Tropheus Medical Mystery

[dtscheung]

Hi there,

I'm currently battling with a mystery sickness for my wild caught tropheus red cheeks which ended up losing half my initial stock. As with most tropheus, I've been treating them with Metro-equivalents for possible bloat issues. But after getting better, they would get worst again and not eating much if any at all. I'm suspecting something else is wrong that may have decreased their immune system to fight off other diseases.

Curently, 1 of them is chewing food for a good few minutes before spitting them all out. Another is eating okay but have rapid gill movements and not moving around much. They do have occasional flashing and flicking, but doesn't seem serious.

My question is should I treat with Cupramine or ParaGuard? From their eating behaviors, it seems something internal but my previous treatments didn't seem to be working. Could it be something relating to parasites or other factors? Water quality seems fine.. I just changed about 50% water.. all checks out good.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Tech Support EH]

We are sorry to hear about your losses. Since you don't know exactly what you are treating, I would probably recommend going with the Paraguard. While Cupramine is specific to parasitic infections, Paraguard is a more broad spectrum medication that will eradicate parasites, as well as possible secondary infections, whether bacterial or fungal. Paraguard is completely water soluble and therefore does not need to be eaten or internalized. It will not build to toxic levels and is therefore safe to dose daily until the fish are well. While Cupramine is an excellent product, it is only effective in treating parasitic infections and needs to be completely removed after treating. As I am sure you know, it is very important not to mix any medication with copper, so please just choose one or the other.

[dtscheung]

Thanks for the info. How should my water changing routine be like during this treatment of paraguard? Many say not to feed when treating? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Tech Support AN]

You can continue with your normal routine of water changes. When you perform a water change during treatment it is recommended to dose back the medication for the amount of water being changed. I would recommend adding it back to the replacement water before putting it into your tank. As far as feeding goes, you can definitely feed as you normally would. I hope this helps and please let us know if you have any further questions.