Madtom ill, labored breathing

[Dalek Tzet]

There is something wrong with one of my tadpole madtoms.

1. Water parameters
a) Temperature range. 70-72
b) pH. 7.8
c) GH.unknown
d) KH unknown
e) Ammonia 0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite > 25,
f) Water change frequency; once a week 50/75%

2. Tank set up
a) Size. 75 gallon
b) Substrate. sand
c) Filtration. Eheim 2215
d) Furnishings. terra-cotta pots, malasian driftwood, black river rocks, anarchis amazon sword crypt and some kind of aquatic grass
e) Other tank mates. 1 P. disjunctivus, 4 ottos, 3 P. Pictus, 5 platy, 1 dojo loach, 4 peppered cory
f) How long has it been set-up?
almost ten months

3. Symptoms / Problem description

It is lying on it's side towards the back on the tank. It's breathing heavily. It's belly is very full/round and there is something white coming from it's anus, which seems raised and very pink.

All other fish seem fine, including the other madtom. Only change to tank is addition of top fin HOB 40, which has added some current. I've had the madtom about a month.

I have no clue what this is or what could cause it?

[Birger]

What have you been feeding this tank?

What are the lengths of the madtoms(juvi or adult)?

Birger

[Dalek Tzet]

I've been feeding frozen(then thawed) bloodworm, glass worms/mosquito larvae, and brine shrimp w/spirulina. and fresh slices of zucchini. Ran out of wafers and the new packs haven't shown up yet so it's been just the frozen stuff plus veggie.

The madtom in question is full sized at about 3" and fairly thick, the other one's about the same length but thinner. the thick one is having trouble.

[ginagv]

Hi..

I am in no way an expert, there are many on this forum who are and can advise you better, but, whenever I have read of something white coming out of the anus, the culprit has always been some sort of parasite.

sorry I can't be of more help... I hope your fish gets better.

Gina

[Birger]

Sorry I got called away...
As mentioned above it does sound to me as a parasite,the stress of a recent move(was it wild caught)and higher temperatures might be making it hard to cope for this fish. Putting a piece of this"something white" under a microsope may help if you have one.

Can you isolate it?
If it is already laboring this much you may lose it regardless.
I am not saying give up though...
The best would be to do a forum search, you will find info quite easily on dealing with parasites, punch in parasite or worms or even levimasole.

Birger

[Dalek Tzet]

Well, it's still alive, but swims wobbly if at all.

I might be able to isolate it. I'll do a search on parasites and see what comes up. It's anus doesn't have any more of that white stuff which looked like clear wispy poop. it's anus still looks swollen though.

[Dalek Tzet]

I've got it by itself in an empty 20L with a cave, trying to find a spare filter or air stone.

Should I worry about my other fish? Should I medicate the whole tank? If so should I just put him back in with the others?

It's still breathing heavily, and cant seem to swim right, it's more like flailing than swimming. It's really round, I mean like a ping pong ball with a tail. The anus is really red now, and protrusive. I feel awful, especially since I can't even try find something to medicate it with until the stores open in another three hours.

There was no lead up to this, and that worries me. I'm going to e-mail Brian of BTDarters who sold it to me and see if he's having any problems with his remaining stock or if he has any recommendations.

In the meantime, is there anything I can do?

[knifegill]

Prazi-pro is a safe way to treat many parasites. I've dewormed many new acquisitions with it successfully. And it won't affect biological filtration or harm vertebrates.