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Re: Fish Medications
>I'd like to transfer a few plants from my community tank to a new
>tank we're setting up for discus.
>
>However, in the past few weeks, I've had a rash of serious problems
>erupt in my community tank.
[snip]
>Alysoun
>McLaughlin
I'm wondering if your fish might have fish tuberculosis (mycobacteriosis).
I just had a bunch of rainbowfish (M. pierucciae, which has the reputation
of being susceptible to this disease) and some tetras die. The symptoms I
saw were skin ulcers on some, popeye on others, and swollen body and
pertruding scales on some others. The pathogen might do better at lower pH.
It isn't curable, apparently :(.
There is a page on fish TB at http://hammock.ifas.ufl.edu/txt/fairs/vm055.
Many people on the rainbowfish list suggested using bleach to kill the
remaining fish and plants, and finally rubbing down the aquarium glass with
alcohool and starting over with a new substrate.
I'm not an expert on the disease, but it seems to me that, if the
pathogen's reservoir is other fishes, then removing the remaining fish,
destroying them, and then waiting a while might rid the tank. Or not.
Another person speculated that the bacterium is present always in
aquariums, but only threatens fish when an opportunity arises.
Maybe a fish with the full-blown illness is a bacteria factory. I
understand that leaving dead fish in the tank is a great way to infect the
remaining fish.
Stephen
--
Stephen Boulet, Grayslake, IL, USA
spboulet at enteract dot com