rachy

hiya, my male cockatoo is sick been looking on the net for what it could b, and found this place so thought id ask here!

when i got up this morning, he was just kinda sat on the bottom of the tank, hes hardly moving, n when he does try to swim it kinda looks like he cant manage hes really pale aswell. a couple of days ago he had this strange looking thing hanging from him, have put pic on, not the clearest photo but the cam aint that good the other fish in the tank are fine, theres a few neons + xray tetras, + a female cockatoo. any ideas what it could be?

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Lucy

Hi rachy welcome to Fish Lore

I'm sorry your fish is feeling ill.
It would help the members if you would edit your aquarium info....found at the top left under My Settings.

What size tank?
Is the tank cycled?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
What's the temp?
Any new additions lately?

Sorry for all the questions, the answers will help the members help you.

Good luck, I hope he feels better soon.

cerianthus

Is that a white thing hanging from him?

rachy

the tank is 20gallon
yep its cycled
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
temp 26

no really new additions, i put 2 peppered corys in a couple of weeks ago. hope i gave u all the info u need there cheers!

rachy

yeh it was, kinda like 2 white blobs :S dunno how else 2 describe it lol!! thats gone now, but the day that was there, it started off as 1 blob, then a couple of hours later it was 2 with a kinda wierd white stringy thing

Lucy

Thanks for the info
It sounds like internal parasites or possible constipation.

rachy

thanks what can i do to fix it?

Lucy

If you think it might be constipation...is he bloated? You can feed bits of frozen thawed shelled pea to get things moving.

If the poo is white and stringy it would be a good idea to put your fish into QT and treat him with a medicated food like Jungle Anti-Parasite medicated food.
It's hard to get them to eat it so you can try Parasite clear.

rachy

i dont think he looks bloated, but i cant see him very well where hes sitting now! ill try that, cheers.
and apart from the day i took that pic, ive never seen him with white poo,if the pea dosent help im, then ill try the anti parasite stuff. can the other fish catch it if it is parasites?? just asking because i was watching the tank a few mins ago, and a couple of times the female kinda flicked herself off a rock, like she was scratching maybe?? never seen her do it before

cerianthus

Is the coloration of him much darker now or is it pretty much same as first pic?

Lucy

Yes, parasites can be contagious. Ummm....pretty sure flicking is a symptom, not 100% positive though.

rachy

id say his whole body is much paler 2day, not darker, can hardly even see the dark stripe he usually has


is it worth treating the whole tank then do u think?

cerianthus

If you dont know what the fish maybe suffering from, how would you determine possible right med? I know the situation you are in. You want to do something to help fish but by dosing with wrong med can make the situation worse and/or even kill fish.
btw, where do you keep your pH? How long did you have the fish at that pH? Was there anytime that fish were exposed to high levels of NH3/NO2/NO3?

rachy

the pH is 7.3, i know thats a bit higher than the cockatoos like it, but didnt know that at 1st lol!! hes been in there probs 6 weeks ish, a while anyway lol!1 n no, the fish havent been exposed 2 any high levels as far as i know:S

Lucy

Stringy white poo, lying around, possible flicking, I just know what I would do.
Of course, I can't speak for everyone else.

rachy, cerianthus is very knowledgable about fish, so don't discount his suggestions.

cerianthus

7.3 is not that bad although I always kept all SA Dwarfs slightly lower than 7.0. Dont change it now though! Just make sure it does go any higher.

Is he still eating? If still eating, will just monitor. I dont remember Apisto going lighter in color due to sickness. If memory serves, all Apisto went darker when in discomfort.

I cant seemed to recollect the so called Blobs from my experiences. At first thought of internal parasites (worms) releasing eggs but come to think of it, worm's eggs are not that big (some are 50-60 micron) thus barely, if at all, visible to naked eyes. Perhaps clusters of eggs? such as Oxyurida eggs (100 micron)with long filaments

I dont know how many and/or which one is twitching or flickering but if one or two are showing such symptoms, how about dipping the affected fish in container with tank water and proper amt of any med that has Formaldehyde and Malachite Green (Aquarium Product's Quick Cure?). This is to attempt to free of possible EXTERNAL Parasites without exposing rest of the unaffected fish (trying to be cautious not to expose the healthy fish to med in case it is not external parasites).

In case of internal parasites (worms), try Parasitic Medicated Foods if it/they are eating. If not eating, go to Threads related to Camallanus Worm (should see worms protruding from anus and also see bloating).

Most, if not all, of Anti-parasitic Med (including Parasite Clear) dont work on Internal Parasites thus why use it knowing that it doesnt work..

White stringy poos can be related to EMPTY STOAMCH (that is fish has not eaten for while).

Hope it is not something serious!

rachy

thanks for your help both of ya!!ill go get some of that medicated food tomorrow,n hope that fixes it ill let ya know!

rachy

btw dont know if this is important or not, but that pic with the white blobby things was last week, hes been fine between then n now, its only today hes been so poorly

rachy

the fish died 2day gutted, he was cool!! cheers for your help tho

cerianthus

Sorry to hear. I did not expect it to go so fast.
Anyway, how about if you try to keep them in preferred water next time.
If want to acclimate them to higher pH do so gradually. Couple of hours of is not long enough imo. I would give them what they need and over long period, wouild gradually alter the condition, that is if want to change/alter the water conditions.
Again, sorry I couldnt be much help! Hope you have better luck next time and/or with rest of fish!

rachy

cheers. n yeh next time i will try n make sure everything is just right for any new fish that i wanna get

agabr123

i'm sorry you lost him