Please Help! :( Parrot Fish, Bacteria Or Fungus Medicine Needed?

[Jackiee]

Hello, sorry everyone, I haven't been able to get on til now.

She's remarkably better since a couple days ago, you guys have helped alot. The bickering is pretty much unavoidable over subjects like hydrogen sulfide poisoning because some people have experienced it and believe it is so, and some have not..

but anywho, She's up off the gravel, her eyes are beginning to fill back out, the open sores on her body are no longer red (even though they still have fuzz coming from them), her tail has rotted quite a bit, but unevenly, so it's not affecting her swimming (even though its a shame because she used to have full beautiful bright fins) and it is now longer continuing to rot, it's reversing itself. She's breathing slower (normal) and not rapidly anymore. I'll post an update picture of her

Previous to the attack of (whatever it was) my fish tank was stocked with the parrot fish that is recovering now, 1 small yellow gaurami (dead), 1 medium sized angelfish (dead), and 2 small platys (dead).

I have an under gravel filter.. did one of you say that that could cause some misery in a tank if it's clogged?

My fishtank is not planted, they're all artificial plants.

I just did another 25% water change after 2 days of dosing with the erythromycin antibiotic (like the directions say) and just added the 3rd dose. I also dosed the tank with the Pimafix because she still has fungus that the erythromycin isn't taking care of. I think she has both fungal and bacterial infections on her. Pimafix says its compatible with all API products, so it's safe to use with the API erythromycin.

She only has one more dose of the erythromycin left which is tomorrow.
I'm thinking she might need continued treatment though, which is unfortunate as the erythromycin is quite pricey.

Also, thanks for the tip about the garlic on the food.
And when this happened with my tank, the smell WAS so horrible that it did in fact fill my entire apartment.. I live in an apartment building where you walk into a hallway before you enter your specific apartment door. You could smell it out in the hallway, i hadn't even entered my house yet. My mother was sleeping down the hallway from the fish tank and woke up to the smell, asking what in the hell smelled like rotten eggs. It was terrible. My brother was becoming nauseated.
And that is no overexaggeration.

 

[FreedomFighter]

You're right she is looking much better, lets hope she continues to recover so well.

 

[myrtle]

I love it when things get better, esp after such a big problem!

 

[Jackiee]

Thank you guys, i'm glad too. Hopefully she continues going in this direction. I woke up today to find her in her cave she loves to take shelter in, which in a way is good because

she hasn't been in it since this whole thing happened and when she wasnt feeling well. So it's a normal behavior she's getting back. I'm kind of concerned she hasn't left the cave

all morning though. When I first woke up and walked down my hallway, I seen the tank empty, and thought oh no.. but then i peeked in the bell and was relieved.. But when i did this, i

seen her swimming eratically into the wall of the cave with her head pushing against the wall, she was breathing fast and it looked as if she were trying to swim very fast, but she was

staying in one place. I don't know if she acted like this because maybe I startled her? She doesn't seem to be doing it this extreme anymore, but she seems a bit
restless.

I did a water change last night and my tank now has 1.0ppm of nitrite.. not good. I know my tap water has nitrites in it. The p.h. has also risen

from a 6.4 (before i started all these recent water changes) to almost 7.6... because of the tap water changes (of course using a conditioner), because my tap water has a p.h. of 7.6.

Is this stressful?
Could it be hurting her?

The only thing I have to take out nitrites is amquel plus. I used it as my tap water conditioner when i did a water change lastnight, but didnt use it to dose the tank in full for the nitrites because i didn't know if it would have an adverse effect since i'm using erythromycin and pimafix in her water also. I didn't know about combining them.



Oh, and also.. about the garlic on her food.
Do I go to a local grocery store? Is there actually garlic juice that they sell there,
or could i use garlic powder at home mixed with a drop of water to make a paste?
How do I go about this.. lol

 

[Jackiee]

Well, I've looked on the internet about people dissolving some garlic powder from their kitchens into some tank water and soaking the food in it, then feeding it to the fish.. so I guess i'm going to try that right now.

 

[Jackiee]

The garlic powder soaked food didn't work
I'm really upset she STILL hasn't eaten.

How long can they possibly last without food?
I think she's on about her 5th day of no food. *sigh*

So worried about my little buddy.



Also, edit to say, her scales have begun to have a slight blackness to them in some places, as if she's had dirt sprinkled on her. I think this is a sign of stress in parrot fish, or bad water conditions. I mean obviously she has to be stressed, the poor thing's been fighting for her life the past week, but I'm wondering if the spiked Nitrites are causing the miscoloring.. I need to get those down!

 

[Embrace]

Don't worry about her not eating at the moment. When I went on holiday for 2 weeks, I asked my neighbour to come in ad feed only a tiny bit after a week, but fish can go for 2-3 weeks without food.

With regard to the garlic, fresh is best, so I would invest in a garlic crusher as the fresh juice that you squeeze into the tank will help even if the fish hasn't eaten it.

I think you should get rid of the undergravel filter. I cant remember what size your tank is but I would suggest the Fluval U series (i.e U3 and U4.)
I have the U2 in my 65L and I am very impressed. Its silent and extremely easy to maintenance.

Glad things are looking up for you!

 

[Jackiee]

Thanks for the advice,


I really want to upgrade to a 55 (would prefer 75 but that's too big for my apartment).
I only have a 30 gallon

 

[Jackiee]

This is the black 'dirt' looking stuff on her. Sorry, I tried to capture it as best I could.
It's alot more than yesterday.
She also constantly has all of her fins, especially her dorsal, flared up all the time. This used to only happen when she was trying to intimidate other fish, or when she'd get mad from another fish bugging her.

There's also two small transparent bumps on her head above her right eye, and to tell you the truth they look exactly like the eggs that she lays, but they're obviously not eggs.

She's been sitting in the same spot, slowly moving her fins to maintain her location and not be pushed by the current, but isn't moving much.

She's also extremely skittish now, if she sees someone come close to the tank or put their hand up next to the glass to see if she responds, she freaks out and tries getting out of the plants and away from you (struggling to manuever her way through them all the while she does it).
She never used to be the least bit skittish or scared toward us, in fact she'd come up right to the glass as close as she could, any time she seen a person by her tank.

Basically, she just seems extremely stressed and high strung right now..

 

[Jackiee]

The fish is doing REMARKABLY better.
She's becoming her old self again, being friendly and coming up to the tank when i come near or put my hand up,
and today she ATE for the first time in a week. twice.

she finished her course of Erythromycin antibiotic, but I'm still dosing her with Pimafix because she's not 100% back to normal yet.
Still some funky areas on her. Might just be wounds from the infection that are healing, but still.

I'll wait and see if I need to go purchase more Erythromycin, but I might just do it anyways to be safe. Sound like a good idea?

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[sXeLifer]

I always treat my fish for a week after everything clears up so you might be best buying some more. Well done on sticking at her and getting the little lady back to health

 

[Jackiee]

Alright I know, i'm so happy. She's been through so much, such a survivor! The definition of a hardy fish lmao.
And thanks, I'll go get some more antibiotic then. I mean, the Pimafix says it's for fungal infections as well as internal and external bacterial infections, so i didn't know if since the main infection was taken care of, if the Pimafix would be enough to carry her through to full recovery

 

[star4]

So glad she has survived. I would suggest as it has happened before, to get either an internal or external filter, pop one in for 6 weeks or so until it has matured then take out the undergravel filter.

 

[Jackiee]

Have any advice or guidance on what type of internal or external filter, which is better?

What's bad about the undergravel filters? A few people have recommended me take it out.

 

[FreedomFighter]

Glad to hear about your fish's road to recovery.

What size is your tank in liters or gallons?? As far as undergravel filters go, I just think they're too much hassle.