L128 not eating

[DHarris]

Roughly two weeks ago I purchased a large L128 (6"). It had been in the store a while always caught my eye. Noticed on my last trip in that something had been picking on it, as it had small bite marks on it's face from fighting. I gave the store owner a low offer to get it out of there and he took it. Maybe that was a mistake.

Since adding the fish to my tank, it's been very reclusive. More than any of my other L128s.
I've been feeding algae wafers, zucchini, and carrot. Everyone has been feasting but him.
I know sometime it takes them a bit to settle in but each time I see it, it's eyes are more and more sunken in. At this point I'm assuming it's a lost cause but any suggestions for getting it to eat.

It's a beautiful fish and I'd hate to see it just waste away. Love to bring it back if possible.

Thanks!

[MarcW]

When I first built up a group of L128, I had 2 adult fish slowly waste away after being told they were eating in the store. I never found out the cause, but there are a few possibilities.

It could have some type of parasites or worms, causing issues with eating or processing food. The stress of being picked on in the store or being caught and transported home might have caused any parasites to get the upper hand, when previously in check.

The bite marks could be infected, or might not be bite marks, possibly a sign of some other illness. Is it possible to get a picture?

I would recommend moving the fish to a quarrentine tank if you have one so you can closely monitor and feed.

Try sticking to the same type of food for 3-4 days to see if it slowly recognises it as food. You could also try sweet potato and the repashy gel foods if you have any.

Good luck.

[Linus_Cello]

try putting rub garlic on the food item, or feed with Thera NLS A+ (which has garlic in it); supposedly garlic is an appetite stimulant

[DHarris]

Thank you for the input, it's appreciated.
Had some garlic extract that I soaked algae wafers in. No luck getting the 120 to eat them, though everyone else loved them.

I was able to see the fish today and what I assumed were bites are absolutely infected. There's now white growth covering them, which appears to be spreading. I've attached pictures. If anyone can diagnose what I'm dealing with here, that'd be a huge help.

The only similar thing I've encountered in the past was some minor white growth on my L114's pectoral fin and some of it's spikes on it's side a while back. I did a treatment of fungus guard and it cleared right up. This seems much more severe.

While I expect this to be a lost cause, will do everything I can to help this fish get through it there's a possibility. Regardless, good to know what I'm dealing with in the even I see this again in the future.

Thanks again.

[MarcW]

I can't see any fuzzyness in the pictures, are the wounds like a scab or are they fuzzy like cotton wool?

It looks to me like it might be damage from heater burn, it may have been resting on a heater in the store?

If the area is just slightly raised and pale, I would keep an eye on it and do plenty of water changes.

If it's fuzzy then you may need to treat with something, however my knowledge of medications is limited hopefully someone else may be able to advise if medication is needed.

[TwoTankAmin]

I hate remote diagnosis of fish. heck in person it is hard enough to do, but online....

That said, I am seeing two probabilities. One is the white is columnaris, cased by the bacterium Flavobacterium columnare. This is sometimes called mouth fungus. It is not a fungus, it is a bacteria, but it can cause "fungus- like" growths in the mouth of a fish (among other things). Eventually this prevents if from eating. But it also attacks the surface of the fish, often at the base of the dorsal. This is often called saddleback disease. These are all the same disease and the treatment is antibiotics.

However, wasting is often the result of internal parasites. This would require a completely different treatment and would not explain the white marks on the fish. If they are from heater burns and/or being picked on and not columnaris, then I would treat the tank with Flubendazole. This is based on this from an article by Dr Charles Harrison.

hydra!
The hydra-killing Flubendazole that I used in my office aquarium to eradicate hydra led
me to a larger realization. The “wasting” fish in that tank seemed to become cured when I added
Flubendazole to the water. Whoa! This was quite a remarkable revelation. My intent was to
remove the hydra and any possible nematodes and, to my surprise, the disease I have found to be
associated with a particular protozoan species was cured.

from http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/FlubendazoleArticle.pdf

You can get the med and more information on this here, http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ However, in a later article Dr. Harrison wrote the following which highlights why there may be an issue with what treatment you choose to try:

This compounds is NOT an antibiotic. It do not control bacteria or fungal infections and in fact
may escalate these problems as they kill off the other infections. This compound is not the cure
all.
Flubendazole is useful for controlling intestinal parasites, especially most of the protozoa,
some nematodes and gill flukes. Flubendazole is active through adsorption into the fish’s skin
and gills. The drug does not have to be eaten to be effective. This makes the drug useful for
treating fishes which have quit eating due to irritation from infection of the throat and gut.

from http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/FlubendazoleTreatment.pdf

I hope the above information might narrow what you research further to determine the best course of action. Check the mouth of the affected fish, if you see some signs of "fungus" I would go with an appropriate antibiotic. if not and you thing the white is not the result of a disease, then I would go with the Flubendazole.

There are other members here more well versed in all this than I am. Hopefully, one of them will see this thread and comment as well.

[MarcW]

Thanks for your help TwoTank, it sounds to me like you have proposed a good plan.

[DHarris]

Unfortunately the L128 passed way. The white growths on it spread rapidly from the time I took the pictures. I removed it, did a large water change and am half way through a treatment of Furan 2. I noticed a similar white growth on the pectoral fin of one of my Leporacanthicus heterodon. Will monitor as I continue this treatment.

Thanks again for all of the advice, it's greatly appreciated.

[MarcW]

Sorry to hear that, hopefully the rest of your fish will be ok.

[DHarris]

So I just finishes the complete cycle of Furan - 2. The Golden vampire appears to have improved. Where it had the white growths, now it's just eaten away and should heal up.

Unfortunately when my L270 came out to eat this morning I notice some white patches by it's dorsal and a couple other spread randomly along it's body. Much less than what was on either the L128 or the Heterondon. This makes me think it's still early and I have time to sort it out.

I will get some pictures up this afternoon, assuming I'm able to get the fish to come out.

How best to treat, assuming this is columinaris? Salt? More Furan (which clearly didn't help the L270).

Really appreciate the advice here!

[DHarris]

I've attached a couple of pictures of my L270 and it's white spots. Unfortunately the pictures aren't great as it didn't really want to cooperate and I had to get what I could mid water change. All of my other plecos seem to be OK. Am debating another round of meds but hate the idea of constantly subjecting them to medication. Looking into maracyn or salt treatment. Will do large daily water changes in the meantime. Would love it if anyone can can confirm what it is i'm dealing with and how best to combat it!

Thank you so much!

[MarcW]

To me that looks like it may be damage from rubbing against wood or a rock, but given the history of something affecting other fish in the tank, hopefully someone better at diagnosing issues will come along to give their opinion.