L239 resting close to the surface and breathing fast...

[Kostas]

Hi!
A day before i bought my Baryancistrus,i bought 4 L239 right from the import so that i could have the fish in a bucket and observe them very well to choose the best ones and know the sexes to get 1 male and 3 females or 2 males and 2 females...The fish were very shocked from the import and didnt moved much for a day...But from then on,3 of 4 have started moving arround and about,especially when i feed...1-2 of them even eat i think...Their bellies are full and so i am not very worried about the eating of most of them...However,the 4th one has been hiding under the spraybar from the night he got in the tank...The spraybar is just 4cm under the water surface...I have seen it go lower than the spraybar although not on the bottom but today,he was upper than the spraybar(dorsal fin under spraybar,head upper instead that head under sprabar and everything else lower...) and was laying just a cm or two under the surface breathing fast...All morning was like that but latter, after opening the hood and feeding,he lowered and went with head under spraybar again and many hours latter,he was still like that and not upper...Also he breathed slower but still fast...
What do you think he has?What i can do to make sure he keeps on top of it and heals soon?I currently treat with Melafix and Pimafix for the Baryancistrus and today seeing him like that made me happy i have been doing that as if its an internal bacterial infection it must be stopped a bit and so easier to treat,right?
I have added a 900lph powerhead for some movement and to increase the aeration along with the two airstones that always work in this tank...

Thank you very much in advance

[Plecofanatic1989]

Hello Kostas,
If I remember correctly, Melafix and Pimafix lower the amount of dissolved oxygen available for the fish to use even with a bubble stone or two in the aquarium. Your best bet is to do a water change (largest possible... 33-50%??) and halt further use of those products until you see that their use is completely necessary. Although Melafix is used for bacterial infections, it does very little for any internal bacterial infections. I have had this happen to me so I know how you must feel.
Best of luck,
Josh

[drpleco]

I've found that a double/triple dose of melafix was effective at treating an internal infection in bosemani rainbowfish. That concentration did a number on the oxygen levels, however, and might not be a good idea for plecos. I think for new fish, clean water is better than melafix for fin healing and nothing beats blackworms to get them eating. You might want to try prazipro if you're convinced of an internal parasite, but otherwise clean, well-aerated water and live food are probably all you need.

It's always scary with freshly imported fish...good luck!!!