What's wrong with the Geophagus?

[ROC Dogfarm]

Hello.
This is the 3rd fish (occurring at all different times however) I've had recently that has died from whatever this is? I have 5 other cichlids that are fine and have been. 20 or so dither fish that are also fine. NO white spots/ich that I can see on any fish. Tail is falling apart, fin clamp, losing color, scales/ skin falling off. Here is the video I posted on youtube....

ROC Dogfarm

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

www.youtube.com

Any ideas?
Jeff

 

[GaryE]

Several, and none are going to be fun to read.

The Geo family is full of fish more sensitive than any Discus. I have kept quite a few species, but stepped away when I found myself needing to spend big blocks of time changing a lot of water. I had them in 75s and a 120, and if I did less than 50% water changes every week, things looked somewhat like that quickly. I stocked at 4 per 75, and 8 in the 120 (one was a smaller species). I was way overstocked, and decided they weren't for me.

If I ever get a sump system with easy changes, I love those fish...

In the meantime - water changes beckon.

 

[Colin_T]

What other cichlids are in the tank?
The fish looks like it was bashed and has excess mucous on its tail. Hard to tell much else due to the video. You need to hold the camera horizontally (landscape mode) and keep it steady.

 

[GaryE]

@Colin_T - welcome back. We missed you.

And now back to the subject...

 

[ROC Dogfarm]

Thanks for the reply. I ended up showing the video to my local guy who owns his own aquarium shop. He instantly said it was a bacterial infection. He recommended Kanaplex. When I got home the Geo was just about gone, floating on top gasping for breath. I put the first course of kanaplex in any way to see if I could at least do something to help him/her. Within a few hours he was back in the middle of the tank swimming around. 12 hours later he was hanging at the bottom w/ my yellow acara scouring the substrate for food. Today, even more active. He still doesn't look 100%, scales and fin wise, but I started my 2nd course of kanaplex today. Hopefully we can get a complete turnaround. Fingers crossed. Such a beautiful fish, I would like to keep him/her around for a while.