Finrot

[Fantail Fan]

8O

Hi,

I have a 30 Litre tank with 2 fantail goldfish. Yesterday morning I discovered one had become stuck between the filter and the wall of the tank. It must have been there for hours because it was almost dead and what I think is finrot had set in. After I freed it it was floating at the top gasping and not moving at all. The ends of all its fins were breaking down with a white line demarcating the healthy fin from the broken down part. It also had white spots around its mouth and on its body.
I checked the water and pH was 6.6 and ammonium levels were high. I did a 10 Litre water change straight away as a quick look at the internet told me that water quality was very important (esp NH3) in allowing finrot to develop

I went to my local fish shop as soon as they opened at 9 am and they gave me some tetracycline which I added to the tank (1.5 375mg tablets). I also bought a new tank to quarantine the other fish.

Within 2-3 hours he was starting to look better. His breathing had slowed down and he was able to keep himself upright. He was still just floating but would push himself away from the walls. Today the white dots around his mouth/body have gone and the white line on his fins does not seem to be spreading. The fins distal to the white line seem to be breaking down.
He is swimming around the tank at times but is not interested in food (I'm retrieving uneaten food). I have done another 10 Litre water change today (still has v high NH3 though) and will do so frequently until the water quality is better.

My questions are
- Am I using the right antibiotic?
- Have I done the right things, esp with water changes?
- When can I expect him to start eating again?
- Will his fins regenerate or is he destined to look ugly and scraggly?

Any help/info would be appreciated.

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya Fantail Fan and welcome to Aquariumadvice.

Poor bugger. Talk about a bad fin day! Seems to me you are definitely on the right track, not only cause I agree with everything you are doing, but the fish is responding positively.

Tetracycline is a good broad spectrum antibiotic.

Water changes with fresh clean treated water is ALWAYS a good thing; nitrogenous waste is deadly to fish. Keep up the changes; I'd do em daily until you no longer have detectable levels of ammonia and nitrites. With that, keep a close eye on those parameters; its likely the tetracycline will muck up your nitrifying bacterial colonies.

I wouldn't worry about him eating yet. He's been the a traumatic experience. If he doesn't eat in a week or so, let us know and we'll do some brain storming. He won't starve in a week

His tail will likely regenerate, although it may not be as pretty as it was. I don't know if you can get a hold of Melafix in Oz, although I think its available. Its great stuff for helping finrot wounds heal once the infection is treated with a strong antibiotic.

 

[Fantail Fan]

Thanks for the info.

Here's a progress report 24 hours or so later. As you can see he has shed most of the damaged parts of his fins. There seem to be red patches at the end of the fins. Does this just mean they are healing or should I be worried?
He was quite active last night and even had a snack on some bloodworm. Today he has been really lethargic though and just sits on the floor of the tank the whole time. Not interested in food again.
I've been doing my water changes and pH is now about 7, NH3 1-2ppm, nitrites 1ppm.
I've been adding in half a tablet of tetracycline with each 10L change as this is the amount of tetracycline I would be removing.
Are things going the right way or should I be concerned about the decrease in activity today?
I think I can get melafix here in Oz and will pick up some tomorrow.

 

[Allivymar]

Its the ammonia and nitrites thats most likely causing the lethargy; levels above .5 ppm can cause problems (don't forget, ammonia causes burns, especially on the tender tissue of the gills and nitrites interfere with oxygen exchange at the gills), although of course you want the levels to be zero. Keep up those daily water changes! I'd also add a little salt; goldfish handle it well, and the chloride helps prevent nitrite poisoning by competing with the nitrite ions.

The levels of ammonia are probably affecting the wounds as well., irritating the already infected and damaged fin tissue. I would definitely continue with the antibiotics for now to prevent any further infection. And I would expect the dead tissue to slough off; no worries there.

 

[Fantail Fan]

Thanks again for the info.

I've started the melafix yesterday and am keeping on with the water changes.
Today, pH 6.6 (added a little NaHCO3), nitrites 0ppm, NH3 0.5 ppm.
The fish is looking a lot better, swimming actively and eating well. I'm quite confident he's coming right.
The only problem is, this morning when I woke up his water had turned cloudy! I have no idea why this should be, the filtration is still working. Can melafix cause this?

 

[Allivymar]

Naw, not the Melafix. Its a result of the lack of enough nitrifying bacteria (which also caused the ammonia spike). When theres not enough nitrifying bacteria (which eat the nitrogen wastes), heterotrophic bacteria multiply rapidly and wind up partying in your tank. What you're seeing is a bacterial bloom most likely. No probs; once the good bacterial colonies are in force the bloom will go away. Its just unsightly.

 

[Fantail Fan]

Well,

a couple of days later, the cloudiness is disappearing, the fish is super active and healthy, his fins have healed nicely and may even be starting to regenerate (is that possible this early?). I'll give him a couple more days of melafix and then reunite him with his friend (in their new double sized tank to prevent additional entrapment.
Thanks very much for all the help and advice Allivymar (and thanks from my fish too).

 

[Fantail Fan]

Hi, me again.

Well I've reunited my fish and they both seem pretty happy. Spent the first hour swimming around each other in circles.
What I have noticed that's worrying me is that the finrot fish now has black marking around the end of his tailfin and a little bit on his dorsal fin. Is this part of the healing process or is it some new disease process taking place? Any ideas? Here are some pictures.

 

[jsoong]

According to FAQ at Puregold List, black edges are signs of healing (esp. common after ammonia burns & injuries).. So if the goldies are acting fine, I would just observe.

 

[grimlock3000]

That is really good progress on the Goldfish, good work

 

[Kerrinne]

Good on ya for saving your goldfish! I had my current two Buenos Aries tetras lose their fins like that due to ammonia spikes, etc. It is so incredibly wonderful in feeling to see the fins grow back. My tetras four months later show no signs of the trauma they went through back then. Their fins are now normal and there is no longer any discoloration in them from where they healed and grew back. Just as an FYI from my experience with the fin rot. Some kudos headed your way for a fine looking goldfish too!

 

[fearlessfisch]

Wow, this thread really made me smile. I hear so many stories of fishies that don't make it through. This was really great to see.

Congratulations to all involved, including your fish!

 

[Menagerie]

HOORAY!