Diamond Tetra Seems Sick-red Gills, Lethargic, Poor Coloring

[lillykinloo]

Twitching yes can be a sign of parasites.
Fish will flash or rub themselves on objects in the tank with parasites.
I think for now I would add a bacterial med with the fish coming down with septicemia.
Whats your loaction.

Thanks again Wilder! We are located in Atlanta, GA. I just returned from the lfs & purchased another small tank & heater for the sick tetra. I also purchased bacterial med (Maracyn 2 and Jungle Brand Medicated food for bacterial infections). I placed the sick female in the new tank and medicated the tank. I also medicated my 37 gallon tank since one of the male tetras appears to be exhibiting some of the same symptoms (loss of color and flicking around). I hope this works...fingers crossed.

 

[WILDER]

Don't feed the medicated food with the maracyn, its one or the other, or you will be overdosing the fish with meds.
If the other fish is flicking sounds like you may have flukes.

 

[lillykinloo]

Don't feed the medicated food with the maracyn, its one or the other, or you will be overdosing the fish with meds.
If the other fish is flicking sounds like you may have flukes.

Ok, I'll just do the maracyn 2. I medicated both tanks last night. The female Diamond Tetra died today....I must have gotten to her too late. I've been keeping an eye on the other fish. One of the male tetras does seem to be getting the same thing. Do you think I should stop the maracyn and switch to a medication to treat gill flukes? The only other fish that seems to be behaving abnormally is the largest Pearl Gourami. He has a long white thing hanging out of his anal pore. It will break off, but another one will appear within an hour or so. He won't eat the de-shelled peas I've offered. Do you think an epsom salt bath would help him, or would this be a bad idea with the maracyn 2 treatment going on in the tank? Thanks again!

 

[WILDER]

Does the long white thing look like poo, or a worm.
So the other poorly fish does he have red inflamed gills, and is he flicking.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.petsforum.com/cis-fishnet/afm/G29149.htm

 

[lillykinloo]

Does the long white thing look like poo, or a worm.
So the other poorly fish does he have red inflamed gills, and is he flicking.

The long white thing doesn't look like any poo I've seen come out of the other fish. First of all, it's about 1.5 inches-2 inches long (it's as long as one of the gourami's feelers). Secondly, it's kind-of clear in parts and white in parts. And, it's not really round. It looks kind-of flattened out. I'm not positive that it's a worm, but it doesn't look like poo to me either.

The other fish is becoming discolored. His gills are not red and inflamed. But, he is doing the flicking thing (not rubbing against anything, but he kind of floats in one place and flicks his fins around). He is also breathing more rapidly than normal (kind-of like he's taking lots of small gulps of water).

 

[WILDER]

You might be dealing with internal parasites then, they can cause alot of damage to the inside of the fish, resulting in bacterial infections on top.
Signs of internal parasites are.
Losing weight with a sunken in belly, can also bloat up.
Red inflamed anus to enlarged, can also cause bent spines in fish.
Any excess mucas on the gills.
Is it possible to get some pics to take a look at.
The fish that died did you check the gills.

 

[WILDER]

Long stringy white poo can mean internal parasites, constipation, to bacterial infection.
Mucas looking poo can be internal parasites, or the fish has eaten in a while.

So far the fish are dull in colour.
Red inflamed gills.
Twitching in place.
Long stringy mucas poo.

 

[lillykinloo]

You might be dealing with internal parasites then, they can cause alot of damage to the inside of the fish, resulting in bacterial infections on top.
Signs of internal parasites are.
Losing weight with a sunken in belly, can also bloat up.
Red inflamed anus to enlarged, can also cause bent spines in fish.
Any excess mucas on the gills.
Is it possible to get some pics to take a look at.
The fish that died did you check the gills.

I'm trying to get a picture of the Pearl Gourami. He is the most skiddish fish in the tank, so it may take me a minute to get a good photo. I did not notice a red inflamed anus. But, I'm going to try to net him out of the tank. It may the only way to get any decent close up photos.

I did not see any thing in the gills of the dead fish. However, I do not have a microscope or magnifying glass either, so I probably wouldn't be able to see much anyways. I'll get the pictures to you asap.

 

[WILDER]

Ok, its quite hard its swinging from one desease to another.
Though gouramis are very prone to bacterial infections.

 

[lillykinloo]

Ok, its quite hard its swinging from one desease to another.
Though gouramis are very prone to bacterial infections.

Yes, I know. I'm sorry about that. Thank you for trying to help me; I really appreciate it. Here's what I'm observing today (my husband is working on getting a picture):

So far, the only fish that had red inflammed gills is the female that passed away today. So far, everyone else's gills look ok.
I have 4 tetras left, and I would say 3 of the 4 are doing the twitching thing. None of the gourami or killifish are doing the twitching thing.
One of the 4 tetras is breathing rapidly (lots of small gulps of air). Everyone else seems to be breathing normally.
The Pearl Gourami has a long string of white/clear poo hanging from him. No one else seems to be having this.

Would it help at all if I took a close-up picture of the female tetra that passed away today? I hate to post a picture like this if it wouldn't be helpful. But, if it will help, I don't mind getting a good picture of her gills.

 

[WILDER]

Post the pic of the dead fish then.
Right twitching, one had red inflamed gills, and one rapid breathing.
I would treat for flukes they can cause bacterial infections on top.
Add some shelled peas to the tank to see if that clears the gourami up of its long stringy white poo.
Any red in the top of the fins near the gill forget what you call them fins.

 

[lillykinloo]

Post the pic of the dead fish then.
Right twitching, one had red inflamed gills, and one rapid breathing.
I would treat for flukes they can cause bacterial infections on top.
Add some shelled peas to the tank to see if that clears the gourami up of its long stringy white poo.
Any red in the top of the fins near the gill forget what you call them fins.

We've tried getting a good picture of the gills on the Diamond Tetra. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a decent photo (the flash keeps reflecting off of her gills). And, her gills don't even look red or inflamed anymore (I guess maybe because blood isn't pumping to the gills anymore?) However, I did notice a few things about her that I did not notice before. When I went to remove her from the water and take a picture, I noticed that the clear/white poo was hanging out of her. It's the same clear/white poo that the Pearl Gourami seems to be having. And, her belly looked somewhat bloated. I took a close look at the anal pore on the Diamond Tetra & it was a bit red (not really inflamed, but it seemed a little red). Unfortunately, the poo broke off when I netted her out, so I wasn't able to get a picture of it. So now, based on everything, do you think I could be dealing with internal parasites?

 

[WILDER]

To be honest yes as a red anus is not good.
Human can get a red itchy inflamed anus if they have worms.
Could be why you are seeing alot of problems with your fish.

 

[lillykinloo]

To be honest yes as a red anus is not good.
Human can get a red itchy inflamed anus if they have worms.
Could be why you are seeing alot of problems with your fish.

Ok, whew! I'm glad we got to the bottom of this. I've researched online & found a medicine made by Hikari called Prazi-Pro. I took this from a website @ www.mops.ca:

Ready to use, liquid concentrated Praziquantel treatment
Controls unwanted parasites in freshwater or marine aquariums
Treats flukes, tapeworms, flatworms and turbellarians
Can be used as a preventative
Safe and effective; will not negatively impact biological filtration
Non-toxic to commonly kept aquarium animals and plants
Ingredients: Oxybispropanol (as an inert solubilizing agent) and
<5% Praziquantel by weight.

So, it looks like this medicine would treat flukes (if they even have flukes) AND the internal parasites. Do you think this would be a good medication for me to purchase? Thanks again!