Saltwater & Reef

George9 · 05-02-2011, 07:40 PM

Recently, i saw my dwarf gourami's fin on the bottom tip was getting brown and looked torn. His dorsal fin is just SLIGHTLY this way. I'm not sure what it is. Could it be fin rot? He's in a 10 gallon tank alone, Ammonia is 0 nitrite is 0 and nitrate is very low. He is acting normal and stuff too. I do a 10% water change once every other day(three times a week.) I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I recently changed the filter cartridge, I did Saturday. Could this have done anything?

George9 · 05-03-2011, 09:10 PM

Anyone?

McLumpy · 05-03-2011, 09:45 PM

It definitely sounds like fin rot to me. Mine had the same issue, and a Melafix/Pimafix treatment helped a lot! There are still a few areas not healed up completely, but he looks much better than he did before the treatment.

How often do you change the filter media? You shouldn't need to replace it until it's falling apart. There's a plethra of good bacteria in there and if it's replaced too often, it may throw off the balance. Just a quick rinse in a bucket of old tank water, (when you perform a pwc), should do the trick.

A single DG living in a 10g shouldn't produce a huge bioload, so unless you overfeed, that many pwc's per wk shouldn't be necessary. Of course, if you like doing pwc's, I have a 55g for ya! Plecos have one heck of a bioload!

George9 · 05-03-2011, 10:52 PM

Could it spread to other fish in the tank? ( if there were)

McLumpy · 05-03-2011, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

Could it spread to other fish in the tank? ( if there were)

I would think that it could be possible for it to spread to other fish. Of course, from what I've researched online, there's no solid proof whether fin rot is contagious or not. I just took the safe route and medicated the whole tank when my DG had fin rot. I have a 55g community tank, so I didn't want to take any chances.

George9 · 05-03-2011, 11:31 PM

Would it hurt fish who don't have fin rot to get the meds if I just treat the whole tank?

I never would have thought to do that but when you think about it, it's an AWESOME IDEA!

George9 · 05-03-2011, 11:32 PM

Sorry, I said the DG was alone. He's with a Molly and two guppies. Mondays.....my whole mind is never there

McLumpy · 05-03-2011, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

Would it hurt fish who don't have fin rot to get the meds if I just treat the whole tank?

I never would have thought to do that but when you think about it, it's an AWESOME IDEA!

Nope. The Melafix/Pimafix is safe to use w/ healthy fish. I treated the tank for 7 days, (IIRC). Along w/ my DG's fin rot, I was also treating my Swordtail's fungus issue, and trying to help my Molly that has a deformed fin. It helped my other 2 fish, but I'm afraid that nothing will help my poor Molly.

It was worth a try though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

Sorry, I said the DG was alone. He's with a Molly and two guppies. Mondays.....my whole mind is never there

Mondays do that to me too!

George9 · 05-03-2011, 11:48 PM

I'm sorry about your Molly

thanks for your help!

McLumpy · 05-04-2011, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

I'm sorry about your Molly

thanks for your help!

You're welcome! I hope your DG's fins get better!

I'm sure they will w/ the M/P treatment. There are other meds on the market, but these are the safest ones that I've found.

Thank you for the kind words. My Molly is still hanging on, but lately she's been floating stationary towards the top of the tank, and isn't eating much. I'm moving her to my 10g this weekend because I have a male Molly in my tank and I don't want her to reproduce.

George9 · 05-04-2011, 12:13 AM

Aww, sick/ill fish are so sad! I'm sorry about that! Maybe a miracle will happen and she'll be all better! Stranger things have happened....

McLumpy · 05-04-2011, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

Aww, sick/ill fish are so sad! I'm sorry about that! Maybe a miracle will happen and she'll be all better! Stranger things have happened....

That it is. I'm hopeful that she'll bounce back, but it doesn't look good. My husband thinks I should euthanize her, but I can't bring myself to do it.

I'm heading to bed now, but keep me posted on how your DG does w/ the treatment!

George9 · 05-04-2011, 07:34 PM

I added melafix today! We'll see what happens. When did you start noticing improvement?

McLumpy · 05-05-2011, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

I added melafix today! We'll see what happens. When did you start noticing improvement?

Sorry for the delay. That's great to hear! I started noticing a significant improvement by the 5th day of treatment.

I don't know if you have ever used Melafix before, but you will want to increase airflow in the tank. It doesn't really matter w/ the DG, (because they breathe from the surface), but your other fish will thank you. The first time I added Melafix, (alone w/o Pimafix), I had to increase airflow because all of my fish were at the surface. After a few minutes, they were fine.

Good luck w/ your DG!

George9 · 05-05-2011, 08:07 AM

Thanks! I'll do that!

George9 · 05-05-2011, 08:21 PM

Melafix kinda smells like that Vicks vapor rub stuff.....

McLumpy · 05-05-2011, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George9

Melafix kinda smells like that Vicks vapor rub stuff.....

That's the eucalyptus you're smelling.

I love the smell! I have a huge bottle of liquid Vicks that I use in my son's vaporizer and our air cleaner. My husband thinks it makes our house smell like a nursing home.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but if you're using filter media that has carbon in it, you need to take the carbon out of the filter. I'm sure you already did, (as this is stated on the bottle of Melafix), but I thought I would mention it, eh, just in case.