Blaze Not Well

[LilyRose Tank]

hi, my dragon red Blaze is looking very sorry for himself. hes not eating, he doesnt meet me at the water surface for his food... hes hiding continuously, on the gravel floor....anyone got any ideas?

 

[loraxchick]

check your water stats and do a big waterchange regardless of values. also, and may seem silly, check the temp. any other symptoms to mention?loss of color? bloating? skinny? how is his poo? is it 'normal' or white and stringy? labored breathing? when was the last time he was active and eating normally? how often and how much do ou feed him? how do his fins look? are they thinning or have pinholes in the fins?
let us know
cheers

 

[LilyRose Tank]

ok, no loss of colour, no bloating, no loss os weight, havnt seen poo, but from what i see on waterchange, its normal, no laboured breathing, nice normal breaths, i feed him mini pellets, i give 8 as the snails eat them too,( i know, I've watched the snail devour what blaze leaves, he usually eat 3-4)feed him 6 days a week with one day off, does have a few pinholes in his fins and they do look a little frayed, but they have been for months, and i did use finrot for a week. ages ago....should i start using it again

 

[fry_forever!]

Water stats? We need those to help you.

Fin rot is usually caused by bad water quality, and since the only tank mates he has are snails, it's not fin nipping that has brought on the pin holes in his fins.

 

[LilyRose Tank]

well my stats are 0 0 10. i know my water quality is good. hes in a 48L tank with live plants. I've always had my suspicions about finrot, but theres no discolouration, and the black line that was there, left a long time ago, I'll start treatment again, and see how he does. thanks

 

[loraxchick]

while poor water is the most recognizable (And most easily tested for) cause of finrot there are other culprits. usually a bacterial infection that can affect just the fins, or can also be internal. fish with recurring bouts of finrot generally fall under the second category (being a bacterial cause) especially if water changes do not help with the isssue-which 90% of finrot cases can be treated quite effectively with just simple water changes. the other 10% are harder to deal with as it is bacterial in cause. and you dont always have color changes to affected parts. only certain bacterial species will give you black or white edging, while a different species will show with no color change. pin holes=bacterial finrot. a healthy fish can generally fight it off and be quite fine while those with weaker immune systems (due to stress, poor water quality or poor nutrition) can succumb to the bacteria and the fins get worse, or even cause other health problems.
the best thing to do is to lower water temp by a degree or so C, feed high protein foods like bloodworms and keep the water top notch (which the OP, based on results of her tests is WELL within acceptable limits). chopping up some garlic and rolling the food arond in it before feeding will also act as an immune booster. if he will eat it.
hopefully he will recover just fine. keep an eye out for his poo and if he appears bloated or if his color is oof (pale). he may have bacterial infection which is making him feel under the weather. just keep his tank clean, feed high protein food (when he will eat) and limit stress around the tank.
all the best
cheers