Sick Blood Parrot Cichlid -- 03/02/09 Help! I have a large Blood Red Parrot Cichlid in a 55 gal tank with 4 other mixed cichlids, 2 Plecos and one Synodontis Catfish. All of my other fish are fine, but the Parrot has awful, gelatinous bubbles all over her face and her scales are lifting. This started with some black discoloration around her mouth and head several weeks ago. A few weeks ago it started getting worse with the scales lifting. I consulted with people at my local fish stores and they all thought it sounded bacterial or fungal even though they hadn't seen anything like it and suggested trying different medications. I tried treating with Kanaplex. Then when that didn't work, I tried Maracyn two and Maroxy. Those didn't work either and it's gotten progressively worse. I am now on my fourth and last dose of trying Erythromycin. The water quality is good and I have been doing water changes between treatments and as specified with each treatment. Still she is declining. I don't know when she last ate. She is still upright and defends her "cave" in an ornament, not allowing any fish in except the catfish or Plecos. She doesn't come out. She used to hide in there a lot, but would come out to eat and swim around. My other cichlids did pick on her some and she's missing scales on her sides. I thought that might be what started some sort of infection, but really have no clue. I've never seen anything like this. I'm attaching a photo. Sorry about the quality, but my digital camera isn't the greatest and I didn't want to stress the fish out by trying to get her out of her ornament. Can you advise, please? Thanks, Robin < Thanks for the photos. Your fish really has a very nasty bacterial infection. I would recommend a hospital tank with clean warm water around 82 F. Treat with a double dose of Nitrofuranace. Do a 50% water change and next day and then repeat for another day. Look for improvement on the third day to see if the antibiotics are having any effect. If it looks like things are getting better then continue treating as per the dosage on the package. If not then write back and ask for Chuck>

To Chuck - Re: Blood Red Cichlid Parrot sick Finding Nitrofuranace to treat Sick Parrot Cichlid 3/3/2009 Thanks for the quick response Chuck. So far I haven't been able to find Nitrofuranace at my local stores. I'm going to check more today. I was wondering if I could treat with a product call Furan2 ? < That is just a different form but should work as well.> It has a little bit different active ingredient, but the closest I could find in stock so far. I'm going to have them order what you suggested, but was wondering if I should try this while I'm waiting for that to come in. Unfortunately, I have to work today, but as soon as I get back I'm going to move her and start treatment. Robin < Start with the Furan -2 as per my recommendation.-Chuck>

Re: To Chuck - Re: Blood Red Cichlid Parrot sick- Treating Red Parrot Cichlid  03/07/09 Hi again Chuck, So far I've treated with Furan-2 for 2 double doses and one single dose per your instructions. Tonight I'm planning on a 25% water change and another single dose. The "bubbles" look like they may have gone down a little bit, but she now has pimple like growths in a few places on her body. I don't know if this is a sign of getting better or worse. She does come out and swim around some, but I figure that could just be that there's no one to pick on her now. I'm sending two pictures. Should I continue treatment as per label? Thanks a bunch! Robin < Continue as per the label and continue with the water changes. This takes time so give it a few days to play out.-Chuck>

Parrot Fish, hlth.    9/28/08 Hello, <Hello,> I have had a parrot fish for about a year now, in a 55 gallon tank with a Tiger Oscar, Jack Dempsey, another parrot, a Firemouth and Green Terror. We have a Dracula Pleco as well. <Not enough space for all these fish; they will fight, likely also have problems maintaining low nitrate concentration for long term success. If you have more than 20 mg/l nitrate in this tank, you're running a real risk of a Hexamita outbreak.> About 7 days ago, his face on one side started to swell and look puss-filled, then white bumps formed like pimples. (See pics). <Bacterial infection, like Finrot and/or Columnaris. Will need to be treated appropriately. Do understand that these infections are almost always related to environmental issues, so do review water chemistry and quality. Treatment without correcting the environmental issues that caused the disease in the first place won't deliver long-term results for obvious reasons.> We went to the aquarium shop and they said he might have bumped into something and it got infected, so they gave us KanaPlex antibiotics. We have dosed the tank for 4 days and have not seen much improvement. He is acting normal, but didn't eat for a few days. He's eating again now. <Would recommend Maracyn first, and if no improvement after one full course, switch to Maracyn 2.> Thanks for any help. We check our water regularly, vacuum every 2 weeks, change our filters every 4-6 weeks and feed pellets twice a day. <Too many fish with too different requirements in terms of water chemistry... this aquarium has the potential to go wrong in lots of ways. Do research the needs of each species, and then concentrate on providing those conditions for a subset of the fish you have, and get rid of the others. Cheers, Neale.>