Sick Angel?

[fishprotector]

Hi. We have an Angelfish who is currently around 2-3 inches long and have had him for around 2 weeks. Very recently (as in today) he seems to have developed a problem with his right pectoral fin in the sense that there seems to be a tear / nick on top of it just where is meets the body. There also seems to be quite a lot of white mucus around the area. The left hand pectoral fin has white mucus and looks a little worn. The mucus is on the fins and the area around the gills. Is it some kind of finrot?? Has anybody experienced anything like this??

Tank is a 180l planted with no past problems or issues. Water params: Amonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10.

P.s. He seems to still be quite active, is eating normallt and is still using his pectoral fins.

 

[myrtle]

It sounds like fin rot to me. How frequently do you do water changes and how much do you change at a time? Lots of clean water can help fin rot so I'd do a lot of water changes.

 

[fishprotector]

We change around 40l so nearly 25% at least once every week and quite often twice weekly. Will any medications help (Interpet or Melafix)??

 

[myrtle]

You can try meds, though be careful not to overdose, even by a tiny amount as it can wipe out the filter and send you into a mini cycle while it recolonises (I know this as it happened to me and I lost my Gold Nugget plec). It's probably worth doing a large water change just before dosing though, I'd do about 70% personally.

 

[fishprotector]

Thanks for that, I will bear that in mind. I am thinking I will get some stress coat and melafix. Never used either of them before but they seem to state that they restore the mucus layer (could be what has been damaged?) and help to heal fin wounds. Like I say he is still swimming around and eating like a trooper so dont want to use anything too extreme. Oh and a large water change before hand.

 

[fishprotector]

Melafix has been added but he seems to be getting worse. He is either hiding away and not moving much or trying to get oxygen at the surface of the tank. He will not eat and it looks like there is a lot of mucus near his gills. All the other fish seem to be fine. Any ideas???