Hi

My 7cm blue turq as a red/brown/white mass on its pectoral fin. It doesn't seem fluffy. It has this once before and it burst (?) and appeared to heal but started to grow again within the week.

It seems to affect motion in the fin, but fish is eating, good colour and quite a solid specimen.

I don't have hospital tank and so everything has to go into a AR980 (215ltr, with an extra CF1200 filter for good measure) planted discus/community tank. I have never used meds before and would prefer not to and have relied on 50% WC 2-3 times a week.

Temp 28.4

Ph 7

nitrites/ammonia nil

nitrates low

phosphates 0.5 (a bit of overfeeding with the discus but I do the water changes)

Regards, TGWH

how about trying some melafix its very gentle on the fish especially discus and tends to clean up any bacterial infections

Have just set up my old 2 footer as a hospital tank. I took some filter wool from the filter in my AR980 and wrapped it in more filter wool and put it into a fluval 2 plus filter. How long should I wait before putting in discus and starting treatment.

Considering you will probably be lots of water changes you could add it straight away. The toxins wont have a chance to build up with the w/c's and the old filter media will have helped things along.

If you wait I think the filter bacteria in the tank with no fish to support it will start to die. (Or did I misunderstand and you put some new wool in your old filter in preparation for moving the fish?)

You don't need any filter in a hospital tank. The med will kill off any good bacterial so is a waste of time. All you need is a heater and an airstone and daily waterchange.

To set up your hospital tank :

1) Clean your tank

2) Fill it up with heated declorinated water

3) Put a heater and an airstone in

4) Put your fish in

5) Put whatever med you're going to use to treat whatever disease in

6) Do your daily waterchange and redose med where required.

After treatment wash the tank and empty it. Dry it and store for latter uses.

Simple and easy

ron

I had a B Ram that had a growth on it. I treated this with a solution of PP on the effected area. I netted the fish out put a couple of drops on the area waited a couple of seconds and returned.

how about trying some melafix its very gentle on the fish especially discus and tends to clean up any bacterial infections

Make sure you don't use Melafix in your tank if you have any species of Pencil Fish - kills them in seconds

Thank you for the advice!

I discussed my problem with John at Organism and thought I'd give the Melafix a go in the big tank for week as per the bottle. I feel this fish can beat it, just needs a little help. Sounds like it won't bother the fish, plants or biological filter in the tank.

If this doesn't work the hospital tank is set up ready to go for some Furan 2.

And if the hospital tank isn't required then it sets up for something else. I wonder what?

Regards, TGWH

Hi

I put melafix into my main tank for a week as per instructions, it reduced the size of mass. Found it hard not to clean and not do water changes for a week.

Decided to put the discus into the hospital tank with Furan 2 to really knock it on the head. Discus is happy (except I left the heater unplugged overnight temp went from 28.5 down to 22.7) and the mass conitnues to reduce (from 6mm to 3mm). The Furan runs for 4 days, but I understand I can run 2 courses (2 x 4 days).

I guess I don't put the fish back into the main tank until the mass disappears completely? How long do bacterial things usually take (I know how long is a piece of string)? The mass is a brown/white/red one.

Regards, TGWH

Heya TGWH

I would wait until its completely cleared before putting back in the tank, when you put him back in the tank he may take a bit of bullying from your other discus as they re-establish the heirachy (something that my discus are going through at the moment after being transferred back from my hospital tank) so you want him to be fully fit to cope with that. With your hospital tank are you using a cycled filter or doing daily water changes? In terms of how long it will take, it could be quick or it could b a while . I had a red melon that developed aggressive finrot, i isolated him and treated for around 2 weeks until his fins regrew. At the same time i also had a cobalt blue that developed a wound in his abdomen on September 17th, I transferred him out of the hospital tank last weekend.. so thats almost 2 months in isolation. Even now the wound is not completely healed over, but it is healed enough that he seems fine and has been fine back in the main tank

Hi jolliolli

Thank you for your advice. I'm doing 25-30% WC daily. I put a cycled filter in the tank, but of course the furan 2 can kill the biological filtration and the directions recomend daily 25%WC.

Hi

Any thoughts on using Furan 2 and formalin together in the same hospital tank? Should I start my next 4 days on Furan or have a go with the formalin?

Quote from Simply Discus

"At some point during all this the other two angels I had gotten became sick with the same symptoms. All four died off one by one over the course of a few of weeks. When the last fish died I was looking it over really carefully and then realized at the base of the dorsal and at the base of the pectoral fins I could see blood. there were no streaks going up into the fins but it was at the base. I had missed it before partly because of the color of the fish and especially because of my inexperience at the time.

Since then I have gotten one other angel with the same red tinge at the base of the same fins. I treated it with Maracyn 2 by Mardel. It cured it quickly.

In short, treat for Septecimia. or at least check for it. Everything else I tried failed."

What do you use for Septecimia?

Regards, TGWH

photo please

NEVER mix formalin with any medication. It could react and turn very toxic killing your fish immediately.

A cocktail of drugs can be pottentially harmful.

ron

NEVER mix formalin with any medication. It could react and turn very toxic killing your fish immediately.

A cocktail of drugs can be pottentially harmful.

ron

That is good advice for any combination of drugs.

Only ever use formulin as directed not only can it harm the fish but u also.

I have used furan in the past for suspected septicemia (septicemia is thought to be caused by either a gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria) and furan 2 is supposed to treat both forms of bacterial infection

Thank you all for the advice! Will leave the drug cocktails for us humans.

I'll carry on and do another 4 day cycle of Furan 2. If that doesn't work will remove Furan from water and try a course of Formalin.

Regards, TGWH

Hi All

Discus back in main tank, ran the 2 x 4 day courses of Furan 2. Has reestablished itself back in the pecking order at no. 3. Growth not completely gone, but much better. Still doing 50%WC every 2-3 days so water should be clean.

Regards, TGWH

The bacteria that are not gram positive are gram negative so that covers all bacteria which is a massive claim.

The bacteria that are not gram positive are gram negative so that covers all bacteria which is a massive claim.

Which is why it is such toxic crap - and to be avoided.

Anything that kills bacteria has to be toxic crap by its very nature.

true, but if you have to use it you have to use it, i don't think i'd still have my discus with the finrot if it hadn't of been for the furan-2. The problem in nz is the limited amount of fish medication available over the counter

I have used it and I think it is good stuff which should be used with the same respect as any other medication. I find the claim that it kills gram pos and neg bacteria but not the bacteria in the filter hard to swallow though.