Need help and advice: my 5yr old Midas Cichlid has rashes

[BigOrangeMidas]

Hi guys, this is my first post here and I am in great need of your expertise.
I have a 5 yr old Midas Cichlid named Borat and he is in a 75 gallon tank by himself with 2 filters : Fluval 305 and Penguin BioWheel 350. The tank has Florida crushed corals as substrate. I checked some of today's parameters and they are 7.0 pH and 1.0 Ammonia. I ran out of Nitrate and Nitrite test solution so I could not measure those today. My Cichlid has been healthy and had not had any health issue. The tank was in need of cleaning and water change today and I noticed that my cichlid has some red rashes on his neck (underneath his chin),on both sides of his cheeks and close to his gills. The rashes are red, round-like shaped, more like measles in humans. He is still active and ate this morning,but have not eaten since then ( I usually feed him twice a day). I just finished doing a 75% water change and had cleaned all his filters. I am just worried that he has some form of bacterial infection. What should I do? I have mardel's maracyn-two, Jungle Labs' Fungus Clear and Thomas Lab's Metronidazole and Amoxicillin in the cabinet. I have done some research and some people said to add salt to the water and I did in a ratio of 1tbsp per 5 gallon. Would this help? Should I increase the temp? What medication should I used? Should I start medicating him soon or should I wait and see what the salt would do? Please help, I love this fish too much and I hate seeing him sick. He is actually looking at me right now across the room as I type. Thank you for any input and advice you guys can give me.

With much appreciation,
Claudine

[dehnger2u]

I don't think you are supposed to keep them in high PH water. ANybody else have a thought on that? Seems like I remember that causing some health issues?

Found it:

"The Midas Cichlid is a rewarding specimen for the aquarist as it is moderately easy to keep as long as the aquarium is large enough and the water quality is maintained. They are subject to infections as well as other diseases that ail all freshwater fish, especially if water is stale and of poor quality and oxygenation. Ich is easily treated with an elevated temperature of 86° F for a few days. To help prevent the notorious 'Hole-in-the-Head' disease (HLLE - Head and Lateral Line Disease) that large cichlids are prone to. Do water changes of 10 - 15% weekly, more or less depending on stocking numbers. Hard water can also contribute to Hole-in-the-Head disease, so using driftwood can help pull the pH down if you have very hard water. Intestinal disease can be treated with metronidazol. "

[Smokie]

am I the only one that thinks BigOrangeMidas doing a 75% water change is a bit much? Or did you only change that much water because the fish is sick and ammonia is present? Also, having 1.0 ppm for ammonia isn't considered good water quality either? I'm fairly new to this hobby.. Also, when you are cleaning out your filters, your aren't touching the bio-media ceramic stuff or cleaning the bio black "sponge" depending on filter style??

[BigOrangeMidas]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I have always thought that the Midas Cichlid prefer to be in an environment that is basic, that's why I got those crushed corals. If high pH is causing my fish to be sick, please let me know.
I did the 75% water change because the fish has those 'measles-like rash' and i saw that the ammonia levels are not quite good. I thought at first that he is having those rashes because of the ammonia levels but as I researched, some people are saying that it could be bacteria infection. Is this correct? I have posted some pics to show his rashes. for the filters, i only clean the filter itself and not the bio wheel. On the Fluval, i have washed the white sponge media because there were brown stuff, poop-like material, stuck to it.
Should I medicate him?
Thanks guys for the replies.

[Glaive]

BigOrangeMidas, you have ammonia thus your tank is not cycled. Don't worry about your coral that's not giving the midas the rash, the ammonia is giving him a rash. We'll need more info about the tank and your cleaning regimen to help you out, be detailed.


dehnger2u, please link to other pages versus quoting them and providing no credit or link back. Also that info is questionable at best.

[BigOrangeMidas]

Cleaning: I usually do 50% water change every 2 weeks. I do not have a lot of substrate so I usually vacuum the gravel to remove all the dirt, sometimes use a net to take out big debris. I add three drops of Prime water conditioner for every 4 gallon of fresh water. I usually thoroughly clean the filters (including tubings and other parts) once a month because they do clog up. I rarely change the media though. Maybe once every 5 months and I change them alternately, not all new media at once. For the Penguin Biowheel, I usually rinse the 2 blue filter media containing carbon every week as they do get a lot of poop on them.
For the addition of good bacteria in the tank, I have added the whole 1 fl oz Cycle into the tank about 4 months ago and have not added any since then. Should have I added more every week? like a weekly maintenance? Like you said, Glaive, my tank is not cycled correctly and it shows on the level of the ammonia present. Do I need to add more good bacteria to my tank? If so, what brand of products do you guys recommend? And also, how would I know that this is not bacterial infection? I have been trying to feed him today with a combination of his favorite Cichlid sticks and Dried Shrimp and he does show interest by swimming on the surface, but he just would not eat it. Should this be a major concern?
Also: with yesterday 75% water change, the ammonia levels today is 0.50 ppm.
Much appreciation guys.

[Glaive]

None of us can guarantee that it is not an infection, all we can do is work through the possibilities we see based on the information presented. My major concern right now is the ammonia present. It could cause all of the symptoms, however if it has been present long enough it could have weakened the immune system. I used Seachem stability recently as a precaution, but can not speak to its effectiveness as my tank was completely stable (cycle wise). You may give that a try, just follow the directions on the bottle.

How long has he been in his current tank?

[BigOrangeMidas]

He has been on his tank by himself for almost two years now.

I will try to find Seachem Stability in Petsmart close to my house and continue to monitor the Ammonia levels each day. Should I also check the nitrate and nitrite levels too?
Also: One of the reason with my main concern with possibility of a bacterial infection is that I have noticed this morning that there were long string of white slimy feces floating around the tank. One of them got stuck on my filter head and I went ahead and took a pic of it. I have had Oscars before who passed away of HITH and I have read that one symptom of HITH is slimy white feces. Is this correct? I have not noticed any holes or craters around my Midas' face like I have seen on my Oscars before.
But like Glaive said the ammonia level could have slowly weakened his immune system and he is vulnerable for any disease. I posted some pics of the stringy feces that I have noticed today. He still hasn't eaten anything yet. I apologize if posting this pic of feces is too much but I am more concerned about the condition of the fish.

Thanks again for your guys' expertise.

[Glaive]

I'm no expert on fecal matter so I will have to defer to another member on that one.
I would check both of the N's to get a base line. Continuing to check the nitrites until the ammonia is gone and then shifting to watching the nitrites and nitrates. I would pick up some aquarium salt or some rock salt(the latter at safe way on the cheap). This way when nitrites do show up you can counter them via salt. It ay be worth picking up some medicine, but I would wait for someone more versed in that area.

[dehnger2u]

Originally Posted by Glaive

dehnger2u, please link to other pages versus quoting them and providing no credit or link back. Also that info is questionable at best.

Sorry Alex. . As soon as I get my tail out from between my legs, I'll let you know.


Actually, I wasn't saying it was the issue, just that I had read a couple of times that you shouldn't raise the PH with corals and such with the Midas. My intention was to find out if anyone had input on the PH, and maybe whether it was actually known to cause something like hole-in-head, and whether they ought try to get the coral out at some point or not.

And sorry about the quote, that was definitely low brow, I appologize.

[Glaive]

Honestly I have never heard of hith being caused by anything but poor water and hexima. The later has not been proven that I know of.

[baytherman]

The white fecal matter you speak of is called Hexamita. Hex can cause other health issues such as HITH if the fish doesn't die first. It is highly contagious and can cause cancerous looking blotches that will turn black or even causing your fish to turn black as well. Your fish in advanced stages will suffer from delirium, swimming backwards, upside down or even just laying on its side on the bottom or top of the tank. There is only one way to cure this if you catch it in time and that is by feeding him food with metronidazole in it and with at least a 50% water change. 1 tablespoon of non-iodized salt per gallon will aid in helping to heal the outer parts of the fish while the protozoa is killed from the inside.
Mardel makes the food and if necessary you can also treat the water with Maracyn or maracyn 2 as well just to be safe. I would continue to do larger water changes everyday till your fish is better or until it is realized you can do no more for him. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

[BigOrangeMidas]

Thank you guys for the info on the measle-like rash that my fish had. He is looking so much better now, way better. I posted a pic on the bottom and rashes are all gone. Thanks for the timely replies on this issue, especially Glaive, I appreciate it a lot.

On the fecal matter, I have researched the Hexamita that you mention, batherman, and they do say at http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/hexamita.php that the slimy feces is the 1st sign of hexamita. My fish is doing a lot better right now but it has been almost 1 1/2 days since he ate. You also mention and also the site, to medicate with metronidazole both the water and the food. I have Ultra cure by gel Trek that contains Metronidazole 0.30%, Praziquantel 0.0057% and Flubenol 0.03% to add to the fish food. I also have Parasite Clear by Jungle Labs that contain Metronidazole ,Praziquantel, diflubenzuron and acriflavine that I can medicate the water. Should I do these 2 treatments at the same time or one at a time? Are there any known cases of fish being allergic to these medications? How often should I do water change and what percentage without doing more harm to the fish? There are still some white stringy slimy fecal matter in the tank that I have noticed today.
The first pic shows the improvement and loss of the rash while the second pic, I am trying to ask if those darker small spots on his head, on top of his lateral line are the black dots that batherman is talking about.
Thanks a lot again guys.Good day

[baytherman]

You can do both treatments if you wish, however it may take longer if your fish isn't eating anything. I have heard of people force feeding their fish but I don't recommend that at all. Hopefully by doing both treatments some of the med will reach his intestines. The white stringy stuff is actually intestine with some of the protozoa attached to it. The blotches didn't appear to be black to me in your pics. It could just be a pigmentation thing going on or possibly ammonia burns as well. These will heal or change in time after your internal problem is taken care of.

Your Midas is a beaut. Hopefully all goes well with your 5 year old friend, the Midas. Do keep us posted.

[Glaive]

Glad to hear it, definitely follow baytherman's advice and keep up the water quality.
I wish you the best of luck with your beast.