Sickly P. subocellatus

[bibio]

https://imgur.com/a/VlBmM2r

I picked up three Pelvicachromis subocellatus from my LFS two days ago and one looks pretty sickly. Many of the scales on her sides are damaged, which I thought was fungus at first. She was like this when I got her but I didn’t notice it at the store. Is this a recognizable disease I could treat? She’s active and eating so I’m optimistic she’ll improve but I don’t have much experience with fish disease. The other female looks great and the other male, while a little thin, also seems healthy.

 

[MacZ]

All three are sick.
The one with the hard symptoms is beyond saving. I'd euthanize.
The other's should be put in a hospital tank on their own. I hope you haven't introduced something too nasty.
I'm pretty sure you are dealing with some kind of intestinal parasite and at least a bacterial secondary infection.

When you moved the fish to a hospital tank observe them closely. Check the feces, check the behaviour. Do a lot of waterchanges and add humic substances in the form of leaf litter and alder cones.

And for the future QUARANTINE!

Just an addition: Pelvicachormis are no candidates for trios or harems, as the females are not only the ones who chose the partner, they do most of the courtship display and the territorial fighting aswell.

 

[bibio]

Dang. Thanks for the advice. I’ll remove them to another tank. Should I try a medication of some sort? Their feces looks normal, as far as I can tell.

 

[anewbie]

All three are sick.
The one with the hard symptoms is beyond saving. I'd euthanize.
The other's should be put in a hospital tank on their own. I hope you haven't introduced something too nasty.
I'm pretty sure you are dealing with some kind of intestinal parasite and at least a bacterial secondary infection.

When you moved the fish to a hospital tank observe them closely. Check the feces, check the behaviour. Do a lot of waterchanges and add humic substances in the form of leaf litter and alder cones.

And for the future QUARANTINE!

Just an addition: Pelvicachormis are no candidates for trios or harems, as the females are not only the ones who chose the partner, they do most of the courtship display and the territorial fighting aswell.

I'll add that it is normal for the male and female to fight like cat and dogs for a few weeks before they pair up (if they pair up). This will likely happen when the female is mature and looking for a mate.

 

[MacZ]

Should I try a medication of some sort?

No. As long as it's unclear what they have, any medication might make things worse.

 

[Eddy. E.]

I would try a combination of salt in conjunction with methylene blue or malachite green oxalate. To me, this looks very much like a bacterial infection. The mucosa here looks like it is severely affected.

In order for possible mucosal lesions to close, the salt would have to be used. I would assume a teaspoon of salt per 20 liters here, maximum 2 teaspoons. Methylene blue or malachite green oxalate help against bacterial infections. The whole thing without formalin, or copper.
I think after 1 week an improvement should be visible.