I have two blood parrot fish and I’ve had them for probably seven years. One is not well and he has not been well for almost 2 months. He’s very pale in color, his gills and eyes look swollen, but he keeps hanging in there. We’ve done several water changes over the last couple weeks and he seems to get better or look better after a water change. during his life, he would get black lines along the outer part of his fins and sometimes his mouth would get black, but they would always disappear after a day or two. I thought it might be stress. He has no interest in eating, but he is interested in his surroundings. He hangs out in various places in the tank and seems to like to be near the other fish. Any ideas out there?
My beautiful blood parrot is so pale
- Thread starter TracyK
- Start date
Does it normally swim with its head facing downwards?
Does it float up when it stops swimming?
Have you seen it poop and if yes, what did it look like?
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water (in numbers)?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?
What sort of filter is in/ on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
Have you added any medications to the tank to treat the fish?
Does it float up when it stops swimming?
Have you seen it poop and if yes, what did it look like?
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water (in numbers)?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?
What sort of filter is in/ on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
Have you added any medications to the tank to treat the fish?
Thank you so much Colin for replying. No he normally didn’t swim with his head down when he was well. He does not float up to the top, but he tilts toward the driver side. No poop has been seen. Have done three water changes in the last two weeks, about 50% each time. Before that not so much. We have really neglected the EHeim filter but cleaned and replaced parts today .we do Attempt to vacuum the gravel with the water change. I used Pima fix for seven days followed by a water change. Saw no change in the fish. Used API Quickstart today when I saw the ammonia count. The ammonia was 0.25. The nitrate and nitrite were each zero ppm. And the pH was 7.6. We keep the tank at 80°.
When you say replaced filter parts, what parts did you change?
I would do more frequent water changes for a few weeks if you can. Try to do a 50% every day if possible or every couple of days. See if it helps.
What do you feed the fish?
You could try live brineshrimp and see if it eats that. if it does that is a good sign.
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The head down position while swimming could be a swim bladder problem or an issue in the brain. Tilting to the side would also be an issue with the brain.
Not eating is an internal issue and could be an internal bacterial or protozoan infection. Internal bacterial infections are really hard to treat because once the fish stops eating the damage inside the fish is usually irreversible. However, internal bacterial infections normally kill the fish within a few days and the fact yours is still alive after 2 months would suggest it isn't bacterial.
An internal protozoan infection usually kills fish over a period of 2-4 weeks (2 weeks for small fish and up to 4 weeks for big fish depending on its overall health) and can be treated with Metronidazole. However, fish normally eat a little bit (but not as much as normal) when they have an internal protozoan infection.
Fish do a stringy white poop if they have an internal bacterial or protozoan infection but this usually happens within 24 hours of having the problem and if the fish isn't eating you are unlikely to see anymore poop from it after that time.
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If you want to try and treat it then start with Metronidazole. Put the fish in a clean container that holds about 40 litres (10 gallons) of water. Have an airstone bubbling away in there and a few plastic plants or ornaments for it to hide in/ under. Add the medication directly to the water and treat it for a week. If there's no improvement after a week you will need to try a different medication (maybe Furan 2 or something like that). There's another medication that is sometimes used with Furan 2 but I can't remember its name. I don't know what's exactly available in the US but you could start a thread asking what antibiotics are available to US residents.
If you have to re-dose the medication (normally you do) then you should wipe the inside of the container down, rinse off the ornaments/ airline/ airstone, and change all the water before adding the next dose of medication. You should do this if you use antibiotics as well. The cleaner the treatment tank the more likely the medication will work on the fish and won't be wasted killing bacteria in the substrate, filter, ornaments, etc.
I would do more frequent water changes for a few weeks if you can. Try to do a 50% every day if possible or every couple of days. See if it helps.
What do you feed the fish?
You could try live brineshrimp and see if it eats that. if it does that is a good sign.
--------------------
The head down position while swimming could be a swim bladder problem or an issue in the brain. Tilting to the side would also be an issue with the brain.
Not eating is an internal issue and could be an internal bacterial or protozoan infection. Internal bacterial infections are really hard to treat because once the fish stops eating the damage inside the fish is usually irreversible. However, internal bacterial infections normally kill the fish within a few days and the fact yours is still alive after 2 months would suggest it isn't bacterial.
An internal protozoan infection usually kills fish over a period of 2-4 weeks (2 weeks for small fish and up to 4 weeks for big fish depending on its overall health) and can be treated with Metronidazole. However, fish normally eat a little bit (but not as much as normal) when they have an internal protozoan infection.
Fish do a stringy white poop if they have an internal bacterial or protozoan infection but this usually happens within 24 hours of having the problem and if the fish isn't eating you are unlikely to see anymore poop from it after that time.
--------------------
If you want to try and treat it then start with Metronidazole. Put the fish in a clean container that holds about 40 litres (10 gallons) of water. Have an airstone bubbling away in there and a few plastic plants or ornaments for it to hide in/ under. Add the medication directly to the water and treat it for a week. If there's no improvement after a week you will need to try a different medication (maybe Furan 2 or something like that). There's another medication that is sometimes used with Furan 2 but I can't remember its name. I don't know what's exactly available in the US but you could start a thread asking what antibiotics are available to US residents.
If you have to re-dose the medication (normally you do) then you should wipe the inside of the container down, rinse off the ornaments/ airline/ airstone, and change all the water before adding the next dose of medication. You should do this if you use antibiotics as well. The cleaner the treatment tank the more likely the medication will work on the fish and won't be wasted killing bacteria in the substrate, filter, ornaments, etc.
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