Hole in juvenile blue diamond!

[madaboutfish]

Hi everyone,

I purchased 4 blue diamonds (approx 2") 3 weeks ago and noticed that there was 1 with a a little bump on the body just below the dorsal fin. It looked like a mole. A light black tinge below the skin/scales. It had been growing in size and i was monitoring it to see if it was some sort of cancer or parasite. Today I noticed that that bump is now a hole with a little bit of blood. The bump is completely gone. I suspect that a parasite must have broken out but i don't see anything in the tank. The fishes are eating greedily and are growing normally but I am just curious to know if anyone has encountered this? Unable to show any pictures as don't have a camera at the moment.

Nick

[bushie]

hey nick,

anything still in or sticking out of the hole?

have seen something along those lines many times and it could be a number of things.

watch for any sign of small hair type growths ( anchor worm )
and any signs of secondary infections.

but it could be something as simple as a damaged scale etc.

observe and keep us informed....

bushie

[Waldo]

It would probably be a good idea to iodine that spot as to help recover the wound. I usually trick fish into a seperete bowl and put a couple drops of clove oil to make them go nite nite. wait a few seconds then (previously made ~ dip a qtip in some iodine) and just splotch it on the wound.

[madaboutfish]

Hi,

The bump was about 3-4 mm seemingly caused by something black. Now there is only a 1mm hole and the bump is completely gone with nothing sticking out of it. As a precaution I added potassium permanganate as that is all I have at the moment Hopefully it is not an ulcer of some kind. Will monitor and all of you informed. Thanks

Nick

[mistakes r crucial]

Potassium permanganate, you are a very, very brave boy! I hope they are still alive.
MAC

[madaboutfish]

Hi MAC,

I add Potassium permanganate a little at a time but never in high doses. My fishes are all alive and doing well. By the next morning the water is very clear and I just do a water change and change the sponge filter. Done that many times without any problems.

Nick

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi Nick,

You are obviously experienced in using it. I've always been told its a last resort medication as it is so, so potent. Same old story I suppose, if it works for you then do it.
MAC

[madaboutfish]

Hi everyone,

just an update to let you all know that the hole in my fish has healed up nicely. Just waiting for the new scales to turn blue.

Regards

Nick

[bushie]

good to hear mate.

hope all goes well from now on. :wave2

[Diamond]

Hi nick, the Potassium permanganate that you use to treat your fish, how about did you do this? like how did u dose it,by using teaspoon per how many litres? where you buy the stuff from etc?

[madaboutfish]

Hi,

I use potassium permanganate (KMnO2) crystals which i bought from the pharmacies in Singapore. Not sure if they sell the crystals here but they should? I do not measure what i dose as it is simply too little to measure. In the case of my blue diamond, The tank is filled with approximately 100 litres of water. I add just a very very small pinch of the crystals and watch as the crystals dissolve. When the water changes from purple to brown, I then add a little more till the water turns light brown like tea. When I add the KMnO2 I will keep an eye on the fishes behaviour untill all the crytals have dissolved and the water turns brown,just to make sure I don't kill them. After which I do a water change or I just let my sponge filter clear out the brown colour from the water. I usually use KMnO2 when I need to do a major tank cleanup. The KMnO2 seems to make it easier to keep my water and tank clean. After each use my tank water seems to become crystal clear. I reckon that by oxidising all the biological waste in the water it seems to coagulate them and is therefore easier for the filter to filter them out. Do be careful, I have read that KMnO2 can be toxic when mixed with other medications. I know that my measurements are a little vague but KMnO2 is very potent and we have to be very careful. If you are not sure just add a few crystals at a time. Usually when the first few crystals are dropped into the tank. You can see that as the crystals dissolve, the purple trail turns brown almost immediately. If those purple trails take a few minutes to turn brown. I don't add anymore. I think Discus page Holland has an article on KMnO2 if you need more to read up on. Its a really cheap treatment which is why I use it as a 50g pack of crystals cost me only $5-6 and will probably last me years. Have used it for years since I was a young boy on KOI and now on discus.

HTH

Nick