Cat ?..NO,...Fish ? You got it

Got a fish question and I hope someone can help. Ok I have a African Chiclid. Fish is about 3-4 years old(not sure on that) and he has been doing very well up until the last week or so.

He has what appears to be big blisters on his side and his abdomen is very swollen. He is mostly staying on the bottom of the tank and not swimming much. The blister looking bubbles have a dark color to them like gray to black in color but they are translucent.

Has anyone got an idea as to what in the world colud be wrong with my fish? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Goodness that doesn't sound too good, does it?

He might just be old - I don't know much about cichlids but I would think three or four years is quite a long time to live.

I would try and phone a specialist tropical fish store or breeder to get some advice. I'm not sure how much help a vet would be in this situation.

What about the other fish in your tank? I would suggest that you definitely quarantine this fish and clean the tank - if there's a bug in there you don't want all your other fishies to contract it.

He is the sole ruler of his tank. He killed the rest of the other fish in there. He is one bad boy when he wants to be

Oh dear...I would still suggest quarantining him and having your tank water tested. It might give you some answers....

Check this site and see if you can match symptoms with possible causes.

Clinical Signs of aquarium fish diseases

i would say talk to a vet ................. but i don't know many vets who know much about fish. ..... maybe a store that sells fish, they tend to staff people who know what they are doing.



whast going on doesn't sound good.

it is likely a tumor or infection... the later melafix / pimafix and freshwater salt would clear up.. Is this fish an oscar??

www.aquariumadvice.com or www.fishaholics.com

Not an oscar if it's an African cichlid.
More than likely purchased as just that, a generic African.
I see it a lot, it's not like it's hard for retailers to get species info.
Only three areas where stock is collected regularly, and the species are quite different between them.

can fish get cancer?

If the blisters are white, and also appear on the fins, it might be whitespot. There's a whole bunch of diseases that affect tropical fish in this manner, and many of them can be treated, if caught early enough. That being said, I'm afraid to say yours sounds like it is well progressed. Sorry I can't give you happier news.

If they look like bubbles of Air then it might well be gas bubble disease, which again is treatable.

Please give me details of the symptoms and I will probably be able to diagnose it for you.

Originally Posted by Gareth

If the blisters are white, and also appear on the fins, it might be whitespot. There's a whole bunch of diseases that affect tropical fish in this manner, and many of them can be treated, if caught early enough. That being said, I'm afraid to say yours sounds like it is well progressed. Sorry I can't give you happier news.

If they look like bubbles of Air then it might well be gas bubble disease, which again is treatable.

Please give me details of the symptoms and I will probably be able to diagnose it for you.

Click to expand...

My fish started out with a place on his side that looked like a wart or something. It gradually got bigger and now it looks like bubbles on the side you can see through them even though the bubbles have a gray to black looking color to them.

Last Sunday I noticed that his abdomen was bloated. To be honest I thought he was dead because he was in his rock cave and didn't come out. Now he just kind of sits on the bottom of the tank. he will swim a little but it's just on the bottom and not to the top like he used to all the time. He appears to want his food but will only eat that when it finally falls to the bottom of the tank. He used to do the hit and run type feeding from the bottom of the tank straight up to pop the water and get his food.

sounds like gas bubble disease to me.

Might be too late, but it never hurts to try.

1. Turn the light off - it reduces the stress on the fish
2. Reduce the amount of sunlight the tank is exposed to
3. Aerate the tank as much as possible - add another airstone or two

Originally Posted by Gareth

sounds like gas bubble disease to me.

Might be too late, but it never hurts to try.

1. Turn the light off - it reduces the stress on the fish
2. Reduce the amount of sunlight the tank is exposed to
3. Aerate the tank as much as possible - add another airstone or two

Click to expand...

Thank you I will do this right away.

I hope your fish gets better. We lost an entire 200 gallon tank of African Cichlids because my roommate got them thinking he could take care of them...and he didn't. It was an extremely stressful time. for you and the little guy.