Is this rust disease on my amano or physical damage?

[alkemist]

My amanos have been hiding ever since I got them, quite some time ago, but they recently started to come out into the open. I never really got to see them until recently. Even today is the first time I’ve seen the second female with this damage on her tail.
 

I’m not sure if it’s rust disease or if something tried to take a bite out of her tail. There are not large enough predators in the tank to outright eat it, but I do have serpae tetras, a female betta and a Bolivian ram in this heavily planted community tank.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Great photos!

I don't think it is rust but just keep an eye on it for now, I suspect it caught it on something, or something took a nip at it maybe.

It doesn't look like any Amano I have ever seen though? How big is it?

[jayc]

Rust disease is usually more on the carapace. But this could spread to the body area if not treated.

While it's still isolated at the tail, it is easier to treat with antibacterial meds.

If this was my shrimp, I'd catch it and put a drop of Melafix (or some other similar antibac/antibiotic) directly on the tail. Leave it for a minute before putting the shrimp back into the tank.

 

13 hours ago, alkemist said:

There are not large enough predators in the tank to outright eat it, but I do have serpae tetras, a female betta and a Bolivian ram in this heavily planted community tank.

When you think of potential predators, you might be thinking of a fish that can outright swallow a whole shrimp. Fish don't predate on shrimp like that necessarily. When the fish are large enough, but still too small to swallow a shrimp whole, they take bites out of the shrimp. A Bolivian and Serpae are definitely going to be enough to take bites out of a shrimp, even one the size of an Amano.

 

Your shrimp are probably hiding for that reason and only venturing out more because they are hungry.

 

There are other reasons a shrimp hides, and that can be because of unsuitable water parameters. If you can test the water and share it here, we can advise if that is a problem.

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by jayc

[alkemist]

7 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

It doesn't look like any Amano I have ever seen though? How big is it?

I have 2 females, both about the same size. I want to guestimate they are about 2 inches. I had a third, a male, but I haven't seen it around. At least it hasn't left the thick anubias driftwood feature.

5 hours ago, jayc said:

Rust disease is usually more on the carapace. But this could spread to the body area if not treated.

While it's still isolated at the tail, it is easier to treat with antibacterial meds.

Your shrimp are probably hiding for that reason and only venturing out more because they are hungry.

There are other reasons a shrimp hides, and that can be because of unsuitable water parameters. If you can test the water and share it here, we can advise if that is a problem.

 

I went ahead and took her out this morning and put a drop of melafix on the problem area for about a minute. She was in a hurry to get back into the tank. I also ordered some Fritz Expel-P, which is supposed to be Levamisole HCL. I never used it before but figured I better have it on hand, just in case.

After getting reoriented in the tank, she made a quick hurry back to the anubias driftwood. They used to live in there, as it was thick and I wouldn't be surprised, full of tasty things. I would see them occasionally come out when the lights got really dim at night. I had a third, a male, and both these females were always berried. I haven't seen the male or it hasn't come out like these two. I am thinking maybe they are getting ready to molt but I'm not sure. They would hang around the floating breeder box or amazon leaves and constantly clean themselves. I haven't seen them eating or foraging. Their behavior has been different, that's for sure and starting to get me a little worried. My bamboo shrimp also lives in the anubias driftwood (the circulation pump blows over and through the anubias).

My tank is co2 injected fully planted, long established, 12 years or so. My parameters:

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrates 10-20

PH 6.9 after injection

GH 7

KH 6

Temperature: 76F (during cooler months), 77-78F (during warmer months).

Weekly water changes, about 30% to clean up organic debris and remove any excess fertilizers. I dry dose daily, a very light EI method.

Edited July 8, 2022 by alkemist

[jayc]

43 minutes ago, alkemist said:

I also ordered some Fritz Expel-P, which is supposed to be Levamisole HCL. I never used it before but figured I better have it on hand, just in case.

If you use the Fritz, do so in a separate tank, and not in the main tank. Best to set up a hospital tank/container for treatment.