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Hi. So I have had this salmontail for about 3 days now. And I'm a bit worried about him. When he was first placed in the tank he was getting pestered pretty badly by a trip of featherfin Synodontis catfish who were eating his slime coat. I have now removed them from the tank. I have noticed this white sort of stuff over his body and am not sure if this is just the slime coat or a fungal infection. Also his gill plate seems to have a small tear in it (most likely from a rock)
He just seems to spend most of his day with his belly against there glass just swimming against it. He does swim normally every now and then but then goes back to the glass. The other salmontail that is in there is a little smaller and seems to be doing fine.

Looks like it could be an uneven, excessive slime coat, most usually a symptom of extreme discomfort / stress. Same goes for the behavior. If the water is good and the change from previous water is not too great (and now that you removed the 3 synos), perhaps he will work it out.

But he does look miserable to my eye.

The aggression from the synos might have pushed his stress level over the edge. IME, if I interpret it right, there is a certain threshold of stress a fish can handle. Once it is exceeded, the fish will not survive.

As a result of stress and/or the move, he also could have contracted a bacterial or parasitic disease. I don't see any obvious signs of that yet. Anyone?

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Are they not brackish / saltwater fish?

Viktor Jarikov wrote:Looks like it could be an uneven, excessive slime coat, most usually a symptom of extreme discomfort / stress. Same goes for the behavior. If the water is good and the change from previous water is not too great (and now that you removed the 3 synos), perhaps he will work it out.

But he does look miserable to my eye.

The aggression from the synos might have pushed his stress level over the edge. IME, if I interpret it right, there is a certain threshold of stress a fish can handle. Once it is exceeded, the fish will not survive.

As a result of stress and/or the move, he also could have contracted a bacterial or parasitic disease. I don't see any obvious signs of that yet. Anyone?

*********************************

Are they not brackish / saltwater fish?

I really hope he will pull through. This is the australian species which is full freshwater

Where did the salmontail come from - wild caught yourself/friend, through a store etc?

Richard B wrote:Where did the salmontail come from - wild caught yourself/friend, through a store etc?

The salmontail came from a friend. I believe that he has developed columnaris.

It is definitely not just slime anymore as red dots / bumps can be seen. I am not sure what it is. Here is an ok article on columnaris: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disea ... mnaris.htm

I'd try a broad spectrum anti-bacterial med, such as triple sulfa, erythromycin, bi-furan, oxytetracycline. http://www.fishchemical.com/FULL-PRODUC ... .Item.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4829

Or maybe a potassium permanganate bath.

Some general good links:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ease-Guide

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ndications

Viktor Jarikov wrote:It is definitely not just slime anymore as red dots / bumps can be seen. I am not sure what it is. Here is an ok article on columnaris: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disea ... mnaris.htm

I'd try a broad spectrum anti-bacterial med, such as triple sulfa, erythromycin, bi-furan, oxytetracycline. http://www.fishchemical.com/FULL-PRODUC ... .Item.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4829

Or maybe a potassium permanganate bath.

Some general good links:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ease-Guide

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ndications

So I talked to my lfs who I trust very much and they told me to treat it with melafix and to give a saltwater bath (which I had a person come over and do) however he's been back in the tank for about 21 hours and he spends most of his time against the glass breathing heavy, or on the gravel breathing heavy, sometimes he even lies on his side

what is the scientific name for salmontail? I searchd for it under common name and didn't get anything?

nvcichlids wrote:what is the scientific name for salmontail? I searchd for it under common name and didn't get anything?

Unfortunately he is no longer with us. The scientific name is

Sorry, mate. This is eerily reminiscent of my experiences: when a fish undergoes a hard re-homing (big change in water parameters) accompanied by a strong complication, such as the immediate group bullying in your case, its chances are small, IME anyway.

Strong immune system breakdown and an ensuing disease take over swiftly because plenty of harmful bacteria and parasites are always present in any, even healthy, eco-system and on the inside and on the outside of the fish itself.