Pajama cardinal fins eroding

[KMench]

hi all. I’ve had this pj cardinal in quarantine since I had an ich outbreak in my tank. He is currently being treated with CP and I noticed his fins have a black edge and are partially gone. He sits next to the heater a lot in the QT so I can’t decide if he’s burned his fins, has fin rot, or what’s going on....

 

[KMench]

@Humblefish any suggestions? He likes to sit next to the heater which was in a corner, so I moved the heater in hopes he was just touching it.

 

[Humblefish]

I can't say for sure from the photos, but it sounds like a secondary bacterial infection starting up: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/

I would dose Kanaplex or another mild antibiotic to address it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/antibiotics.283711/

 

[KMench]

Thank you. I just ordered some furan-2 after reading one of your threads that said it was ok to dose with CP. I’ll also do a 50% water change and try to siphon out any debris.

 

[KMench]

Thank you. I just ordered some furan-2 after reading one of your threads that said it was ok to dose with CP. I’ll also do a 50% water change and try to siphon out any debris.

 

[KMench]

Will he be ok until Monday? I ordered the furan-2 from amazon. It'll be here Monday. I put some cardboard on three sides of the QT to make it a bit darker for him to try and reduce any stress.

 

[Humblefish]

Will he be ok until Monday? I ordered the furan-2 from amazon. It'll be here Monday. I put some cardboard on three sides of the QT to make it a bit darker for him to try and reduce any stress.

It's difficult to say, but cardinals are fairly hardy fish so you have that going in your favor.

 

[KMench]

Ok. The med is on its way and I just did the 50% change for him. The salinity had crept up to about 1.027 since I was slacking in topping off his QT. I slowly corrected that to 1.024 this morning. I hope the cardboard around his tank makes him feel a little more secure. He’s in a bedroom that doesn’t get any travel and has been eating so hopefully he’s not too stressed and will do ok in the med tomorrow.

 

[KMench]

Should I discontinue the CP while he's in the Furan-2? He has been in the CP for ~12 days now.

 

[Humblefish]

Should I discontinue the CP while he's in the Furan-2? He has been in the CP for ~12 days now.

You can use CP + Furan-2 together.

 

[KMench]

Ok, I saw that in your thread but was unsure if it would potentially cause an algae bloom or any other problems like dosing prazi and cp.

 

[KMench]

He is eating better now :) how long should it take to notice results from the antibiotics? The cardinal is still in the Furan-2 as well as CP. I just did the 25% water change and added CP to make up for the loss. Added the third dose of Furan (day 3 down so far).

 

[Humblefish]

He is eating better now :) how long should it take to notice results from the antibiotics? The cardinal is still in the Furan-2 as well as CP. I just did the 25% water change and added CP to make up for the loss. Added the third dose of Furan (day 3 down so far).

Antibiotics are notoriously slow acting in fish, so it might take 10-14 days before seeing any improvement.

 

[KMench]

Right, so I’ll dose for ten days and then wait a bit to see if he improves before doing a second course. Sound good?

 

[Humblefish]

Right, so I’ll dose for ten days and then wait a bit to see if he improves before doing a second course. Sound good?

 

[KMench]

Haven't really seen a change in the condition of his caudal fin. It's still pretty eroded, but the black seems to have receded from the edge. I don't see any erosion on any of the other fins. Should I just give him time and see what happens since he finished the course of abx?

 

[Humblefish]

Should I just give him time and see what happens since he finished the course of abx?

I would let him chill for now and see what happens. Maybe an acriflavine bath after a few days if it doesn't start looking better: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/acriflavine.282887/