Internal bleeding!?

[UnknownFishies]

My black skirt tetra looks like it’s internally bleeding! I saw a red dot on it about 5 days ago and thought I just saw an organ inside of it. (I know, stupid) After 3 days I saw it got larger and on the 4th it got significantly smaller so I thought it was just healing but now it looks bad! It looks like it’s spreading to the gill on its right side. Please help...
Params on the way, waiting 5 minutes for color to develop. See pics below

 

[UnknownFishies]

Got the params.
Temp. 76
Ammonia. 0
Nitrite. 0
Nitrate. Somewhere between 20-30, a little high I know.
Ph. 7.2

 

[mark4785]

Is the fish still eating? Is the affected gill moving? If so you may wish to prioritise it when feeding as food will help it recover faster.

If not do a large water change and consider salt treatment to soothe the bacterial infection that it appears to have.

 

[mark4785]

On a separate note, if your nitrate was too high, the fish would be darting around due to irritation. I take it is not doing this?

 

[UnknownFishies]

On a separate note, if your nitrate was too high, the fish would be darting around due to irritation. I take it is not doing this?

No erratic swimming other than the other fish chasing it. It’s eating and acting normal. The hill is moving like normal as well. I will do a large water change tomorrow. Can I add salt in with snails or will it harm them?

 

[mark4785]

No erratic swimming other than the other fish chasing it. It’s eating and acting normal. The hill is moving like normal as well. I will do a large water change tomorrow. Can I add salt in with snails or will it harm them?

I would get a tall object and use it to create a divider so the other fish does not chase it. It could be that the fish got injured while being chased.

If it is eating I would not add the salt but perhaps do a succession of small water changes. Don’t do big water changes as this could cause it to not eat and it will then succumb to the infection.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

I know some people on the forum aren’t keen on medications but if I had a fish with an apparent internal infection I would treat it with antibiotics as soon as possible (especially if it is obviously getting worse). External infections are different. They can be successfully treated more conservatively. A medication that treats gram negative infections would be a good first shot. I would try kanamycin in a hospital tank.

 

[Colin_T]

It's unlikely the fish has internal bleeding because it would normally die within a few hours of developing this problem. In addition to this, the only way a fish can get internal bleeding is if you manhandle the fish and damage it, or if it gets caught under something and ruptures internal organs. If this happened, the fish would not be swimming normally, would have stopped eating, and would have died days ago.

The fish appears to have an infection, possibly caused by bacteria. You can try treating it with a broad spectrum fish medication but if it has stopped eating then it is probably on its way out and should be euthanised.

And something is chewing up the gouramis fins, probably another gourami or the black widow/ skirt tetras.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Some internal infections can cause bleeding inside the fish’s body (hemorrhagic septicemia). It is often difficult to save a fish that has reached this point but it can be done if you act swiftly with an appropriate medication. If the fish is not eating the kanamycin (Kanaplex) can still be used because it can be dosed in the water. It is absorbed through the fish’s skin.

 

[mark4785]

If I had septicaemia I would not be eating. I think as the fish is eating it will recover without imposing changes.

 

[UnknownFishies]

It's unlikely the fish has internal bleeding because it would normally die within a few hours of developing this problem. In addition to this, the only way a fish can get internal bleeding is if you manhandle the fish and damage it, or if it gets caught under something and ruptures internal organs. If this happened, the fish would not be swimming normally, would have stopped eating, and would have died days ago.

The fish appears to have an infection, possibly caused by bacteria. You can try treating it with a broad spectrum fish medication but if it has stopped eating then it is probably on its way out and should be euthanised.

And something is chewing up the gouramis fins, probably another gourami or the black widow/ skirt tetras.

Yeah I know about the fin nipping, trying desperately to rehome them but my mom doesn’t have the time due to family issues. Thanks for the advice! I will try to go to my LFS as soon as possible.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Any recommendations for medication?

 

[UnknownFishies]

I know some people on the forum aren’t keen on medications but if I had a fish with an apparent internal infection I would treat it with antibiotics as soon as possible (especially if it is obviously getting worse). External infections are different. They can be successfully treated more conservatively. A medication that treats gram negative infections would be a good first shot. I would try kanamycin in a hospital tank.

Unfortunately I had to decommission my 2.5 hospital tank due to family issues. I’ll see if I can get it up and running again.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Any recommendations for medication?

Kanaplex (kanamycin). But I would do it in a hospital tank, even if that’s a plastic tub. I haven’t used it in my main tank before so I couldn’t say that it wouldn’t affect your biofilter. Plus it’s best not to expose other fish to medication if they don’t need it. If you have to use a makeshift hospital “tank” without a filter just make sure to do large water changes frequently. I even start adding in Prime after a few days to make sure ammonia isn’t building up.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Something happened and I think he might die. All he’s doing is staying in that corner and not moving, I tapped the glass and still no movement. The blood cleared up really well last night and this morning I don’t what’s happening. I see white blotches but can’t get a good look at them because of the angle he’s at. Here’s pics. I feel horrible, I was just gonna order the meds as well...
Please help...