Fin rot

Does this look like fin rot to anyone else? If not, what could be wrong with him? I read that I should put an antibiotic in his water if it's fin rot. Any suggestions, or just grab what I can find at the store? Thanks.

i think it is. Go to ur lfs n get sum melafix. i am using it right now for 3 of my angels. Is ur tank completely cycled?

I'm kind of a beginner, so some of your terms aren't familiar. "lfs"? I don't know what you mean by "completely cycled" either. Sorry.

richelesro said:

I'm kind of a beginner, so some of your terms aren't familiar. "lfs"? I don't know what you mean by "completely cycled" either. Sorry.

Click to expand...

its ok. LFS= local fish store. How long has ur tank been running is basically wat im tryin to ask u when i said is ur tank completly cycled.

There is a topic pinned in the beginners section called "avoiding new tank syndrome". It pretty much covers cycling your tank.

Tolak

It's an established tank (4 months or so), but small (5 gallons). I've been watching the ammonium/nitrite/pH levels and they all are normal. I do have a plant (you can see a little bit of it in the pic) that started dying in the past few weeks. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

There's only two fish in there now, so I don't think it's overcrowding, nor have I seen the other fish nip at the fins. Conditions are normal, as I said above. I do weekly changes of about 25% of the water and check the chemicals weekly as well.

to treat ur fish for fin rot u should go to ur pet store buy sum MELAFIX n if ur tank hasnt been running long buy a product called cycle ( click on the link for more info about this product) http/www.petco.com/product_info.asp?sku=...00&dept_id=%2D2 . when using melafix u should follow the directions on the bottle. n u should be aware of ammonia n nitrite increases, because when i was using melafix i had problems with ammonia n nitrite problems bcuz i quarintened the angels in a uncycled tank( tank has been running for 3 or 4 weeks). If u have these types of problems with ur tank do a 25-30% water change n put carbon back into ur filter. and wait 24 hours and check ur water readings again b4 adding more melafix into ur tank. I suggest u buy a master test kit from ur pet store if u havent already. They are very helpful, mine was only 29.99. If ur water readings are still high after ur 24 hr wait do another 15% water change n wait another 24 hrs, then test the water again. You should not have as much problems with ur water readings if ur tank is cycled or u are using CYCLE. By the way ur water paremeter(readings) should be:
Ph-7.0 or nuetral
ammonia-0ppm
nitrite-0ppm
N remember to have a airstone running in ur tank during treatment if not already, to provide more oxygen. hope this helps, good luck

wow that took a while to type glad i took keyboarding in school

That appears to be bacterial finrot, as opposed to fungal. Fungal is quite a bit more fuzzy than that. Most bacterial finrot is caused by gram-negative bacteria, which can be treated with MaracynII, an antibiotic. A little aquarium salt in the water will help also, I usually start with 1 tablespoon in a 10 gallon tank. If you med the tank, don't forget to pull out any carbon while medicating. Carbon in the filter will take out the medication.

Tolak

I checked the chemistry last night.

pH = 7.0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0

Being swordtails, I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to get the pH to 7.5, so I added some pH UP along with the Melafix. I also added an air stone to help out as well.

His fin is getting worse. It's climbing further to the body, which would be expected since I hadn't added the Melafix yet. However, this morning the fin looked cotton-y.

I'm kind of a beginner, so some of your terms aren't familiar. "lfs"? I don't know what you mean by "completely cycled" either. Sorry.

Click to expand...

Just a quick note to let you know lots of abbreviations get used on TFF (Tropical Fish Forums) click on this link you will get a list that may help. Link

Personally I would not mess about with PH Up or PH Down it is a very complicated and bad for the fish to have too many changes in the PH levels, especially if they are sudden. IMO I think its better to look into more natural ways of getting the PH up rather than chemicals. i.e. bogwood can soften you water and things like calcium plus gravel can help to raise the GH & KH, which inturn raises the PH and more importantly helps to stabilize the PH. Your PH is 7.0 which is low (like mine) for livebearers but most of the time they can adjust, suggest look more into why you PH is low.

What is you tap water like is that low too?
Do you have low GH & KH.?
What are your NitrAte readings (you do good water changes so they should be low, but if they were constantly high the nitrAte (nitric acid) can lower the PH over a period of time.)

Fish do not just get ill for no reason and water conditions are usually the main reason that their immune system gets low and illnesses get in.

Finding out about the natural ways can be great learning and better for your fish in the long run.

Good luck, hope you get you melafix in and it works for your fish.

richelesro said:

I checked the chemistry last night.

pH = 7.0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0

Being swordtails, I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to get the pH to 7.5, so I added some pH UP along with the Melafix. I also added an air stone to help out as well.

His fin is getting worse. It's climbing further to the body, which would be expected since I hadn't added the Melafix yet. However, this morning the fin looked cotton-y.

Click to expand...

When are u going to add melafix?

is it working out for you paintball?

gaya1111 said:

is it working out for you paintball?

Click to expand...

yes!! but i have another angel in there now. n the one in the past is back into the main tank happy as can be with all of its friends. How about urs?

Well, he ended up dying over the weekend. His fin seemed to get better, but he still wasn't eating. The female in there seems to be okay though.

BTW, he expired after my 5th dose of Melafix.