Sick Chiclid: wht stuff on fins - Part 2

Question
QUESTION: Dear Mr. Coleman,
I forgot to tell you that my fishes fins are down and she did not eat today.  She is just hiding.  I feel terrible for her and need to fix her health a.s.a.p. as I like her very much!  Do you think it is her diet?  She just eats Tetra cichlid pellets.  Sometimes some lettuce.  I tried shrimp (the frozen kind) but she wouldn't eat it.

Pls help!
Thanks,
Suzanne


ANSWER: Hi Suzanne,
  Not eating is not an immediate problem.  A fish like a red devil can actually go weeks without food, so that isn't a direct concern. The concern is that she is not her usual self and that suggests that something is not right in the tank.  See my other message.  

P.S. I feed Tetra food to all the cichlids in my lab and have done so for almost two decades so I doubt if that is the problem.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Mr. Coleman,
Hello.  I wrote to you about a month ago regarding my sick 'red devil'.  Since then she has gotten better using the fungus tablets, however she has now had the fungus re-occurring about 5 times now.  She gets better, acting like herself then comes back again.  Now she is very sick and I tried a new medicine, 'Pimafix' - 7 day treatment.  I did a water change then put the new medicine in.  The fungus cleared up all over her body accept in her gills, I see white stuff trailing out of her gills, must make it harder to breathe.  She is not acting right, staying on the bottom - no real interaction anymore and she hasn't eaten in 3 days.  She moves slow and not her usual zipping around the tank.  I was having problems regulating her tank temp and had to switch heaters... could this be the cause for all this?  Fungus growing with the temp changes?
I don't know what to do anymore.  The guy at the fist store told me if I use too much medicine it could euthanize her...  Should I add salt for her gill function?  I don't know what to do anymore. She's never had so many issues in the 3 years I've had her.

Thanks for all your advice.
Best,
Suzanne

ANSWER: Hi Suzanne,
 Do not give her salt. That won't help her at all, in fact, it could easily hurt her.  

 Too much medicine could also easily hurt her.  

 Are there other fish in the tank?

 The temperature shouldn't affect her that much.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ron,
My fish is in a 45 gallon by herself.  She seems to be getting better now...no more white stuff in her gills and she seems to be swimming around more.  How do I prevent the fungus from coming back again and again?  

Thanks,
Suzanne

Answer
Hi Suzanne,
 It is very puzzling that she should be getting the fungus in the first place.  The only time I ever see fungus on a red devil is when another fish has attacked the fish and fungus grows on the wound.   

 I assume you are doing regular weekly partial water changes?  You should be changing 25% of her water once a week, every week.  Have you been doing that?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>