HELP! My prized possession female onyx is sick

[holdyourlight]

This can be moved to the disease forum if necessary, but i thought i'd post it here.
My 2 year old Booyah's onyx female is sick. Heavy breathing and stringy poop. Little to no appetite. She is almost 48 hours into a prazipro treatment.
No other fish are showing these symptoms, including her mate. Ammonia reading is zero.
I cannot lose this fish. Do i just need to wait longer for the prazi to work, or should i be doing something else?


http://s64.photobucket.com/user/jimmy462/media/WP_20130402_0011_zpsa415d0ad.mp4.html

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http:%2F%2Fvid64.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh172%2Fjimmy462%2FWP_20130402_0011_zpsa415d0ad.mp4">

[holdyourlight]

bump

[Dmoody]

Wait and see. Don't do anything drastic. Keep updating the status of the fish on here and see if it gets worse. Honestly the fish looks fine at this point. Keep up with the current treatment.

[HumbleFish]

Wait and see. Don't do anything drastic. Keep updating the status of the fish on here and see if it gets worse. Honestly the fish looks fine at this point. Keep up with the current treatment.

+1 I'm assuming the "stringy poop" was white, so you assumed Flukes, thus the Prazi treatment? All meds (even Prazi) have side effects. My fish in QT will sometimes stop eating and hide in a PVC cave during Prazi treatment. So, stay the course, and don't forget to do a second Prazi treatment 5-7 days after the first.

[holdyourlight]

Wait and see. Don't do anything drastic. Keep updating the status of the fish on here and see if it gets worse. Honestly the fish looks fine at this point. Keep up with the current treatment.

+1 I'm assuming the "stringy poop" was white, so you assumed Flukes, thus the Prazi treatment? All meds (even Prazi) have side effects. My fish in QT will sometimes stop eating and hide in a PVC cave during Prazi treatment. So, stay the course, and don't forget to do a second Prazi treatment 5-7 days after the first.

Yes, stringy poop is white. She has been like this for about 5 days now. Heavy breathing and now not eating at all. Today is day 4 of prazi. There are many other fish in the tank and she is the only one having an issue. Her mate is just fine.
I am starting to suspect an internal bacterial infection is a possibility.

[HumbleFish]

I am starting to suspect an internal bacterial infection is a possibility.

In a pinch, I've mixed antibiotics with Prazi. It's less than ideal and won't help any with the appetite suppression (probably make it worse). But IME fish can go a week or two without eating before you enter the danger zone.

[holdyourlight]

In a pinch, I've mixed antibiotics with Prazi. It's less than ideal and won't help any with the appetite suppression (probably make it worse). But IME fish can go a week or two without eating before you enter the danger zone.

I agree they can go a while without eating.
The bigger issue is the rapid breathing and the fact that i can't get her out of the DT.
I don't believe there is an antibiotic that i can dose directly to the DT is there?
It is a fowlr.....

[RarefiedAir24]

If you can't get her out of the display tank, one method you can try is the Dr.Gs medicated anti-bacterial/anti-parasitic food. But if she isn't eating that may not work. Depending on what you have in the tank as far as corals another option is the API Erythromycin, reviews and claims are that it's reef safe but I personally can't say..

http://www.marinedepot.com/Aquarium_Pharmaceuticals_EM_Erythromycin_Medication_10ct_Powder_Packets_Saltwater_Fish_Bacterial_Fun gal_Medications-Aquarium_Pharmaceuticals_API_MARS_Fishcare-AP1811-FIMEBF-4-vi.html

But with the white stringy poop, I'm guessing it's either worms/internal parasite, it doesn't sound like anything bacterial yet and from the video I don't see any patches/spots/blotches or anything that would suggest it's bacterial..

Frank

[holdyourlight]

If you can't get her out of the display tank, one method you can try is the Dr.Gs medicated anti-bacterial/anti-parasitic food. But if she isn't eating that may not work. Depending on what you have in the tank as far as corals another option is the API Erythromycin, reviews and claims are that it's reef safe but I personally can't say..

http://www.marinedepot.com/Aquarium_Pharmaceuticals_EM_Erythromycin_Medication_10ct_Powder_Packets_Saltwater_Fish_Bacterial_Fun gal_Medications-Aquarium_Pharmaceuticals_API_MARS_Fishcare-AP1811-FIMEBF-4-vi.html

But with the white stringy poop, I'm guessing it's either worms/internal parasite, it doesn't sound like anything bacterial yet and from the video I don't see any patches/spots/blotches or anything that would suggest it's bacterial..

Frank

As i said it is a fowlr, so no coral to worry about. And she is not eating so the Dr. G's wont work either.
I would think the prazi would be working by day 4 if it was an internal parasite, which is leading me to believe its an internal bacterial infection.
Erythromycin is a gram positive antibacterial, i think a gram negative would work much better in a DT, something like Maracyn 2 saltwater, which is impossible to find. I can't even find it online anymore ....

[HumbleFish]

I agree they can go a while without eating.
The bigger issue is the rapid breathing and the fact that i can't get her out of the DT.
I don't believe there is an antibiotic that i can dose directly to the DT is there?
It is a fowlr.....

Speaking just from personal experience, I have successfully used Maracyn 1 & 2 (many times) in a FO without negatively impacting the biological filtration. Or at least not enough to ever get an ammonia spike. But this was many years ago, when I was still using crushed coral and u/g filtration. I've never done it with LR or any other antibiotics. I would consider doing it a measure of last resort.

[RarefiedAir24]

As i said it is a fowlr, so no coral to worry about. And she is not eating so the Dr. G's wont work either.
I would think the prazi would be working by day 4 if it was an internal parasite, which is leading me to believe its an internal bacterial infection.
Erythromycin is a gram positive antibacterial, i think a gram negative would work much better in a DT, something like Maracyn 2 saltwater, which is impossible to find. I can't even find it online anymore ....

Maracyn 2 for freshwater is fine. They rebranded the Maracyn 2 saltwater to Maracyn Ultra or something like that and jacked the price up..

[holdyourlight]

Speaking just from personal experience, I have successfully used Maracyn 1 & 2 (many times) in a FO without negatively impacting the biological filtration. Or at least not enough to ever get an ammonia spike. But this was many years ago, when I was still using crushed coral and u/g filtration. I've never done it with LR or any other antibiotics. I would consider doing it a measure of last resort.

Maracyn 2 for freshwater is fine. They rebranded the Maracyn 2 saltwater to Maracyn Ultra or something like that and jacked the price up..

I just spoke with a marine biologist and he said Maracyn 2 as well.
I cannot find the Maracyn Ultra or whatever i'ts called on Sentry (who owns Mardel)'s website. They list Maracyn 2 saltwater and then say it is not available at any retailers!

http://www.sentrypetcare.com/products/ProductCatalog.asp?one=35&two=188

The freshwater Macacyn 2 contains half of the dosage of saltwater.
If i dose the freshwater dose i am looking at $65 for their recommended 5 day treatment for my 125G tank. If i have to dose saltwater levels....wowza! $$$$

[RarefiedAir24]

I just spoke with a marine biologist and he said Maracyn 2 as well.
I cannot find the Maracyn Ultra or whatever i'ts called on Sentry (who owns Mardel)'s website. They list Maracyn 2 saltwater and then say it is not available at any retailers!

http://www.sentrypetcare.com/products/ProductCatalog.asp?one=35&two=188

The freshwater Macacyn 2 contains half of the dosage of saltwater.
If i dose the freshwater dose i am looking at $65 for their recommended 5 day treatment for my 125G tank. If i have to dose saltwater levels....wowza! $$$$

From what I've found out makers are trying to push the"saltwater" version as Maracyn Plus, but it carries a larger price tag as well.. When in a pinch, Maracyn 2 for freshwater can be used...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4833

[HumbleFish]

Companies really **** me off when they do this. The s/w Maracyns were great for noobs because the active ingredients were relatively safe, and the "B complex vitamins" helped stimulate a fish's appetite during treatment. It's very common for a fish to stop eating while being treated with antibiotics... and this freaks a lot of noobs out. You can use the f/w versions, but as holdyourlight noted this can get very expensive as you have to double up to reach the recommended s/w dosage.

FWIW, the active ingredient used in Maracyn is erythromycin; for Maracyn-2 it's minocycline. Erythromycin is probably what clears the vast majority of infections, is packaged by API, and is sold in most Petcos/Petsmarts. Or you can find it online, such as here (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16818).

[RarefiedAir24]

Companies really **** me off when they do this. The s/w Maracyns were great for noobs because the active ingredients were relatively safe, and the "B complex vitamins" helped stimulate a fish's appetite during treatment. It's very common for a fish to stop eating while being treated with antibiotics... and this freaks a lot of noobs out. You can use the f/w versions, but as holdyourlight noted this can get very expensive as you have to double up to reach the recommended s/w dosage.

FWIW, the active ingredient used in Maracyn is erythromycin; for Maracyn-2 it's minocycline. Erythromycin is probably what clears the vast majority of infections, is packaged by API, and is sold in most Petcos/Petsmarts. Or you can find it online, such as here (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16818).

lol, wouldn't ya' know... the distinct difference from Maracyn Plus and Maracyn 2 is the B-vitamin!! lol..

[holdyourlight]

lol, wouldn't ya' know... the distinct difference from Maracyn Plus and Maracyn 2 is the B-vitamin!! lol..

i honestly think maracyn plus and maracyn 2 are completely different. the plus treats gram positive and negative, 2 treats only negative. different active ingredients as well

[HumbleFish]

I looked Maracyn Plus up, and the active ingredients are sulfadimidine and trimethoprim. This is very similar to nationalfishpharm's "TMP Sulfa". Both products are supposed to be effective against both gram positive & negative bacteria. But I have zero experience using either.