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Possible fin rot and idk what else?

2K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Kim 
#1 ·
1. Size of tank?
36 gallon bowfront

2. Water parameters
a. Ammonia?.25
b. Nitrite?0
c. Nitrate?0
d. pH, KH and GH?pH7, kH80,GH120
e. Test kit?API 5 in 1 test strips and Jungle ammonia test strips (I know these aren't ideal, maybe after Christmas I can afford to get a kit)

3. Temperature? 78F

4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)? Freshwater

5. How long the aquarium has been set up? Established over a year, but I just bought it used 2 months ago, been working to get it cleaned up as it was not properly maintained by the previous owner

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?
1 angelfish
2 dwarf gouramis
2 fancy guppies
1 balloon molly
(I just re-homed another angelfish, 3 red minor tetras, 2 ghost catfish, and 2 big algae eaters within the last month, this tank was way overstocked)

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?
All the fish were already in the tank when I bought it


8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants? 2 aquatic moss balls, I'm not sure what the other plants are called, maybe you can tell by the pictures?
b. Sand, gravel, barebottom? Gravel
c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors? volcano, pirate ship, and a large hollow rock cave

9. a. Filtration? 2 Aqueon quietflow 20 filters
b. Heater? Aqueon 200W

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used? Florescent light is usually on from 7am-9pm, not sure on the wattage.
b. Any sunlight exposure? How long? No sunlight

11. a. Water change schedule? I've been changing 50% weekly to get the tank un-disgusting since I purchased it from a friend of a friend 2 months ago.
b. Volume of water changed? 50%
c. Well water, tap water, RO water? Tap water
d. Water conditioner used? Aquasafe water conditioner and a pH balancer, Jungle start zyme
e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed? With weekly water changes

12. Foods? Tetra brand flakes, freeze-dried bloodworms and baby shrimp
How often are they fed? Daily

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms? A guppy got attacked shortly after we moved the tank in, he's healing up well, but the outer edge of his tail fin has some discoloration. Also, the gouramis seem to be breathing harder than the other fish, I may be imagining that the gouramis look sick, but one seems to stay in the same place all the time, the other swims all over, but has really dark blue spots on his gills. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, or if he is looking fatter every day! The angelfish has red spots in one eye, not both, not sure if that's normal.
b. Appearance of poop? red-ish? I don't see them pooping all the time:/
c. Appearance of gills? One gourami has dark spots on his gill area, the rest all look normal

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? I tried melafix as directed by the dweebs at Petsmart to no avail. They were stumped when it didn't fix my guppy. They directed me to T.C. Tetracycline, which I purchased, but haven't used yet.
b. What meds were used? Just melafix at least 2 weeks ago.

15. Insert photos of fish in question and full tank shot if necessary. It's late and the pictures need to be re-sized and I don't have a program for that. I can add photos if needed:) thanks!

Also wanted to add: I've been reading everything I can find on the internet and a lot of the information I have seen is contradictory in itself, so I assume I know nothing and hope someone can give me a reliable source for aquarium information as well! I had a 10 gallon tank for a year before I upgraded, but I never really had any troubles with it, I'm trying to learn all I can as I go along! I have just set up a secondary 10 gallon tank for hospital/quarantine purposes, but I'm not sure how to handle anything from here, so I'm pleading for help so I don't screw up and kill all my fish! If the guppy has fin rot, should I just treat him in the hospital tank, or everyone? Then won't the bacteria still be in the main tank? I know don't treat the main tank, but should I empty it and scrub everything down or not so much? Please HELP!!
 
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#2 ·
Got to find out a few things before help can be given.
How long did you leave the melafix in the tank before changing water?
What filtration do you have?
Was the filter running during the treatment period?
Was the Angel quarantined before placing him in the tank/ did this start after getting angel?
Once I get some answers might be able to help.

Mandy (marine biologist/vet)
 
#3 ·
I dosed daily with melafix for a week before changing the water. The carbon was removed from the filter per the directions on the bottle. I have twin Aqueon Quietflow 20 filters which were running without carbon filters during melafix treatment.

I bought the tank used, it came with the fish in it already, so I do not know if it was quarantined before being added to the tank, but I suspect not, as the previous owner seems to have known almost nothing about aquariums. The red in the angel's eye is only in the circular part of the eye, not outside on the body area, if that helps at all.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Ok glad the carbon was taken out,,you don't need carbon in your filter unless you want to take chemicals/medicine etc from water,this could always be replaced by an ammonia absorber pad/bag, which might be better for your tank.
For now increase the temp a bit to 80 and start the Tetracycline treatment as prescribed and give a stream of air from a fine airstone.
Are they swimming ok? and eating?
If they are eating try them with some daphnia, a cooked shelled pea if they will take it.
Keep me informed
The only fish to be concerned with at the moment is the one that is gasping, so get the airstone running close to the filter output to increase the oxygen levels.
Ray
 
#5 ·
I have a hospital tank set up with airstone in it already, no carbon in the filter, just the bio-filter. I haven't cycled this tank, but from my understanding, the tetracycline will wipe out the bacteria anyway, so should I still cycle it first?

The gouramis are not eating much, one swims fine, the other is a bit listless. The tetracycline was suggested for the guppy's fin rot, the gouramis I started noticing afterward. Should the tetracycline help the gouramis as well?
 
#6 ·
You mentioned that the guppy was being nipped and bullied, can you get a pic of him on here, if it is whiteness due to fin nips it sometimes looks like fin rot.
If it is fin nipping the discoloration might not go away, but might clear on its own if bullying stops.
Bullying does happen when establishing a pecking order in a tank.
These have all been moved, the decor either changed or moved about, water changes etc. they have to settle before they act normal again.
If the guppy is eating/swimming OK just leave him for a bit but keep an eye on him.

The gourami that is listless, breathing heavy is the one to be worried about and put into hospitalisation, higher temperature, air stoned, and fed with Daphna and shelled cooked peas,(nothing else)
when he finally poos in his tank look for worms, parasites or unusual color,
at the moment do not medicate him
The let me know what happens as we do not want to wrongly medicate.
Ray
 
#7 ·
Could you post pics of the angelfish, gourami, and guppy? I have just been doing some research on fish diseases, and there are several fungal infections that can cause blotchy gills. However, it is hard to determine without a picture.
 
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