Sheepsnana Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Sorry about the low quality photo. He didn't want to sit still at the front of the tank, he wanted to go back under his rock. This has only been showing for about a week. His dorsal fin started showing a bit of white on the edge of it, but I thought it was only a slight colour variation from his normal fin colour. When he next flared his fin, I noticed that most of it was gone, and only the back half and some little white bits remained &c:ry . Until yesterday, it was just his top fin. I got my water tested again, and it came back clear, except a very small amount of nitrate and phosphate. LFS recommended a water change (which I was going to do anyway, I get my water tested before a change so I can see if it needs to be done more often or not). I did a 50% water change, making sure I gave the gravel a good scrub. This morning he has developed a strange almost furry patch on his back. I also noticed that the damaged / diseased fin has started bleeding. This comes and goes. :nilly: HELP... I do not have any fish meds on hand, but I am only two blocks from the local fish store. I have other fish in the tank, that are fine. The female bristlenose is fine. I have an empty tank that I can quarantine Doug in if I need to, but it currently does not have a filter, so I will need to do daily water changes if isolation or meds are required. Please help, I love my fish and cant stand this happening to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Fin rot? http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm Sorry I'm pretty tired at the moment :yaw2: , and not 100% positive, but it is what it sound like, not sure of the bleeding though? Hopefully he'll make it through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Isolate ASAP and treat for fin rot ... imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Alright, as soon as I get home I will put him in the quarantine tank (after I fill it). Fin rot is caused by one of several gram negative bacteria. Several antibiotics are effective; however the root cause must be addressed as well to ensure the disease doesn’t return. The disease occurs when the fish become stressed by something in the environment. The most common causes of Fin Rot are poor water quality and improperly low water temperature. Overcrowding the tank, feeding outdated food or overfeeding, and moving or handling the fish can also cause stress leading to Fin Rot. Treatment should include a water change, and careful examination of the aquarium conditions. If there is food debris, vacuum the gravel and take care to avoid overfeeding in the future. Start dating your fish food, as it loses the vitamin content fairly quickly after it is opened. Feeding fish fresh, high quality food, in smaller quantities is far better than frequent large feedings of stale foods. Check the pH and water temperature of the water, and make sure it is appropriate for your fish. Incorrect pH is very stressful for fish, and can lead to disease. Low water temperatures, particularly in fish with long flowing fins, can often trigger Fin Rot. poor water qualityI do a 30% water change once a week, I thought this was enough. This was the first week that there has been a small amount of Nitrate, every over weekly check has been fine. improperly low water temperature Set at 26º. Two separate heaters to maintain this, one on each end of the tank. They are normally only on in the early hours of the morning, as Tauranga keeps the tank warm enough (occasionally rises to about 28, but only on hot days). Overcrowding the tank Definitely not, it's at about 60% stock level. feeding outdated food Never even considered this, the food is about a month old, maybe two. The pack is always sealed, I would have thought that if this was an issue it would have been written on the packet... overfeeding One Nova-Pleco tablet each, once a day. And that's if the Tetra's don't eat it first. moving or handling the fish Once when moved into the new tank, and once yesterday to take the photo (Because I was stressing out, and needed help). Is a bristlenose going to need specific meds? The use of aquarium salt will benefit livebearing fish, but should be avoided in fish, such as scaleless catfish, that are sensitive to salt. All quotes from the Link Squirt provided: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hi Try this site and try to deduce if it's bacterial or fungus. I too heard that you can't use salt with BNs. So you may have to try an antibiotics. Just scroll down to fin rot. http://faq.thekrib.com/disease-fw.html HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuri08 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 i thought fin rot was in cold water fish not tropical?never experienced fin rot with tropicals but with goldfish whats your temp at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Fin rot can be found in cold or tropical fish and blood streaks can be seen in the fin rays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I can't tell what is going on from the pics but if you have fungus it will be an oportunistic infection following finrot which is bacterial. You will therefore need to treat with an antibiotic and a fungicide if fungus is present. Wunder tonic contains both but not sure if your fish can handle it, or Furan is available from the petshop. There are antibiotics that are selective against gram negative bacteria and are very good treatments but they would require a visit to the vet with the fish and a prescription, all of which would not be cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 what about applying some hydrogen peroxide to the fin rot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 i thought fin rot was in cold water fish not tropical?never experienced fin rot with tropicals but with goldfish whats your temp at?Temp is at 26.5º - 27º. what about applying some hydrogen peroxide to the fin rot? I have spoken to the expert at the LFS, who had read this post before I called :thup: , and they recommended Melafix. So I will stick him in the quarantine tank for about a week, and see how things go. Will keep you all updated with pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 I've been reading up on some other posts, and came across this: How clean does the gravel need to be? In a planted tank most people don't gravel vacuum due to it disturbing the plants roots. I'm not sure what detritus does for plants though. All I can think of it may supply nitrates to the plants? The only thing I could think of that would possibly have caused the bristlenose stress was the nearly a week's worth of fish poo. The fish don't poo a lot, so I thought as long as the water parameters were ok, then my fish would be too. I have begun doing a small daily water change (18L out of 245L) to remove as much fish poo as possible. I hope my nitrifying bacteria don't starve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Im not certain on detritus supplying plants with nitrates. But if your parameters are ok the fish should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 I had a BN die the day after I bought him. He got himself into a horizontal drain and i think suffocated due to the lack of circulation. When I emptied the pipe, the contents were foul though the rest of the tank was clean as. So, I suspect dead areas in a tank can give a very different micro climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Does your heaters have guards? My chocolate zebra managed to burn himself and I treated with furan2 and he/she got better http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=46756 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 No I don't have heater guards, but he's been resting on the concrete, nowhere near the heaters. He hasn't been near the heaters since the concrete slabs were put in. He's in a quarantine tank now with the dose of melafix. I've thrown a guppy in there too (one of the splits in his tail is looking suspect). As this was an empty tank, it has nothing that it needs. So I've moved the thermometer over to monitor the temp. If it drops to 25º I'll put one of the heaters from the main tank into it. Someone mentioned raising the temp to 28º-30º to help fight infections. Is this recommended for BN? If so, how gradually do you do it? The heater I have is way too big for this little quarantine tank, even if I try to lay it down on it's side. :nilly: Idea's?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Stack this tank against the larger tank and heat the larger one? Get a smaller heater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 I've managed to get it in there, but it's on its side. It hasn't come on yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 My wife has asked if I should be dosing the community tank to help fight off any infections in the main tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 concrete slabs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 This is Jessie, my other BN, and she seems fine in the main tank. These are the concrete slabs that Doug has been loving ever since they were added to give him more places to hide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 The Quarantine Tank Doug Doug in more light (I don't want to do this often, he's nocturnal). You can definitely see the red in the affected area's. His right side fins are fine, his left side are showing a little wear. The guppy that has gone from being Endler-colour to being an albino... :facepalm: hopefully this med cycle is worth it. We need a big fingers-crossed emoticon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Awesome. Do I need to medicate the large tank to prevent the others getting sick? Normally this would be a stupid idea (Some meds can do more harm than good!) but this Melafix says you should add it whenever adding new fish, indicating that it shouldn't harm the system... :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 If I had two fish from the same tank get sick, I'd use a UV filter ... Some people have had issues with melafix leaving an oil on the water surface blocking o2 exchange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.