Serpae Tetra With Fin Rot

[cpfarhood]

I've got a serpae tetra that seems to have gotten fin rot due to the ich outbreak in the tank. His tail fin is basically gone, will it grow back? I don't want the fish to suffer and surely that has to make it difficult to swim.

 

[Fruitbat]

cpfarhood...

Secondary fungus infections are common after bouts with Ich. You'll want to consider treating the fungus with anti-fungal meds and perhaps use some Mela-Fix to speed up the healing process.

 

[cpfarhood]

I started treating the tank with some Maracyn Two a couple of days ago to see if it would stop the fin rot and it appears to have at least slowed it down if not stopped it. But will the fin grow back?

 

[cpfarhood]

I started treating the tank with some Maracyn Two a couple of days ago to see if it would stop the fin rot and it appears to have at least slowed it down if not stopped it. But will the fin grow back?

 

[Fruitbat]

In general I'll say yes....the fin will grow back...though it will never be as pretty as it originally was. I'd still add the Mela-Fix to speed things up.

 

[QTOFFER]

Sounds too familiar - I am having the same problem as cpfarhood.

I had five zebra danios, one serpae tetra, and six black phanton tetras in my cycled 58 gal for nearly a month. I was performing 10 gal water changes weekly. Everyone was very happy. Water params: NH3=0, NO2=0, NO3=5ppm, temp=78F

Then I added five more serpaes and all hell broke loose. .

I know, I know, I should have quarrantined the new additions, but my 10 gal Q tank is not yet cycled (I'm going with a fishless cylcle) and the Serpaes had been at my trusted lfs for several weeks with no apparent illness.

I noticed a moderately bad case of ich on the black phantoms first. I started 20 gal water changes every day and standard dose treatment with Formalin-3. Three days into treatment, the Serpaes showed mild signs of ich. It's been a week and the ich is almost gone in all but a few serpaes. However, I have noticed fin rot on nearly all the tetras (at first, I thought it was just some fin nipping). The danios appear fine.

I still have another week of ich treatment with the formalin-3. Should I wait until then to add something like Mela-Fix, or should I treat the finrot more aggressively? Three of the new serpaes have both ich and finrot and they are not eating.

 

[Allivymar]

The regrowth of the fins depends on how far down the damage is. If it has destroyed the root of the fin (caudal peduncle) then no, its likely the fin will not grow back. If it has not gone down that far then it will grow back, although maybe not as pretty as it once was as Fruitbat said. Theres an interesting visual diary of Discus fin regrowth after a severe case of fin rot and trimming of the damaged tissue here: http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/fin-rot-1.shtml

As for your guys QTOFFER, its a tough call. Mixing meds can be dangerous, and can cause as many probs as it might help. I'd suggest completing the ich treatment, but be sure to keep the water absolutely pristine (even if it means redosing to keep med levels where they need to be due to daily water changes). Sometimes clean fresh treated water can help the fish's immune system fight off infection. If it does not seem to help and the fins get worse, isolate them and treat them seperately; this way you are not mixing meds and endangering the fish in the main tank; only those who absolutely need the treatment. You don't need to cycle a QT tank. In fact, if you use it as a hospital tank, most of the meds used in treating fish disease will kill off the nitrifying bacteria anyway. Lots of water changes are the way to go (and again, clean fresh treated water is always a good thing!).