Fin / tail rot or fin nipping?

[Impulse09]

Attached is a pic of my gbr. He is always being chased by the other one and yesterday I noticed his tail was almost gone. Can tail rot happen in a day? What can I do to treat this.

 

[jlk]

He definitely could have been nipped (only you would know this) but whether he was nipped or not, he now has fin rot. How do your water parameters look? Do you have a qt tank? You can try treating with healthy water, aquarium salt & melafix and see if this has any effect. The problem with fin rot is allows for opportunistic infections to set in due to the damaged tissues. Melafix & salt have some antiseptic properties but if infection has already set in, they will have little effect and you will need to treat with antibiotics to prevent it from spreading into the base of the tail. Damaged tissue will regrow over few mths time (if its not being nipped) but if the rays (bones) break off, they will not regrow. I cant tell from the pic but if there are broken rays, i would skip the melafix & proceed straight to salt & antibiotics in a nip-free environment. Keep in mind that antibiotics will have an effect on your bb.

 

[Impulse09]

I was going to probably set one up this weekends and use an old filter bad and shove it in the new filter since this new tank wont have any beneficial bacteria. I was going to put him in there and see his he did. I will out the temp to 80 and then out some salt to start with. One fish should be fine if I use an old filter pad right?

 

[LyndaB]

What are your current readings in this tank?

 

[Impulse09]

Ammonia and nitrites =0 nitrates 10-20 29 gallon 80 degrees

 

[jlk]

If you set up a qt tank with the old filter media, just be religious about testing the water daily and doing pwcs as needed to keep the water as healthy as possible. That will be vital for your fish. Do take a close look at your fish and see if any of his/her rays (bones in the tail fin) have been been broken off. This will give us an idea of how serious the fin rot is and to best address it.

 

[Impulse09]

I moved him into the 10 gallon he still lived overnight,
How should I treat him I don't k ow if any of the bones were affected in the tail.



The first ouch is before the second is in the new tank this morning it looks like he has more color since he is not being chased all day

 

[jlk]

The fin rot does look pretty serious especially because its fairly close to the base of the tail. In your one pic (though its hard to tell), it does look like there are rays sticking out from where the tissue has degraded. If this is the case, i would treat him with a combo of Maracyn & Maracyn 2 to cover both gram positive and gram negative infections. I have used this combo successfully before to treat severe fin rot in a sick fish i purchased. Fin rot is a bacterial infection which if it spreads to the base of the tail, it can be lethal for your fish. Make sure you keep an eye on your water parameters in your qt tank. Dont hesitate to ask more questions either!

 

[Impulse09]

Where do I get those meds?

 

[barterking85]

Where do I get those meds?

Most lfs will have them or an API brand which I recommend more if not you can try online but I don't think he will last that long

 

[jlk]

Alot of big chain pet stores carry Mardel products (maracyn & maracyn2). Amazon & DrsFoster & Smith also carry them (and ship overnight). Your fish can recover, its just going to take time, meds, & perfect water. Once the infection is treated (it may take 2-3 courses of treatment), it will take months for the tail tissue to regrow.

 

[Impulse09]

Jeez, fish are complicated

 

[Impulse09]

Use maracyn and maracyn 2at the same time?

 

[jlk]

Sick fish are complicated!!! lol

 

[jlk]

Use maracyn and maracyn 2at the same time?

Yes, they are safe to use together and i have used this combo before. Follow the directions on the packages. Just make sure you get the right products (maracyn & maracyn2) and not another product such as maraoxy (which can not be combined with other products).

 

[jlk]

Just a note on the meds-antibiotics will harm your beneficial bacteria so you have to be viligant on monitoring your water parameters in the qt tank (check it daily). Although the meds state not to do pwcs, if you need to do them just make sure you do them before adding any meds. Try to do pwcs around the same time each day then add the meds so your fish gets a full 24hrs of treatment before the next pwc/dose.

 

[barterking85]

I totally agree they can recover just IMO it might be to far gone I hope for the best though

 

[Impulse09]

Well I bought myacan 2 and dosed the qt tank we shall see.

 

[barterking85]

Well I bought myacan 2 and dosed the qt tank we shall see.

Good luck keep us posted

 

[Impulse09]

With the myacan is it ok I have a carbon filter pad?