fin rot

maxthedog123

maxthedog123

Can't have too many Tiger Barbs...
Jun 6, 2007
604
0
16
Cincinnati, OH
I was bit too agressive in stocking the upper 30g. I talked about this in a another thread:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138936

I was having trouble getting nitrites under control I put the Fluval 305 from my 55g on my 30g and it wiped out the nitrites in 24 hours.

The glowlights obviously were stressed out by the nitrites that ranged from .1 to .25 for almost a week. 3 of them have very ragged dorsal fins that are frayed and turning white. Current reading are ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nirate 10.

I've been dosing Melafix for 2 days now. I have the water under control - anything else I should be doing?
 
Fin Rot is caused by poor water conditions weakening the fish's immune system. Right now the best way to treat this is get the sick fish into a hospital tank and treat it with Maracide 2. This should get the infection under control since the Nitrite poisoning decimated the immune system of your fish.
 
Again - water conditions are now under control. I don't want to move the 3 glowlights that have the dorsal problem to the lower 30g because one of the danios has a large white bump on his lower lip.

For now I am doing Melafix in both tanks. Good choice?
 
Agreed - trying to keep the the water as clean as possible.

I'm noticiting a white spot on the lip of one of my rainbows in the upper 30g - same as the danio in the lower 30g. Starting to think maybe it's a mouth fungus. I've seen plenty of ich - the spot on the lip looks like a single spot of it - but it is nowhere else.

I think Melafix is a good choice for mouth fungus as well. Other suggestions?
 
Sounds like columnaris. It's present in aquaria and fish can fall victim to it when they're stressed. Advanced cases can be very stubborn to cure, so is the Melafix and pristine water doesn't fix it, don't wait much before trying stronger meds.

I'm fighting the same thing with my fish right now. I'm doing API T.C. Tetracycline now, after having tried pretty much everything else there is to try.

Treatments that haven't worked for me... all with very clean water:
Melafix and salt
Jungle Fungus Clear tabs
Maracyn/Maracyn 2/salt
Furanase and salt

Your success may vary from mine. Different people have had success with different things. I came to realize mine were also suffering from gill and skin flukes, which I didn't know until their gill covers were swollen out and they were breathing rapidly.... I decided to read up on it, and sure enough they displayed all the symptoms and signs. I have a feeling the flukes caused the stress which lead to the columnaris break outs.
 
Let me make this clear. The poor water conditions in the past weakened the fish's immune system allowing the bacteria to get a strong hold causing fin rot. Cleaning up the water will help the fish but you need to give the fish's immune system some reenforcements which is why I advocated the antibiotics. I've cured cases of finrot in the past by acting the way I did. I've also lost fish when I did not intervene with proper meds. With antibiotics, it should clear up within 5 days. If you want to try the melafix, that is fine but don't let the rot progress too long or you are risking the fish's life.

Maracyn 2 is the antibiotic of choice since 90+% of fin rot is caused by gram negative bacteria. Since light de-activates this antibiotic keep it in a dark tank with the lights off and dose at night.
 
kimmisc said:
I have a feeling the flukes caused the stress which lead to the columnaris break outs.
Click to expand...

if you think you have flukes, treat with prazipro. I treat all my fish in QT with it since one treatment will cure flukes and it is non-toxic and non-stressful for the fish.
 
rrkss said:
Maracyn 2 is the antibiotic of choice since 90+% of fin rot is caused by gram negative bacteria. Since light de-activates this antibiotic keep it in a dark tank with the lights off and dose at night.
Click to expand...

I keep reading that Melafix is good treatment, but maybe it's presented as too much of a cure all.

Does Maracyn affect plants or biological filter? Does that mean that you should leave the lights off for the entire period of treatment?
 
So is Melafix more of the "home remedy" as opposed to actual antibiotics?

Is there any benefit to using melafix with maracyn? Should you avoid using them together?
 
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