Acei Red Around Pec Fins

[Beth777]

Hey Guys,

Some of you know that my house flooded last week, and I'm a week behind on doing my usual 50% cleaning, although I did a very small water change last night and used API. My test kits are expired and I'm at work so I can't do anything right now.

After the small change I noticed that my large Acei had red around a pector
al fin and was hiding in the back. This morning it's both pec fins. He initially came out when he saw me but then went back to the corner. I had noticed some flashing last week with some of the fish and them rubbing their gills. I did put some new comers in to the tank sooner than I would have normally.

I know that I need to keep up with small water changes but I want to treat this boy. I don't want to wait. I've had him since he was an inch or two long and he's now 6"+. you

Thank You, Liz

[mnemenoi]

I always come back to water parameters. Might be due to the horrible tap we are having in the area. Usually Nitrates will give them fits when it gets really high, but Ammonia and Nitrite do a lot more quickly. Without knowing the true issue, I hate recommending a treatment option. There are some great antibiotics, but they can wreck your biomedia and then your chasing a cycle like a new tank. Not something that I recommend to anyone really. Melafix and Pimafix can offer some slight glimmer of hope, but I'm not certain they really do much. I'd focus on your water parameters and get those in line. Increase some oxygenation (maybe add a powerhead to boost the Oxygen levels) and just keep up on water changes, once these levels get back to normal levels I think it will all work itself back out.

[ptran]

Sorry to hear about your fish. Doing water change this week is not a good idea because of all the flooding we had last week. As Roy mentioned, you need to get a new test kit and check out the water quality before doing any treatment. Most of the injury / fin damage would go away with good water quality. On a side note, it might also get stressed from you adding new fish. But check on the water parameter first.

[morpheus]

i definitely agree with the above two. its hard to really recommend anything without knowing what to treat. it could be bacterial, could just be an inflamed scratch....and putting in medications for something that doesnt exist could do more harm than good. having very clean water is beneficial, and keeping oxygen high. generally with illness they would be more lethargic, not eating, or breathing heavy. if the fish is still eating regularly, is active, and isnt being chased at all....i would say keep on top of the water changes and just monitor the params with a fresh kit.

[imagirlgeek]

I agree. The water around here is going to be pretty jacked up for a while, I suspect. The treatment plants are likely shocking the water systems with additional chemicals right now. We didn't get it too bad out here, but I can usually smell it when they do. You might want to use extra dechlorinator for a while.

When I don't know exactly what's wrong, I always opt for liquid vitamins. I use Vitachem. I had an African Giraffe Cat who had an open sore on his snout (looked like an ulcer) and I tried everything....tetracycline, erythromycin, pimafix, melafix...it just kept getting worse. I finally emailed an aquatic vet and she suggested crushing up some Vitamin C to add to the water. I got some Vitachem instead and soaked his food in it, and also added it to the water. The sore stopped getting worse, and then started healing up. Seems he just needed a little boost to his immune system to help heal himself.

Hope this helps!

[Beth777]

I was thinking of putting him in QT since he's the only one having a problem but that would mean that I'd have to do a quick cycle and use the tap water. I took the tank down. Or, I could just transfer water from the 75g. along with media.
I'm going to be so upset if any thing happens to this fish. It's also my husbands favorite.

Do small water changes, no water changes, stop feeding????? This really stinks.

[morpheus]

everyone does different things, but if it truly does turn out to be a bacteria, no telling if it already spread and QT wont help. if you did go the QT route using some water and media would help cycle faster.

if it is just one fish, i would probably just wait it out and see how things progress. if the fish behavior hasnt changed other than the markings. also with africans, i normally factor in removing him and a new pecking order establishes when gone. the whole reacceptance into the colony can be hit or miss.

[Beth777]

I never thought about using vitamins! I'm going to try that. Thank you.

I agree. The water around here is going to be pretty jacked up for a while, I suspect. The treatment plants are likely shocking the water systems with additional chemicals right now. We didn't get it too bad out here, but I can usually smell it when they do. You might want to use extra dechlorinator for a while.

When I don't know exactly what's wrong, I always opt for liquid vitamins. I use Vitachem. I had an African Giraffe Cat who had an open sore on his snout (looked like an ulcer) and I tried everything....tetracycline, erythromycin, pimafix, melafix...it just kept getting worse. I finally emailed an aquatic vet and she suggested crushing up some Vitamin C to add to the water. I got some Vitachem instead and soaked his food in it, and also added it to the water. The sore stopped getting worse, and then started healing up. Seems he just needed a little boost to his immune system to help heal himself.

Hope this helps!

[Beth777]

He wouldn't eat last night or this morning. You are so right about upsetting the pecking order and he is my tank bully so someone else would definitely try to take his place. Excellent advice!

everyone does different things, but if it truly does turn out to be a bacteria, no telling if it already spread and QT wont help. if you did go the QT route using some water and media would help cycle faster.

if it is just one fish, i would probably just wait it out and see how things progress. if the fish behavior hasnt changed other than the markings. also with africans, i normally factor in removing him and a new pecking order establishes when gone. the whole reacceptance into the colony can be hit or miss.

[morpheus]

He wouldn't eat last night or this morning. You are so right about upsetting the pecking order and he is my tank bully so someone else would definitely try to take his place. Excellent advice!

the vitamins cant hurt, really can only help all the fish, so hope that works

the power struggles can get rough so just keep an eye out. i went through one recently when my dominant fish in the african tank died. many on here chimed in on what to try in order to curb the chaos. after a few changes and some time passed, all is calm again.

[ptran]

LOL I never thought about adding vitamin C to boost their immune system. It's good to know. I guess it works just like human. So how do you dose it?

[Beth777]

I just got home and he doesn't look worse and he did eat a few pellets but not with the usual passion. He's hanging over in a corner where I've never seen him hang before.

I guess I really have stressed him out. A month or so ago I added some peacocks that were born here, rearranged the tank, and 2-3wks later added some more labs and acei. He went nuts when I added the peacocks and changed the tank around. The tank had not been changed around in years and I had only added 3 fish in the last year or so. When the peacocks came he started fighting with the male parrot a lot. They argue on a daily basis now but no fin ripping. The parrots rule the tank and always have. He bullied the lab so bad that she always stayed hid, so with advice I brought in the new labs and acei. The lab and jewel are much more out going now. The lab will actually argue back with him unlike before.

Then a transformer blew and we lost power, although I do have fisherman's bubblers, and then the flood. I noticed last night that my AQ110 wasn't running correctly and found that it was clogged so I took care of that.

As I was typing this he came out wiggling his tail and I got him to eat a little more. If he makes it I swear I'll never change another thing in that tank. And to think a month ago I was ready too boot his mean butt outta here. I guess it's just been too much for an older fish.

the vitamins cant hurt, really can only help all the fish, so hope that works

the power struggles can get rough so just keep an eye out. i went through one recently when my dominant fish in the african tank died. many on here chimed in on what to try in order to curb the chaos. after a few changes and some time passed, all is calm again.

[Beth777]

He just raced across the tank and was slamming into things in order to rub himself. Poor baby, those red places must feel awful.

[Beth777]

For now he feels well enough to be fighting with the male parrot. They've been arguing about the left side of the tank for a few weeks now. Something they've never done in all the years they've been together. We hear a lot of splashing and it's always the acei and the parrot arguing. The acei just nipped the parrot on the side and now the parrot is chasing him and trying to bite back. I'm also seeing what looks to be quiet a bit of damage to the acei's scales on both sides of his body. (HUGE SIGH) I've obviously got a war going on here and I don't know what to do about it.

[morpheus]

its the rough part of the hobby for sure. the changing of the environment usually is not an issue as long as you keep the number of territories the same, or increase them. each fish wants their own part to call home, so if caves and areas were reduced, that can increase aggression to control an area. when chaos erupted in my tanks i increased the number of territories and added a powerhead into the tank. allowed for some added exercise. that seemed to calm things down a bit.

also introducing new fish can be hit or miss. generally african colonies have larger numbers to curb aggression. they swim in a larger school, so if a fight ever breaks out, they just get lost in the crowd and nothing really ever comes of the conflict. the parrots are not africans though.

another thing is labs will cross breed with many malawis. its possible there werent any females before, and if you introduced some, there could be fighting over mating partners. i assume the parrots are blood parrots, so they wont compete for the labs. they dont cross breed and the males are usually sterile. but the aceis and male labs will compete for females.

the fact that the acei is eating and doing typical behavior is a good sign. scratches, nipped fins, and missing scales are more common with africans. as long as you arent seeing blood/muscle, they should heal quickly as long as the water is kept clean. they are creating new territories and it takes time.