Beginnings of fin rot?

[lyquidphyre]

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability.

I noticed it first with my Odessa barb, but thought the serpae tetras were just nipping at him too much. Now I noticed my oldest angel fish having possible fin rot. With the Odessa barb, his back fin was red (looked like broken blood vessels) and his fin looks overly nipped (now Im thinking fin rot). I noticed last night that my angelfish has a thin red "line" at the base of his pectoral fins

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

I will go and check these in a minute and report back =o)
Actually, I know off hand my pH is about 7.2

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

It's a 75gal planted and has been set up for about a year and a half. (Well, we moved here a year and a half ago... but I have had this tank for almost 32.5 years)

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

I have a canister Eheim Pro II 2028 as well as a 9 watt UV sterilizer

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

At the moment I have 5 serpae tetras, one odessa barb, 2 hatchest, 1 RTB shark, 2 kribs, 2 angels, and 1 GBR. Aside from the RTB shark, all my other fish are medium sized for their species.

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

I did a water change about a week ago and removed 10-15% of the water. Because of the light bioload, I don't do water changes as much as I should. But I have done more water changes in the last 3 months than usual. (it really depends on my school work load)

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

The two fish in question are old fish. In the past two weeks I added an angelfish and two rams. One of the rams died the other day (quickly removed the body). I have not noticed any aggression between my old angelfish (the infected) and the new one.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

I added an airpump the other day to oxygenate the water to possibly help the fin rot.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

I feed them flake food as well as shrimp pellets. No new change in diet.

*phew*

With all of that being said. Could this be fin rot? I've lost some fish in the past 2-3 months for unknown reasons and Im wondering if there is something wrong with the quality of water in my tank. My parameters are always pretty normal and I always consider my tank to be pretty healthy- now Im wondering. I never know if its just bad fish, or if there is something microscopic in my tank causing a problem. However, if that were the case, wouldn't my RTB shark (a species I always thought was really sensitive to water conditions) be less vibrant?
I will go test my water here shortly, but in the mean time- does the thin red line at the base of my angelfish's pectoral mean possible fin rot due to stress/water conditions?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hey Lyquid. I too slack on water changes during the school year, I've gone a long time inbetween changes on my fw tank and noticed the red streak/fin rot on my one angelfish before. It seemed that if I did a large water change after that, it would help. Then after another, it would all but be gone.

Just a theory here, but water changes have always cured whatever fin/tail/body ailment my fish have always had, so I assume it was from not changing the water enough. My nitrates would climb high as well.

HTH, I would keep an eye on it, but perhaps try some 30% water changes maybe twice a week or so, and see if they heal themselves at all.

 

[lyquidphyre]

I did a 25% water change and added salt... which might not have been the best of things to do with an angelfish... but he seems to be doing better.

Thanks for the response, I was surprized at how dead the unhealthy fish forum was =o/

I will do another water change in a few days and see what happens. Unfortunatly my odessa barb died yesterday- but his fin rot was much worse. I think I caught the angelfish's soon after the signs appeared.

 

[Zagz]

You could also add some pimafix to aid in the healing process. Keep us updated on how they are doing.