sick syno please help!

[prettyvivid]

ive had this guy since september. he was so fat and jolly!

but in december, due to a hectic work schedule i was only around to feed in the dark and do weekly water changes, i didnt even notice how skinny he had become...

i was thinking it was a recent food switch, or my over zealous jack dempsy eating everything...
now internal parasites are becoming a possibility. i saw him eat a pile of bloodworms today, so i know he is eating.
i had been over feeding my tank this last week just to see if i could get him to eat something
and i think the less than ideal water conditions (and his weakened condition) caused this yellowish-whiteish spot to appear.

im not sure what it is, fungus? its not fuzzy. parasite? its not raised, and there is only one...



any ideas as to what i should do? this is my first scaleless fish

thanks

im lost. i dont know what to do.

[Birger]

i didnt even notice how skinny he had become...

Hmm a skinny uepterus...definitely not right
do you have another aquarium you could put him in for awhile???
What other fish are in the tank besides the jack dempsey, is this the only syno?
Does he have sufficient structure to hang out in,is he competing for those structures?
What was the recent food switch?

Birger

[prettyvivid]

so ive been devoting my time to seeing how much i can get him to eat.
he will eat frozen foods (in fact he eats all of them and the jack gets none)
brine shrimp and bloodworms right now...

which is a start. hes still very thin, but he doesnt look as bad as he did a few days ago.
i started doing daily water changes and the spot on his side has cleared up quite a bit
(though i think i noticed the beginnings of one on his fin) so im still thinking fungus.

i had switched from hikari's sinking bloodworm sinking staple, to the carnivore one (only because it was the only thing avalible to me)
i still think he never ate the staple food. only frozen. which he only got once a week and in the last month not at all....

he has many places to hide, has never even had a scuffle with the cichlid (the only other tankmate, ive been waiting for other adult syno's to come in to my LFS), and even has his own side of the tank....

im going to wait a few days before i consider a hospital tank. if his spots look worse or he stops eating (i would like to find a pellet he will eat) ive got the meds ready, just no tank yet.

[Birger]

i still think he never ate the staple food. only frozen.

sounds very strange...a picky eupterus

I do not think you need to separate, if it is just the two
You seem to be doing the right things...I am glad it is showing improvement
They can recuperate well, it just takes a little time

What size is the tank?

Birger

[Richard B]

You seem to be doing nothing wrong - but the syno should not be a fussy feeder - that is very unusual.

Would it be possible to get a clear close up of the 'spot' so we can see it better & maybe give some specific advice?