Fin rots

[ctvu]

Hi all & ladyred

One of Pelvic fin is going to drop. Has any one got this problem before? please tell me what you have done to save them.

I don't know what causes this problem, the tank is fully cycled and no new fish or plants, daily w/c. What else do I miss?

ATM I raised already the temp 32C and add cooking salt 1 t/s per 10 l.

The parameter of water is fine
PH= 7
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
W/C daily 30%-50% with aged water (PH = 7, temp = 28C)

Any reply would be much appreciated.

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Pelvic fins can be damaged when the fish brush against something in the tank. Are you sure it's fin rot.

If it was fin rot I would think more than just one fin would be damaged. It usually affects all the fins at the same time.

When you added salt, it was at 1 level teaspoon per 10 litres of water, wasn't it. You don't want to make it too strong. The idea of salt is just to keep the bacteria levels down, so the damaged fin doesn't get infected.

[ctvu]

Pelvic fins can be damaged when the fish brush against something in the tank. Are you sure it's fin rot.

If it was fin rot I would think more than just one fin would be damaged. It usually affects all the fins at the same time.

When you added salt, it was at 1 level teaspoon per 10 litres of water, wasn't it. You don't want to make it too strong. The idea of salt is just to keep the bacteria levels down, so the damaged fin doesn't get infected.

Thanks for your reply Ladyred

Yes I am pretty sure it is going to drop, it is shorter than the other and the soft part which is 1/2 way up almost breaks.

Yes I put 1 t/s per 10L.

What else should I do?
Just in case I need Med. What Med should I get?
I was told White spot can cure them. Is that true?

Thanks again

ctvu

[dddd68sg]

Try Melafix.

[Merrilyn]

Thanks for the suggestion dddd. but while Melafix is wonderful for regrowing damaged fins, it won't cure fin rot which is bacterial in origin.

Best to use an antibiotic like tetracycline first in a hospital tank, then when the finrot has cleared up, use the melafix to promote regrowth of the fins. It works a treat.

One thing to remember, is that tetracycline will wipe out your bio filter, so it's important to treat the fish in a bare hospital tank, with just an airstone.

[ctvu]

Thanks for great advise ladyred and dddd

How can I get Tetracycline? and what dose should I do ? for how many days?
your help will be appreciated.

regards

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Your local aquarium shop will carry tetracycline under various brand names. If you ask for a fin rot cure with tetracycline in it, shey should be able to offer you several brands.

The usual treatment is for 3 - 5 days depending on the brand. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

[ctvu]

Much appreciated. Ladyred

Should I dose it now? because he is looking OK still eating and coming in the front when I walk in.

Once again thank

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Wait and see. The salt in the water may be enough. If it is true finrot, you will start to see some of the other fins fraying, then you will need to dose with the tetracycline.

[ctvu]

Thanks a lot, Ladyred I'm waiting and see how he is going.
BTW today I asked one of LFS about Tetracycline WOW it is so rip-off smallest bottle costs $20.

Regards

ctvu

[ctvu]

Hi ladyred

Thought I'd let u know that on Sat I saw them not looking good so I decided dosing Tetracycline as per instruction i.e 1 tablet per 10 L. Last night i.e day 2 I did 30% WC before second dose, they are showing some improvement such as colour getting better, eating a lot, comng to the glass. But the rotty fin looks like smaller smaller and probably it is gone by today.
And I also notice that they are a bit skittish , I think because of Tetracycline.
Should I dose 3 days instead of 5 days? because the longer the worse the Bio gets.

Thanks Ladyred

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Did you dose the fish in the main tank? If so, then your bio filter is already destroyed, and you will need to re-cycle your tank again. That's why it's best to dose in a hospital tank.

You will need to treat for the full five days. Don't cut the treatment short.

Glad to hear they are looking better. Continue doing those daily water changes.

[ctvu]

Hi Ladyred

Ok I take your advise of 5 day dose. Today - day 3 - they are so aggresive and fighting each other normally they were getting along very well, I am a bit scared.

Thanks Ladyred


ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Test your water, and tell me what the readings are.

[ctvu]

It is realy hard to test the water with Tetracycline in it.
And it is QT, I put them on the first day when they showed the rotty fins sign

PH = 7.0
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia = ???? not too sure because of Tetra. colour.

Thx Ladyred

[Merrilyn]

Ahhhh okay. It sounded like it was the main tank that you were treating them in.

That's fine. Sounds like everything is working well.

[ctvu]

Yes that is what I am praying for.

Thanks a lot for your support and help LD

[ctvu]

Hi Ladyred

So the dose of 5 day is over now. They seem a bit better, the soft part of one Pelvic fin is completely gone the other one is still OK.

I still do 50% WC daily, and test the water the other day.

What should I do next?

Thanks Ladyred

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

If there is no further sign of fin rot, you can safely move them back into their normal tank, and feed them well.

Go back to your normal water change routine now.

Empty out the hospital tank, and clean it out with a strong bleach solution (use plain bleach, not White King which has detergent added). Leave the bleach on the walls of the tank for about 10 minutes and rinse out well till there is no smell of bleach left. Leave the tank empty till it is needed again.

[ctvu]

Hi Ladyred

You are quite right about when they have fin rot both of them will be gone. Yes the second Pelvic fin is gone now.

They are still in QT, not getting better or worse, still eating and chasing each other, briefly they are still hanging in there.

Should I give them another dose of Tetracycline or new dose of Melafix to help them recover fast.

And how long does it take for them to recover fin rot? They are about 3-3.5”

Many thank

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Once the finrot has been cured, it will take a couple of weeks or longer for the fins to completely heal and start regrowing. Main thing is to keep the water very clean, and offer lots of high protein food to aid recovery of the damaged fins.

[ctvu]

Hi LR

Thanks for your reply. Pardon me for stupid question.
How would you know that has been cured? is there any sign of it? such as the colour, interest in food or some thing else that can tell you.
sorry for mumbling may be I am so stressed.

ctvu

ps: I like your cat, so cute

[Merrilyn]

No problems. There are no stupid questions.

You will know that the fin rot has been cured because the fins will begin healing, and there will be no further loss of fins. Instead of losing length, they will start to regrow.

Are you able to get a photo of the fins.

[ctvu]

Thanks. I will try tonight, because the tank is still in yellow from Tetracycline so I am afraid the pic will not be clear, see how I go.

ctvu

[ctvu]

Hi LR

I can't take the pic, they are so scared of the flash that they were darting around the tank. If I turn off the flash we would not see a thing. May be I try at day light.
Sorry

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Okay, don't stress them. The photo is not that necessary. When you do your next water change, have a look at the fins, and see if you can observe any re-growth.

[ctvu]

Thanks for your advice, I would say they -fins - are the same hopefully.

ctvu

Ps: I'll try on the week-end again to take photo

[ctvu]

Hi LR and all

I took this pic today as I said before

ctvu

[wild_amazon]

Will Trisulfa cure the problem? It's easier to get and much cheaper also lower dose - 1 tablet per 40 ltr.

[ctvu]

Hi Wild

thanks for that, I used Tetracycline 2 weeks ago, they seem better.
ATM I have to watch out the ammonia level unfortunately.

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Ct, what are those other fish I can see in the background. Is it possible they have been nipping the fins of the discus.

[ctvu]

Hi LR

There are only 2 of them, as u can see the Pelvic fins now look very very short, the same thing happened to the other fish, one after the other. The Pelvic fins were very long and then getting smaller and shorter until it dropped and now the tail looks torn every where.

[Merrilyn]

That looks like fin nipping to me, not finrot. If it was finrot, all the fins would be affected at the same time, including the pectoral fins, yet in that photo, they look fine.

It really looks like chunks are being nipped off the tail.

Can you remove those fish for a while, and see what happens. Hard to tell from the photo, but are they some kind of barb. A photo would help me identify the fish, if you can manage.

[ctvu]

Hi LR

I think we misunderstood some points here.

OK firstly there are only 2 discus in the tank the tail you saw is the fake one.

The one in the pic was the first one that got fin rot first; I did not know what were happening until I got a better look at his OMG the 2 pelvic fins were gone and since then I kept looking at the other one, one of his pelvic fin was getting smaller smaller until disappeared then the same thing happened to the last pelvic fin. So the 2 fish had the same problem

Then couple of days later I saw their tails, pectoral fins were torn like they just had a big battle.

ATM they are like normal eating every thing now such as color bit, BH, BW and very active, I am so relieved now but still a bit worried about the pelvic fins will grow back or not.

I will take some photos and keep you updated

Thanks for your big help, I am wondering what could we do without you? :)

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

Ohhh I understand now. I thought you had other live fish in the tank. Didn't realize that little one was a fake fish.

[ctvu]

Hi LR and all

Thought I'd like to update.

The two that had fin rot are going 101% well now, and their pelvic fins are growing back happily :) , I will take the pic on the week-end.

ctvu