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Ok folks,
We are starting to narrow down the possible issues going on with my Electric Blue Crayfish.

Problem as it stands- Crayfish has a algae-looking stuff underneath his legs and carapace.(from the fish store)

Answers that I have received-(some would be considered funny)

---Shell-rot, left-over food from feeding, algae, paracites, bacteria- colonies, eggs, plasma-plankton?,gravel???

I understand that humor is necessity in forums and all but some of these replies seem extremely rediculous...

My real guess is that my Crayfish has shell rot. I have purchased Melafix and started with one regular-dose treatment in my community tank,(Peacock Bass and Crayfish got into a minor brawl a few weeks back)figured I would treat both at least a little bit. The Peacock does not take kindly to the Melafix for some reason so I stopped after the initial treatment.(thrashing at surface-EXTREMELY aggresive feeding and aggression towards others) The peacock is presently 3 inches and will be moved to a 55 or a 75 within two weeks.

I am confused about what is really going on with my Crayfish or how to treat it. Should he be out of the community tank? Any information will help.

Present Tank: 29 Gallon All-Glass
Ph- 7.2-7.5
Temperature- 78*
Amonia and Nitrite- Very low
Tank condition- tank or water could not be much cleaner

P.S.-Could Melafix cause a depletion in oxygen levels or a burning sensation to fish??

I think some of the answers you got last time were probably because the description was a bit non-descript. I think youll find it was because people were reiterating to you the fact that we need more detailed information to help you, but if it helps, allow me to clarify.

If you can post a picture it would definitely help to diagnose the problem, failing that break out on a magnifying glass and tell us a really precise description of what you see, from filamentous structures in the patches to tonal variation in the colouring of affected areas, and noticeable exoskeletal rot, loss of function in any joints or limbs. Any history to the shrimp? Wild caught or captively bred? Is it (whatever the patches are)on top of the keratinous armour or beneath it in translucent areas and layers? That sort of thing.

Be precise and we can be more precise in our answer, as things stand we can speculate that its probably fungus or algae, and that much youve told us. For all we know not having seen the animal though, it could be anything.Most antifungal agents for use in fish are also fine for use with the shrimp and crayfish family, have you tried them so that you can eliminate it as a possibility, do you need advice as to which meds are safe for that purpose? Would you be willing to see if the stuff scrapes off, and would you go so far as to send a sample of it to be laboratory tested? Or do you want to wait a bit on the diagnosis to save a bit of cash (we understand if people are a bit low on funds) or were you hoping that description of yours will jumpstart someones memory? If you were hoping for something specific , "fluffy stuff" is an awfully general symptom.We dont even know if its doing the crayfish any actual harm, lots of crayfish get all sorts of crap adhered to the shell, theres no definitive proof it even qualifies as an ailment. Has it shed or grown recently, could the problem indeed be that its due some growth , would normally have rid itself of detritus in the process of a slough and that adverse keeping conditions like lack of cover, lack of decent anchorage, nutritional deficiences, cagemates, acclimation problems etc are making this difficult? It might be a parasite, it could even be a symbiote, lots of crustaceans have symbiotic relationships with colonial animals, plants and fungi, it can act as camoflage and deter other smaller crustacean parasites from adhering to its shell. Have you looked into that at all?

I think youll find ammonia and nitrite need to be 0. Often especially so with shrimp, which depending on the species can be more sensitive than fish. Perhaps you were looking for something obscure and complicated when the answer may be blindingly obvious and simply dismissed out of hand.

If you think the answer isnt obvious, tell us why, and we may be able to help you.

The few things we can help you with are this.

1)Yes he probably should not remain in community, its prudent not to leave an opening for potential contamination when you dont know whats causing a problem.

2 ) Sort the water quality out properly.Theres only really two water qualities- toxic or not, and if youre reading ammonia or nitrite on the kit and it isnt a ridiculously expensive piece of kit that measures in calibrations much smaller than parts per million then you have a problem.Its important, bad water conditions can trigger or exacerbate existing fungal and bacterial conditions and you need to eliminate this as a possibility.

3) Melafix contains tea tree oil and its not inconcievable some fish find it irritating or may be allergic to it, but the chances are remote, and no, I dont think melafix uses significant oxygen in its antibacterial reaction although there are many other meds that will.What may happen is that the bacteria that melafix can kill may use oxygen during decomposition and produce other irritants too, the more bacteria the stronger the chemical reaction, but this would be unusual unless the tank was filthy and riddled with harmful bacteria.This could concievably cause issues,like ammonia spikes, especially if the filter is too small or has cycling issues ( remember youre already getting an ammonia reading!). That leads us back to water quality again.

I hope this helps.

( notice this reply was completely devoid of detectable humour. )

Please correct me if I am wrong does not a Crayfish out grow its shell? Are you sure it is not that?

Secondly are you feeding it correctly I am refering to amount, quality and quanity.

What else is in the tank? I am refering to aquscaping and other inhabitants.

Also what lighting are you using and is it the correct type and not too old?

Certainly remove it to another tank where.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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Some crays are a bit fuzzy under there, is the distribution even? It could just be its natural covering

I have used melafix on my red claw (well, on her feeder fish in the same tank) and she was fine. Might want to keep in mind though that she's a nativ to the area where the trees grow, so perhaps a 1/2 dose would be best to start with.
I haven't found it to deplete oxygen to the detriment of fish, nor does it appear to cause them any discomfort, but I would NOT put it on neat (just in case its been suggested elsewhere).

If you could grab a photo, that'd help a lot
If you can't hold it out of the water, or if it makes the fuzziness collapse, lure it to rear on the side of the tank, or use a clear tupperware container




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