Very sick comet

[wuglife]

Hi, this is my first post here.

My comet is 12 years old, right about. He has hemorrhaging all over him (especially around the gill area, but basically everywhere).

He is in a 25 gallon (actually holds a little less than that) tank with a Whisper 40 and a Fluval 70 filter and an airstone. There is no activated carbon in the filter, but there is some crushed coral in there instead to buffer the pH.

I have about 1 tsp per gallon of salt in the tank right now, and I am treating with "Anti Bac Bath" from Goldfish Connection.

Any tips would be very appreciated. He is on his last legs and I don't know whether he'll make it but I want to give him the best chance possible.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!

I am very sorry to hear your fish is unwell. Can you provide us with some more information so that we may be better able to help? Do you know your water parameters(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph)? What type of water change and maintenance schedule have you been following? How long has he had these symptoms? Did they appear gradually or overnight? Is he eating, swimming, showing interest in his environment? Thanks

 

[wuglife]

Welcome to AA!!

I am very sorry to hear your fish is unwell. Can you provide us with some more information so that we may be better able to help? Do you know your water parameters(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph)? What type of water change and maintenance schedule have you been following? How long has he had these symptoms? Did they appear gradually or overnight? Is he eating, swimming, showing interest in his environment? Thanks

Hi, sorry I took so long to reply. I thought he was better, because he showed a ton of improvement, but then today all of a sudden he is sick again, with red marks everywhere.

I checked the ammonia and nitrite in the water today. Both read 0. I did a 50% water change, and now there are 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water in the tank.

I am currently feeding Medi-Gold food.

I treated him with a course of Anti Bac Bath, which I thought killed the infection, but it turns out that it didn't. I think I need to start another course.

The problem with Anti Bac Bath is that it stains the water, which makes testing it very hard because the colors in the test tubes will never match the reading guide (for example, on the ammonia test I have, yellow means no ammonia, and green means ammonia is present. The Anti Bac Bath stains the water a greenish yellow color, which makes it impossible to ascertain whether ammonia is present using a test tube test).

I haven't checked pH yet, but I will today and report back.

He has had these symptoms on and off for about three months now.

I usually change 20% of the water once a week, but lately have been changing it a lot more.

He is swimming and eating, but a little lethargically. He does not look like he is dying anymore, but he is still clearly very ill.

 

[jlk]

Stick to your water changes and the Medigold (great stuff). I would skip the bacterial bath your adding to the tank and only use it if needed as a separate bath. I suspect it may have wreaked some havoc on your cycle and there may be some toxins present. Water changes are one of the best things you can do for him right now. Please keep us posted and ask any questions!