BGK acting sick

[dadzilla50]

My ghost is acting a little sick. Not moving around a lot. Not seeming very hungry (uncommon with him). Stays in his tube an awful lot. We've been out of town for 8-10 days and he's been on less feed since we left. He apparently has been acting like this for 2-3 days. No other fish in the tank is acting abnormally (angels, anableps, algae eater). Water tests fine- pH-7.0; Ammonia and nitrites almost 0. Hardness is around 10 and hasn't changed. I added a little stress coat to the water. No external signs of infection other than he's opening his mouth a little more than normal. Lying very quietly in his tube most of the day (unusual for him). I'll watch him tonight to see if he gets more active.

Has anyone else seen this with your Ghost? No sign of ich. No or very little algae in water. Anybody have any ideas or should I just reduce feed, keep water clean and wait it out? We've had him since January. He's about 9" long and normally acts very hardy. We'd hate to lose him.

thanks,

dadzilla

[FMZ]

Have you checked the NitrAtes recently? They dont like too much NitrAtes. Also, try feeding him live blackworms if you can.

[bryce2003]

You stated that there is next to no algae in the tank. Do you use algae inhibitors? If so this may be a cause as their natural habitat is riddled with it and seems to be even more necessary during the breeding process. You don't need to have your tank riddled with it but some seems to be needed.
Cheers,
Bryce.

[dadzilla50]

Bryce/FMZ: No I don't use algae inhibitors. The algae eater seems to keep the tank very clean of algae. I have to give him algae wafers to supplement his diet.

I will check nitrates today. He's still not interested in eating and is very listless. None of the other fish are acting odd at all. I'll look at getting some blackworms from our lfs although bloodworms have been his favorite (eats them very greedily) for the last 5 months.

I thought he had a little whitish/gray tint around his mouth but it's very minor and has not increased in size. I just may have not noticed it when he was well.

thanks for your help,

dadzilla

[FMZ]

I hope he's not suffering from a mouth fungus. I would treat him with some medicine for mouth fungus. Don't take my word for it though, wait for other people's opinion.

[dadzilla50]

Our lfs agrees with you that he is probably suffering from mouth fungus or cotton mouth disease. We started treating him yesterday with combination melafix and pimafix. The cotton around the edge of his mouth is more distinct now and he's not eating but he's moving around more. The melafix/pimafix regimen is dosing 7 straight days. Hopefully it will help him.

thanks for your help.

[FMZ]

Keep us updated on how your BGK is doing. I hope he shows positive improvement and starts eating