seeking advice on agassizzi ulceration/wound?

[Walshy]

hey guys. i am hoping to use some of the infinite knowledge on this site to diagnose my agassizzis before they pass. i noticed a bit of damaged scales on my male quite a while ago but assumed that it would disappear after a while because he is a big healthy fish. big mistake. it got worse. i isolated him and begun treating with melafix because i assumed it was a bacterial infection. leaving the female in a tank of her own. he didnt really respond to the melafix so i started using it as well as salt treatment. adding half a tablespoon a day untill there was a tablespoon per 5 gallons.

it seems to be getting a little better. but tonight i noticed my female started to get a similar issue on her right side fin. a few nights ago i moved some l066 plecs in there to get rid of the algae problem whilst they arent breeding. but now am a little worried because it would seem that this problem is most likely contagious.

my water perameters in the tank are as follows.
ph: between 5 and 5.5
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate stays at 0 because of water changes and lots of plants.

i feed them mostly on blackworm to keep them in breeding condition. a bit of sera viformo every now and then but they dont like it much so i dont feed it too often. ocasionally live brine shrimp and sometimes frozen bloodworms.

just before the males injury got to its worst i did drop off on water changes for almost 2 weeks because i was advised that whilst the female is guarding eggs not to change any of the water conditions. but nitrate was still at 0. the fry never surfaced :| lol

anyway guys. any input would be greatly appreciated. i will attach some photoes and if anyone could tell me what i have done wrong it would be good. as well as a possible remedy? and is it possible my plecs will get it next? thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Wise]

This isn't my area of expertise, but it looks like fish tuberculosis (Mycobacterium). If it is this disease, then you should know that it is contagious not only to other fish but to you, too. Most experts recommend an antibiotic like Kanamycin. Unfortunately, most fish that show symptoms of fish tuberculosis cannot be saved. Treatment is for other fish in the tank.

 

[Walshy]

In aus u need prescription to get any sort of antibiotic. My mum has a prescription for roxithromycin. Which I think works the same way. But ive never treated fish with antibiotics before. It comes in tablet form. How much of the drug is used per gallon or litre. And because this drug kills off bacteria. Will my biological filter be shot and regular ammonia tests required? Thanks for the input. I've not come across this before. The melafix and salt treatment seems to be working, or at least slowing it down. It's hard to tell because I stare at it so much.

 

[Walshy]

Ok. So now there's another spin on this story. I just got home and found that my female has spawned in the temp tank regardless of all the salt and melafix in the water. I spose I should remove all the eggs and attemp to raise them without the mother?or should i just leave them go? To be honest. The treatment appears to be working on the male, but too early to tell for the female. I put a cave in there so she could hide from the male (he's an angry brute) but they obviously had other ideas. This is really the last thing I expected and I'm a little stumped by it.

 

[Mike Wise]

If the male seems to be getting better on the melafix and salt, then I would leave everything as it is and continue treatments. If the eggs/fry survive, then well and good. If not, then hopefully there will be another time. Good luck.

 

[gerald]

I agree it does look like Mycobacterium infection, and sometimes fish can live with it for many months after symptoms appear, and even produce healthy offspring. If/when the fish stops eating or gets bloated and there's no hope, kill it and slit open the belly, and examine the liver and kidney. Myco granulomas are easily visible as tan, brown, or yellowish lumps like sand grains in these organs. (Healthy liver and kidney are smooth red-brown color, not blotchy). A low-power magnifying lens (available at office stores) may help, but if your eyes are sharp you can often see Myco granulomas without magnification. All fish can get it (or carry it for years), but soft-water cichlids, gouramis and rainbowfishes seem to be the most prone to getting sick from it.

On rare occasions fish appear to "recover" from it (Myco stops growing and sores heal over) but it's not gone and will eventually get active again when the fish gets old or when some other disaese or stressor weakens them. Most important thing is to watch suspected Myco-infected fish closely and get them OUT when you think they're getting close to death. If they die in the tank with other fish, the healthy fish will be exposed to a huge load of bacteria and may get sick.

 

[Walshy]

Thanks for the input. I have read up a bit further on this and realise that it is a death sentence. Either now or later. But they both appear to be getting much better and neither have slowed down on eatin and are acting normally. Its taking a long time but it's definately getting better rather than worse. I will keep these guys in a tank of their own untill they have passed. I think they will both be fine with a prolonged treatment, but that's just untill it comes back. My treatment has bin salt and melafix. Unsure if it makes a difference but the tank they are in has no light because it's a spare. I bought a light the other day but decided against adding it because they seem to be doing quite well and I didn't want to change anything. I do about a 30 to 40% water change for them every second day or there abouts. They both spend most of their day attacking the glass attempting to get at the apistos in the next tank which I assume is a sign they arent too bothered by the infection. Hopefully I can get some fry outa them. They were my first pair and I've put a lot of effort into them only to have the female eat the eggs everytime they spawn lol. Thanks again guys. I do appreciate the help.