Kribensis with lumps

[Shushan]

Hi all, looking for some advice regarding my female (I think) Krib. I am fairly new to the hobby and have only had her about two weeks. I have just noticed grey/brown lumps on her body and would like to know if anyone has came accross this before? They appear to be under her skin but cause her skin to be lumpy. I have also noticed that beside her gill is a red sore, not sure if she has scratched her face or if this is something more sinister like gill rot. I was thinking the lumps may be mites but not sure if they would be under the skin or on the top? I have attached pictures in the hope someone can offer some advice and possibly some treatments if necessary

 

[kribensis12]

Hi all, looking for some advice regarding my female (I think) Krib. I am fairly new to the hobby and have only had her about two weeks. I have just noticed grey/brown lumps on her body and would like to know if anyone has came accross this before? They appear to be under her skin but cause her skin to be lumpy. I have also noticed that beside her gill is a red sore, not sure if she has scratched her face or if this is something more sinister like gill rot. I was thinking the lumps may be mites but not sure if they would be under the skin or on the top? I have attached pictures in the hope someone can offer some advice and possibly some treatments if necessary

Hello!

Kribensis are African Cichlids - I suspect a Mod will move this for you.
Tell us more about your tank: size, stocking, water parameters (pH, ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate)

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on a fish before. If I had to guess it would be skin flukes - but I truly do not know.

 

[Cydeth]

It looks like it could be lymphocystis.

Generally it is brought on by stress, usually poor water quality or incorrect temperatures.

I'm not an expert on diseases and infections though so it would be better to wait for a mumber such as @Colin_T to give you a more informed opinion.

We do need to know the answers to the questions Kribensis12 asked above to have a chance of helping.

 

[Shushan]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

I can confirm the following:
Tank size is 252l
Stock:
2x angels
5x black widow tetra
5x serpae tetras
2x blue rams
2x gold rams
2x bolivian ram
1x cory
1x pleco
2x kribs

Checked levels again this morning, only use test strips but levels are:

Hardness 50 states low
Nitrate 1 states ok
Nitrate 10 states ok
Chlorine 0.5 states ok
Carbonate root 0 states ok
PH 7.2 states ok

I have tried to investigate this online and only come up with skin flukes but really not 100% sure and I'm pretty much a novice so really appreciate the help and advice. Someone did mention fish TB on another forum but doesn't seem to match up.

 

[Colin_T]

It's not skin flukes or fish TB.

They are usually caused by parasitic worms getting lost in the body. The worms come from other animals and the eggs get washed into waterways and picked up by fish. The eggs hatch in the fish and the worm larvae try to find the intestine but can't because they are in a fish instead of a goat or cow, and they end up in the muscle tissue. It could also be the start of a bacterial infection but that is unlikely.

You can try deworming the fish with Flubendazole and see if it helps.

Normally the worms don't cause any problems in the muscle tissue and just appear unsightly.

 

[Shushan]

@Colin_T thank you so much for the info.

Would something like Cloverleaf absolute wormer work? It's really the only thing I can see with active ingredient Flubendazole in it. I have esha ndx parasite but this does not contain Flubendazole

Would I have to treat the whole tank or ok to treat the kribs

So glad it's not TB

 

[Essjay]

Flubendazole is also in NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer and Maidenhead Aquatics own brand AquaCare Anti Fluke & Wormer (which is probably the same product)

 

[anewbie]

What is the temp of the tank? Kribs like soft water like sa fishes but you have rams which require warm water and kribs usually like it a bit cooler. This isn't related to the fish illness but an observation from your posts.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

I can confirm the following:
Tank size is 252l
Stock:
2x angels
5x black widow tetra
5x serpae tetras
2x blue rams
2x gold rams
2x bolivian ram
1x cory
1x pleco
2x kribs

Checked levels again this morning, only use test strips but levels are:

Hardness 50 states low
Nitrate 1 states ok
Nitrate 10 states ok
Chlorine 0.5 states ok
Carbonate root 0 states ok
PH 7.2 states ok

I have tried to investigate this online and only come up with skin flukes but really not 100% sure and I'm pretty much a novice so really appreciate the help and advice. Someone did mention fish TB on another forum but doesn't seem to match up.

You list nitrAtes twice, was one supposed to be nitrItes?

Any amount of untreated chlorine is not good.

 

[Shushan]

You list nitrAtes twice, was one supposed to be nitrItes?

Any amount of untreated chlorine is not good.

Yeah that would be auto correct

Nitrite is 1 states ok
Nitrate is 10 states ok

 

[Shushan]

What is the temp of the tank? Kribs like soft water like sa fishes but you have rams which require warm water and kribs usually like it a bit cooler. This isn't related to the fish illness but an observation from your posts.

 

[Shushan]

What is the temp of the tank? Kribs like soft water like sa fishes but you have rams which require warm water and kribs usually like it a bit cooler. This isn't related to the fish illness but an observation from your posts.

I try to keep it high 26- low 27°C

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yeah that would be auto correct

Nitrite is 1 states ok
Nitrate is 10 states ok

ANY nitrIte in a tank is not "ok", it is harmful to fish.

 

[anewbie]

I try to keep it high 26- low 27°C

The rams tend to do better a bit warmer - say mid 27 to mid 28. Kribs are going to prefer it a couple of degree cooler in general.

 

[Essjay]

The fish you have fall into two groups for temperature.

The gold rams and blue rams are both Mikrogeophagus ramirezi and they prefer a temperature in the high 20s C.
All the other fish prefer a temperature of 25 deg C or below and that includes Bolivian rams (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus)