Sick Synodontis Nigriventris

[Corvis]

Help!

So I'm pretty sure fish is sick, and I'm pretty sure it's a bacteria but I'm looking for help/direction with this. Take a look at the picture below:

Large format: http://justjeff.ca/images/syno-n-sick.jpg

Tank: 46 gallon
Fish: Blood Parrot, Upside-down catfish, feather-fin catfish, bristle-nose pleco, 5 black skirt tetras, and four yellow unknown fish

History: I had poor water quality due to high nitrate levels. I first noticed my fish seemed lazy and one of them had a sore on his side. I started with aggressive water changes and I vacuumed the gravel thoroughly. I also replaced my two waterfall filters with a Fluval 306 canister filter.

All of the effort and changes seemed to be working. My fish perked up and the sore on the one fish healed up within a week. All the fish seem happy, except for my upside-down catfish. Prior to me noticing the water quality issue, I had noticed he had gotten "fat". His abdomen was quite big and bulging. He still has a bulging belly but I noticed a few weeks ago his eyes were cloudy white. Now, I've seen him change color before and I thought this was just part of that "behavior". His whole top side of his body will go a milky white, and his belly will stay dark; I read this is because they are upside down swimmers and they do this for camouflage. Now that I've gotten up close to take pictures I'm seeing what look like ulcers on his face/nose?

What should my next steps be? I feel like I should set him up in his own tank and then treat with anti-bacteria.

[Corvis]

Well I put him in his own tank and I've started treatment with both a anti-fungal and an anti-bacteria. The bottles say they can be used at the same time and to treat for 7 days.

I'll keep this thread updated so at least others will know how it turned out.

[Birger]

Great thanks, I am interested to hear how it recovers.

Birger

[Corvis]

Well, it's with much sadness to let you know that my upsidedown cat has died . It really sucks because he was one of my first fish when I started my tank almost two years ago.

I think I simply noticed the symptoms much too late and by the time I started treatment he must have already been on his way out. I put him in his own tank to medicate him, i'm not sure if the added stress hindered his recovery. Should i have left him in my main tank and just medicated that tank?

[Corvis]

So I randomly came across this disease called Hole in the Head disease and I think this is what my fish suffered from http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/ ... amita.aspx

I thought I'd update the thread so other forum users looking for help might find it.

[naturalart]

first: I am sorry to hear that you lost your fish. I have been there. But that said, based on the pic you provided, I am not 100% in agreement that your fish had hole in the head. But assuming that it did, HH (hole-in-the-head) disease has proven to be reversable in a variety of situations without medications. I thought I'd mention this case you decide to get more S. negriventris. And I hope you do, as these fish are some of the coolest Syno's I can think of. And I hope you get at least 3 the next time, as these fish are very social and do very well in a group.

I've been keep 4 for a number of years now and notice that sometimes when these fish are stressed, they display a whitish coloration on the upper/dorsal side of their body. My bottom fish shows this lack of color frequently depending on what is happening in their tank.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I didn't think it looked HIH. Looks bacterial (maybe viral) in a very advanced stage. That could be and most often is secondary or tertiary or quaternary to the primary cause (99% it is stress; could be a parasite, etc.).