Fin rot - confused what to do, please help

[SandyCheeks]

My red cap Oranda has fin rot which has came on very quickly. She does not look well at all. I am very fond of her. She was stunted when I got her a year ago and hasn't grown an inch. My first fish. Tank mates are another red cap and fantail. Any advice would be really appreciated. (I know I am overstocked in a 30 gal and am looking into 75+ gal on CL.)

The water params are consistently ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20 ppm, ph 7.6. Tank cycled last fall. Using the same tap water. Change 25 to 50 % twice a week.

The only thing different is switched from flake to sinking pellets (thought it would be better) and fed tublifex worms for the first time. Could a change in diet cause this? The water became cloudy after feeding the worms. Did a 80% water change after.

I just did a 50% water change today when noticed. Is this fatal?

I have mardel maracyn-two and mardel quick cure. Which would be better?

Should I quarunte her or dose the whole tank? I don't have a tank to use as a hospital tank, but could put her in a tub with an airstone and do daily water changes if that would be better. The other fish are nipping her tail tail.

If I treat the whole tank, will I loss the good bacteria?

Should I add some aquarium salt?

I dont have a heater cuz thought goldies were cold water fish. Should I add a heater?

Is this contagious to the others?

Thanks!!!

 

[jlk]

Can you possibly post a pic? I would qt her both for treatment and so she isn't being attacked by the others. She needs to rest and heal. If you have atleast a 10g tub and an airstone, this will be fine along with daily water changes. Any big chain store has 10+g plastic storage bins for under $10.

Do you have access to other meds beyond what you listed? If not, we can work with what you have. Let us know!

 

[SandyCheeks]

Can you possibly post a pic? I would qt her both for treatment and so she isn't being attacked by the others. She needs to rest and heal. If you have atleast a 10g tub and an airstone, this will be fine along with daily water changes. Any big chain store has 10+g plastic storage bins for under $10.

Do you have access to other meds beyond what you listed? If not, we can work with what you have. Let us know!

Thank you. I have a 10 gal tub I'll get filled & add airstone. She has a good appetite, ate some peas & flakes.

I do not have immediate access to other Meds but tomorrow could go to petco in afternoon. Or overnite from amazon, but would still be about 2 days.

Poor girl looks horrible. Still sweet as can be tho.

 

[SandyCheeks]

Thank you. I have a 10 gal tub I'll get filled & add airstone. She has a good appetite, ate some peas & flakes.

I do not have immediate access to other Meds but tomorrow could go to petco in afternoon. Or overnite from amazon, but would still be about 2 days.

Poor girl looks horrible. Still sweet as can be tho.

Another photo

 

[jlk]

Poor girl! Ok, my guess is her buddies got a bit too friendly with her tail and the damage allowed the infection to enter and progress rapidly. Ok, let's start with what you have. Maracyn2 does treat this but your borderline of your ph being just bit too high for it to be fully effective.

So let's try a combo of this along with 1tsp/g of salt (level tsp). Make sure you dissolve the salt in some treated water first then add the salt solution gradually over 24hrs. Only add back what you remove with a water change.

Ok, I am guessing you are in the US? If so, go to the Goldfish Connections website and order some MediGold. I also have direct contact numbers (I forget if they list them on their site) if you want to order it over the phone or have it shipped quickly.

 

[SandyCheeks]

Poor girl! Ok, my guess is her buddies got a bit too friendly with her tail and the damage allowed the infection to enter and progress rapidly. Ok, let's start with what you have. Maracyn2 does treat this but your borderline of your ph being just bit too high for it to be fully effective.

So let's try a combo of this along with 1tsp/g of salt (level tsp). Make sure you dissolve the salt in some treated water first then add the salt solution gradually over 24hrs. Only add back what you remove with a water change.

Ok, I am guessing you are in the US? If so, go to the Goldfish Connections website and order some MediGold. I also have direct contact numbers (I forget if they list them on their site) if you want to order it over the phone or have it shipped quickly.

Ordered the medigold online, and added some of the salt solution to the tub. She is resting for the night.

 

[jlk]

Ok! Keep is posted!

 

[SandyCheeks]

Ok! Keep is posted!

The medi-gold arrived today. Not sure how much to give her, don't see anything on the instructions. She is doing ok, the fin loss has not progressed much. I had added some maracyn2 a couple days ago to the hospital tank, thought it couldn't hurt at that point. And also the salt ( replaced % when doing daily water changes) also a little melafix, not cuz I think it will cure it but because we use tea tree oil on our pets for cuts and scrapes, it is soothing and helps healing.

 

[jlk]

I know the pellets are a bit big but they break easily if needed. They also get soft pretty quickly. Your supposed to feed 1-3% of their body weight daily which is a bit hard to determine without a digital scale. Try to aim for three meals a day (if possible) what she can eat in @5mins. It's ok if she doesn't finish it too but there shouldn't be piles of food leftover.

 

[SandyCheeks]

I know the pellets are a bit big but they break easily if needed. They also get soft pretty quickly. Your supposed to feed 1-3% of their body weight daily which is a bit hard to determine without a digital scale. Try to aim for three meals a day (if possible) what she can eat in @5mins. It's ok if she doesn't finish it too but there shouldn't be piles of food leftover.

Thanks so very much for your help. We gave her a few pellets and it took awhile but ate them all. what a little trooper. Tomorrow I'll weigh her in a cup of water on my digital scale and try to calculate less the water. She is easy to catch with not much for fins.

 

[SandyCheeks]

Now there are black marks on her fins and in her tail. What causes this?

Doing 80% water changes every other day. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates showed up on 6th day at 5.0, in-the-tank small filter in the hospital tank. Medigold 3 times a day for 6 days now.

 

[jlk]

Typically, black marks are seen with ammonia burns or ammonia burns that are healing. As you are doing big water changes right now and your ammonia is zero, my guess would be that there was some level of ammonia or ammonia spiked where she was before and now that theres lots of healthy water, shes starting to heal. How is she doing otherwise? Eating well? Active? It looks like shes on the mend!

 

[SandyCheeks]

Typically, black marks are seen with ammonia burns or ammonia burns that are healing. As you are doing big water changes right now and your ammonia is zero, my guess would be that there was some level of ammonia or ammonia spiked where she was before and now that theres lots of healthy water, shes starting to heal. How is she doing otherwise? Eating well? Active? It looks like shes on the mend!

Thats odd because I test once a week and it showed zero. My test kit is almost gone so it could be that I need a fresh kit.

When I think back, the night before i noticed this i didnt see any fish in the tank and thought my tomcat had got them. But when i knocked on the glass they all came over except this girl who stayed behind the plants. Next time I will be more observant and see what they are up to. I think they were after her because i saw them nipping her. . When i first put her in the hospital, she was so exhausted she just stayed with her head forward against the side.

She's doing very well. Very active with big appetite. I will order a new kit today. Also bought a python to make big water changes easier.

 

[SandyCheeks]

Typically, black marks are seen with ammonia burns or ammonia burns that are healing. As you are doing big water changes right now and your ammonia is zero, my guess would be that there was some level of ammonia or ammonia spiked where she was before and now that theres lots of healthy water, shes starting to heal. How is she doing otherwise? Eating well? Active? It looks like shes on the mend!

Thanks for all your help! I would have had no clue what to do.

 

[jlk]

Keep up the great job your doing taking care of her! It sounds like shes doing well!

 

[SandyCheeks]

She is doing really well, thank you.

The Medigold says to feed 14 days or more. When should I stop feeding her them? I worry that it could mess up her immune system by giving antibiotics for too long, but I do want to make sure she is healed.

When would it be best to return her to the main tank? She is doing ok in the hospital tank (my family gets a kick out of having a hospital for a fish) but she does seem to miss her tank mates and seems to get scared at night by herself. Or maybe that is just me humanizing my fish

Also how long does it take to grow back a tail?

 

[jlk]

Feed for 14 days and lets see how she's doing on day 15. If she's well on the mend, this will probably be enough. If she's not quite there, feed for another 7 and reevaluate on day 8.

Fin regrowth takes quite awhile depending on the degree of damage. It could be weeks to months. Healthy water and a good diet are the key.

In respect to moving her back when she's well, you will need to do this with care. if the other fish continue to bully and nip her, you will find yourself back at square one. If its just one fish, you can try some behavioral modification but if it's everyone, then you may need to reconsider your tank situation. She is missing her buddies (even if they don't play nice)and it is bit stressful for her to be alone but she's on the mend, so don't worry!

 

[SandyCheeks]

Just wanted to give a quick update, she is doing great, her bottom fins have grown back and her tail has started growing back, too. We moved her back into the main tank with her mates and they are getting along like she never left! But keeping a close eye on her still. She now has a name, we call her Stubby.

Thanks again for your help. I don't think Stubby would have made it if you hadn't helped us!

 

[jlk]

That's great news!!!