GBR in distress...

chevyguy8893 · 02-27-2013, 02:18 AM

I am not good with disease identifying, but whatever she has it is probably in the tank already. They don't like nitrates up high, mine begin to stress quickly and lose color between 10-20 ppm. The general hardness seems to be a bit hard for GBR's to me, and some seem able to temporarily adapt to harder water better than others. It doesn't look like she is bloated from the pictures, but it is hard to tell. If she is eating, then she still has the will to live, so putting her down at this point would be a bit unfair, but that is just my opinion. It does sound like a fungus, but, again, I am not good with these things. Hopefully someone can give advice on how to treat it.

edit: Mardel Maracyn seems to be the one to treat external fungal infections, so that may be worth looking into.

rk923 · 02-27-2013, 02:36 AM

Thank you to everyone for the input! It has been greatly appreciated! I am going to keep a close eye on this one for the next day or two and see how the fish does. I called the lfs and they seem to think it might be an internal parasite. They said it may or may not be contagious. I plan on going in there in the next day or two to figure out a treatment if conditions don't improve.
I thought i would mention that i have been feeding a mixture of new life spectrum, frozen krill, and a few bloodworms from time to time.

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LB79 · 02-27-2013, 02:43 AM

The white spot looks (sounds) like ich. External parasite. There are a few good meds on the market that are plant/invert-safe. Kordon's Ich Attack works every time. Pimafix and Melafix should help with anything else.

...oh, and it's a she. A nice she, too.

rk923 · 02-27-2013, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LB79

The white spot looks (sounds) like ich. External parasite. There are a few good meds on the market that are plant/invert-safe. Kordon's Ich Attack works every time. Pimafix and Melafix should help with anything else.

...oh, and it's a she. A nice she, too.

Thank you lb79! The spot on her looked like ich at first but it became more "3D", if you will. That's what kind of threw me of that tail...

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Rigio · 02-27-2013, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LB79

The white spot looks (sounds) like ich. External parasite. There are a few good meds on the market that are plant/invert-safe. Kordon's Ich Attack works every time. Pimafix and Melafix should help with anything else.

...oh, and it's a she. A nice she, too.

I don't think it's ich... Ich spreads between the inhabitants quickly..none of his other rams are showing any symptoms yet.

wendyjo · 02-27-2013, 08:17 PM

I'd quarantine the fish for now.

Rigio · 02-27-2013, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendyjo

I'd quarantine the fish for now.

I already suggested this but unfortunately he doesn't have the facilities to quarantine

Virto · 02-27-2013, 09:00 PM

If it is ich, then the entire tank is already infected with various points of its life cycle.

Bring the heat in the tank up slightly (slowly, don't stress the fish) and treat the tank with an appropriate product, like Kordon's. Since meds only kill the free-swimming version of ich, the fish that already show signs will need to wait it out while the parasites die and release their offspring.

If no new plants or fish have been added to this tank, and we are in fact dealing with ich, then it has likely been living on fish in the gills and reproducing slowly. You will need to treat for a week at 80+ temps, possibly longer, to ensure no new free-swimming stage parasites are left.

Ideally, to treat the tank you'd simply remove any livestock, crank the heat and come back in a week - without a host and at high-temps, ich lives out its life quickly.

UGA_Grad_Student · 02-27-2013, 09:12 PM

My female GBR got bloated and eyes popped out during her first and only (RIP) hatch of eggs were laid. Not sure if it happened before or after...all I know is she died and a day later the male was guarding about 50 wigglers. Hope this doesn't happen to you but maybe the info will help?

Rigio · 02-27-2013, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGA_Grad_Student

My female GBR got bloated and eyes popped out during her first and only (RIP) hatch of eggs were laid. Not sure if it happened before or after...all I know is she died and a day later the male was guarding about 50 wigglers. Hope this doesn't happen to you but maybe the info will help?

That's so sad and yet cute at the same time... Did any survive?

rk923 · 02-27-2013, 09:44 PM

I managed to snap a few updated pictures since I noticed the issue. Hopefully these will help. Seems to be mostly just bulging of the eyes and some bloating now. The white spots seem to have gone away mostly. Maybe she is just getting harrassed a lot when I am not home or around the tank.... See what you guys think... I also will include some pictures of the other healthy GBR's for comparison.

Here are some healthy fellas...

All were taken today, 2-27-2013. Thanks again for everyones help! It has been great!

02-27-2013, 02:18 AM	#16
chevyguy8893 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 186	I am not good with disease identifying, but whatever she has it is probably in the tank already. They don't like nitrates up high, mine begin to stress quickly and lose color between 10-20 ppm. The general hardness seems to be a bit hard for GBR's to me, and some seem able to temporarily adapt to harder water better than others. It doesn't look like she is bloated from the pictures, but it is hard to tell. If she is eating, then she still has the will to live, so putting her down at this point would be a bit unfair, but that is just my opinion. It does sound like a fungus, but, again, I am not good with these things. Hopefully someone can give advice on how to treat it. edit: Mardel Maracyn seems to be the one to treat external fungal infections, so that may be worth looking into. Last edited by chevyguy8893; 02-27-2013 at 02:32 AM.. Reason: added info

02-27-2013, 02:36 AM	#17
rk923 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Holland, MI Posts: 135	Re: GBR in distress... Thank you to everyone for the input! It has been greatly appreciated! I am going to keep a close eye on this one for the next day or two and see how the fish does. I called the lfs and they seem to think it might be an internal parasite. They said it may or may not be contagious. I plan on going in there in the next day or two to figure out a treatment if conditions don't improve. I thought i would mention that i have been feeding a mixture of new life spectrum, frozen krill, and a few bloodworms from time to time. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

02-27-2013, 02:43 AM	#18
LB79 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: South-central Washington State, USA Posts: 1,784	The white spot looks (sounds) like ich. External parasite. There are a few good meds on the market that are plant/invert-safe. Kordon's Ich Attack works every time. Pimafix and Melafix should help with anything else. ...oh, and it's a she. A nice she, too. __________________ "It's not who you are that makes you great; it's what you do." –Batman Begins

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02-27-2013, 08:17 PM	#21
wendyjo Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: DC area Posts: 2,815	I'd quarantine the fish for now.

02-27-2013, 09:00 PM	#23
Virto Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Elgin, IL Posts: 163	If it is ich, then the entire tank is already infected with various points of its life cycle. Bring the heat in the tank up slightly (slowly, don't stress the fish) and treat the tank with an appropriate product, like Kordon's. Since meds only kill the free-swimming version of ich, the fish that already show signs will need to wait it out while the parasites die and release their offspring. If no new plants or fish have been added to this tank, and we are in fact dealing with ich, then it has likely been living on fish in the gills and reproducing slowly. You will need to treat for a week at 80+ temps, possibly longer, to ensure no new free-swimming stage parasites are left. Ideally, to treat the tank you'd simply remove any livestock, crank the heat and come back in a week - without a host and at high-temps, ich lives out its life quickly.

02-27-2013, 09:12 PM	#24
UGA_Grad_Student Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Athens, Ga Posts: 200	My female GBR got bloated and eyes popped out during her first and only (RIP) hatch of eggs were laid. Not sure if it happened before or after...all I know is she died and a day later the male was guarding about 50 wigglers. Hope this doesn't happen to you but maybe the info will help?

02-27-2013, 09:44 PM	#26
rk923 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Holland, MI Posts: 135	I managed to snap a few updated pictures since I noticed the issue. Hopefully these will help. Seems to be mostly just bulging of the eyes and some bloating now. The white spots seem to have gone away mostly. Maybe she is just getting harrassed a lot when I am not home or around the tank.... See what you guys think... I also will include some pictures of the other healthy GBR's for comparison. Here are some healthy fellas... All were taken today, 2-27-2013. Thanks again for everyones help! It has been great!