Is there a Colombian Tetra specific disease?

[mbsqw1d]

I'm digging up the past back to when I had half a dozen Colombian Tetra that one by one, developed (in this order):
black patches,
Curved spines,
Shimmies type crazy swimming behaviour

At this point I euthanised the fish. This is going back 10+ yrs and here is my original post:
Thread 'Please Help To Diagnose - Colombian Tetra' https://www.fishforums.net/threads/please-help-to-diagnose-colombian-tetra.337148/

I never got round to understanding what it was, and since then I've been hearing similar stories..

Is there a disease specific to this fish?

 

[UnknownFishies]

I think there is a Colombian Tetra diesease I just don’t know much about it.

 

[Colin_T]

I have never heard of a specific disease that affects only one species of fish. There are parasites that occur in some areas and these can affect fishes that come from that area, but nothing that specifically targets one species of fish and leaves others alone.

Black patches is usually bruising or chemical burns.

Black marks along the lateral line and on the rear half of the fish shouldn't have anything to do with the internal organs because the organs are in the front half of the body.

The only area affected by the black is along the lateral line and rear half of the body, which suggests it has something to do with the spine or lateral line.

Videos would have been good but not available.

I doubt it was Fish TB because that usually affects the organs and causes granulomas to grow. The black areas are not granulomas.

The fact you had the fish for a few years before it happened suggests it is unlikely to be something they had at the shop, and more likely they developed something over the years.

--------------------
Did you dechlorinate tap water before using it in the tank?

Were you adding any chemicals to the tank?

 

[eatyourpeas]

black patches,
Curved spines,
Shimmies type crazy swimming behaviour

My only experience with Colombia have been:

- amazing food including black beans
- the sexiest curvy women I have ever seen
- cumbia dancing would do that

I have no idea how that maps to Tetras, but maybe the little fish get around...

 

[mbsqw1d]

I have never heard of a specific disease that affects only one species of fish. There are parasites that occur in some areas and these can affect fishes that come from that area, but nothing that specifically targets one species of fish and leaves others alone.

Black patches is usually bruising or chemical burns.

Black marks along the lateral line and on the rear half of the fish shouldn't have anything to do with the internal organs because the organs are in the front half of the body.

The only area affected by the black is along the lateral line and rear half of the body, which suggests it has something to do with the spine or lateral line.

Videos would have been good but not available.

I doubt it was Fish TB because that usually affects the organs and causes granulomas to grow. The black areas are not granulomas.

The fact you had the fish for a few years before it happened suggests it is unlikely to be something they had at the shop, and more likely they developed something over the years.

--------------------
Did you dechlorinate tap water before using it in the tank?

Were you adding any chemicals to the tank?

Yeh, I was using Prime and either TNC Complete or Lite. The only other issue I had with that tank was losing 2 Bolivian Rams to camallanus worms.
If you google search "Colombian Tetra black patches or spots", similar accounts of it crop up.

 

[Colin_T]

There's not much info on Google. A few people saying their fish have black patches like yours but no pictures and very little info to go on. About the only thing in common was the age of the fish. They were all around 3 years old. One person said their fish's eyes went white, which could be cataracts. This might suggest old age is the problem.

Unfortunately, without knowing where the fish came from (ie: fish farm, wild caught, etc), and without being able to see the fish move and question the people about them, it's impossible to say if they have the same problem or what the problem is.

------------------
The only disease that takes a couple of years to manifest itself is Fish TB and that normally occurs in organs. The fish die of organ failure when the bacteria spread too much and damage the walls or the organ that is infected.

There are parasitic worms that look black in the fish but they are small black dots and live inside the muscle tissue, not big black patches on the skin.

 

[mbsqw1d]

There's not much info on Google. A few people saying their fish have black patches like yours but no pictures and very little info to go on. About the only thing in common was the age of the fish. They were all around 3 years old. One person said their fish's eyes went white, which could be cataracts. This might suggest old age is the problem.

Unfortunately, without knowing where the fish came from (ie: fish farm, wild caught, etc), and without being able to see the fish move and question the people about them, it's impossible to say if they have the same problem or what the problem is.

------------------
The only disease that takes a couple of years to manifest itself is Fish TB and that normally occurs in organs. The fish die of organ failure when the bacteria spread too much and damage the walls or the organ that is infected.

There are parasitic worms that look black in the fish but they are small black dots and live inside the muscle tissue, not big black patches on the skin.

Thinking back actually they did develop cloudy/milky eyes too. And curved spines, which I believe is a symptom of fish TB?

Agreed though, not a lot to go off. Ah well!

 

[ClownLurch]

A feller bought 20 Colombians in my LFS2 yesterday morning. If I’d read this thread before going there I could’ve asked him. He was pointing out a few that he didn’t want to the kid netting them so may know a bit about em.
The tank didn’t half look empty when he’d gone. The handful left must’ve been wondering where everyone had gone. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling sorry for the ones left behind when that happens.

 

[Colin_T]

Thinking back actually they did develop cloudy/milky eyes too. And curved spines, which I believe is a symptom of fish TB?

A curved spine can also be from old age or other diseases. Fish with TB only get a curved spine if the granuloma is next to the spine. Then as it grows it puts pressure on the spine and causes it to curve a bit.

Narrow fish are more likely to curve when infected with TB.
Tall/ high fish are less likely to develop a curved spine if they have TB.