Sick Fish...I need help identifying the problem

[FreshwaterRook]

Hello all,

I recently treated my Cichlid tank for ICH. I used one of the methods described in the forum which was a salt treatment over 14 days with raising the heat to about 84-85F and doing daily water changes. I did notice that the fish in question had some white stuff around his fin but now it has gotten worse. I have decided to quarantine him in a tank hospital, however I'm not sure what to treat my fish with. Please help. Thanks.

 

[Berylla]

Is the white stuff light fuzzy or thick cotton fuzzy? I'm suspecting your fish has a bacterial infection because the water is very warm in the main tank. Do you have any methylene blue? In the QT tank, you can treat him there. Lower the temps slowly to 70 as bacterial grows faster in warm temps. If he responds well to the treatment, that's all you will need. Change the water in the QT 50% a day, redosing the meth blue 50%.

If in 24 hours he is looking worse, you will need to treat with an antibiotic. Do you have any on hand?

 

[FreshwaterRook]

I do have Methlyene Blue and I also have Furan-2. How much should I dose with the blue? And it looks thick cotton fuzzy, that fin barely moves.

 

[Berylla]

That sounds like bacterial. Methylene blue if you buy it pre-mixed, is a drop a gallon, if I remember correctly. Check the bottle for instructions. And shake bottle first. Keep the bottle and fish tank away from anything that will get stained. I put a large garbage bag under the QT tank if I treat with methylene blue. If it's too late for that, wipe up spill ASAP.

Lower the temps gradually as mentioned, treat with meth blue and the furan-2. Again, look on the instructions on the bottle. Furan-2 comes in powder or tablet.

 

[Berylla]

Add an airstone and heater too. Change the water out 50% a day, redosing both meds. How big is your QT? If it's only 5G, you need to change %100 of the water a day.

Use aged and heated water if possible to avoid PH swings and carbonated water.

 

[FreshwaterRook]

My OT tank is 10 gallons. I set up the tank with 25% of the main tanks water and the remaining 75% was tap water. I treated the water with prime, stress coat, beneficial bacteria and aquarium salt. I had it setup about 45min before I put my fish in there. The tank does have a filter, heater and airstone. I'm going to dose with both the methylene and Furan-2 as you instructed. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Berylla]

Good luck. Remove any carbon from the filter if there is any. Use all fresh aged tap water from now on to keep the water pristine. Avoid using stress coat (the stuff with aloe, right?). It coats the lungs and makes it harder for the fish to breathe. Prime is all you need. Keep us updated.