Urgent! Is medicine hurting my angelfish?

[maxfrenkel19]

Hey everyone,

A little background about my angel: she was getting frequent small fin tears, wasn't sure what was causing it, one day I came home and she was shredded bad . I got rid of the dwarf gourami, assuming he was the culprit (although I never saw them fight during the day). She healed quickly, and since has only had the odd tear every other day or so (don't know why she's still tearing at all...have never seen anyone nip at her).

So, I recently noticed my forktail rainbows rubbing themselves on plants, and a ram doing the same on the gravel. I also spotted a tiny white dot on the ram's fin. Additionally, the angel is pooping white. I thought maybe some sort of parasitic problem was infesting the tank. Today I treated with API's "General Cure" which my LFS advised would cover a wide range of possibilities and was gentle on fish.

I came home tonight about 6 hours after administering the dose, and the angel has a HUGE tear, probably 3/4 of the way down to her body (on her bottom fin). Is it possible that the medicine is stressing her out to the point that she tears? Can that even happen, or was she nipped by another fish? I need to put an end to all her tearing, it can't be good.

So if you've read this far, I have two questions. Should I filter out the medicine? If not, what is causing so much harm to my angel?

I don't know my exact water parameters, but last week I tested at the LFS and they ensured me I was 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and very low nitrate. I did a 25% water change prior to administering medicine. Livestock include 1 BNP, 5 forktail rainbows, 2 bolivian rams, 3 oto cats, 1 angel

Thanks so much for advice, anything helps!

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Sorry I should have mentioned its a 45 gallon tank.

Also she's been entirely rip free for 3 days prior to medicine.

 

[Teakwood]

I'm no professional but my guppies have split tail issues, maybe add a little salt(if you don't already) and do small water changes ever couple days for a while to make sure water is good?

 

[Ursi]

I'm constantly having problems and treated with melafix for 2 weeks I noticed a small improvement but it keeps coming back, I use a little aquarium salt and do 25-50% changes every 3 days to see if I can heal with clean water instead of buying medication constantly

 

[jlk]

API general cure is a mix of praziquantel and metronidazole. It will do nothing for dealing with torn fins but is intended for parasite issues. I would do a decent water change first then I would filter out the meds with new carbon. Put the old media in some new conditioned water and run new carbon in your filter. After a couple of hours, throw away the new carbon and replace your old media and do another decent water change. This should remove the majority of the meds from your tank.

I would also consider investing in a good liquid test kit so you can monitor your water parameters for yourself. Most stores test with strips which are reknowned for inaccuracy. There may be something going on with your tank parameters or your tap water that you are unaware of that is causing problems here that needs to be addressed. Water quality issues are the biggest culprit in fish health concerns.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Jlk, to clarify, I used the general cure as a recommendation from the LFS to treat my rainbowfish/ram itching and white feces symptoms. I was wondering, however, if the stress of the medication could be causing my angel's fins to rip. If so, I would consider filtering out the medication.

However, this morning she has no new tears, and the big one from last night is healing. The fin tearing is a problem, but I don't think it's caused by the meds, so I think I'll finish the dose to be sure. Why her fins are tearing, I still have no idea

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[jlk]

Ok, you were not clear on your reasons for using the med. I thought it was to treat the angel but its perfectly fine for the symptoms in your other fish. I would still start with water quality issues in your angels fins tearing if bullying isnt an problem. Also, consider the diet your feeding. Deficiencies in vitamins and/or minerals can cause issues with proper tissue structure that may make fins more suseptible to tearing. Genetics is another possiblity as well but I would rule out water quality, bullying and diet first.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Thanks for the reply Jlk.


My LFS uses liquid test kits and has assured me on multiple occasions during this "fin-tearing" period that my water is great. However, it is probably time to invest in my own kit.

I think her diet is good, I alternate between 3 days tetramin tropical flakes, 1 day frozen bloodworms.

It certainly seems like a bullying problem, but I just can't imagine (and haven't seen) any of the other fish picking on her. I might have to do a night-time stakeout to find out for sure.

One last thought. If the angel is inflicted by whatever is causing the rainbows to itch, could she be itching at night and accidentally tearing her fins on my driftwood or rock? That's my only other theory.

Thanks again for the advice

 

[jlk]

It sounds like you need to do some night time observation to rule out her flashing/catching herself on anything or if someone is else is perhaps forcing her into objects or nipping and causing damage. I imagine though if she was flashing, you would see this behavior in the day as well. You may want to consider switching everybody over to a better quality food such as NLS. It is more exepnsive but you are paying for quality ingredients. Jmo, but I think the tetra foods are pretty low quality.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

I didn't know tetramin was considered low quality. Three canisters of the teramin flakes came with the tank when I got it from craigslist, so I have been using them without thinking about it. I will look into NLS flakes like you mentioned.

In the meantime, I will plan a stakeout sometime this weekend and try to see any unusual nighttime behavior. I'll finish out the meds since I started it, but don't think I'll do so again in the future. The rams in particular are really not liking the medication (one of them has darkened considerably in color)

Thanks for the support!