Pinstripe Cardinalfish not looking so good...

[haleyf1024]

I have 3 pinstripe cardinal fish in my 110 gallon. 2 of them look great, as do my other fish and nems/corals/inverts. This one guy looks like he lost his color (granted they don't usually have much at all) and is turning white and black? He has been eating well, flakes and pieces of mysis and krill. Today he seemed to keep to himself and didn't eat much, which is unusual. Any ideas? Parameters all look great.

 

[melypr1985]

he looks like he's developed an infection there. Can you get him out? Did he eat for you today?

 

[haleyf1024]

he looks like he's developed an infection there. Can you get him out? Did he eat for you today?

He ate better today, and came out of the corner he was staying in yesterday. He actually chased and caught his food (freeze dried krill, his favorite) tonight whereas yesterday he waited for flakes to pass by and almost begrudgingly ate them. Hoping he is on the mend by himself, but I'm not going to hold my breath just in case. I don't have the option to QT him by himself at the moment, we are in the middle of moving as my parents are separating. I'm guessing being caught and transferred is what stressed him to the point of illness. Should I start looking into meds, or see what nature does? I don't want him to infect anyone else :( Does it seem fungal, bacterial or viral to you (if you can tell that is, I am not sure myself, but first guess would be bacterial...)?

 

[Humblefish]

My best guess would be something bacterial in nature: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/

He needs antibiotics dosed into a QT. Kanaplex and/or Furan-2 would be best. Add Metroplex to this to widen the spectrum of treatment.

 

[melypr1985]

Fungal isn't something we run across in saltwater. It's most likely bacterial in nature, though I can't tell you much more than that without a microscope, skin scrape and more brain cells than I possess. lol

You can certainly hedge your bets here and feed an antibiotic in the food. Kanaplex or Furan2 coupled with Focus in the food will help, but it will be slow. 10 days minimum with that, though it could take longer to fully kick the infection.

 

[haleyf1024]

I am getting Focus tomorrow to start feeding soaked foods. Which antibiotics would you guys recommend for how he looks, I can't find much online that resembles this. I know you mentioned Kanaplex and Furan 2, plus Metro. Would any be better than the others, or are there additional ones you guys would recommed? I already have Metro and Furan, don't believe I have used Kanaplex yet.

 

[melypr1985]

I am getting Focus tomorrow to start feeding soaked foods. Which antibiotics would you guys recommend for how he looks, I can't find much online that resembles this. I know you mentioned Kanaplex and Furan 2, plus Metro. Would any be better than the others, or are there additional ones you guys would recommed? I already have Metro and Furan, don't believe I have used Kanaplex yet.

If you already have furan2, then use that with the focus. I prefer kanaplex for feeding the antibiotics in the food, but we use what we got.

 

[Humblefish]

If you already have furan2, then use that with the focus. I prefer kanaplex for feeding the antibiotics in the food, but we use what we got.

It is safer (in a reef environment) to use Kanaplex when food soaking, as that won't discolour the water if a little leaches out. Nitrofurazone (Furan-2) has a yellowish tint to it.

 

[haleyf1024]

Bringing up my old thread again... Was able to catch him and put him in his own tank. So he went through a round of prazipro (already had it set up for other fish) and a round of Kanaplex (in the water, in 10 gallon qt). He isn't any better, I'd actually say he is doing worse since the last time I posted. He's thinner, not eating as much (but does eat), and the fins look rough, more so than before. Any ideas as to what this actually is? There's nothing online that I can find about pinstripes, or any similar cardinal that has these ailments :( I don't want to lose him.... Should I do a round of Furan 2? Any other meds? I also have Erythromycin, Formalin, and Tetracycline on hand.

 

[melypr1985]

Bringing up my old thread again... Was able to catch him and put him in his own tank. So he went through a round of prazipro (already had it set up for other fish) and a round of Kanaplex (in the water, in 10 gallon qt). He isn't any better, I'd actually say he is doing worse since the last time I posted. He's thinner, not eating as much (but does eat), and the fins look rough, more so than before. Any ideas as to what this actually is? There's nothing online that I can find about pinstripes, or any similar cardinal that has these ailments :( I don't want to lose him.... Should I do a round of Furan 2? Any other meds? I also have Erythromycin, Formalin, and Tetracycline on hand.

how many days was he in the kanaplex? You should run them through any antibiotic for 10 days straight, maybe longer if needed... or adding others to widen the spectrum.

 

[haleyf1024]

He was in Kanaplex for the max dosage, which lasted 6 days. Then he stayed in a few extra while I ran carbon to get the meds out. Should I re-do kanaplex? Or switch antibiotics?

 

[melypr1985]

I would run him through the kanaplex and the furan2 at the same time. Run them both acording to the directions except keep them going for 10 days straight or longer if needed. don't stop early even if he starts looking better.

 

[haleyf1024]

Starting them right now, really hope I'm not too late :( Thanks for the help, I'll post an update (hopefully a good one) with any changes.

 

[haleyf1024]

If he makes it, Furan 2 requires water changes. Should I add the correct amount of Kanaplex to the new water when I add it to replace what I remove themor just use plain saltwater and redose kana when needed according to bottle directions?

 

[melypr1985]

If he makes it, Furan 2 requires water changes. Should I add the correct amount of Kanaplex to the new water when I add it to replace what I remove themor just use plain saltwater and redose kana when needed according to bottle directions?

When I do it, I do the water changes as normal then redose both. They don't stay active in the water for long so I'm not usually worried about over dosing it. With Furan2 it's a water change every other day right?

 

[haleyf1024]

It's a dose day 1, redose day 2, water change day 3, then on days 4,5, and 6. If they don't stay active in the water long, do I just let the tank stay as is after the final dose of both meds, or keep redosing (as if I were starting them all over) until day 10-11/when he's better? Kanaplex does say that the maximum dosage is 3 days worth of treatment...

 

[melypr1985]

It's a dose day 1, redose day 2, water change day 3, then on days 4,5, and 6. If they don't stay active in the water long, do I just let the tank stay as is after the final dose of both meds, or keep redosing (as if I were starting them all over) until day 10-11/when he's better? Kanaplex does say that the maximum dosage is 3 days worth of treatment...

OK. For some reason I don't remember those directions from the last time i used it, but that's probably my faulty memory. dose day 1, dose day 2 then water change day 3, repeat. Don't worry about the max dose of kanaplex.... Just keep going with it until symptoms disappear and work it into the water change schedual involved with the furan 2. When you get to day ten we can look at the cardinal and decide whether to keep going with it, or go with a different med.

 

[melypr1985]

OH! and make sure to add lots of O2 to the water during this. Bubbles, small powerhead pointed at the water's surface, whatever you have to do.

 

[haleyf1024]

Sounds good, thanks for the help! He's got a hob filter on there thats rated 30 gallons, I'm hoping that's enough for now as he is very very weak, getting blown around and can't really swim much. I will probably add an airstone tomorrow if he is looking a bit stronger and swimming more on his own.

 

[haleyf1024]

He passed away overnight :( Guess I was too late this time