# what parasite is this??



## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

Hello guys, let me just give you an update in my 20 gallon tank: the blue ram was moved to my parents house about, bought 3 corydoras aneus about a month ago, and today I bought an apistogramma cacatuoides! 

Now on to the problem... I aclimmated this new guy (he is a male) really really slowly, like I do with all dwarf cichlids. When I released it he was great and exploring everything just fine, a couple hours after the release I fed some frozen brine shrimp and he ate them like he was already the boss of the tank; só far so good... Until just a while algo, when I sat there in front of the tank to enjoy it... Then I noticed a cardinal going crazy and rubbing on a piece of driftwood like he had ich, then a while after that onde of the cories did the same, and then the apisto did it aswell!! I cant spot any white spots on the aposto or any of the fish! Apart from this rubbing behaviour, the fish look very nice, awesome colours, eating really good... Is this some other kind of parasite that I dont know, or just ich in some part of its cycle that it isnt showing the white spots yet?

I should also mention that yesterday, because I knew an apisto was coming, I measured all the water parameters, and everything was fine, except for the pH... Was very high, about 8! So I performed a 40% water change, and on the new water I mixed an alder cone tea, to help lower the pH. Then it came down to 7.2 (I measured yhis morning).


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Before we see ich (or many issues) they are in the fishes gills where we can't see them.I would jump on treating right now and maybe get it over with quickly and without loss.Kordon rid ich plus or ap quick cure should take care of it in under a week if it is ich and you get it early.


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## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

What if Its not ich? Wouldn't it be a bad thing (especially for the new apisto) to put the wrong chemicals in the water? Is there any other way to treat ich without using chemicls?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

It would be worse IMO to let the disease get a hold in tank then to treat possibly unnecessarily.
Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
I believe this link mentions other treatments and info.
For me there is no other treatment.You either kill ich or it kills your fish,the longer you wait to attack it the harder it will be on your fish.
I have a breeding pair of Apisto C. and about 15 juvis just starting to show color and sex,what a great fish(and expensive in NY!)


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## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

Thanks for the info! You helped me lote of times man, I apreciate it! Oh yes... The apisto is just awesome! Really want it to thrive! What variety of foods do you feed them with?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

They get flake(3 kinds{1 is earthworms}),New life spectrum pellets ,frozen blood worms and freezedreid tubiflex.They are super picky and only really go for the frozen bloodworms,but I have read they aren't super nutritous so I offer the other foods 4 x a week.
I keep my juvis in 50/50 tap ro water and my breeding pair in pure remineralsied ro/di.
They are like $40 a pair up here!


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## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

Wow, thats really expensive, this little fellow cost me 7.50€ about 9 dollars in your money... Much cheaper! And he looks great! Next week i'll try to post some pics! I've heard new life spectrum has the best pellets but thats hard to fins here in Portugal, so I use hikari micro pellets as staple, and then frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms as treat (once a week each), do you think these foods would be accepted by the apisto? The brine shrimp he loved... 

Oh! And i still drop a hikari sinking wafer, and a hikari Algae wafer per day, for the cories and otos, (the Cardinals go for them aswell) maybe the apisto will also nibble on those


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Hikari is good quality food.It should be fine for the Apisto.


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## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

Hello again, the rubbing stopped so at the time I didn't treat it, the fish were superb!! Untill today... The tank was so great that I went to the fish store today and bought one other inhabitant , one of my beloved german rams! I aclimated, he is doing great, but then AGAIN, i saw my fish rubbing against stuff, and no white spots anywhere! Whats going on??


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

There are many different parasites.MOST can be killed with formulin and malachite green(Kordons rid ich+/AP quick cure).The real danger in any med is by the time most choose to use them the fish is already weakened greatly by the illness and the med is the "last straw".
Count how much you have invested in your fish.If the cost of a bottle of quick cure or rid ich isn't too much I would use one before you clearly know what is going on(meaning it has developed into full outbreak).
Read up on Potassium Permanganate also if you like.It could be dangerous if you don't completely understand how to use,but I'm leaning towards it for more and more all the time now!Even working on monthly maintennace dosing on some of my breeder tanks.
I'm not a salt guy,but you could read up on salt baths(not in the tank).
Raising tank temp is very questionable without proper diagnosis as some disease(columnaris for one) will thrive in an elevated temp that would kill ich.
To me the malachite green and formulin are the way to go!


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## FredericoAlves (Jan 5, 2013)

The temperature is around 27 celsius ! I'll check out the Medicines! The ram is a XL wild caught from Orinoco river... Just gorgeous, I dont want to lose him or any of the other fish! Btw the apisto has a lot more colors since today's addition! Before he wpuld only have these colours when the light wasn't intense! Nos he just glows!!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Wild caught species of anything are HUGELY succeptable to disease once introduced to a closed system(our tanks).Meds to de worm and "de parasite" should have been part of a 4-6 week QT!.Keep a super close eye on any wild caught fish,they just generally won't tolerate the crap we put all our fish through!


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