Problem with my breeding pair

[belvius]

Hello, I am having some problems with the my male Red Valentine. The pair was taking care of about 100 fry but after 10 days I was losing around 10 fry a day and I had no idea why. I tried doing a pp bath on them but no luck. After all the fry are removed I noticed that there are two little white dots on the male's forehead. A day later all I see is the male just laying at the bottom. Once in a while it will swim up and errantically then fall back into the same position. I do 50% daily WC and I store 70RO/30tap in a 35 gal holding tank before doing WC. Can anyone help me out with what's going on with him?

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[RogueDiscus]

Hi Jeff,
Sorry you're having trouble. I don't know what's going on, but I've reached out to a couple folks. Hopefully you'll get some feedback soon.

[LizStreithorst]

I didn't mean to ignore you but like Steve I am clueless. It's a super nice pair. If anyone can figure out what's wrong it's a few folks here. How is he today?

[belvius]

I have been doing 100% WC everyday and dosing MetroPlex. This is day 3 and he seems to be using both fins again and swimming a little bit. He is starting to get all these white dots on the body, I am not sure if it is Ich?

[jeep]

What's your temp? It's probably not ich if you're above 84. Other than that, I'm really not sure. If they are breathing good, I would ease the temp up to 90 and add 3-5 TBS salt per 10g. I'll also do some asking around...

[danotaylor]

I'm no expert by any means but I think I read a comment by Al recently that "pimples" can become a more serious deeper infection. I am a critical care RN and these are my nursing judgment thoughts. Because of the location of the 2 open sores on the forehead could it be progressing to hole in the head? The area surrounding the poc-mark on the left of the pic (right side of forehead) looks reddened and inflamed. Because of the proximity to the nostrils, and the nasal passge's proximity to the brain, any infection/swelling in that area could progress quickly to show neurological symptoms. I have never had/treated HITH before so hopefully if my hypothesis is thought to be reasonable a treatment option will he forthcoming quickly.
All the best mate

[danotaylor]

The red area is the poc-mark I mentioned and the black line indicates the area of redness and inflammation I am concerned for. These 2 signs in a human are strong indicators for bacterial infection.
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[belvius]

My temp is currently at 86. Is it ok to add aquarium salt on top of the metro? He is beginning to swim around and float at the top rather just laying at the bottom

Unfortunately the left poc mark has indeed turned into a hole but the one of the right seems to be slowly disappearing

Here is a pic of the white marks on the male:
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[danotaylor]

Yes on the salt question. I don't think metro is the med of choice for HITH though. If it is bacterial you shouldn't raise the temp anymore. High temps are for parasitic infestations. I hope Al or another experienced keeper jumps in here soon...

[warblad79]

Seems to be bacterial so keep the temp between 82-84...you can combine these meds for better results Kanamycin + Furan 2 + metro.

[LizStreithorst]

Warbald is correct but from what Al said about this condition it is something very difficult to cure

[belvius]

What condition will that be? I initially thought it was HITH but I guess it is more serious than that? I checked on him this morning and he is swimming in the middle using both fins

[LizStreithorst]

It sounds like the metro is working. Does he still have little spots all over his body?

[belvius]

Yes he does have those little spots. Just came home and the pair both came up to the tank looking for food. Fed a tiny piece of beef heart and they are both eating.

Should I still dose metro for another couple days or am I ok with doing 100%WC with just adding salt?

[LizStreithorst]

I would keep with the Metro. I'm not sure if the other antibiotics would be necessary or not. I think that Al would advise you to add at least the Kanamycin but I've never had those symptoms in my fish so I can't say for sure.