After looking up at which disease it could have been, I came to no conclusion. After going to the LFS (Petsmart), I was instructed to purchase the Marineland All-In-One remedy. So far after day 5 (this is the last day of treatment), I had no fish loss since introducing the remedy. I am hoping it will continue to do so.
Fish disease diagnosis is a very difficult subject. There are a few diseases, like ich, velvet, fungus, that are fairly easy to spot. But internal protozoan issues, bacterial issues and some others are next to impossible even for trained aquarists. My point here is that without disrespect to the employee, staff in Petsmart are not likely to be able to diagnose diseases except the obvious. If you can find a local store owned and/or staffed by aquarists, you may fare better. But it is still a very difficult issue. And catch-all treatments do not cure much of anything, except by mere good luck and strong healthy fish that can fight these things off naturally, but these can have quite a detrimental effect on some fish, so be careful.
Apistogramma are very sensitive fish, and water conditions are extremely important. Not saying this was the issue, but it could have been, or been a contributor with something else like an internal protozoan that can never be identified without dissection by a biologist or microbiologist.
I should also caution you concerning where you acquire fish. I will not longer buy fish from any chain store. I have had three, maybe four, very serious issues and all brought in by fish from such stores. I believe it may be the suppliers these stores use, or the stores themselves, doesn't matter. I lose most of them in QT now, since I learned the hard way to QT new fish. But the losses have been so substantive that I simply refuse to walk through their doors. Fish I acquire from other sources live for years, with rarely a single loss, and spawn like crazy. The co-incidence is just too obvious.
Byron.
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