Help Please !!

[angel]

I have 3 new FH Babies, One of them the tail looked very frayed when I got him two days ago. Now is entire tail has turned white and is slowly falling off, Looking at it through a magnifying glass it looks fuzzy,
I have dosed with Melafix and Pimafix since they arrived, another fish showing some of the same white patches at first, that section of his tail fell off and now he looks good. At this point I am thinking some kind of fungal infection, we are separately him as I type but was wondering if anyone has any other ideas and can that much tail eventually grow back if we do get the infection stopped?

Please help with any suggestions or ideas.

 

[Gettin' Tanked]

Sounds as if your fish might have fin rot. With fin rot, the fin will turn white and die. It's usually caused by an injury to the fin but it can also result from poor water quality. It can be remedied by fixing the water and removing any other aggressive species that might nip at the fin. Do a water change of about 25% and add 1 tsp/gallon aquarium salt to promote healing.

Fungal finrot looks like clumps of cotton on the fins and usually follows
injury. Treatment for fungus: For fish large enough to handle, catch the
fish, and dab malachite green directly on the fungus with a Q-tip. This is
extremely effective. Repeat treatments may be necessary.

For smaller fish, try a commercial product such as Maroxy. For severe
infestations, try a bath in methylene blue (enough so you can barely see
the fish) until the fungus turns blue or for about 20 min. Don’t add
methylene blue directly to the tank; or you’ll kill your plants and ruin the
biological filter.

Bacterial finrot is whitish, but not cottony and can be contagious. The fish
then need to be removed from the tank and medicated.

Treatment for a bacterial infection: Remove the fish to a quarantine tank
and treat with Antibiotics. This is stressful for the fish, and doesn't always
work, so be sure of what you’re doing before you try this. If the fish is still
eating, try an antibiotic food.

If the fish is not eating, a bath treatment is necessary. A combination of
Kaynamycin and Furanace usually works, especially for Columnaris.
Remove to a separate tank and aerate heavily. (Source: Tropical Fish Secrets, Sean LeMay, 2003)

Hope this helps!

 

[angel]

Thanks, You made all that I have read clearer, not sure if it is bacterial or fungal. It started three days ago, fish were shipped and his tail was frayed, within a few hours tail was looking white, gave Melafix & Pimafix. 2nd day, skin falling off the ends, larger part of tail white. Now today tail white up to the body, more skin has fallen off, and with a magnifying glass looks fuzzy.

Do you know can you treat for both bacterial and fungal infections at the same time

Thanks for your help

 

[Gettin' Tanked]

If it looks fuzzy, you're likely dealing with a fungal infection. If it were me, I would treat it as such. You might start with adding salt to the water, as described above, to see if your fish responds. If not, I'd start with the fungal treatment (remembering that it may need to be repeated before it is successful). I wouldn't recommend treating for both fungal and bacterial at the same time as the combination of medicine and antibiotics would be extremely stressful on your fish.

Good luck

 

[Gettin' Tanked]

Two other things I neglected to mention. You should test your water quality (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph, temp) to make sure everything is in line with where it should be. Also, damaged fin tissue should grow back assuming the fin rays and/or fin bases have not been damaged (Care4Fish website www.care4fish.com/fishdiseases.html)