Spot on Dorsal fin? New Problem!

[drstratton]

Okay, after I stated that my fish didn't have a ragged tail, I looked closer and it did seem to be a bit ragged. This morning it was a bit more so. I've been doing 5g water changes about every 4 days except when I was treating with the Prazi. I placed a seachem ammonia tester in to watch the levels and they never raised. I just did a 5g water change on 10/23 and administered the second round of Prazi! All I have in my medicine cabinet right now is Melafix, but I have learned that I should probably get something different, just not sure what will be best to treat what I'm assuming is a bacterial infection. I'm starting to think that if I ever get these little guys into the DT it will be a miracle!

 

[melypr1985]

Who else is in the QT with him?

 

[drstratton]

I have two purple firefish! The other one shows no sign of any problems!

 

[melypr1985]

So, the first step there is to watch them. Firefish tend to fight among each other. The "perfect" one is probably beating up the other. Keep an eye on them and find out if there is any aggression.

 

[drstratton]

I'm home pretty much all day and check on them quite often, mostly just to watch and enjoy. I have seen no signs of aggression. The one with the issue is the most outgoing of the two, so I would think that if anything he would be the one that could become aggressive and he's the smallest. The larger one is the first one to go into hiding if he's not sure about something! I would not have purchased two of these except I made the mistake of believing a Sponsor on RC that he could get me a male and female. Not true! I have learned so much since then. Stupid mistake. Now I'm asking my fellow hobbyists as I plan my future purchases! I will continue to watch them closely. I just ordered some Kanaplex, it will be here tomorrow. I saw that Humblefish had other recommendation's in his meds to have on hand list that I will get to add to my medicine cabinet. Thanks!

 

[melypr1985]

Ok. So if it's not being picked on then it could be bacterial. In which case antibiotics, like the Kanaplex you ordered, would be the way to go. Dont worry it doesn't look too bad yet.
From Humblefish's sticky:
Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

 

[drstratton]

Thanks! I also read through that this morning. I need to find out if I need to do a 100% water change. About 1 1/2 weeks after I placed the fish in QT I added Amquel, before I fully understood what prophylactic treatments I would be doing. I know that Copper cannot be used with this, but I'm not sure about Kanaplex. I also just treated with Prazi on Friday and just to get things started I added Melafix into the tank this morning.

 

[melypr1985]

Be very careful of using amquel with any meds. Doing a water change wouldn't hurt that's for sure.

 

[drstratton]

That's what I was thinking. I do know that Amquel is safe with Prazi. I've done many water changes since I first put it in there. Maybe @Humblefish can tell me for certain! Thanks, I appreciate all of your help!!!

 

[Humblefish]

Be very careful of using amquel with any meds. Doing a water change wouldn't hurt that's for sure.

+1 Copper is a big no-no; Prazipro seems to be hit or miss when mixing with an ammonia reducer. Not 100% sure about antibiotics as I've never mixed that with an ammonia reducer before.

 

[drstratton]

Thanks! The copper & Amquel combo I already knew about after reading your threads on treatment options! I just purchased a 10g for inverts so I think I will move them into there, as long as I don't use any copper the tank should be okay to use for inverts afterwards. Will a small power head and bubble stone be enough. I'm also curious, since I don't have the Kanaplex yet, as to how long the treatment will take. Also is it something that I can do during TTM or does the medicine have to stay in longer than the 72hrs required for TTM. I don't want to stress them out anymore than I have to. Just want to know ahead of time so that I can be prepared. Thank you to you and melypr1985 for your time!!!

 

[melypr1985]

Off the top of my head it's dosed every 24 hours so you should be good there and Your Welcome! Happy to help

 

[drstratton]

Thanks again! I just ordered everything I need to do TTM, it will be here on Wed. I will get them transferred tomorrow to my 10g as the meds will be here then! I'm going to use water from my DT, it has finished cycling and should have the good bacteria needed for the time in each tank!

 

[Humblefish]

Kanaplex is dosed every 48 hrs. The directions say "up to a maximum of 3 doses" but you can just keep going with it until symptoms disappear. Just be sure to increase gas exchange because antibiotics are the worst when it comes to O2 depletion. A lot of people lose fish while treating with antibiotics simply because they don't crank up the air stone or add a small PH while treating.

No reason why you can't mix TTM with antibiotics (or any other med for that matter.)

 

[melypr1985]

Kanaplex is dosed every 48 hrs. The directions say "up to a maximum of 3 doses" but you can just keep going with it until symptoms disappear. Just be sure to increase gas exchange because antibiotics are the worst when it comes to O2 depletion. A lot of people lose fish while treating with antibiotics simply because they don't crank up the air stone or add a small PH while treating.

No reason why you can't mix TTM with antibiotics (or any other med for that matter.)

Dang! I was thinking 48 and typed 24!

 

[4FordFamily]

So, the first step there is to watch them. Firefish tend to fight among each other. The "perfect" one is probably beating up the other. Keep an eye on them and find out if there is any aggression.

This is true

I'm home pretty much all day and check on them quite often, mostly just to watch and enjoy. I have seen no signs of aggression. The one with the issue is the most outgoing of the two, so I would think that if anything he would be the one that could become aggressive and he's the smallest. The larger one is the first one to go into hiding if he's not sure about something! I would not have purchased two of these except I made the mistake of believing a Sponsor on RC that he could get me a male and female. Not true! I have learned so much since then. Stupid mistake. Now I'm asking my fellow hobbyists as I plan my future purchases! I will continue to watch them closely. I just ordered some Kanaplex, it will be here tomorrow. I saw that Humblefish had other recommendation's in his meds to have on hand list that I will get to add to my medicine cabinet. Thanks!

My achilles tang and carribean blue tang NEVER do anything when they can see me. As soon as I am out of sight they start harassing my yellow and sailfin tang in QT

GRRR

 

[drstratton]

Kanaplex is dosed every 48 hrs. The directions say "up to a maximum of 3 doses" but you can just keep going with it until symptoms disappear. Just be sure to increase gas exchange because antibiotics are the worst when it comes to O2 depletion. A lot of people lose fish while treating with antibiotics simply because they don't crank up the air stone or add a small PH while treating.

No reason why you can't mix TTM with antibiotics (or any other med for that matter.)

Thank you, this is so good to know! I just ordered new pumps, bubble stones and tubing. I will make sure they have plenty of oxygen! I want to see them swimming happily in my tank!

Dang! I was thinking 48 and typed 24!

LOL...Sounds like something I would do!!!

This is true



My achilles tang and carribean blue tang NEVER do anything when they can see me. As soon as I am out of sight they start harassing my yellow and sailfin tang in QT

GRRR

Just like kids, right! Whenever I come in to see them they are either swimming peacefully with each other or snuggled under the Bio Sponge filter, which is where they sleep! I'll have to try and be sneakier just to make sure!

 

[Humblefish]

My achilles tang and carribean blue tang NEVER do anything when they can see me. As soon as I am out of sight they start harassing my yellow and sailfin tang in QT

GRRR

I had a PBT that would harass my other fish. Anytime my wife saw this she would run over to the tank, yell at the PBT and shake her finger at the fish. I was like, "What are you doing? The fish doesn't understand any of that."

To my amazement all of the aggression eventually ceased. Except what actually was happening (I later figured out) is the PBT would wait for the lights to go out to attack the other fish. She actually figured out not to do it while the lights were on because it invoked an unpleasant reaction (for the fish) from my wife.

 

[drstratton]

@Humblefish or @melypr1985 I have one more question, hopefully only one! Since TTM is done every 72hrs and the Kanaplex is every 48, will it be okay to wait until I do the next TT to administer the next dose or will that cause problems with the effectiveness? I have no problems dosing at 48 hrs, I would just lose one day when I empty the tank. Both fish are eating well and being active, which I'm very happy about! Thank you!

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish or @melypr1985 I have one more question, hopefully only one! Since TTM is done every 72hrs and the Kanaplex is every 48, will it be okay to wait until I do the next TT to administer the next dose or will that cause problems with the effectiveness? I have no problems dosing at 48 hrs, I would just lose one day when I empty the tank. Both fish are eating well and being active, which I'm very happy about! Thank you!

You will need to dose Kanaplex continuously in order for it to be effective. This means having to dose again 48 hrs after TTM begins and then again on the "new tank" just before making the transfer. You will, unfortunately, be going through the product more quickly this way. And no, I don't work for Seachem.