Juvenile regal sick

[dromo2189]

Hello i had this juvenile regal for about a week. He’s in a qt tank by himself. He has been eating like a pig since the first day. He eats frozen food and pellets. Today i notice he had a hole in his fin. What can this be and how do you treat?

 

[Maritimer]

His dorsal fin doesn't look good either. I'd tend to suspect something bacterial, but #reefsquad , and especially @Jay Hemdal can give you the best advice out there.

~B.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is a massive case of fin and tail rot. You will need to do a series of water changes as it is bacterial and likely associated with a decline in water quality (ammonia-nitrate)
Thereafter, melafix will help with healing but again water quality and also even low water temperature needs to be corrected Overcrowding the tank, feeding outdated food, overfeeding the fish, and moving or handling can also cause stress that leads to fin rot also

 

[dromo2189]

This is a massive case of fin and tail rot. You will need to do a series of water changes as it is bacterial and likely associated with a decline in water quality (ammonia-nitrate)
Thereafter, melafix will help with healing but again water quality and also even low water temperature needs to be corrected Overcrowding the tank, feeding outdated food, overfeeding the fish, and moving or handling can also cause stress that leads to fin rot also

 

[dromo2189]

He is in a 10 gallon tank since so small. If i do a 50 percent water change then do i add melafix. Do i add it everyday as the bottle says?

 

[vetteguy53081]

He is in a 10 gallon tank since so small. If i do a 50 percent water change then do i add melafix. Do i add it everyday as the bottle says?

Test water first to confirm cause, change water and treat

 

[dromo2189]

I just want to make sure I’m reading the instructions right. It says treat everyday for 7 days then do big water change. Is this correct

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello i had this juvenile regal for about a week. He’s in a qt tank by himself. He has been eating like a pig since the first day. He eats frozen food and pellets. Today i notice he had a hole in his fin. What can this be and how do you treat?

That is a really serious infection. I see that all three unpaired fins are affected. I also see some diffuse cloudiness along its lateral line. This all means the infection is systemic. Even with prompt, aggressive treatment, you may not be able to save this fish.

Do you have current water parameters for this tank?

I'm not a big fan of Melafix, it is more of a bacteriostatic tonic than a true antibiotic. This means that it has limited effectiveness in serious cases like this. That said, choosing a true antibiotic is just a guess, since there is no way to know what antibiotic will be effective in this case. The general recommendation is to use a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic in a QT (which this fish looks to be in already). Influencing that choice is going to be what you can get TODAY to begin treating it. I'd probably opt for Seachem's Kanaplex


Jay

p.s. - I'm amazed that it is feeding, I've given up on juvenile Pygoplites as being really poor do-ers. Do you know, did this one come from the Red Sea or Australia?

 

[piranhaman00]

Kanaplex and Furan-2 together, clean water, selcon foods. Good luck! Oh and heavy airation! Very heavy.

 

[dromo2189]

Well I started treatment right away on Friday and lost him Saturday night. I had high hopes for this guy as he was eating like a pig. Wished i would’ve caught the infection sooner