# Having Issues...



## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Okay guys... I'm having some issues with my cichlids right now. Several of them are becoming emaciated, and just overall looking bad. It started with my dominant male _C. mloto_ a while back. Reading about different illnesses and all led me to believe that this could be some sort of internal parasite (specifically tremetodes possibly?) and I have been feeding an anti-parasitic food and when that didn't seem to help, I began to use a tank treatment for internal parasites. Anyway, nothing is seeming to help. More and more fish seem to becoming infected. I am at a loss regarding what to do. I'm becoming frustrated. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, a little info:
My tank params are normal... No ammonia, no nitrite, low nitrates. Weekly waterchanges (been busy lately, sometimes every other week, but larger water volume). Fish swim and feed normally. No spawning has occured since this started (although I am raising some young fry in a net in the same tank). Need any more info that I forgot to mention, just ask. Thanks in advance for any help.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

Are they thinning up. Do their fins look torn are they losing color clouded eyes? What are the specifics that are happening to the fish?


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## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

They loose weight rapidly, although they continue to eat (my large male _C. mloto_ is the most emaciated). My affected haps show pale/stressed color. Eyes aren't cloudy... Swimming normally... Breathing normally. Their fins are _slightly_ clamped, but they raise them at appropriate times, though. Their feces is white. Their behavior is just overall depressed, though. They're not as "outgoing" as usual, and there's no chasing or digging or anything that Malawi cichlids usually do. They just kind of aimlessly swim. So far, no fish have died with these symptoms. My mloto started showing signs about three months ago (and I started with the anti-parasitic food at that time), and he is by far the most emaciated. I hope this helped. I'll try to get a before and after pic of him up soon.


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## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

**Warning* Lots of Pics*

Okay, here's about ten or so pictures... This guy looks pitiful, but believe me, he _is_ eating normally. It kills me to see him looking so skinny... Here's a before:








And here's some pics I just took:



























And here's a few pics of some other fish that are looking thin:
(female _O. lithobates_)









(male _P. fenestratus _"Taiwan Reef")









(male _A. stuartgranti_)









(female _A. stuartgranti_)









(male _O. lithobates_)









(female _C. borleyi_)


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

It could be wasting desease.

Wasting causes a fish to slowly lose weight resulting in an unbalanced look, a normal-size head on a small body, and can be due to harassment of an individual fish preventing access to food, or, more commonly, a disease such as tuberculosis.


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## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

I haven't seen any harassment in particular, or any fish having trouble accessing food. How would a disease such as tuberculosis have made it's way into a stable tank? (No new additions lately or anything...) You are talking about what I've heard called Mycobacteria (or something close to that), right? I've read that this is rare, but can be pretty dangerous to the fishkeeper's health as well, entering the body through breaks iin the skin. Is this correct? Should I be concerned about my own health? Should I be treating my tank with antibiotics instead of antiparasitic remedies? If so, what would you suggest? Tetracycline (not sure of spelling)?


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I would check into the wastings first. 
http://www.koivet.com/html/glossary/glossary_details.php?glossary_id=25&category=Symptoms

Wastings can turn into TB. 
Treatment of fish TB is rather difficult since it effects the internal portions of the fish. The best way to treat it is to prevent it by keeping a balanced diet for you fish, and making sure that the quality of the environment in your aquarium is good. If you are unlucky enough to have to treat TB, the infected fish should be placed in a separate treatment tank. 40 grams per gallon of streptomycin and isoniazid, each, should be added to the treatment tank. Treatment can be increased by adding streptomycin to food. There are several other diseases which can be mistaken for fish TB. The best plan is to be overly careful. Monitor the fish closely, and check for the symptoms listed above. While treatment of this disease is possible, the best plan is to keep the quality of the fish's environment as clean as possible. This will reduce the chance of fish infection with TB, as well as decrease the chance that other bacterial and fungal sicknesses will overcome your fish.


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## malawi4me2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Thanks for all the info, Fish_Doc. I'll keep trying to help these guys, and I'll keep y'all informed of any changes!


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