Possible finrot on endler

[feline9]

I bought some endler fish (most likely endler/guppy crosses) a couple weeks ago and they've been doing fine til now. Today while looking at them I noticed one looked like its side fins (pectoral fins I think) were white on the edges and not quite "full." The easiest way to describe it is that it looks almost as though its been eaten away.
I'll try to get some pictures soon but it may be difficult because they're so small and I don't have a good camera.

I have a 30L (8 gallon) tank. The only fish in there are six endlers and a borneo sucker. It is filtered and heated. It also has a live plant, which I think the pet shop called pennywort.
The plant is actually pretty sick, yesterday I took it out and cut off most of its leaves because I noticed it seemed to have some fluffy stuff growing on it.
Could this have made my fish sick? Should I remove it from the tank?

My other question is should I try and treat the whole tank with melafix as a precaution or do I quarantine the one sick fish. Problem is I don't have another tank available to use a quarantine tank, but I don't want to dose the whole tank because borneo suckers are scaleless so they're much more sensitive to medication.

Any ideas?

 

[Matt68005]

Furan-2 from walmart is a good cheap BB safe antibiotic/anti-microbial medicine. Its called fungus cure, and its like 4 bucks. One tab for ten gallons, so you might want to just break off a little piece and throw it away and use the big chunk of the tablet for the tank.
It is safe for BB, plants, and Scaleless fish.

 

[feline9]

Thanks, I'll try to see if I can find it or purchase it online ( I'm actually in Australia, so no walmarts to be seen anywhere :/ )
If for some reason I can't get it, does anyone know any other alternatives or ideas? I know we have melafix here but I've heard its quite harsh on scaleless fish.

Also does anyone have any idea what could have caused it? I'm fairly sure I keep the water very clean- 30% water change every week. Plus it really shouldnt be overstocked, there aren't many fish and they're all small.
Is it possible that if the plant was rotting/growing mould it could have transferred to the fish?

 

[ImACoolguy]

Do you have a test kit to test the water?

Unless aggression caused it, water quality is usually the biggest reason for fin rot.

I'd keep that heater turned low as your "Borneo sucker" also known as a Hillstream Loach thrives much better in coldwater tanks. They are not very tolerant to heat.


Caleb

 

[feline9]

I have tests for nitrites and nitrates. I last tested a couple days ago and both read very low, though I can't remember the exact numbers. I'd test it again but I'm away from home for two days.

I keep the water temperature at 26 degrees. I was told 23-25 was optimal for a Borneo sucker but that 26 was still ok? Is that temperature really bad for him?

The endlers do chase each other around quite a bit, and I've seen them get close enough to nip each other. Also, the sick fish definitely gets chased a little bit more than the others.

 

[Matt68005]

Nitritates in any amount is bad for fish, but very very low numbers just mean your cycle is about done and well i guess is okay for fish.
Im all for finding the root of the problem here, but their may not be one. Sometimes fish just get sick like all of us, and i like to point people to the right medicine for future reference or major outbreaks, i never try to suggest expensive meds for just one sick cheap little guppy, in fact its better to not use meds with them unless several really need it at the right time.
With gupppies you just gotta get used to the fact they dont live very long, 2 years at max...and so ofc your gonna loose alot.
The furan Will work for your tailrot, and its 4 dollars at walmart "fungus cure" or somthigne, read the ingredients. And it IS safe for plants and scaless fish and BB.

 

[feline9]

Thank you, I might wait a bit to see if it gets better, otherwise I'll try and find the furan if they have it in Australia.

Thank you for your advice