Distressed bristlenose

Azmeaiel · Post by **Azmeaiel** » 08 Jun 2006, 13:19

Hi, I noticed one of my female bristlenose has an unusual mouth problem

ph 6.5
temp 24c
ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate 25

feed, hikari algae wafers.
tankmates, 1 male, pair of Killifish
10 gal heavily planted tank with driftwood and caves

have been adding small amounts of blackwater extract for the killies. she is gravid, eating and active. only other sign of distress is more rapid than normal gill movement and shaking her head.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 08 Jun 2006, 14:14

Could she have been sucking onto the heater?

--
Mats

Azmeaiel · Post by **Azmeaiel** » 08 Jun 2006, 15:29

I have never seen these ones near the heater. It is in an exposed part of the tank, away from the glass so as they dont use it for shelter, also a very compact design. The red marks have slowly spread out from a central internal dot, only over a few days. This was my first thought But I dont see any dead skin over the markings.

very hard to diagnose something like this. I am guessing the only reason it can be seen at all is because the fish is albino rather than brown/regular coloured

over the last 3 weeks I have been gradually changing the water from high PH to low (approx 7.2- 6.5) this is the only real change they have had in a long time. only other incident was a heat spike (28c) several weeks ago, after which the heater was changed to a new one. Water changes have been a regular weekly 25%.

Azmeaiel · Post by **Azmeaiel** » 15 Jun 2006, 08:03

whatever the disease, it got worse over the week untill both lips were very red and bloodshot. the fish was removed to an isolation tank and treated with tetracyclene and water changes every day. (it was given these before medicating for a few days but this did no good). the problem cleared up after about 4 days of this treatment.