Hi, I have 2 discus that keep getting what appears to be fin and tail rot, however none of the other fish in the tank get it (serpae tetras and a clown loach). The tail fin in particular turns cloudy in spots first, and then rots away. I've tried treating it with Melafix (which cleared it up a bit), it came back and I tried Maracyn-TC which seemed to clear it up on 1 of the 2 discus. Now I am treating them with Maracyn. (This has been over the course of about 3 months). It is back for the 3rd time. Any idea what this might be or how to treat it? I do regular water changes and keep my tank to the acidic side.
Discus fit rot? plague?
- Thread starter dgabele
- Start date
Could you define "Acidic side"? Also what are the other parameters?
pH
Ammonia/Ammonium
Nitrite
Nitrate
General Hardness
Carbonate Hardness
If it is a pathogen as opposed to an environmental issue I'd just skip right to Furan based med's. It's relatively new so is effective against most resistent strains and it treats both gram negative and gram positive. There are 2 cavets with Furan though... 1) You NEED to dose it in a hospital tank otherwise it will destroy your biological filter. 2) It is carcigenic (with ALOT of exposure) so take appropriate precautions when handleing it. Don't let #2 stop you from using it... there are a lot of fish meds that are as well. Any Malachite based med (Nox-Ich) is a great example.
Now, if I remember correctly Maracyn is erythromycin which would explain why it doesn't seem to be working too well. The reason I'm asking for the water quality tests is because the TC isn't working... Tetracycline is a bacteria-static med. Meaning it mearly stops the growth of the bacteria to allow the fish's immune system to "catch up" and fight off the infection it's self. For whatever reason that's not happening.
Chris
pH
Ammonia/Ammonium
Nitrite
Nitrate
General Hardness
Carbonate Hardness
If it is a pathogen as opposed to an environmental issue I'd just skip right to Furan based med's. It's relatively new so is effective against most resistent strains and it treats both gram negative and gram positive. There are 2 cavets with Furan though... 1) You NEED to dose it in a hospital tank otherwise it will destroy your biological filter. 2) It is carcigenic (with ALOT of exposure) so take appropriate precautions when handleing it. Don't let #2 stop you from using it... there are a lot of fish meds that are as well. Any Malachite based med (Nox-Ich) is a great example.
Now, if I remember correctly Maracyn is erythromycin which would explain why it doesn't seem to be working too well. The reason I'm asking for the water quality tests is because the TC isn't working... Tetracycline is a bacteria-static med. Meaning it mearly stops the growth of the bacteria to allow the fish's immune system to "catch up" and fight off the infection it's self. For whatever reason that's not happening.
Chris