# sick or normal??



## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

hey, i have 6 red bellie p's and they are at about 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 inches... anyway a couple of them have a white/grey coloration on them. it does not look like ick or any disease. but it is on them in big blobs and long stretched out shapes. it only covers about 10% of their body so its not like they are full of them. sorry i have no pictures and i know you guys need some to make a good estimate, but i was just wondering if this kind of thing happens when red bellies mature? and i was hoping it is normal.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)




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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

could it be slime desiese - if it is you need to medicate now!!!


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## SnowCichlid (Jan 10, 2003)

are you reffering to the simple black dots they have all over there bodies that appear most when younger... 
I need more of an explanation... or maybe a picture


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Post some pics, it will help....!


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Remember you can treat most skin diseases using aquarium salt or Melafix...!


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)




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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

sorry i have no camera to show a picture, but i figured i had to do something because the situation has gotten worse.
it may be ick, i am not sure how it looks on piranhas, i have only seen it on feeders but i dont think it is. their fins look to be in bad shay, like they all have been biten but i am not sure that is what happened. it could be fin rot??
anyway, seeing as i have no clue what it is i immediately went to the pet store and bought "clout" it is a container of dissolvable caplets and it says it cures visible parasites, gaspiing for air, rapid breathing, flicking (whatever that is) listless behaviour, excess mucus production.
The parasites it cures are : leaches, lice, flukes, hexamita, ick, lernia. 
needless to say i am hoping whatever my fish have is one of these.
i dont know if it was a good idea or not, but i mixed fin rot medication with the "clout" caplets, just because i dont think clout treats fin rot.
anyone know anything about this clout and mixing medicine? i hope they get better, i have had them for about 9 months now!!! i just put the medicine in right now but as of now they dont look so good


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Clout is a VERY powerful organophosphate (insecticide). If you have already used it, I would monitor the behavior of your fish for stress and be ready to do a massive water change and dump fresh carbon in your filter. Also, I really don't encourage the mixing of meds (especially with Clout). What other meds are you using simultaneously?

It's really too bad that you can't take a pic of your fish so we can offer more help. It's really difficult to pinpoint what is wrong with your fish by your description. It _sounds_ like excess slime is being shed off their body. Body discoloration can mean a lot of things (fungal infection, parasitic infestation, pH or ammonia burn, a normal scrape...). Most of those problems could have been prevented/cured by increasing water changes and salt if caught early enough. Good luck.


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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

thank you, i will make sure to add fresh carbon and 50% water change when i am done treating.
i mixed "anti fungus" medicine, made by aquarium products. 
i was thinking that mixing mediines are not the best thing, even if you think about it with humans, you have to be careful... but my fish arent doing well at all and thought i would chance it. thanks for the warning about clout, i didnt realise that it was that potent. i was wondering why it cost me so much.
thanks DonH


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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

i hope crustations are okay with clout


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

CoolD said:


> i hope crustations are okay with clout


 I'm not absolutely sure on this, but I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea. Clout is often used to treat argulus (fish lice). They ARE crustaceans.


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## HOLLYWOOD (Feb 6, 2003)

Heres additional info on clout that could be useful. The box does not state this but the website clearly states "Do Not Use With Piranhas". *CLOUT*

I remembered a while back a person by the alias of "Datacide" on PF.net wrote a whole thread on how clout killed several of his reds. Not sure if he was able to get some sort of consolation from AP.


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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

WHAT WHAT WHAT????


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## CoolD (Apr 16, 2003)

WELL ITS BEEN IN THERE FOR ABOOUT 6 HOURS, AND IF IT KILLS PIRANHAS, MY FISH ARE DOOMED


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