Well that is a little reassuring. Unfortunately, Maracyn-Two was all sold out and won't have any until Tuesday. I am not waiting that long, so I'll take what my friend bought - Melafix. I have used the fungal counterpart Pimafix successfully in the past. Any thoughts on this medication?
septicemia!!
- Thread starter TitusvilleSurfr
- Start date
septicemia is NOT usually carried by snails, it is usually a bacterial infection caused by poor water conditions, generally resulting from overfeeding and a buildup of waste in the water. large water changes, less food, some heat, and some maracyn-two should clear things up. it's not usually fatal in fish, when treated properly, but the key is to start treatment IMMEDIATELY. a water change will do wonders.
one of my goldfish had a rather bad case of septicemia, and it cleared within a week with treatment.
since you can't get ahold of maracyn-two, don't panic. bring up the heat to about 80, add some salt, and do a 60 or 70 percent water change. I'd wait for the maracyn-two to arrive, it's the best treatment. i don't know if melafix treats for the same bacteria.
one of my goldfish had a rather bad case of septicemia, and it cleared within a week with treatment.
since you can't get ahold of maracyn-two, don't panic. bring up the heat to about 80, add some salt, and do a 60 or 70 percent water change. I'd wait for the maracyn-two to arrive, it's the best treatment. i don't know if melafix treats for the same bacteria.
bad water conditions and waste from overfeeding MAY result in septicemia, but are not a direct cause. septicemia stems from a smaller infection which has spread throughout the bloodstream, and thus throughout the entire body of the fish. bad water conditions will most likely contribute, but without a smaller infection to aggravate, will not cause it directly.
Eh, if you're fish is'nt in a critical state, do some good water changes and hit em up with jungle labs "tank buddies" tabs. For such a cheap and dinky looking fish med, it actually does work pretty darn well. Cleared up the clowns in one cycle of treatment (4 days). Or you could do water changes and wait for the big guns...
I don't think water conditions are an issue, I do weekly 20% RO/DI water changes and the tank is pretty well established. If my test kit is accurate, ammonia/nitrite are reading 0 and nitrate is only about 5 ppm or so. The problems started a couple of days after snails were added, and I read they often carry the bacteria. So I simply made the connection.
I am dosing the Melafix and hoping for the best. On the third day of treatment the popeye had already started to go down, although fin rot which was not apparent when I made my first post has began to take its toll.
I am dosing the Melafix and hoping for the best. On the third day of treatment the popeye had already started to go down, although fin rot which was not apparent when I made my first post has began to take its toll.
the point is..there is something wrong.
septicemia as many other disorders are very difficult to distinguish. one reason so many of the meds are broad spectrum and treatment for gram - and gram + are readily available.
septicemia may also be confused in species with light coloration as they are prone to 'show' apparent Sx.
I know as I have Gold Koi angels and the area near the fins always appears red.
but you definatley have something a miss as you are seeing signs of 'fin rot'
pimafix and melafix are descent for mild Sx. but you will need more specific meds for actual bacterial infections.
water conditions have been attributed to 'fin rot' but I don;t think that is always the case.
I currently have an angel that is finally recovering from some infection..that asted for weeks in a tank that gets 2 30-40% water changes each week.
the tank mate has suffered no i effects or none of the Sx.
btw, I use ro/di water only for top off..I do not use it for FW tanks and water changes as most of the minerals and chems are removed by the RO/DI units. there needs to be some level of minerals in the tanks.
pure RO/DI will not provide a very stable environment for pH.
septicemia as many other disorders are very difficult to distinguish. one reason so many of the meds are broad spectrum and treatment for gram - and gram + are readily available.
septicemia may also be confused in species with light coloration as they are prone to 'show' apparent Sx.
I know as I have Gold Koi angels and the area near the fins always appears red.
but you definatley have something a miss as you are seeing signs of 'fin rot'
pimafix and melafix are descent for mild Sx. but you will need more specific meds for actual bacterial infections.
water conditions have been attributed to 'fin rot' but I don;t think that is always the case.
I currently have an angel that is finally recovering from some infection..that asted for weeks in a tank that gets 2 30-40% water changes each week.
the tank mate has suffered no i effects or none of the Sx.
btw, I use ro/di water only for top off..I do not use it for FW tanks and water changes as most of the minerals and chems are removed by the RO/DI units. there needs to be some level of minerals in the tanks.
pure RO/DI will not provide a very stable environment for pH.
I believe now that septicemia is what my Goldfish had. His belly got very red, looking sort of like a nasty red bruise. His fins clamped and eventually he just settled to the bottom looking pitiful. At the time, I didn't know what it was, or if the other fish were sick too, except that I suspected that it was bacterial. I treated the whole tank with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2 for the recommended five days (very $$ for a 55gal tank). Within 24 hours, the redness was 90% gone. In three days he looked markedly better. Now, a week later, he looks perfectly fine and extremely playful and active.
The only side affect is my tank got (and is still) very cloudy, but that's a small price to pay to get the little guy better.
The only side affect is my tank got (and is still) very cloudy, but that's a small price to pay to get the little guy better.
keep in mind that when treating bacterial infections..you may affect the beneficia...bacteria..
keep an eye on water parameters.
keep an eye on water parameters.
I have a 55 also, but I put my fish in a 20 for treatment. Good point on the Nitrification bacteria, hopefully they won't be affected. If so, I have several separate established substrates, so I could put some of them in a differant tank to 'jump start' a cycle.
After weeks of treatment with Melafix, my fish has bounced back; His eyes are where they should be, his fins look great, the blood red has been replaced with a nice black/brown counter shading, and I can't feed him fast enough. 
