What to look out for? Possible TB?

[miaz]

The other day i enquired about some bogwood, seller said he was shutting down tank so the 6 fish he had ( 3 zebra danio's and 3 panda cory's ) would have to go with it. I thought their water requirements and temp matched those of my tank so i didn't decline. My tank is 160 ish litres and established. So anyways, i added these fish to my tank, i don't have another tank to use as quarantine. It was then i noticed this particular zebra danio. I must say i panicked and worried my stupidity could be a death sentence to my other fish. But then i seen how much this fish eats and it sort of gave me hope, started wondering if he was just underfed. I did ask the seller, only got a short reply back, but he said this is congenital not a disease. So i'm inclined to think so too. However, on day two of owning this fish, i would really like to know, if this was to be fish TB, how long can a fish live after showing symptoms? When can i be sure this isn't fish TB?

I'm feeding my fish a little more often, this fish is always first in line which is good. He's got a very good appetite. He's active too. Named him Mr Crook lol. I'm hoping i can fatten him up and of course that my biggest fear isn't true.

 

[Colin_T]

The fish has intestinal worms and gill flukes. See section 3 of the following link for treating worms. Most deworming medications also treat gill flukes so just treat all the fish now.

Feed the fish 3-5 times a day for the next month. The extra food will help keep the fish alive for longer and hopefully you can deworm them asap and it survives.

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Fish tuberculosis (TB) causes fish to die randomly here and there. They show no symptoms until they suffer major internal organ failure. Then they stop eating, bloat up like a balloon, do a stringy white poop, sit under the surface near a filter outlet, and die within 24 hours of these symptoms appearing.

There is no cure for fish TB.

 

[miaz]

Thank you so much for your expertise! I have began treatment with eSHa Gdex, it's a 3 day course or longer if wanting to treat for tapeworms too. Will see if this works, if not i shall purchase a different Esha product, probably NDX. I will update soon. Many thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

Deworming fish should be done once a week for 3-4 weeks. The deworming medications kill/ paralyze the worms within a few hours of being added to the tank. The worms are then pooped out by the fish. You should then do a huge water change, complete gravel clean, and clean the filter 24-48 hours after treatment. This removes any worms from the tank.

You treat them once a week for 3 weeks to kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish. The worm eggs are immune to the deworming medications.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

...but he said this is congenital not a disease.

Another example of fish shop staff talking cobblers.
Of all the conditions your fish could've had, why pick TB?

 

[miaz]

Another example of fish shop staff talking cobblers.
Of all the conditions your fish could've had, why pick TB?

Panic caused me to think TB i think. I'm a total worrier, i'm impulsive and often jump to worrying about the worst possible outcome. It was the the fear of losing all my pride and joy. Also i know the basic's about fish but when it comes to diseases i'm not all that clued up.

 

[miaz]

So i've treated tank and i am feeding more. All my fish seem to pooping more, i've included two photos. One shows a female American flagfish doing a normal sized but completely white poo, hung on by a thin cord of poo. The other shows my male doing a long and thin poo. Prior to this my flag fish from when i noticed either had red / brown / green poo depending on what they'd been eating, sometimes it was colourless or white though. However i read somewhere if overfed fish can have white poo too, so not sure, but trying to learn! Are these worms being expelled? Is it a good sign that the treatment ( Esha gdex ) is working please?

 

[Colin_T]

Over fed fish don't do stringy white poop unless they have an intestinal problem.

You can sometimes see the red or white worms being pooped out but not always. If you used the correct dose of medication, it should have done the job. Just monitor them and retreat them next week.

 

[SarahPar]

If it's eating well it probably has hexamita or something else.

When my guppies had TB they stopped eating, had whitish poo and got emaciated and died.
This strain I believe is called mycobacteria haemophilia. It's untreatable and chronic.

 

[miaz]

So it's been a few days now. I followed the instructions on the Esha Gdex and did a three day course followed by a very large waterchange. I'm planning on re-treating in around a week but i may use Sera-Nematol this time as that also combats internal worms other than just gill flukes and tapeworm.

Anyways i've included four photos taken just now of the zebra danio in question. He still appears to be eating well, however he's still swimming at an angle and i can't see much change? Can anyone tell if the treatment has worked on his gill flukes and any other opinions welcome please.

I have also included a photo, the last photo of another zebra danio ( the largest of the three ). About 2 days ago i noticed what looks like a graze where the arrow is pointing. It may well be a graze as it's a boisterous fish. It doesn't appear to be getting worse yet. So hopefully that's what it is. In the back of my mind i'm still panicking about this being fish TB. But then i think, i've owned this fish a week and not seen him deteriorate so that must be a good sign. I don't know.

 

[Colin_T]

The only way to see if the medication has worked is to see if the fish gains weight over the next few weeks. Just feed them well and see if he gains any weight. If he does, then the medication has worked. But make sure you do a second treatment a week or two later to kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs. It's preferable to do it weekly for 3 weeks but you can usually get away with doing it every 2 weeks for 3 treatments.

It's not fish TB

 

[SarahPar]

Is the thin fish actually eating?

Observe it carefully and see. Sometimes they look like they are eating but they are actually spitting.

If the fish improve from the meds it's not TB but if they don't it probably is.

 

[miaz]

Thought i'd take a video and share it here too. This is Mr Crook who hopefully straightens out and fattens up soon. Thanks so much for all the advice so far

 

[miaz]

Just finished a course of sera nematol. Whilst treating i ensured no light could get in the tank. The instructions said 2 full days. It was 2 and a half days before i did a large 80% or so waterchange. I have also now added carbon to external filter. I nearly bought esha ndx to use instead but after research, some claim sera nematol is better as it doesn't just paralyse worms, it kills them. So whatever's true, it seemed they both work at doing the same thing. I do have snails in my tank, ramshorns, bladder and pond. Seen a few empty looking shells but majority survived. Not had any fish deaths whilst treating. Even though it's too soon to really see a change, i've included photos of Mr Crook the zebra danio taken just now. I only just did the water change today and whilst the medication was in the tank i barely fed them. But i'm making up for lost time and Mr crook appears to still be eating. I also don't know if i'm wishfully thinking , but he may be swimming at less of an angle, and more straighter. Will see how things go I'll be well chuffed if this little fighter pulls through whatever is bothering him. Thanks so much Colin and everyone for all the advice. I will be repeating the treatment in a few weeks. At which point i hope Mr crook has fattened up and straightened himself out

 

[Colin_T]

Why did you turn the light off and stop feeding during treatment?

Deworming medications take effect within a few hours and you don't need to turn the lights out or stop feeding the fish.