striped raphael

[hab13]

well first off, thanks to everyone who gave me advice on my rainbow shark with fin rot. He is doing great and all his fins are growing back in nicely

However, I have a new issue. I have a striped raphael catfish that I transfered out of the tank with the rainbow shark (I took him out to treat the sick fish only). He isn't very active and usually hard to see so I'm not sure how long he's been this way but he has red sores on the side of his body and one of his fins is oddly shaped, I'm not quite sure how to describe it but it looks to me as if the scales are completely gone on the tip of the fin and all that is there is a bone with barbs protruding out from it. I assumed it was fin rot as well but wanted to verify it. Here are the specs on the tank:

29 gal with the raphael catfish (3"), one goldfish(2"), one rainbow shark (4"), and one gold alge eater (1")

GH-180
KH-240
pH-8.0
NO2-0
NO3-20

I have been doing water changes every week exchanging about 4 gallons with ro to lower the pH

I have started the catfish on one 40 min medicated bath per day with a double dose of furon2, epsom salts, and metheylene blue.
I'm not sure if it is fin rot and if I should medicate the whole tank or not, I just finished treating my only other ten gal tank for three weeks to heal the rainbow shark and it is very time consuming so I don't want to do the wrong thing....HELP!!!

[Carl]

This may be a case of Aeromonas, which is generally an opportunistic infection, so a major medication of his tank MAY not be necessary if he can be improved with the baths and mild tank treatments.

Nothing jumps out at me as being "bad" in your water parameters, although since Aeromonas is an anaerobic gram negative bacterium, keyword anaerobic, make sure you have no decay, mulm buildup, and make sure circulation is good with at least 5 ppm dissolved oxygen (assuming this is even Aeromonas)

I would continue the path you are on, unless you see no results in 4 days. In the tank you might consider using a mild Pimafix or Pimafix/Melafix treatment.

Columnaris is another common opportunistic bacterium that gives similar symptoms, although it is an aerobic bacterium and poor water conditions are not as much a factor as stress is. Temperatures above 75 can make Columnaris worse (& to a lesser degree, the same with Aeromonas), so keep temps below 75 F.

Here are a couple of articles to look over as well:
Aeromonas, Vibrio, Septicemia

Columnaris Infections

Carl

[hab13]

unfortunately it is not working, I have been treating for over four days and have seen no improvement, in fact the fin with the bone protruding out has gotten a little worse.

I was thinking of treating the whole tank with furan2 but could that kill any of the other fish in the tank? I only have two tanks and they both are in use so I can't transfer him anywhere.

Any other ideas or advice on this matter?

[Carl]

Have given any medicated baths using Methylene Blue, salt, and Furan 2 in the bath at double strength?

Also adding salt to the water is very helpful if this Aeromonas or Columnaris (even though catfish are sensitive to salt, they can tolerate salt for two weeks at 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons as per a University of Florida Study).

Changing water before each dose increases effectiveness considerably (see Aquarium Medications; Overview

What are your water parameters (GH, ammonia in particular since both of these can affect the outcome)

However if you have done the above and your water parameters are good (0 ammonia; 100 plus GH), you may be dealing with a different pathogen than suspected. Although Aeromonas, Columnaris, and similar represent over 75% of aquarium bacterial outbreaks, there are gram negative pathogens such as Mycobacterium or Streptococcus that will not be as likely to respond, although Furan 2 and Kanamycin our quite broad spectrum. You may need to use Erythromycin, Neomyacin, Oxytetracycline, or other more gram positive treatment.

The other possibility is that the fish is too weak for other unknown reasons (such as genetics) and no antibiotic can help for this.

Carl

[bikeguy33]

you mentioned you dont see this guy too often.not to go against carl......but i am thinking another possibility. is it possible he was injured by another fish or by running into something. you mentioned open red sores, which could be an injury. the odd shaped fins could be fin rot on their way to healing...they won`t always grow back perfect

[Carl]

Feb 11, 2009 22:40:00 GMT -5 bikeguy33 said:

you mentioned you dont see this guy too often.not to go against carl......but i am thinking another possibility. is it possible he was injured by another fish or by running into something. you mentioned open red sores, which could be an injury. the odd shaped fins could be fin rot on their way to healing...they won`t always grow back perfect

That is an excellent point too bikeguy

Carl