Topic: 0-60 Fin Rot??

[LW]

I have my Charlie, alone, in a 1-3/4 gallon rectangular bowl (unfiltered). I did have to leave him for 4 days but when I came home I found that his back fin looked like it had a very clean split. It did not look "rotten" it just looked like someone took a scissors and cut his fin. The split was about 3/8" long. His back tail fin is very large and he is a regular pet store veil tail.

Of course, I did a complete water change (with conditioned water and aquarium salt) but then now today I come home from work and now I see what looks like EXCESSIVE ROT. It went from just that one little thing to all over now. I am not sure if he is biting his tail or not. He has acted angrier than usual the past 3 weeks. I did just move him to the kitchen so I could do more frequent water changes easier. Is this possible that fin rot can get this bad in 24 hours?

Do I start an aggressive medication program now? I know there are some tips in Mushi's disease section. What I want to know is how aggressive do I get? And if I have to do daily changes is it better to use the half gallon bowl I have even though it means he will not be in his normal home and there is not much room for decor?

Thanks!!
Lisa

[Echo38230]

I've had worries over split fins before to, but it turns out thats all they were, thankfully. I always keep aquarisol on hand. I live by that(or I guess my fish do..) stuff. If you have anything like a gallon tank it would probably be easier to dose him in. If not you can use an old gallon milk jug and premake your water. All you need is one drop per gallon. And that stuff lasts forever and it's pretty cheap.

[AiWen]

Try Maracyn and Maracyn 2 combined, I think that is aggresssive enough.

[LW]

Thanks everyone! Can Maracyn be bought at any chain pet store? That is all I have nearby...that and Walmart. The Aquarisol I have used in the past with other fish and I am pretty sure the LPS have that. Can I use all 3? Aquarisol and the Maracyn?

[AiWen]

Yeah, Maracyn and Maracyn 2 should be available at chain stores such as Petsmart and Petco, but as for Walmart, I'm not sure.  As for using all three, I think someone else would be able to help you with that.  I've never seen Aquarisol before anyways, so I have no idea.

[Echo38230]

uhm, I dunno. I don't think you would need all 3. Unless it's like extreme and almost about to kill the fish. I think one or the other should  be enough...

[supersixone]

uhm, I dunno. I don't think you would need all 3. Unless it's like extreme and almost about to kill the fish. I think one or the other should  be enough...

maracyn 1 and 2 are used in combination because one kills only gram positive bacteria and the other kills only gram negative.  short of taking a culture from the fish's tail and doing a gram stain, you can't know for sure which type is the culprit.

aquarisol is an antiparasitic and doesn't treat fin rot at all, so unless your fish is also suffering from some type of parasitic disease (ich, velvet, etc) you don't need it.

[dorn27]

Agreed, Maracyn is the best combo and Aquasol is simply not needed.   Treating a fish with an unneeded med will make problems worse.  Don't treat for parasites unless it's a parasite.

[LW]

Thanks again everyone. I just could not believe how fast this happened. I will try maracyn 1 and 2. Do I change water every day? Or can I at least go 2 days? I plan to go out and get the meds tomorrow, change his water tomorrow with the meds and then it would be great to wait til Thursday to do another water change. But if that is a bad idea I will do what I need to do to save my sweet Charlie. He has been so terribly angry lately. I am not sure where the anger comes from.....maybe "brewing" fin rot?

[supersixone]

Agreed, Maracyn is the best combo and Aquarisol is simply not needed.   Treating a fish with an unneeded med will make problems worse.  Don't treat for parasites unless it's a parasite.