Rummy Nose With Something Inside Him

[TarkMalbot]

One of my 6 Rummy noses has something inside it. It looks like its full of puss or something. It's still acting normally, swimming with the shoal and eating but it doesn't look good. Thinking it is a bacterial infection or contagious I have been treating with Myxazin to try and stop anything getting worse. I have been treating for 4 days and the course is 5 days but it looks no better. It's in a planted tank and going to be a nightmare to catch if required so any ideas? It's fast moving but this photo may give you an idea:

 

[mark4785]

Is the dorsal fine, above the white patch, damaged in anyway or is there a possibility it could have got this fin caught? 
 
If that fin has been trapped/damaged it could have allowed a fungal/bacterial infection to get into the fish via a wound.
 
Due to the extent of the necrotic tissue being produced in response to the infection you'll probably need to get a professional to identify what it is under a microscope so he/she can treat it effectively and also do a debridement. That, or concoct a food paste for it to eat containing an antibiotic (liquid metronidazole is a good option) to help it fight the infection.

 

[TarkMalbot]

Thanks for the reply. There appears to be no damage to any part of the fish. I am on the last day of the treatment and the tank is due a water change on Sunday.

 

[mark4785]

Thanks for the reply. There appears to be no damage to any part of the fish. I am on the last day of the treatment and the tank is due a water change on Sunday.

 
I'm not totally sure if Myxazin is able to tackle internal infections. It might be worth ringing Waterlife up in morning/early afternoon period (UK time) and ask their chemist if it is appropriate to use. In my view, a remedy needs to be ingested by the fish to tackle an internal problem.

 

[Brianandrews1951]

From the photo, the problem looks to me like Pleistophora hyphessobryconis or similar, a sporozoan disease which is reasonably common in tetras. (Sporozoa are classified as protozoa, like white spot, but are much smaller and very different in their disease-causing behaviour. If you can Google it, images could help you to ID it.) The disease is internal, affecting muscle tissue (turning it white). If that is what it is, there is unfortunately no cure that I am aware of. The disease, if I have identified it correctly, will be relatively slow to develop. (How long has the fish had it?) Affected fish can appear behaviourally unaffected for some time, even when the disease is quite advanced. If you are able to isolate the fish, this would reduce the chances of the disease spreading, though in my experience it is highly unlikely to become epidemic in an aquarium, which is an upside. The mechanism(s) of spread is/are poorly understood, but some schools of thought believe fish consuming an infected dead fish is likely to be one.
 
If you decide to remove the affected fish, the easiest way in a planted tank will be at night after the fish have well and truly 'gone to sleep'. In the dark, use a torch (flashlight), moving it slowly towards the tank to avoid startling the inmates, and catch the fish out. Very much easier than doing it while fish are awake!!!
 
Nice looking tank by the way, with the plants. (Love the barbs and hatchets too!)  

 

[sadguppy]

I had this in one of my rummynose, and it later died. It didn't spread though which is good news. I would leave him in there but keep an eye on things.