Adrienne Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 My male hongsloi has a small cotton wool patch under his eye. He's very quiet in the tank which is unusual given that since I got him 4 weeks ago he has been chasing the female. Now she's ready and he's not. Not knowing a lot about apistos can someone please let me know what the best medication is for him. Is it the same as for other freshwater fish i.e. fighters, guppies? He's currently in a container floating in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Oh no! I have no real idea what could be wrong, is the fish gasping or showing any other symptoms? I have loosely put most of my apisto deaths down to Columnaris disease http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... isease.php I believe my cases were caused by using water that was too pure and also a lack of vitamins in the food. Again that is just a guess.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Can meth blue be used on apistos. I guess I am wondering if I treat the same as I would a fighter with a cotton wool tuft which in my tanks results from an over vigorous male male. He is breathing a little more heavily than her but not a lot. He does move around when she comes up to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Yeah meth blue is sweet for apistos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 On closer inspection he looks the following - paler than her breathing more heavily red around the head/gills (not not the normal red colouring) and his stomach looks slightly too round for his own good Given the investment in him and I'm not talking money outlay because they weren't that expensive but the fact that there are so few of them in NZ I have put furan 2 in the tank in the hope that it may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Yeah I would pick some sort of internal bacterial type thing hopefully Jen posts soon and gives you advice on the correct drug to use, furan2 would be a good first guess if it was all you had and it was a Sunday if you see no improvement then it is obviously the wrong thing or not bacterial at all.. Good luck I feel your pain having watched some of the apistos that I had that were just as rare die of similar things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 furan 2 is the right medication to dose with. I really hope he pulls through for you. if he is the only fish with problems at this stage, i would also isolate him to reduce the stress and treat him as well as a low dose on the main tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 furan 2 is the right medication to dose with. I really hope he pulls through for you. if he is the only fish with problems at this stage, i would also isolate him to reduce the stress and treat him as well as a low dose on the main tank. IMO It is almost impossible to determine what the right medicine is to treat with unless you actually figure out what is wrong with the fish. If bacterial then you have to do a culture and figure out what bacteria and then what antibiotic to treat with.. I think that treating antibiotics with a low dose on the rest of the tank would be a bad idea if the other fish is affected with a mild case you run the risk of the bacteria becoming immune to the drugs making them ineffective in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Both Ryan and I have had many apisto's die from some random disease with symptoms that include red swollen lumps on the skin, waisting away, spinning around on the spot (Chasing there tail), white lumps and white fluffy sores. Theses all fit under the broad descriptions for many different diseases, one of which is Columnaris or Cotton Wool Disease. Other symptoms include whitish-grayish coating on the skin, ulcers, damaged fins, patches on the gills, and erosion of the head tissue. If it is this then an antibiotic treatment, and disinfecting of the tank is essential. My personal guess is that apistos are a lot harder to keep healthy than they look and because most are relatively new to the hobby that they haven't yet been domesticated enough to live in standard water. It could also have a lot to do with diet and the lack of something specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Some good advice here and I would agree that we don't know what we are dealing with so we can only guess. Columnaris is apparently common in apistos and it is a quick killer so it would be prudent to assume that it is that (I have little experience with apistos but I have dealt with columnaris quite a bit). The first thing is to isolate the sick fish. This is critically important. While I was writing this I got a phone call from my friend in the states who is an aquatics vet, he said to treat the fish's wounds directly with concentrated Meth Blue. Then place it into a concentrated salt bath (15 grams to 20 litres of tank water, gradually introduced over 2 minutes and remove the fish after a total of 5 minutes or sooner if it looks really stressed). Carry out these two treatments twice a day. Treat the hospital tank water with this product if you can get it http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... aplex2.jpg (kanamycin antibiotic, I have not seen it here but a pharmacist should be able to clarify). A second choice is minocycline or sulfa trimeth. In the mean time, prevent it from cropping up in the main tank by adding salt and reducing the water temperature below 24 degrees - both of these actions are quite effective at preventing columnaris. It is very important to keep stress to a minimum as well. It is also very helpful to increase micronutrients, a supplement like Flourish Comprehensive is good in a pinch. Also, add a cuttlefish bone to the tank, apparently the free calcium will prevent the columnaris from attaching. Good luck, keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 RIP little man! I will now reassess my options - How long does anyone think it will be until I know if she is alright? The way I see it I have 3 choices once I know she is clear - Keep her as a lone female (which is a waste) Try and get hold of another male (if anyone has one please let me know) Offer her out to one of the peoples like JeniferH who has a pair as a spare female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Wow, that was quick, so sorry for your loss. I hear that HFF might still have pairs and I belive I read somewhere that they can be kept in a harem (could be wrong though). I think it would be very prudent to quarantine her for a while, at least six weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Sorry to hear of your loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Really sorry to hear about your loss, it was very fast Yeah I would quarantine try and find another male (if you aren't too disheartened by the loss now). Failing that I would definitely try and pass her on for someone else to try with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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