# Sick Manny



## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

My fish just got over ick. He was breathing heavy and it looked like he had air bubbles all over him. Thats gone, now he has fin rot and he is still breathing heavy. I tried melafix and it was not working. I just dosed him with tetracycline. If this does not work, I don't know how to help him. His water is always changed on time and the water chemistry is good.


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## THE BLACK PIRANHA (Dec 8, 2003)

size tank, what % water changes and what are your water parameters? Need more info if we are going to help.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

This is the third week ive had him. I put him in a 75 gallon tank. I change the water once a week at 25 percent. I have the five in one test kit. All the colours match. I moved him into a 25 gallon and dosed him with antibiotics. The water chemistery(Nitrate,Nitrite, hardness,chlorine, alkinity,ph) match the colours on the box. The ich is gone, now his fins are rotting and hes breathing way to fast.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Was the tank cycled?


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

pics?


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## THE BLACK PIRANHA (Dec 8, 2003)

I have never used the 5 in one I prefer the master test kits more but I dont think just cause it matches the colors on the box means everything is in check. You may have an ammonia spike witch will cause heave breathing and will take a toll on there fins. You need to find out quick as Manny's are very sensitive and if you have a problem it could kill him. How long has your tank been set up and did you do a proper cycle?


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

THE BLACK PIRANHA said:


> I have never used the 5 in one I prefer the master test kits more but I dont think just cause it matches the colors on the box means everything is in check. You may have an ammonia spike witch will cause heave breathing and will take a toll on there fins. You need to find out quick as Manny's are very sensitive and if you have a problem it could kill him. How long has your tank been set up and did you do a proper cycle?


This is a good point. I use an ammonia meter in my tanks in conjunction with the water strip test kit - because the strips alone doesn't show me the ammonia levels. When my tank was initially cycling, the test strips checked out fine even though the ammonia was high.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

The tank has been going for 9 months. I will buy an ammonia tester.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

Deffinately do that i would never risk a many


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

gfenton123 said:


> The tank has been going for 9 months. I will buy an ammonia tester.


 How long was it empty before adding the manny?


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

The tank empty for a week. I put him in a hospital tank and sterilized the 75 gallon. I m cycling that tank right now. Maybe his immune system was lowered when he was fighting the ich and now he caught a becteria infection. This fish needs a book written on him. I have never seen a fish fight for so long. The good news is that his breathing is improving.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

I just added an ammonia tester that sticks to the inside of the glass and it is good. I also added aquarium salt to his tank.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

He is recovering well, although his gills are curled funny and I am not sure how many breaths per minute he should breath. He is breathing around 90 breaths per minute, He was at 140. He has gotten skinny and will not eat his shrimp. What could he eat that is easier for him to digest. This is his last day on antibiotics. If his gills are still curled at the edges and his breathing still needs work, should i do another treatment.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

from the picture it looks really thin. do you drop in whole shrimp or cut the shrimp to bite size chunk? my manny would eat more if the food is at bite size chunk when I first got it. also try smelt cut the bite size chunks and drop in one at a time. all the piranhas I had/have love smelt more than shrimp.
if still doesn't eat then you might have to try some live food (quarantined, parasite and disease free) cuz it is looking dangerously thin to me. Good luck with getting it back to healthy state.
not sure what you can do about the gill curl at the moment, don't believe there's any medication that would help. if you surgically correct it it'll be too much stress on the manny at its current condition.


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

jp80911 said:


> from the picture it looks really thin. do you drop in whole shrimp or cut the shrimp to bite size chunk? my manny would eat more if the food is at bite size chunk when I first got it. also try smelt cut the bite size chunks and drop in one at a time. all the piranhas I had/have love smelt more than shrimp.
> if still doesn't eat then you might have to try some live food (quarantined, parasite and disease free) cuz it is looking dangerously thin to me. Good luck with getting it back to healthy state.
> not sure what you can do about the gill curl at the moment, don't believe there's any medication that would help. if you surgically correct it it'll be too much stress on the manny at its current condition.


x2. My Mannies almost always prefers bite sized food chunks. I've had great luck with them eating bite sized tilapia pieces too. Beautiful Manny, hope he has a fast and healthy recovery.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

I always feed bite size shrimp soaked in vitamines to my fish. Would he eat flake food? How many times per minute should he breath? Do I need to worry about that.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

Well is it heavily ? Is the tank FULLY cycled. My sanchez did when i put him in his new tank from ammonia burn but then again he was shipped


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

Everything is good with the tank. He is breathing 120 breaths per minute and tommoro morning he will be done one full treatment of antibiotics. Its is heavy breathing. I will have to do another treatment, after that ?


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

I would lay off the antibiotics and just keep doing partial water changes with maybe a lil salt. Raise the tank temp up to 80-82 degrees farenheit and see where that takes you. Mannys are known to be more prone to certain ailments and can be a touchy piranha. Especially if ur trying to treat it for something ur unsure of. I'd keep it to the basics with the water changes and be persistent with them and wait it out. That pic is kinda hard to tell what exactly is wrong with the fish other then the fins being a lil tattered and the manny is thin. Keep offering him his normal diet of what you fed him every/every other day and eventually he is going to eat. I would up the water changes to 25% every 3-4 days, but thats jus me.

I also have a manny, but have not experienced any issues besides gill curl, which was easily taken care of via surgery. Plus if you got that API freshwater Master Kit. we would be able to pinpoint your exact water parameters and see if theres and problems with that. What type of filtration do you have in your 75G?


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

I have aqua clear 50 in a 20 gallon hospital tank. I think it maybe gill flukes. It is red under his gills. The cloud eye and tail rot is gone now. The ammonia is fine. He is still breathing. heavy. I already treated him with formulin an d malachite green. I thought that woulf take care of the paraite problem.


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

his gills are suppose to be red bud. Do you see lil fluke like of lil white specs on his gills? Like I said earlier, don't treat him for any other ailments until ur completely sure of whats wrong with him. Better pics would help too. If he's looking better already, I wouldn't be too worried then. Jus keep up with the water changes and keep observing him.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

I gave my manny parasite guard by tetra and his breathing has improved tremendesly. How do I get him to start eating again. I have always given him bite size chunks of fish, but his stomach may be to small for that. Should I give him flake food? What should I give him, his is skinny like a rail.

Before he was sick


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

damn it looks really skinny, I don't think flake will do, none of my p eat flake, the ones did try to eat always end up spit the flakes back out. just keep the lights off on the tank and offer it small bite size smelt. if still no luck with frozen food then try some live food, ie. earth worm/night crawler from bait shop, mollies/guppies etc (make sure they are disease and parasite free). at this point I think get it start eating is more important than stay with frozen food.
good luck with it, hope it makes full recovery.


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

HHHHHHHHHHHEeeeeeeeeeee iiiiiiiiiiissssssss eating. He almost died, and now he is back to life. Thanks guys for all the info. I would of had a dead manuelli on my hands.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

good to know he's eating again. what was he eating? fatten him up and he'll be one good looking manueli


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Good to hear... They are fighters!


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## gfenton123 (Apr 28, 2010)

He is eating about 1/4 of a jumbo shrimp each day. He is full of energy and his colour is back. I put a towel around his tank and he started eating.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

fatten it up good


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