# Sick/injured rainbowfish



## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

One of my rainbowfish appears to have an illness or injury in his gills. It looks like a pink, inflamed bump, under the gill but peaking out of it. It has gotten worse over the last couple of days. At first I thought it was a minor injury. He has one large and two very small lumps under one gill, and a very small lump under the other. 

The fish appears to be gasping just a bit, but is not at the surface. I don't think he is eating much, and he is staying pretty still. No rubbing against things or whatever. 

Any thoughts on what this could be? 

All other fish appear fine. Nitrites and ammonia are zero, nitrates a bit high (estimated 35-40 ppm, water change tomorrow!)


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

There's a useful article here.. maybe it will give you some clues. 
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article25.html


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

I have been keeping an eye on my poor fishy, and have yet to find good info on what is wrong with him. I got some meds, but upon further research think it was bad advice from my LFS. 

His gills are severely swollen, with the pink innards pooping out, much more on one side. I believe this is a spreadable infection, as one of my dwarf neons is nose up at the top of my tank, and a cory-cat is also showing sighns of breathing problems, and I think his (her) gills are also a touch swollen (but nothing like the rainbow). 

I hope tos et up a hospital tonight and get some meds, though the problem is I am not sure what to get. I believe it is some sort of infectious disease, so I want to get the infected fish out as fast as I can. 

Any thoughts on what could cause this, and how to treat it, would be greatly appreciated! none of the common fish diseases appear to present with such swollen gills.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

maybe try adding a little aquarium salt, it might help a bit.

But the main thing is figuring out what it is and how to treat it, wish I could help in that area.

One thing is I recommend not buying any new fish until the tank is symptom free for quite a while. Could be a waste of money and just bad for the fish.


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

That tank is fully stocked. So no worries on new fish. With a planted tank. I prefer not to add salt. I would hospitalize the sick fish, but I think it has spread and I need to treat the whole tank. I got some triple sulfa, for bacterial infections. Cross my fingers!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Have you checked into gill flukes ? It's maybe not a typical presentation, but it's one of the few things I can think of that might be a culprit, and they can spread. Usually fish flash, but usual does not mean always.

Good article here on flukes and treatment. 
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/parasites-flukes


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

Fishfur said:


> Have you checked into gill flukes ? It's maybe not a typical presentation, but it's one of the few things I can think of that might be a culprit, and they can spread. Usually fish flash, but usual does not mean always.
> 
> Good article here on flukes and treatment.
> http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/parasites-flukes


Thanks for the link.

I have considered it, but none of the affected fish appear to flash at all, and I can't see any signs of them even in the very sick rainbow, who's gill is hugely swollen and open. I am amazed he has survived this long! Every day I expect a little tragedy. He was my favorite rainbow to : (

I hope the triple sulfa will help. Hard to tell yet, only dosed 2 days. The rainbow looked a little better for a while today (moved away from his favorite spot near the top, but the spray bar), but soon enough was back. He looks swollen/bloated to, and now I see some little white spots on his side. I think it is possible the stress of illness is now causing secondary problems.

Keeping my fingers crossed! it might have been better off if I separated him and put him in with salt, though I wanted to treat the whole tank.


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

Well I think I can rule out flukes. the boesemani died today : ( My wife happily noticed quickly and removed him. Then when I got home a short time later I noticed a cory on the bottom, face up. He was dead to. I checked him out, and no sign of gill flukes. His gill was very swollen on one side, and his eye on that side only was popping out. Whatever it is, it is causing internal swelling. 

I am going to continue triple sulfa treatment and hope for the best. There is one more fish i am worried about, it is a female dwarf neon rainbow who seems to also be sick. I am considering euthanizing her to keep things from spreading, and avoiding unnoticed corpse. But on the other hand, maybe the treatment will help and she will pull through! Maybe I can get my quarantine/hospital set up in the next day or two and keep medicating and add salt. 

If only we could just know hat was wrong and how to treat it! But I doubt I can get a fish bacterial culture done. : 

RIP Lancer (or was it Prancer?)


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