RICHARD COOKE
HEALTH
I had a pair of Polypterus senegalus in one of my tanks with no other inhabitants, for around four years. For most of that time they both had very fine short ‘hairs’ across their whole body which didn’t seem to bother them —they seemed active, healthy, were eating well and growing steadily, with both at around 17-18cm.
But in the last month the female developed terrible bloat and died within a week. Meanwhile, the male lost an eye and now seems quite lethargic, although he is eating. I think these hairs must be some sort of parasite, but I can’t work out what or how to treat them. I’ve tried a general malachite-based parasite treatment, but it has had no effect. Do you have any thoughts on this at all?
I have included a recent photo of the male. There seems to be a ‘hair’ in his good eye now, which is a little cloudy.
NATHAN RESPONDS: Ah, now here’s a rarity! Your bichirs are suffering from a disease which I’ve only become familiar with quite recently (it was only described in 2008, and I only learned of it from The Bichir Handbook) and which appears to target polypterids.
The disease in question is a parasitic infection, caused by the skin fluke Macrogyrodactylus simentiensis. You might be familiar with the second part of that generic name—Gyrodactylus—as many of us (especially pond keepers) have wrestled with it in the past.
Unlike Gyrodactylus, you don’t need a microscope to se
