Emergency - sick oranda

[Tank120]

This morning I noticed that my orange and white Oranda, Betty, had a black spot on her side. When I removed her from the tank and felt it, it looked as if a scale was missing and the black spot felt slightly rough. There is only the one spot that I can see. This tank has been treated for parasites twice. When I put her back in the tank and was watching her, I found to ulcers on her tummy, down by her fins. The Filter, Fluval FX5, has been down for a week and a half due to motor failure. I was doing daily water changes. It is 120 gallon tank with a couple of rocks, plants and decorations. The motor was replaced and it is moving more water than it was, but it still isn't right. I have e-mailed Hagen, asking them to send me a new filter and that I would not return the old one until I received the new one because I would not leave my fish with absolutely no filtration again. Attached to this and the next E-mail will be pictures of both areas.

I already have some fish in my quarantine tank, so I do not know what to do or exactly what is causing these to happen both at once.

My water readings don't really make sense: pH 7.4, ammonia .25, nitrites.25, nitrates 0. How can I have ammonia and nitrites but have no nitrates. This was a liquid test kit.

 

[Tank120]

Emergency - Part 2

Here are two more pictures of Betty.

 

[Roz]

Hello,
I'm sorry that your sweet fish is unwell.
I got water readings like that when my tank was in the early stages of cycling - are you currently cycling your tank?
It may explain the black spot - in certainly no expert, but I have read that black patches can be a sign of toxicity. Perhaps from the Nitrite, which is quite toxic to fish?
I'm sure the experts will be along soon, but in the meantime, a 50% water change might help a little?

 

[Roz]

Ps
I meant to also say - a couple of my fancy goldfish seem to lose scales on a regular basis - at first I thought it was from getting stuck in decorations, but after removing the decs and when my smaller fish lost a scale, too, I started thinking that perhaps they just sometimes fall off? I have been meaning to ask jlk.
I have found that the scales grow back very slowly over several weeks, and have encountered no probs by keeping a regular water changing schedule (50-60% at least 3 times a week but every day when temps get over 40C - as I have been told Ammonia gets more toxic in warmer water).

 

[Greta1981]

I've had ammonia and nitrites, without nitrates, more than once. It doesn't make sense, but it does somehow happen. Your fish looks healthy except for that one spot. As Roz said, try a water change and see how she looks after that. I know a water change is likely the last thing you want to consider after SO many water changes in the last week. I'm sorry. It's all I can think to suggest right now but I'll definitely consider it and post aain if anything else springs to mind.

 

[Tank120]

Thank you. The motor on my filter died and it was a week and a half before the new one came. I was doing water changes everyday. I just did another 50% and move my oranda into a quarantine tank.

 

[Greta1981]

I know about your filter. I was the one who suggested moving Sucky to a tub. You're doing SUCH a great job with these fish. Hang in there. There has to be a corner that is turned here soon when things will get easier!!

 

[Roz]

That's a real pain about your filter motor :-(.

I really should think of getting a cheap emergency filter for such an eventuality.

Let us know how you go with you little guy, and sorry for the suggestion if a water change after you have done so many, but think it might help - always makes my little guys perk up.

 

[Tank120]

Betty got put in her own quarantine tank. I did some research on the internet and found that a few people recommended cleaning the ulcer with hydrogen peroxide on a Q-tip. Melanie Fix is supposed to be a natural and affective antibiotic but all I had on hand was Maracyn. I will have to order some Melanie Fix and Prima Fix to keep on hand. After she is done with antibiotics, I will have to see how the ulcer looks. If it has not improved, I will take her to Atlantis for an antibiotic shot. Once it has healed I am going to treat her one more time with Praziprol. If she stays healthy a couple of weeks, I will put her back in the tank. It's funny, she doesn't act sick. She is joyfully swimming around in her quarantine tank.

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[Tank120]

Mela Fix. Stupid spell checker!

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[Roz]

Great to hear Betty is in good spirits

 

[Greta1981]

Melafix and Pimafix can be counterproductive sometimes. I've heard more than my fair share of stories from people whose fish reacted really badly to the medication. Maybe check with JLK first? Just a thought. If she's swimming happily, it could just be a very minor stress related injury from all the trauma of the last week, which hopefully should heal quickly with clean water and the antibiotic you're giving her.

 

[jlk]

Skip the melafix/pimafix. Its not an antibiotic. Is she by herself right now? Clean water is priority here. Let us know how she is doing in the morning and we can go from there!

 

[Tank120]

First I did a 50% water change in the tank. Then after awhile, I put her in a new container.that had been soaked in vinegar water and rinsed thoroughly. I put her in a container all by herself. I cleaned the sores with hydrogen peroxide on a Q-tip and then started her on liquid Maracyn since I didn't know what was causing them and didn't want them to get infected.

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[Tank120]

The water in her container was siphoned from the freshened tank water.

When I did the water change, it appeared as if the filter had started working. There was excellent flow from the returns and after the water change, the tank was crystal clear. My Cory Cats were all very happy and swimming up and down. I will be watching the filter closely though.

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[Tank120]

My only concern right now is I don't have another filter. She has aeration. I don't know if I can do water changes everyday with the antibiotic in there. You treat on days 1, 3 and 5, so maybe I can do a water change before each treatment? Or would that dilute the antibiotic too much?

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[Tank120]

She is still swimming and not acting too lethargic. Fins are not clamped. She didn't eat a lot this morning but she did eat.

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[Tank120]

She didn't eat this morning but is still swimming around, not lying on the bottom.

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[Tank120]

My LFS only sells fish. When they come in, they are quarantined for two weeks and treated with Quick Cure. I called him this morning and asked him if he would take a look at Betty.

When I got here there, he looked at the ulcers and then did a scraping. When he was done, he said that there were no parasites, so it had to be bacterial. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and then gave me a syringe to repeat the treatment on Wednesday. He did not charge me a penny.

I had changed all of the water in the quarantine tanks this morning and she was in her tank water, so I just dumped her back in. Even though she had a rough day, she is swimming happily around her container. She hasn't eaten yet. I put some peas in and so far they haven't been touched. I am hoping she will eat a little daphnia or brine shrimp this evening.

I did another 50% tank change when I got home because things are still slightly off. All of a sudden the filter started working great. The report at Hagen told me all that is covered under warranty is the motors.

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[Tank120]

Anothert tank water change in the 120.

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