# Sick archer fish



## ivan_ (Nov 2, 2011)

I just made an account in the hopes that someone could help me diagnose what is ailing my archer fish.

picture: i.imgur.com/Ghcy0.jpg
picture of a healthy archer: i.imgur.com/RYaAa.jpg

Tank size: ~30 gal
Ammonia: 0
NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 0
PH/GH/KH: 8.0/dont know
Cycled,yes or no: yes
Number of fish: 4
Acclimation process: old tank
Physical signs of illness(IE spots,shimmer,ECT):
How often between fish additions: fish have lived there for a while.
Waterchange schedule: infrequent
Tank temp: 75

The tank has had the same 4 archer fish with no new additions for about 6 months. One archer just got sick with the first symptoms yesterday, first its eyes became cloudy and it wasn't eating.

I think its a parasite and/or bacterial infection. How should I treat it?


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## saltwaterpurls (Oct 20, 2011)

Maybe because I just had camallanus worms, I say parasite. Camallanus worms are small thin red thread-like nematodes hanging out of the fishes vent. Yours look white and fat so I am thinking not. 


They could have been in your fish for a while with the only symptoms being loss of appetite (spitting food back out) and lethargy. they could have caused your fishes gut to swell masking loss of weight. They are likely in your other fish too. If this is camallanus then there is only one cure - levamisole HCl. Otherwise I would start on the internal anti-parasite medicine like fenbendazole for nematodes,or Piperazine citrate for cestodes. Because they are internal the medicine has to be ingested (except levamisole) by mixing with food (like bloodworms).


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## ivan_ (Nov 2, 2011)

Thanks for your reply. I had considered that worm, but looking at pictures of it made me think this was something else. I thought it could be an infected intestinal blockage caused by eating a pebble, but was told by another source that it was unlikely. The red color on the belly was probably a sign of septicemia, a widespread bacterial infection. The fish was acting normal five hours ago aside from a somewhat faster breathing pattern. Three hours ago I saw it lying in a vertical orientation, face down, in a corner of the tank. It was placed in a large tupperware container where it lay upside down but continued breathing. An injected dose of clindamycin antibiotic was far too late to have any beneficial effect. The fish died about two hours ago as its breathing gradually slowed to a stop. The other archer fish have showed no symptoms, but I suspect that this was primarily a bacterial infection, and at the first sign of symptoms in the other fish, I will try to treat them for bacterial infection.

edit: the worm-like things hanging from the fish's vent appeared to be decaying skin. That said, if anyone has seen anything like this, please share.


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## saltwaterpurls (Oct 20, 2011)

A slow decline would suggest worms - a fast one suggests an infection - maybe I shouldn't read things on the internets but I was reading about fish eating decaying/not fresh food - scarey stuff. It's hard to get good photos so I trust your eyes more than the photo. Sorry about your loss.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think the issues you listed here probably would be non-existent with frequent and regular water changes.


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