German Blue Ram Fin Rot

[kholton]

Okay, so I've had a GBR with fin rot for a few weeks now and I've been doing (almost) daily 25-50% PWC along with an addition of stress coat+. He hasn't been getting any bettor however and today he's been literally just resting on the bottom. (not sideways, but still, resting) Is there ANYTHING else that I can do? Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite = virtually null. The water is a little hard, but they were slowly (over about a month) adjusted to that. The pH is 6.4.

Thanks for any advice,

~Kaden

 

[kholton]

He is looking quite bloated as well... the tank mates, a female GBR, and 4 neons are fine.

 

[kholton]

Will someone please just respond? He's looking very poor, and my fiancee is freaking out. He keeps "falling over" but then quickly rights himself back up-right. It appears that there may be something protruding from between his anal and pelvic fins. (not poop btw)

 

[mudraker]

Could the protrusion be an internal parasite?

Is the GBR new and had fin rot when you got it? Or did the fin rot occur on after you had him awhile?

And how often did you do PWC before the suspected fin rot occur?

 

[kholton]

Well he died... : (
I have had him for about 4 months or so... And I did about 50% water changes at least once a week.

 

[mudraker]

I'd suspect a parasite, but hard to say.

I doubt it was finrot or other fungal infection if the maintenance was kept up like you say.

Sorry to hear he died.

From what I understand, a lot of the commercially available GBR are awefully delicate.

 

[kholton]

Are there any treatments that you know of that can be used in the tank to prevent the death of the female? (if it was indeed a parasite) I know that GBR are delicate, so I've been apprehensive about using anything.

 

[mudraker]

s she or any of the tankmate showing symptoms of anything?

If they appear happy and healthy, you might want to look into a high quality antiparasitic food, or even a garlic supplemental food such as new life spectrum Thera-A as a precaution.

Soaking food in garlic juice might help.

None of these will harm your fish further, that is the important thing.

My diagnosis of a parasite infection is only an educated guess. Fish TB can also cause wierd fungus looking symptoms on the outside.

I just would rule out fungus such as fin rot because the tank is well maintained.

I've treated quite a few parasitic infections, but only recently aquired rams, and they are still fry.

I wouldn't have even posted on this, but you sounded frantic and no one else seemed to know any better than me.

I won't usually post answers unless I am very certain I know what I'm talking about