Celestial Pearls Flesh Rotting

[fluvalromacommunity]

Hi All,

I am having an issue with my CPD's. I know that they can be fragile fish. I lost once a couple of weeks ago to what looked like an awful skin rotting disease. I searched high and low on google but I couldn't find anything similar. I now have another CPD who looks as though he has the same issue.

Here are a couple of photos of the CPD that passed away a couple of weeks ago.





Can anybody help diagnose this?

[Vale!]

I'm drawn towards the culprit being a microsporidium-type parasite, similar to that which causes neon tetra disease (NTD). It might even *be* the NTD one - it can attack multiple species, not just neon tetra.

Just a min. while I consult with Mr. Google to see if I can find anything further for you to follow up ...

... OK ...

The NTD parasite is Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. Microsporidia seem to have been classified as fungi. Once spores have got into a fish, they produce 'sporoplasms' which burrow out from the intestine into the musculature of the fish. There they encyst - which causes the typical white patches. As the disease advances, further tissue damage results. I'm thinking the the damage to your CPDs may be as a result of cysts 'bursting'. In doing so they've breached the skin, exposing the tissue underneath.



Disclaimer : please don't automatically take the above as correct - I'm not particularly knowledgeable about fish pathology and it's just my best guess based on your description and pic.

EDIT I've just had another look at your pic. It seems there may be some distortion to its spine. If so, that would tend to support my thought rather than contradict it.

[fluvalromacommunity]

I'm drawn towards the culprit being a microsporidium-type parasite, similar to that which causes neon tetra disease (NTD). It might even *be* the NTD one - it can attack multiple species, not just neon tetra.

Just a min. while I consult with Mr. Google to see if I can find anything further for you to follow up ...

... OK ...

The NTD parasite is Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. Microsporidia seem to have been classified as fungi. Once spores have got into a fish, they produce 'sporoplasms' which burrow out from the intestine into the musculature of the fish. There they encyst - which causes the typical white patches. As the disease advances, further tissue damage results. I'm thinking the the damage to your CPDs may be as a result of cysts 'bursting'. In doing so they've breached the skin, exposing the tissue underneath.



Disclaimer : please don't automatically take the above as correct - I'm not particularly knowledgeable about fish pathology and it's just my best guess based on your description and pic.

I think you’ve just solved the mystery! That’s exactly what happens. It starts as slight discolouring of their scales and then just gets worse and worse until they look like they do in the photo.

Thank you so much. I’m going to consult Google myself now for how to treat it.

[VikingMummy2015]

I was thinking exactly the same because of the spine @Vale! .
I would definitely set up a hospital tank ASAP to try to save the ones that aren’t showing any signs as yet. Large plastic crate with a heater, airstone and massive water changes if you don’t have a spare filter (good alternative is grab some media from your other tanks, stick it in a clean glass/mug/vase and loosely bury the head of an air pump in it to act as a filter.

[fluvalromacommunity]

I was thinking exactly the same because of the spine @Vale! .
I would definitely set up a hospital tank ASAP to try to save the ones that aren’t showing any signs as yet. Large plastic crate with a heater, airstone and massive water changes if you don’t have a spare filter (good alternative is grab some media from your other tanks, stick it in a clean glass/mug/vase and loosely bury the head of an air pump in it to act as a filter.

I've had a better read up and it's definitely NTD, they start with a slight white discolouration of their scales, which almost eats them from the inside out and the one that passed away did have a curved spine.

I also read that there's no cure and I need to isolate him. I do have an 25 litre tank that'd be perfect for the poorly CPD, but it isn't cycled. Could I add the CPD to that tank, add some Prime and do daily water changes?

[fluvalromacommunity]

The other alternative is; I have a very large breeding net, could I put the poorly CPD in there? I read that the infection is spread through eating the flesh of a dead fish with NTD. So it would isolate the fish, but he'd be in the same water.

[codheadjohn]

https://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2 ... e.html?m=1

[plankton]

Crikey, it's pretty rare over here, unless they've started importing from strange new places that the Americans have been using.
Mind you, the Americans think everything is NTD.........

I would use the other tank with daily water changes until it passes. A small filter will do, you could add a squeeze from the current one which may be enough for one CPD.