Fire Fish fat lip

[New&no clue]

Hi All,

I have a fire fish I bought 2 weeks ago that has been in quarantine with a blennie that I bought at the same time. today when feeding them I notice the fire fish’s lip is discolored(gray) and looks swollen. I’ve attached a before and after picture. On the first picture he has some white flakes on him which I believe is just sand that was swirling around at the time, I never saw it again after that day. I’m not sure what is on this lip, my husband thinks it’s food

 

[Big G]

Probably damage from "darting" into a rock. Watch for infection with a redish or white-ish area/film. Always good to have antibiotics on hand just in case like kanaplex, Furan2, NFG, Sulfaplex (aka Triple Sulfa).

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have never seen a firefish leave food on it lip. Looks bacterial too me. I would probably go with neomycin as treatment. Also would add more hiding places, blennys can be ill tempered and if the fire fish couldnt hide quick enough they could have tussled and mouth injuries are common.

 

[New&no clue]

Oh no, I thought they liked each other they sleep right next to each other every night. I will add some more pvc pipe. Would you wait to see if it gets infected before treating or treat right away?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Neoplex is the same as neosporin. Not a particularly strong abx on the biofilter. But helps heal wounds by stoping them from getting infected.

 

[Cyricdark]

Oh no, I thought they liked each other they sleep right next to each other every night. I will add some more pvc pipe. Would you wait to see if it gets infected before treating or treat right away?

I would just wait it just looks like a bruise to me from running into the glass or a decoration Firefish swim pretty quick every once in awhile they don't steer the greatest though lol. If you think it looks worse after a day or two then start thinking about doing something my guess is it'll go away as long as you're feeding healthily and the water parameters are good.

 

[New&no clue]

Hi All,

So I gave it a couple days to see if it would get better but it seemed to be doing worse so I started kanaplex for a week. For the majority of the week he’s been hiding so I haven’t been able to get a good look. Today I cleaned out my QT and finally got a good look.

I THINK HIS LOWER JAW IS GONE!!!!

What do I do????

 

[Gareth elliott]

Thats a very nasty infection.

What antibiotics do you have on hand besides the kanaplex?

What big box stores are open near you?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Some widely available antibiotics that may help.
Api furan-2 can add directly to the water with the kanaplex can also add with this seachem metroplex if they have.

Api fin and body, doxycycline do a water change before adding. Tetracyclines can be harsh on biofilm, so best to limit the other abx in the water and watch ammonia carefully.

There are others online but he most likely hasnt eaten and i would say treating now is better than waiting.

 

[New&no clue]

I have

Metroplex
Kanaplex
Focus
Furan-2

I have a Walmart, Petco, & Petsmart in my town. I also have a blennie in the tank, should he be removed before I do anymore treatment, is he at risk of being infected as well he doesn’t show any signs of anything?

 

[Gareth elliott]

The infection is not going to spread most likely its an opportunistic infection. There was an injury and it got infected. In the off chance it does spread it did already and the blenny should stay during treatment.

Skip focus, hes not going to eat with his mouth like that anyway.

Add the furan-2 and the metroplex off their directions.

 

[New&no clue]

Should I leave the filters in the tank or take them out?

 

[Gareth elliott]

If the filters have carbon, remove the media if its simple sponge or a splintered glass media you are fine.

 

[New&no clue]

I have the aqueon filter the big one in the back has carbon, but it has a second smaller filter up front for “ammonia reducer” does that have carbon and should I take it out?

I took them both out last week and my ammonia went up to .25 which is why I cleaned the tank and did 100% water change today

 

[Gareth elliott]

You do not want any chemical filters when dosing meds, they take them out and reduce their effectiveness.