Unhealthy silver dollar

[mikem691]

Hi
Im looking for some input on one of my silverdollars that just cant seem to kick finrot.
I have a 75 gallon with 4 angels 2 silver dollars 2 clown loaches and a common pleco. all fish are about 2 1/2 " except the pleco is about 3 1/2.
I do weekly water changes @ 50% or more and temp match to with in .5deg with a digital thermo. treat with prime before filling. Thank has been up for about 6mo and been cycled for 5 with no changes. Ive had the 2 silver dollars for about 2 mo and they came from the same tank at the lfs but only this one showes any rot.
tank readings
ph 8.0 never changes
ammo 0 never changes
nitrIte 0 never changes
nitrAte never above 10
Temp 79.5

I have an emperror 400 and 280 for filtration with the standard media and bio rings in an additonal filter cage.

Sory this is so long just wanted to give all info up front
Right now i have the one silver doller in a quartine tank and treating with a broad spectrum treatment.
Could this just be a sickly fish or a stressed fish that just wont do well?
He eats and swims around like normal.

 

[jlk]

Hi! What are the parameters on your qt? What exactly have you used to treat so far (name of meds, length of time treated, anything else such as salt)? The pic isnt great but it appears that there are some white areas on his tail- are these fuzzy, smooth or stringy? Some more info will help!

 

[mikem691]

Sorry for the bad pic The qt tank is a 29 gallon and exact match to the 75.
I have 4 tanks running and the 29 is used for some tropicals that i move to a larger tank with a divider when its being used as a qt. There is no fuzzy or cottony stuff on the fins just milky looking infront of the shreded areas. I have not used salt. All the other fish are fine. The treatment im trying now is Life guard and im on the last day. Im hopeing this will work and wondering how fast i should see an improvement in the condition of the tail and fins.
Ill try to get a better picture up.

 

[mikem691]

here is another pic he is realy camera shy and runs away from the camera..LOL sorry not much better

 

[jlk]

Thanks! I honestly think the lifeguard product is useless but chain stores seem to love recommending it. No fuzziness is a good thing- it means there are not any secondary fungal infections. Do a big water change and run some new carbon for 2-3hrs to remove any traces of the lifeguard product and then replace your old media. Petsmart should carry either triple sulfa, furan2 or maracyn2 (not regular maracyn). Maracyn2 would be my last choice only because of your ph (its not as effective at higher than neutral phs). Premix 1 level tsp/g of aq salt in a container of tank water and add this gradually over 48hrs. Add the antibiotic as directed. If you do wcs, only add back the salt (predissolved) you remove-ie, 50%wc, add back 1/2 original dose. Lets see how he does with actual meds & some salt. The antibiotic should clear the infection and he will be able to recover with time and lots of healthy water on his own. Keep in mind, the med will not regrow his fins- it will just heal the infection so they can regrow. There may be some permanent damage however where his rays (bones) are broken off and they may not ever fully regrow but the important thing is to stop the infection before it progresses any further. Keep us posted!

 

[mikem691]

Thanks! I honestly think the lifeguard product is useless but chain stores seem to love recommending it. No fuzziness is a good thing- it means there are not any secondary fungal infections. Do a big water change and run some new carbon for 2-3hrs to remove any traces of the lifeguard product and then replace your old media. Petsmart should carry either triple sulfa, furan2 or maracyn2 (not regular maracyn). Maracyn2 would be my last choice only because of your ph (its not as effective at higher than neutral phs). Premix 1 level tsp/g of aq salt in a container of tank water and add this gradually over 48hrs. Add the antibiotic as directed. If you do wcs, only add back the salt (predissolved) you remove-ie, 50%wc, add back 1/2 original dose. Lets see how he does with actual meds & some salt. The antibiotic should clear the infection and he will be able to recover with time and lots of healthy water on his own. Keep in mind, the med will not regrow his fins- it will just heal the infection so they can regrow. There may be some permanent damage however where his rays (bones) are broken off and they may not ever fully regrow but the important thing is to stop the infection before it progresses any further. Keep us posted!

Thank you for your help. I will try this next and keep you posted.

 

[mikem691]

just a quick update His fins are looking a lot better the milky look is about gone and they seem to be growing back.

 

[jlk]

Thats great news!! I am glad he is on his way to recovery!