Parasite Clear did not help. Thank you, Evgenij
< Add some Epsom salt to the water and check the water temp. Metronidazole will take care of the parasite but you will have to do some research tom find out why he got sick in the first place.-Chuck> 

Gold Severums Losing Their Luster  8/30/05
Hi there team, Just a little query. I have two golden severums (juveniles at about 2 inches) currently living quite happily in a community tank. However they are losing there colour and one has a very definite vertical banding forming along it's flank, such as is typical in many cichlids. The other fish lacks this banding, but is a little greyer than normal.
Amongst their tank mates are a pair of juvenile firemouths (of a similar size and age). Is it bound the realms of possibility that the presence of the firemouths is effecting the colouration of the golden severums? Or is there another reason? I checked back at the shop I purchased them from and the others from the same batch are maintaining their colour.
BTW my water is PH 7, Ammo 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 10ppm and has been stable for a long time.(50 gallon tank with filtration system capable of handling almost double this)
The only of event of consequence was an outbreak of whitespot about a month ago when new stock became ill (the fish at the shop also became ill at the same time and they white spot had been brought in from the shop. This has been treated and no whitespot has been evident for 3 weeks. Thanks for your thoughts, John Read
< Check the diet and lighting. Good food like Spectrum will bring their colors to their fullest. Cheap poor quality food gives you cheap looking fish. Lighting makes a big difference. Go back to the shop and see what lights they are using. Typical shop lights from the hardware store don't do anything for a fishes color. Try ZooMed FloraSun bulbs. Genetics play a part in it too. To look their best they need to be the dominant fish in the tank. -Chuck>

Bloated Angelfish  8/30/05
HELP!!!! My angel fish is so filled with gas, he looks like he's  
swallowed a ping-pong ball....what should I do? More antibiotics?
< The Metronidazole should have done the trick , but it appears that either the conditions that caused the bloat are still in place or the Metronidazole was ineffective. At this point I would switch to a double dose of a Nitrofurazone medication in a hospital tank or to Clout as a last shot.-Chuck.>

Bloated Angelfish  8/31/05
Thanks for quick response - he's sooooo sick.
By the way, another web site suggests: if one is either trained to  
handle fish or is a veterinarian, one could try putting a small pin  
hole into the bladder to allow the gas to escape....
as a last-ditch effort - he's probably about to die – should I try this?
Anne
< I guess it is worth a try if you have nothing to lose. Most of the time the trauma kills the fish. Try it if you think all hope is lost and write back if it works.-Chuck>

A Really Blue Acara  8/26/05
Hello, I have a sick blue Acara. It's symptoms are that it's fins a frayed around the edges and red at the base, it's scales are rough, it's mouth appears to be rotting and it is floating to the surface (I believe this is maybe a swimming disorder because its rear rises up first). The most worrying symptom is its vent is swollen, red and actually protruding about 5 millimetres.  The tank was very acidic (as I hadn't done any testing or maintenance in a while) and I'm pretty sure that this was the cause, however I have cleaned the tank and got the ph up to 6.5 but I am worried that the Acara is not going to recover. Could you please advise me on any remedies that could save my poor fish. Thanks, Ken
<Your lack of maintenance has probably increased the nitrate levels and acidified the water to a dangerous pH level. Your poor blue Acara has been through a lot. First thing to do is clean the tank. Do a 30% water change while vacuuming the gravel. Clean the filter. Check the water for nitrate levels. They should be under 25 ppm. Get the pH up to 7 by doing using a buffer in the new water you are putting back in your tank. Do this gradually or a rapid pH shift will shock you fish and probably kill him in his weakened state. Once the tank is clean, you can treat the external bacterial infections with Nitrofuranace. Use a double dose to treat the internal bacterial infections that have caused the bloat. When he starts to eat again the internal bacterial infection will be gone. You have a long way to go to get your fish healthy. A little prevention would have gone a long way. These fish are typically pretty tough so conditions must have been pretty bad to get him in this shape. Good luck,-Chuck>

Red Devil, Viral Infection - 08/17/2005
Hello,
<Hi.>
I just bought a Red Devil, and he seems to have this white cyst (Like a pimple) on one of his scales.  He is bright orange in colour, and this white cyst stands out.  It's not ich, since it's only one, and bigger than ich.  How do I treat it? Does it go away? The previous owner said that its been there for approximately 1 month now.
<Sounds like lymphocystis....  A viral infection.  Though this is not treatable, it usually does go away if the fish is kept in optimal water conditions (ammonia, nitrite = ZERO, nitrate = LESS than 20ppm).  So be testing, and keep that water clean!>
Thank you,  Toufic
<Wishing you and your new red devil well,  -Sabrina>
  Red Devil, Viral Infection - II - 08/17/2005
Optimal eh? :-(
<Should be no more difficult than maintaining the tank properly....  That's the least we can do for our captive fishes.>
How about surgery on the actual cyst?
<This will cause more harm than good, most likely.  I would leave it as is, and let the fish heal on its own time.  Proper care, proper water quality alone will help this to go away.>
Extra salts in the tank?
<Nope.  Patience, much patience, and proper care.  That's all.  This will take time....  but can/should heal up on its own.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Old Parrot Cichlid With Internal Bacterial Infection 8/11/05
Hello, I have a  beautiful blood parrot who is 5 years old and pretty large.
She has been hiding  for the past week but would still come out for food. She
is usually very playful  and follows me around the tank constantly but
yesterday she stopped eating and  started laying on her side. Today she is flipped
over and trying to swim upside  down. Please tell me if there is anything that I
can do for Sweetie as she is  trying to get back upright but cannot so she is
hiding under a cave in the  aquarium. She is what I call the Heart shaped
version of the Blood Parrots.  Thank you for any help or advice, Jada
< Do a 30% water change and vacuum the gravel while you are at it. Clean the filter and treat with Metronidazole as per the directions on the package.-Chuck>

Parrot Cichlid Didn't Make It 8/13/05
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I followed your directions but  
could not get the Metronidazole last night as it was late and the pet stores  were
closed. Sadly enough, my heart was broken to find her dead this morning. In  
my hurry to get some answers I failed to mention that I also have three  small
Parrot Cichlids in this 75 gallon tank that was home to Sweetie for five  
years. They seem wonderful and full of energy and are eating fine. These are  
only a year old. Do you recommend that I treat the tank as you directed or leave  
well enough alone with these darlings?
< Internal bacterial infections are usually brought on by stress. Younger fish adapt easier and aren't as prone to disease. I would make sure that the tank was clean and keep up on the water changes. Treat at this point is not needed.>
I am new to this website but have been  reading it for hours on end. I find you all to be very helpful, wonderful people  and am most grateful to you and very happy to have found you and this terrific website! Thanks again for your prompt help and thank you in advance
for  any input on what I need to do for the little buddies I have left. Special  
thanks to Chuck! Jada
< Thank you for your kind words and welcome to the site.-Chuck>

Question about my twitching jack Dempsey cichlid 7/30/05
Hi,
I spent hours yesterday researching the faq's on your
site and found a couple things that seemed
similar/helpful but am still not quite sure on what
the problem is.
<When do you think you might be ready to help us respond to queries?>
  My Cichlid is doing this weird
twitching/shaking thing but he isn't scratching
himself... just twitching and sometimes he will float
sideways a teensy bit and then jerk back to normal and
keep swimming around.
<Summat very wrong with your water quality or the neural make-up of this fish>
I found a couple articles, one
suggesting this is a nitrate problem in the tank and I
found on marineworld.com changing 25% of the water
every 2-3 days can help alleviate that.
<Always a good idea... "when in doubt, change water">
So I've
started that but the second article was asking about a
shimmy (which I don't know what exactly that is
<A descriptive term... like the dance... not a label for an actual causative mechanism>
so I cant tell if that's my lil guy's prob or not) and the
response to it said it is perhaps a parasite. So this
is where I am lost because this is a new tank (still
in it's initial 30 day cycle)
<Ahh... likely to do then with the actual cycling process... very, very common... and often deadly.>
so I know using medication in it can cause more harm than good,
<Yes>
and I don't know how to tell exactly if it is a parasite and
if so which one. His color is still great, there is no
bloating or funny growths or bulging eyes... he looks
great and he's still eating just fine, he's just
twitching.  Thank you so much for your help!!!!!!!
Sara
<Sara, please read on WWM re establishing biological filtration:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above.
Likely your fish is suffering from ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. Bob Fenner>

Convict Cichlid With Strange Growth 7/20/05
I have a convict cichlid (relatively young, I'm sure) who has (seemingly overnight) developed a white round 3-dimensional growth at the base of his fin (at the joint if you will). The cichlid is only about 2 1/2 inches long and the growth is about 1/8 of an inch (perhaps a smidgeon less). Please let me know if you can figure anything out. The only thing I've come up with is maybe a tumor of some sort, but I really don't know.
Thanks in advance.--Rachael
<Could be fungus from a wound. Wipe the area down with a cotton swab. Put a little iodine on it and treat the water with Nitrofuranace for wound control.-Chuck>

Green Terror Sick? 7/12/05
Hello Guys, I need to ask a question here. I have a male green terror & have had him for about 10  months now. I bought him when he was a baby, 3 inches long, and he is now a healthy 7 inches long, 3 inches from top to bottom and about 1-1/2 inches thick. A real bruiser.  He used to eat everything in sight, always coming to the top of the tank to greet me and see what I brought him. But for the past week, he is just laying around, and I have not seen him eating anything. He is in the tank (150 gallons) with 1 female red terror, 3 Frontosas, and 2 clown loaches, and 4 small Cory cats. Nobody is showing any aggression,
<Not at least that you've seen...>
not out of the normal anyway. He has not lost any color, or any weight, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out what the problem is. I checked all of my water parameters, and everything is just perfect. I do have a sand bottom, (sand blasting sand). It has never presented a problem, and I have live plants growing like weeds in there. All I have seen him do is move from
one location in the morning, to a different one at night. He does not come up to the top anymore, or even go midway up. A friend of mine told me that cichlids grow like the dickens until a certain point, then they slow down considerably, and just sit around.
<Mmm, to some extent this is so>
The food I have been feeding all this time has been beef heart, bloodworms, nightcrawlers, small guppies ( occasionally ) Mysis shrimp, pieces of thawed shrimp, mussels, and some pieces of krill.
<A good mix>
It just seems like he has lost the will to function anymore. He doesn't act like he has a parasite or anything, no jerking, twitching, or thrashing around, just sits on the bottom, and does nothing. I fear if he keeps this up, he will eventually be found floating from having died during the night. All of the other fish are as normal as ever. What can I do to save my prized fish? I thank you for any advice you have. Your website has been a godsend for other information I have needed, and I do appreciate you guys.
Nervous about my fish.
Dan Simpson
<Well, "when in doubt... do a water change". I would take out and replace a good 25% of your system water here, add some liquid vitamins to the water, the foods of the day... and hope for the best. If the fish doesn't eat in another week or so, I'd try moving it to another system... perhaps there is some interaction going on... Bob Fenner>

Cichlid: Internal bacterial Infection? 7/9/05
How do I tell if it is an internal parasite problem?  He has no outward signs of anything being wrong, and I am not one of those people who likes to treat that tank for no reason.  Also, what kind of dose of Metronidazole do you recommend? Thanks. Brenda
< Fish that do not eat, have problems with their buoyancy or have extended body cavities  usually have internal bacterial infections. Their are dosage recommendations on the packages of Metronidazole.-Chuck>

Convict Cichlid 7/7/05
Hi there!
Just have a quick question...
I have a male convict whose eye appears to be peeling. The eye itself
looks okay, but on one side the skin looks like it has been peeled
back, and is still hanging on. My convicts just had a set of fry and
have been protecting them against 2 Jewels and a Cobalt.( We are
removing the convicts soon.) Is it possible that this happened in
battle or is it something else i should be wary of? Should I treat him
or will it repair itself?  Thanks for your time.
Amy
<Is likely an injury related to spawning, protection. I would add some aquarium salt, separate from the African cichlids pronto. Bob Fenner>

Cichlid, spreading mouth fungus 07/01/05
I first noticed my Chocolate Cichlid was not eating, then I noticed a small  
clump of white tissue on one side of the mouth/lips. I placed him in a  
quarantine tank. It's been four days and the white tissue has spread over  his
entire mouth area. he keeps his mouth open and obviously won't eat. I  wouldn't
describe the sore as cottony, but more like dead tissue that is white  and has
red coloration on the edges of the sore. I don't believe this was  caused by
another fish, but the only unlikely possibility is a female  Frontosas that is
smaller than the Chocolate and has never been hostile  that I've seen. All I
know for sure is that it appears to be literally  eating away the tissue and
spreading rapidly. Your help would be greatly  appreciated.
Choco.    
<May be due to a physical trauma not involving another fish, but I would add aquarium salt and possibly an antifungal medication here... at this point, likely to the whole tank. Bob Fenner>

Re: spreading mouth fungus
Bob,
Thanks for the reply, but the fish died yesterday and when I took him from  
the tank I noticed his lower jaw was broken in half right in front.
Thanks again.
<Yeeikes! Some virulence now! Sorry about your loss. Bob Fenner>

New Midas Cichlid 07/01/05
About 2 weeks ago I bought a Midas cichlid and I put
him in a already established guppy 10 gal guppy tank
that I was about done with. While I am cycling my old
75 gal now getting it ready for him and I noticed that
he has a black dot in between his eyes and black two
black lines on his tail fin. He seems in perfect
health and has quit an attitude. I was just wondering
if this is something to watch. There was never any out
brakes of any thing before in the tank. Also how
aggressive are midas cichlids? Thank you for you time.
< The black marks are probably scars from earlier encounters with other cichlids. They are probably healed up and are of no real concern. Individual temperaments vary but the midas cichlid can be very tough on fellow tankmates especially as they get older.-Chuck>

Disease to my fish regd 28 Jun 2005
Hello Guys,
                   This is Mitra from India. Congrats  to you on such a great site. I have a problem with my green terror (7”inches) and hope u can help me.
My fish is a green terror 7”inches in size and I have it for the past 4 months. Actually I wasn’t here for a month and when I returned I found that the green terror hasn’t eaten anything for a whole month.
<Yikes>
Now it looks very pale and still it not still accepting any food. Its stomach has gone in and I noticed a white thread like thing near its poop hole yesterday.
<Likely part of its body... a prolapsed colon>
I’m moving it to a new 100 gallon tank which I think I’ll use it as a hospital tank. Please help me how to feed it and make it look good again. Does it have any health disorder?
<Who knows?>
And even my convict is suffering from whitespot for the past 20 days. Please  tell me how to treat it.                               
                               Thanks in advance…
                                  MITRA
<Have you tried feeding this fish? You may have to force feed it for a few weeks... with a plastic catheter, a mash of food... Bob Fenner>

Sick Cichlids
Hi!  I have a 35 gallon tank that has been up and running for almost a
month.  We had 9 cichlids...3 Firemouth, 3 Blue Kenyi, and 3 Auratus.  Up
until a few days ago, they were all very vivid and lively and seemed very
happy.  Two days ago there was a mysterious death...the smallest Auratus.
Yesterday I noticed that the largest Auratus was acting funny...like the
fins on the top and bottom of his body were paralyzed and he was using just
his side fins to swim.  He used to be the tank bully, but now he's having a
hard time just getting around.  This morning I noticed that one of the Blue
Kenyi has similar paralysis...but he has paralysis on just one side of his
body.  He won't use the bottom or side fins on his right side and is listing
badly.  These two sick fish also look kind of blotchy.  There's no
bloat...and the fish that died didn't even float...he just was lying on the
bottom.  The rest still seem happy, but I'm expecting they'll probably catch
it too.
My husband did all the water checks...chlorides, nitrates, pH...  And the
water temp is in the high 70's...almost 80.  Our plants are all artificial.
The only concerns I have are...first, we have a bubbler going...one that
creates a curtain of bubbles...could this be stressing them?
< No>
Also, just this morning I noticed some white spots and some fuzzy growth that looked
almost like mold on the side of the tubes that go to the filter.  Yuck!
What is that?
< Could be left over food that has begun to fungus.>
Also, I'm afraid I might have been overfeeding lately.  When
we first got them they were ravenous and ate tons and grew really quickly.
I got used to feeing them a lot because they would eat it all up fast...but
lately they just haven't been eating very much and I know I need to be more
careful of how much I give them.  The only other thing that's changed is
that I put a new castle statue in the tank a couple weeks ago.  The only
reason I mention it is because the fish that have been sick were the only
ones who ever swam in the castle.
What's wrong with my cichlids, and what should I do to treat them???
Thanks!
< Check the nitrates. They should be under 25 ppm. Do a 30% water change and clean the filter and vacuum the gravel. When the tank is clean treat them with clout for the protozoa infection that gives them that "clamped" look. If they begin to bloat then treat them with Metronidazole as per the directions on the package. The clout may be effective against the bloat parasites too.-Chuck>

Medicating a tank after aggression - 6/3/05
Hi, <Hi Lina>
I have a question about my cichlids. <What kind of cichlids do you have?> Bigger cichlids killed one of my little brown ones.  They ate part of it. <Actually not unheard of and somewhat natural order of things> I am very concerned about the health of other cichlids. <Why is that?> Should I medicate the rest of the fish? <Why would you do this? I am not sure I have enough information to establish a concern or condone the use of medication. Let me just say that if you are concerned because they ate half of another fish, I would not medicate the tank. Use medication only after proper diagnosis of symptoms. Not as a general anesthetic for anything that could be/go wrong. Take medicating seriously. Now, I would do a water change after pulling out what is left of the deceased fish, that is what I do in the case of death. This is in addition to my regular weekly water change schedule. No need to be too concerned about the after affects but I would be concerned about the aggression in the tank. Thanks for being part of it all and let me know if I can be of anymore help. ~Paul>
Thanks for you help
Lina

Cichlid Fry Dying
Thanks Chuck. Ammonia and Nitrites are both 0, and nitrates show barely a trace. Temperature is 78-80 depending on the day. I had the bottom third of the crinum plant buried, as Aquariumplant.com directed. It didn't really have many roots with which to work. I am only feeding once a day and haven't had any problems for months up until the last couple of days. The signs of stress witnessed by the fish that went were a little lethargy, hanging near the bottom of the tank and, at times, resting but still swimming. Also they stopped eating. I don't see any fish with these symptoms right now, I just don't know what to do to fix the problem. If you get a used tank, what is the safest way to clean it? I was worried at first that it may be the tank even though I scrubbed it with hot water and rinsed it thoroughly. I am at a loss for what to do next, I guess just try and do the right thing and hope the problem goes away?
< Your fry have come down with an internal bacterial infection. This is caused by stress. I would guess over feeding or bad food that may have gone stale. I would recommend a change in diet and treat the tank with Metronidazole as soon as the fish stop eating. I clean used tanks with a saline solution. Others have used a 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to sterilize tanks but I find this unnecessary.-Chuck>

Cichlids with Sunken Bellies
I have a 20 gallon tank with 1 convict, 1 firemouth, 1 green terror and 1 Severum. These fish are fed once daily on cichlid flakes and twice a week I feed them cichlid pellets. I do a 20% water change and siphon the gravel once a week. The filter is changed once a month. They have had this routine for over a year with no problems until 3 months ago. I noticed all of the fishes bellies appeared to be sunk in. 
I checked several web sights for disease symptoms but I could not find anything that resembled the problem my fish are having. I thought it could be TB but they are all eating well, their bodies have good color with no skin problems, they don't fight and they all swim around normally. They otherwise seem happy and healthy so I thought it may be something internal. 
I treated with Jungle Brand Parasite Clear for internal parasites but there was no improvement. I even switched to spring water when I thought my county water supply might have a problem even though I was conditioning my tank water and letting it age 24 hours before I do my water exchanges. It has been 3 months now and the fish all still have sunken bellies with no other problems. 
Does fish TB take quite awhile for other symptoms to show up? I used to feed Tubifex worms as a treat once a week until the sunken bellies showed up. Could Tubifex worms cause internal parasites? I have 3 other fish tanks that get the exact same routine with the same water, feedings etc. but they are all fine. 
If I had introduced a new fish around 3 months ago I'd think that was the problem, but all these fish have been together for over a year. Could a disease lie dormant for that long? After 3 months of web searching I am baffled so I really hope you can help me figure out this mystery. Thank you, Michelle in N.C.
< It is difficult for medium to large cichlids to full up on flakes. I would recommend changing the diet to more quality pellet foods than rely on flakes. Go with a sinking pellet that is for carnivorous fish. I don't think it is a disease.-Chuck>