Very Thin Celestial Pearl

[Gvilleguy]

I found seven Celestial Pearls in a small fish store today. The tanks in the store seemed well maintained with good filtration (separate sponge filtration in each tank - no centralized filtration). Even though one of them looked ill I decided to try and rescue it. I asked the owner about the little one's condition and he said 'oh it's just a baby it's fine'.
 
I'm currently doing a slow drip acclimation on them. Can you look at this video and let me know what you think of their condition? They already colored up quite a bit. The smallest one looks emaciated and I'm not sure what to do for it.
 
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZdlciif4A

 

[WILDER]

I see what you mean about the emaciated one. The others look fine to me.
Just keep a close eye on the emaciated one to make sure it's feeding well.
Also check when he goes to the toilet that it not long white and stringy, or clear.
Check his anus to make sure it's not swollen or red and inflamed.
Also keep an eye out for worms sticking out of the anus.
Make sure he does not swim on his side.
 
He looks pretty active to me though. But when they are emaciated it can mean there not been
feed enough,bacterial infection, internal parasites, fish tb.

 

[Munroco]

congrats on finding some. I've been looking for a couple of months. The ones I saw previously in the LFS were smaller than these. They don't look too bad, hopefully your scrawny one will make it.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Thanks for the replies! I released the others into the tank. They seem well. The small one I left in the insert and put a little flake food to see if it will eat. I can't decide whether to keep it isolated or lower its stress by letting it join its family. I'm leaning toward releasing since there are no other fish in the tank. Only cherry shrimp.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I went back to check and he had eaten two flakes and his belly was filled out! Almost looked normal. I released him to hang with his friends but will keep a close eye.

 

[Gvilleguy]

24 hours later: all seven Celestial Pearls are still kicking. WOW! The colors on this fish are amazing. They seem happy darting around the wood and java moss. The skinny fish seems to have a lot of energy, and is eating more aggressively than the other fish. I'm still worried about a potential parasite and will keep an eye on him. If he does not start to fill out soon I may isolate and treat with meds.

 

[WILDER]

Thanks for the update Glad to hear things are going well.
If the fish does have internal parasites you would have to treat the whole tank. But
hopefully he hasn't/ Just needs feeding up.
Good Luck.

 

[Gvilleguy]

It's been over a week now. The thin fish continues to look a little thin, but better than the first few days. She (I think it's a she) actually eats more food than any of the other six fish. She swims well and does not have any outward signs of illness. So I'm still taking a "wait and see" approach and not doing meds yet. 

 

[WILDER]

Thank you for the update.
Glad things are going well. 
Good Luck.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Three plus months later - the skinny little fish fully recovered. It was a very slow process. I actually can't tell her apart from the other females that are of a similar size. So this story had a good outcome.

 

[dopieopie]

Good to hear!

I had a problem like this with my bloodfin tetras. Everyone ate fine and grew except one that stayed tiny and thin and tended to hang back during feeding. 8 months later I cant tell which one it even was anymore.