Are these black patches on my Royal Gramma a disease?

[Jay Hemdal]

Day 6:

I did a 100% water change. No more medication in the water.

He's swimming about much more but still not to his pre-illness levels. He also tires easily.
My major concern right now is that he's still not eating... It's been a week since he has. If he doesn't start eating soon I'm worried he'll starve.

Well, fingers crossed! The metronidazole in the water is really the only way to treat internal protozoans on a fish that isn't eating. Worm parasites typically don't cause a fish to stop eating. Bacterial enteritis and coccidia are also possibilities, but the latter can't really be treated. for.

Jay

 

[jbholasingh]

Day 7:

I've moved him to a quarantine box in the main display tank. QT system is still running incase I need to move him back.

He seems to be swimming fine. I'm leaving him in the display in the box for tonight. Tomorrow I'll let him out and see if he eats in the more familiar environment. His color has also improved.

 

[jbholasingh]

Day 8:

I released him into the main display tank today.

He is swimming freely and ate some mysis as well as pellets. He's being feisty with the firefish so I would say he's recovered. His color is perfect as well.

 

[ABQ_CHRIS]

Nice.

 

[jabberwock]

Great documentation and result. Hopefully this will help others with a treatment plan.

 

[jbholasingh]

Learning points:

1) Don't wait, medicate- Even if there is no clear diagnosis, broad spectrum medications may clear up the problem. Don't wait for a clear diagnosis to start medication.

2) Poor color is a prelude to disease- Poor color (hyperpigmentation) can be due to stress. Stress may either be the cause or as a result of disease. Be on the ready to treat a fish who appears stressed should they develop further symptoms.

3) A hiding fish is a bad sign- If a fish that is normally out and about hides for more than a day, pick up a turkey baster and blast it out of the rocks. Fish will often hide when they are sick and it's best to put them in a quarantine system where they can be closely monitored rather than in some dark recess of the display tank.

4) No magic bullets- There are many fish diseases, and many medications. If one medication does not work (e.g. anti-parasitic) consider a different class of medication (e.g. antibacterial). Eventually something must work, but don't keep using a medicine that isn't helping.

5) No place like home- Sometimes a fish may not exhibit normal behavior /eat even if it fully recovered while it is in an unfamiliar Quarantine system. Sometimes it's they just need to be put back into their original home before they will accept food/ swim around freely.

6) Have a plan- Even if it's just a plastic box with an air stone system, have a Quarantine system planned and ready for the day a fish gets sick. Plastic storage crates come in a variety of sizes and can be easily stored away or used to hold random fish things until the day they are needed. Preferably something transparent to make observation easier. Have bio media in the sump that is mature so you don't have a worry about cycling a new system, just add the mature bimedia and you can add fish.


If anyone would like to expand on these points feel free to do so.