Black Ghost Knife Is Sick

[jackbc48]

I got home today, and it had this white stuff on its mouth. What's wrong with it and how can i fix it?

 

[Athena]

Hi - firstly, I have to say I have never kept this species of fish so don't have first hand experience of treating them. All I know is that they are quite sensitive, especially to certain medications, so treat carefully and double-check anything you use beforehand.

Two things spring to mind, looking at the photo. The first is that this could be mouth rot (Columnaris). Does it look fluffy at all? Hard to tell from the pic. Then again, Columnaris isn't always that fluffy.

The other thing that it could be is a bacterial infection causing the skin to flake off. I can just make out some sort of black and white gravel in the pic - is that the white coral type of gravel? If so, that is usually quite rough with sharp edges. It could be that your fish has been scraping his mouth when feeding, leading to a bacterial infection.

I think if you can take a closer inspection of its mouth to ascertain whether it looks to be something growing around it's mouth (Columnaris) or whether it is skin flaked off, then you will know which course of treatment to look for.

If you are in the UK there is Myxazin which will treat mouth fungus and any other bacterial disease, so if that medication is ok to use with a BGK, I'd suggest that as a starting point. The manufacturers do say that it can be used also as a brush-on application - but, again, check to make sure that a BGK can cope with that on their delicate skin.

Regards, Athena

 

[jackbc48]

Thanks.
It does not look fluffy at all, but there are now white lesions all over its body. The substrate is just plain gravel you would get at an aquarium store. It is not coral.

 

[star4]

BGKF need smooth/fine gravel or sand. They are sensitive to medications best one for him would be myxazin by Waterlife for bacterial infections.

 

[jackbc48]

Is myxazin available in the us? I haven't been able to find it anywhere online except for uk stores. Is there something like it in the us?

 

[Athena]

Hi - have a look through all of these meds (scroll down the list for bacterial meds):

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/123440-common-medications-usa/

You can find this topic pinned at the top section of the Tropical Fish Emergencies forum.

I don't know which US brand would be the same as Myxazin but I'm sure that any good all-round anti-bacterial would do. I've heard the name Maracyn mentioned a lot, so that must be a popular choice over there. But do check with your LFS that it's suitable for your fish.

Have you also checked your water stats recently? Just to rule out any burning from toxins that may be in the tank water.

Regards, Athena

 

[star4]

Athena has just said exactly what I was going to put! I have also heard maracyn mentioned a few times. I think for a BGKF you use half dose, but please check first as I am not 100% sure its just something at the back of my mind I may have read somewhere.

 

[WILDER]

For columnaris in the united states maracyn one and two.
The meds will knock your water stats.

 

[jackbc48]

So i treated with melafix, because it was all we had, and we weren't able to get anything else at the time. After the first day, the fish began to look a lot better. THe Ghost Knife's white beard is gone, but it is now just floating around near the heater and airstone and has white spots on it. One fish has died and none of the others will eat. What's the difference between maracyn 1 and maracyn 2. Will they make a difference at this point?

 

[jackbc48]

I have also noticed that almost all of the fish have clear/white films on their eyes

 

[minxfishy]

You need to use both macaryn 1 and 2 together. It looks like columnaris and an outbreak can kill off fish quickly if not treated in time. The cloudy eyes sound like poor water quality.

Can I ask, what are your water stats, ammonia? nitrIte? nitrAte and ph? How long has the tank been running and how was it cycled?

What size is the tank and what fish and how many of each?

 

[WILDER]

How big are the white spots.
Are the spots on the fish or heater.

Melafix is no good on columnaris. Its only good on cuts and wounds.
Melafix will only work on a very mild case of columnaris.

The difference with maracyn one and two, is that one gram negative and the other is gram positive I think.
You use both to cover all bases.


Cloudy eye is a symtom of a disease, not a disease in it's own right.
Causes.
Bad water quality, stress, old age, irritation, injury, parasites, bacterial, poor diet.

 

[satori108]

I got home today, and it had this white stuff on its mouth. What's wrong with it and how can i fix it?

How did your ghost knife go? Mine is showing similar features however, not the white beard. Mine has been sick for 3 months - I have treated with tetracycline, multi-fix (green), melafix, with no success. My fish has now developed deep ulcers along his spine after showing large white filmy spots over his body for 3 months. Do you have any clues?