Sick Frontosa?

[sumthingsfishy]

I have a 135 gal with 12 Frontosa. This tank's been running for for about 3 months now. Water has been very stable all along. 2 1/2 days ago, my large male stopped eating and began labored breathing (gills opening wide). No other noticeable changes. This morning I have a second medium size Front exhibiting the same symptoms. I've done a 25% water change, filtration all good, air source good, complete water test (before water change) good.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Ron

[cichlidgirl1]

Have you started using any new additives ? New foods or opened a new bag of food ? Any chance something could have spilled into the tank ? Any new fish lately ? New decorations ? Did the second fish start acting poorly after the 25 percent water change ? Could the water be bad (city water can often get chlorine/chloramine spikes from pipe maintenance. )

[sumthingsfishy]

I have added Fronts to the tank gradually over the past 3 months. Last new ones were 2 to 3 weeks ago. No new food. No chance of spillage into tank. 2nd fish was "sick" this morning, did the water change this afternoon. I have checked the city water several times over the last year, never found a problem. No new objects in the tank.
I did notice last night that the tank smelled kinda like what an older sponge filter smells like. All 490 gals/hr filtration running well though.
My first thought the other night was my dominant male ate something too big to swallow (frozen krill). I typically let a few larger pieces go for the larger Fronts, but not since he stopped eating.

[cichlidgirl1]

Have you counted all the fish in the tank including any clean up fish or non fronts ? Could one of them have died and its fouling the tank ?

If your water is good then i would do a 50 percent water change and see if there are any improvements.

What are the test readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate ?

[sumthingsfishy]

No dead fish.
Ammonia=0
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=20
A larger water change, I could try that tomorrow.

[cichlidgirl1]

Those readings look ok. Some people like a lower nitrate reading but that still should not cause those symtoms. I would do a bigger water change in the morning. I would also look closely at the fish breathing hard and check to see if both sides of gills are moving. One sign of gill flukes is labored breathing , usually one side of gills only, the other side will stay closed. Other than that i dont have much else i can tell you. You can also look for stress, if the fish breathing hard are being picked on by a aggressive tankmate that can cause them to get stressed and go off of food , breath hard too. Goodluck. Maybe someone else has some ideas....

[sumthingsfishy]

I have been working on reducing my nitrates. They are a little better than they used to be, but I just can't seem to get any lower. Any suggestions?
I didn't know about gill flukes. Having read several articles now, it does fit the bill, except they are not at the top gasping. It does appear their gills or the mucus are protruding from the backside a little. Unless you have any other suggestions, I will begin a treatment for flukes tonight, along with the 50% water change.
It is likely I introduced an infected fish, I just don't understand why my male showed the first signs. He's been in the tank the longest. I believe the 2nd Front with symptoms is the last one added, about 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Thanks for your help.

[cichlidgirl1]

If your fish are doing all the signs of gill flukes except gasping at the top then that might be a good idea. The one sided gill function is a major indicator, was that one of the signs on your fish ? One side will often be working hard and the other side will be closed flat and not expanding or moving any water. I believe you can often see a white flat piece of worm protruding out the back side of the gills of infected fish. It might resemble a little tear of the gills and flutter sort of like a short flag behind or in the gills. Not sure if the fluke is found in the over worked or closed side...I have never had a case of the flukes but i think its possiable that when the infection first appears it is extremely hard to detect and shows up later with the symtoms as the flukes spread and grow etc...That might explain why the older fish has it now. Did you get the fish from the same source ? Maybe they have a contaminated tank or source they are getting their fronts from.

Nitrates can only be lowered by doing bigger waterchanges more often. If you want to keep them lower then thats what you will have to do. Increase the amount of water you change each time and do it more often, that should lower it quickly and keep it lower.

[sumthingsfishy]

It is both gills. There is a noticeable "flap" at the rear of both gills on the large male, and the beginnings of a flap on the other fish. Something like a short flag.
I am treating the tank with Praziquanpel? and formalin mix tonight. We'll see how it goes.
The two infected are from different sources. The way I understand it, flukes spread very well. I don't know yet what the gestation period is though.

[cichlidgirl1]

Well, good luck and be careful using strong meds. Dont forget to take into consideration your substrate and any water evaporation you might have when calculating the dosages.

[sumthingsfishy]

Thanks for your help. I'll let you know how it goes.

[pkut]

How did you make out with your Frontosas that were breathing heavily? I hope that you were able to get them back to normal. Please let us know.

[Razzo]

Ditto, how'd you make out? Flukes can be a booger to get rid of. Jungle Tank Buddies Parasite Clear will do the job (praziquantel being one of the the main ingredients).
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