Unknown Ailment

[Kaidonni]

I just noticed three tiny black-ish spots right along the lateral line right before the third black stripe (the stripe right before the caudal fin, behind the dorsal fin). Not spots exactly, just dots. Not randomly positioned, on the lateral line. I'm thinking it's entirely normal due to the positioning and location, no spots of any sort anywhere else as best I can tell.

 

[Kaidonni]

Something I'm noticing with the male WCMM who has the nipped fins - he seems to consistently have a trail of faecal matter coming out of his anus, but it's extremely thin, very thread-like and hardly noticeable. He is flat-bellied, hasn't as much of an appetite as the other WCMMs, but at this point he doesn't appear to have heavy breathing that I can tell of. I have little doubt there may be something wrong with him, but whether it's in any way connected to the Clown Loach is another thing. I fed pea and flake food last Thursday, and until last night nothing, then just pea last night, so the WCMMs haven't had much to eat.

 

[WILDER]

Are the scales sticking out?
Don't feed anything for a day.
Tiny black spots. All I know is that they can be caused by smails. Or ammonia burns that are healing.

 

[Kaidonni]

I don't think there's any abdominal swelling, it's just the angles I've viewed the Clown Loach from, and the larger a Clown Loach is, the less flat the abdomen is (it curves, so when looking from the very front, it's hard to tell). The WCMMs don't have any signs of scales sticking out, although the male WCMM didn't show much interest in any food this evening (fed a small amount of flake food - I feed every other day anyway and had fasted between last Thursday and the Wednesday just gone), while the others were perfectly happy to eat.

 

[WILDER]

Is it possible to load some pictures of your fish onto the site. To take a look at them .

 

[Kaidonni]

I can try taking some with my HD video camera tomorrow, but I'm not sure they'll show much or come out well.

 

[WILDER]

OK. Just give it a try.
Any improvement with the finrot?

 

[Kaidonni]

I don't think it was fin rot, just some fin nipping. I jump at almost anything (case in point, with the Clown Loach who died, the first time I thought I may have noticed fin rot, it was on the fins that actually didn't develop any of the fin rot). It certainly hasn't worsened.
 
As for the Clown Loach...he's acting a little less lethargic tonight, out and about scouring the gravel. Quite skittish, but far more active than he has been. He also doesn't appear to be heavy breathing any longer (I shone the torch on him yesterday and he didn't appear to be heavy breathing even then).

 

[WILDER]

Did you add the medication?

 

[Kaidonni]

Nope, haven't done a thing, just the 8L change on Monday evening.

 

[WILDER]

OK.
I just wondered if it was the medication that had perked the clown loach up.

 

[Kaidonni]

This isn't even perked up, he's almost like he was before...a complete 180 from the lethargy. He's clearly scouring around for food. I'm wondering if when I cleaned behind the castle two weeks ago - since I knocked it - I may have injured him in some manner, and he's been recovering from that? Not that I've noticed any injury.

 

[WILDER]

Bless Him
Very nice to hear that he's perked up tremendously.
Had to look up how to spell tremendously.

 

[Kaidonni]

For now, the Clown Loach is still perked up *touch wood*, hopefully he joins in feeding tonight like Friday. Still carefully observing the WCMMs, the one female seemed to have faecal matter of all types this afternoon - tube-like mix of clear and normal, and then tube-like mix of clear and normal with a thread trailing way behind. Fed de-shelled peas, will be feeding a small amount of flake food later on this evening. Since I fasted for a while in the first place, then fed on Thursday and I feed every other day anyway, I'm wondering if it all has a part to play.
 
Conducted an 8L change yesterday, and tested parameters today (doing weekly tests now):
 
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10-20ppm
pH ~7.5
 
I usually fill the test tubes to the 5ml line each time, so consistency should count for something. The pipettes I use don't make exact measurement very easy.

 

[WILDER]

Ever considered feeding live foods, or frozen foods.
You can also feed other veg to fish like broc, dark green cabbage, spinach, sprouts, ;lettuce.