I need MAJOR help...

riddle4sphinx

riddle4sphinx

AC Members
Jul 19, 2006
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Illinois
Ok, so our local walmart decided to get rid of its fish section (finally! its so sad looking) so I decided to save a few of them.... No one could tell me straight out what was going to happen to the fish after they went back to the buyer.... so I decided to buy one that didn't have a very good shot of the buyer keeping it alive....

This fish is a calico fantail, about 2.5 inches long and it has what i think is very severe mouth rot. Literally its whole mouth is chewed off. It can't close its mouth because it doesnt have one, so it swims around with this huge hole in the front of its head. Its been eating flakes which I know are terrible for fantails, but thats the only thing that it can suck in its mouth without it falling back out. So it is eating, and it is swimming, I just am unsure how to treat it. I bought Pimafix which treats mouth fungus (which i think is the same thing as mouth rot?) but I was also wondering if I could use Melafix at the same time to help him grow his mouth back. I know fish can regrow scales and fins.... has anyone ever tried to re-grow a mouth?? Please, any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!




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riddle4sphinx said:
Ok, so our local walmart decided to get rid of its fish section (finally! its so sad looking) so I decided to save a few of them.... No one could tell me straight out what was going to happen to the fish after they went back to the buyer.... so I decided to buy one that didn't have a very good shot of the buyer keeping it alive....

This fish is a calico fantail, about 2.5 inches long and it has what i think is very severe mouth rot. Literally its whole mouth is chewed off. It can't close its mouth because it doesnt have one, so it swims around with this huge hole in the front of its head. Its been eating flakes which I know are terrible for fantails, but thats the only thing that it can suck in its mouth without it falling back out. So it is eating, and it is swimming, I just am unsure how to treat it. I bought Pimafix which treats mouth fungus (which i think is the same thing as mouth rot?) but I was also wondering if I could use Melafix at the same time to help him grow his mouth back. I know fish can regrow scales and fins.... has anyone ever tried to re-grow a mouth?? Please, any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Click to expand...

First off flakes are not "terrible" for fantails. Maybe not preferable, since they are more apt of develop swimbladder disorder, but not terible if that's all you have right now. Second, try Mardel's Maroxy medication as it has saved my Red Cap from further fungus after his buddy succombed to the infection several days ago (see my thread).

Most importantly, while you are treating him, tell me what kind of tank you are getting him in the future. I know he's in a small tank right now (that I can see) but how are you filtering it and how much water are you changing weekly? He'll be fine as a baby right now but please tell me what you're doing say by springtime.
 
I remember reading about this a while ago and just found one of the sites...

In extreme cases of especially stubborn infections, PimaFix has been designed to work synergistically with MelaFix. Using PimaFix and MelaFix together provides the added benefit of quick tissue regeneration and wound healing. 8 oz. Treats 400 gallons.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/add_info.cfm?pCatId=11269
 
i have a molly that lost her lips to a pretty decent case of cottonmouth. i treated her with a medication specific to cottonmouth (i don't remember if it was gram negative or gram positive rods, one of the two) and then once that was gone she got a wicked fungal infection all over the front of her face. it looked like she was trying to eat a really big cotton ball. i treated that with pimafix.

i cleared everything up, but she lost her lips and they never grew back. i've included a picture of her. she has to swim straight into the food and hope that it hits her mouth, since she can't grab anything. she can then suck whatever food she hits into her mouth. she's currently in my fry tank because it's easier for her to eat without other mollys competing for food.

even though she has no lips, she's been alive and well since the infection. i did take her out of the tank once to check whether she still had a good sized hole for a mouth (i.e. to make sure there was no occluding scar tissue) and she was fine.

if goldfish are anything like mollys, i don't think you're going to get a mouth back. however, your fish will hopefully regrow some tissue around that hole and decrease the size of the opening (like my molly). definately treat with melafix and pimafix in the meantime. she's probably going to have to bump into food like mine once she's healed, but that can work for her so long as there isn't other serious food competition.

btw i've always fed my goldfish flake, supplemented with frozen, sinking pellets, spirulina, ec. where did you hear that flakes were bad for fantails? just curious.

wheres my mouth.jpg
 
Hey guys!
Thanks for all the advice! For the flakes, I just had heard that they do contribute to swim bladder problems, so I feed my other fantails bloodworms or sinking pellets or some peas once in awhile. Thanks for the story about the molly! That gives me some hope, because I can imagine this poor guy has been through hell and after all this, I would feel so bad if the worst should happen to him. Right now he is in a 5 gallon plastic rubbermaid container.... its all i have that can suffice as a hospital tank. My room (a dorm room) I can control the heat of and it stays right at 72, so he has no heater, but a thermometer is in there so I can check and make sure it stays the same for him. The filter in there is just a supplemental filter that can be stuck to the inside of tanks, and I removed the carbon piece from it, so all its really doing is blowing bubbles and keeping some oxygen in the water. I checked out that website on melafix and pimafix and it said that if you are treating for disease and no carbon is used, to do a water change after 3 days, so I will do that for him. Lastly, as I said, he is in a 5 gallon rubbermaid right now.... as soon as he has been treated for a few weeks with all the fungus medication, he is going into a 30 gallon that I have with two other fantails that are a little smaller than him. In the spring, he is going to go in my pond back home and then will go in a winter 55 gallon tank for the other few fantails in the pond when it gets cold out again. So if he makes it, he will be well taken care of :)
Thanks again everyone! Any other advice, let me know!
 
do you have a kit for ammonia testing? if possible, you might want to consider investing in that with such a small quarantine tank. i wasn't able to gauge how big the goldie is, but all goldfish produce a lot of waste and a water change every 3 days (depending on the goldie's size) might be underdoing it a little.

depending on how the goldie heals, it might or might not be suitable for pond living. i know that my molly is more susceptible to fungal infections (and i woul assume bacterial infections as well) because of the abnormal scar tissue surrounding her mouth. i imagine that a pond would be one of the best places to pick up future infections. where are you located? if you are at all close to me (ny), i might be able to adopt her for tank living.

finally, if she is otherwise healthy, would you consider putting her in the 30g and just dosing the entire tank with melafix/pimafix? the extra room and potentially cleaner water might be better for her healing than the small 5g (again, i'm not sure how big she is)

best of luck and keep us updated on her progress!
 
I got this anti-bacteria medicated fish food for my fish who gets constapated and poops white. I heard that white pop was a an infection from beaing backed up. The fish food was little balls that floated for a while then sunk. They might be easier for the fish to scoop up with its mouth.
Heres a link to it on amazon(thats where I got it from)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009YF4F8/103-5646243-5037440
 
Thanks Danielle and thanks Jessu for the idea... i'm probably going to be trying a whole lot of things for this guy to see whats easiest for him, so i'll have to check that out. Phaed, the only other tank I have that he could go in, is a 30 gallon with two healthy fantails in it. I've never dealt with fungus before, so I don't know how it spreads or anything.... but my guess is putting him in there and treating all 3 isnt the best idea. I'm not sure though. He's about 2-2.5 inches, so i know this living space totally isnt ideal for him. The only other thing I could use is a flatter but longer rubbermaid container that said it holds 27 quarts which i think comes out to around 7 gallons. Maybe I could change his water on the third day and when I do that, I'll move him to the longer one? I just brought him home today, so i'm sure he's already stressed. I do have an ammonia testing kit because you're right, my other fantails poop a lot, I change part of their water once a week, so I can only imagine how fast this smaller space will fill up. My idea is, what if I test his water every little while and if it gets suddenly really bad, I'll move him right away. If he is ok until day 3 when the melafix people suggest a water change, then I could move him then? I don't know if it is being risky to do this. I do have the carbon filters i could put in his tank.... the melafix and pimafix bottles said it is suggested that you take the carbon out.... anyone ever had luck not taking it out? In this severe case it might not be a good idea. Let me know what you think. He doesnt have to go in the pond also, you bring up a good point about infection. He could stay in the 55 gallon, or he could go in with my other two fantails in the 30 and i'll just do water changes twice a week instead. Thanks again for the advice everyone!
 
if you put the flakes into a cup of water for a few minutes before feeding, they should absorb enough water to sink - therefore no gulping air.
 
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