Sailfin Tang fins all jagged and not normal

ndz98 · Dec 8, 2015

I've been watching my tang pretty closely for the past month to see if his fins were going to get better. They have only gotten worse. The edge of his fins aren't as smooth as they used to be. I just started feeding brine shrimp to my fish so if it's a nutrient problem will that help?

Luka · Dec 8, 2015

I am not that experienced but looks like fin rot. If it is put him in QT and treat it with Api melafix.

melypr1985 · Dec 8, 2015

Brine shrimp are pretty much as nutritious as iceberg lettuce. I wouldn't feed that as a primary food source. You can feed it, but try for something more nutritious like mysis shrimp (just as an example) and always make sure he's getting plenty of Nori every day.
That very well could be fin rot. Treating in a QT is ideal of course.
Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

I want to ask though, could he be getting picked on? Just for information's sake.... what other fish are in the tank and how big is the tank? Have any of your fish exhibited symptoms of ich?

Luka · Dec 8, 2015

Just happens to me thought my fish had fin rot ended up being a bully in the tank

ndz98 · Dec 8, 2015

melypr1985 said:
Brine shrimp are pretty much as nutritious as iceberg lettuce. I wouldn't feed that as a primary food source. You can feed it, but try for something more nutritious like mysis shrimp (just as an example) and always make sure he's getting plenty of Nori every day.
That very well could be fin rot. Treating in a QT is ideal of course.
Bacterial infections:

Symptoms - Sometimes it's self-describing: Popeye/cloudy eyes, fin & tail rot, dropsy (bloated fish), etc. But some other bacterial infections, such as furunculosis, hemorrhagic septicemia, etc., can have varying visible symptoms. Any redness or open sores/wounds on a fish should be viewed with suspicion. Also, a white film or fungus-looking growth may denote a bacterial infection. It’s important to note that in many cases a bacterial infection is usually secondary in nature to a parasitic infestation such as ich, meaning if a fish has been battling ich for a while then his immune system has been lowered. This makes infection more likely for many opportunistic, harmful bacteria.

Treatment options - Broad spectrum antibiotic medication i.e. one that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases. Examples of this include Furan-2, Kanamycin aka Seachem Kanaplex, Nitrofuracin Green Powder, Triple Sulfa Powder, or a combination of using both Erythromycin & Minocycline. The latter can be accomplished (albeit expensively) by using freshwater Maracyn 1 & 2 and then doubling the dosage for saltwater use. When battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combining Furan-2, Kanaplex and metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) can be very effective (and safe). Props to “hedgedrew” for enlightening me of this.

I want to ask though, could he be getting picked on? Just for information's sake.... what other fish are in the tank and how big is the tank? Have any of your fish exhibited symptoms of ich?

I would doubt he's getting picked on. The only other fish are two clowns and I've never seen them act aggressive towards him. They are in a 29g tank and before someone says it, I know it's a small tank for him. My other fish haven't shown any symptoms of ich. They seem to be in good shape. I can't qt because I don't have one yet. Hopefully I can set one up after Christmas. Is nori a type of seaweed? And I'll try and pick some mysis shrimp up tomorrow or Thursday.

Luka · Dec 8, 2015

Melypr told me to get selecon when I thought I had fin rot I don't have a qt either. It's basically amino acids and vitamins to boost the fishes immune system. My fish didn't like it so get garlic with it aswell but your best bet is qt him some how.

melypr1985 · Dec 8, 2015

ndz98 said:
I would doubt he's getting picked on. The only other fish are two clowns and I've never seen them act aggressive towards him. They are in a 29g tank and before someone says it, I know it's a small tank for him. My other fish haven't shown any symptoms of ich. They seem to be in good shape. I can't qt because I don't have one yet. Hopefully I can set one up after Christmas. Is nori a type of seaweed? And I'll try and pick some mysis shrimp up tomorrow or Thursday.

Ok.... Well, as luka stated selcon is a vitamin you can add to the food and to the nori. Tangs need lots of vegetation every day. Nori is dried seaweed you can buy at a grocery store (used for sushi I believe) or at your LFS or even online. You'll want to get his immune system boosted by feeding a much better diet along with the vitamins. If it's actually fin rot, this will help along with the meds I posted above. It's possible to treat using his food and Seachem's Focus to bind the med to the food. It's really slow acting this way, but at least these steps should help.

While I hate to mention it, because you already know it, that fish needs a much larger tank..... like MUCH larger. Keeping him in this small of a tank, even at his small size is going to cause stress issues and probably exacerbate his issues.

ndz98 · Dec 8, 2015

Are any of those meds reef safe because I'm going to have to put it in my DT since no qt available. Also if I feed him a better diet and boost his immune system will I still need to treat with the meds?

Luka · Dec 8, 2015

Selecon is reef safe sachem is not u can try spot feeding it tho. As melypr said small tank for big fish increases stress more stress weaker immune system more prone to diseases and what not. Boosting immune system and a better diet will be very very slow acting.

ndz98 · Dec 8, 2015

Luka said:
Selecon is reef safe sachem is not u can try spot feeding it tho. As melypr said small tank for big fish increases stress more stress weaker immune system more prone to diseases and what not. Boosting immune system and a better diet will be very very slow acting.

Well it's sounds like selecon is going to have to be the route I take. You think I'll be able to find it in stores?

melypr1985 · Dec 8, 2015

ndz98 said:
Are any of those meds reef safe because I'm going to have to put it in my DT since no qt available. Also if I feed him a better diet and boost his immune system will I still need to treat with the meds?

Like I stated above. The meds can be fed in his food and on the nori if you use Sechem's focus to bind the meds to the food. You may want to run carbon, if you dont already, to ease your mind about any of the meds bleeding into the tank water, but it should be just fine. I would absolutely advise giving the meds in conjunction with the efforts to boost his immune system.

ndz98 · Dec 8, 2015

Okay I'll try and gather up everything I need. I can't seem to find that selecon stuff on the Internet.

Luka · Dec 9, 2015

Not sure my LFS or petco didn't carry it got it from drfosterandsmith's online store. Then realized the HQ for producers of selecon are just a few towns over from mine. But check your stores of not order online. I agree with melypr use meds too the fin rot looks pretty bad rn. I would try to spot feed and carbon filter will help.

Luka · Dec 9, 2015

http://m.marinedepot.com/aquarium/additives_american_marine

Humblefish · Dec 9, 2015

Unless he's getting picked on by another fish or you have crab (or something) nipping at his fins, it's probably a mild bacterial infection. Kind of like when you have a cough that won't clear up until you go to the doc and get a Rx for some antibiotics.

You can try soaking food in vitamins, but if the infection has been lingering this long you might need to resort to antibiotics. You can soak Kanaplex in fish food using Seachem Focus as the binder.

ndz98 · Dec 9, 2015

Humblefish said:
Unless he's getting picked on by another fish or you have crab (or something) nipping at his fins, it's probably a mild bacterial infection. Kind of like when you have a cough that won't clear up until you go to the doc and get a Rx for some antibiotics.

You can try soaking food in vitamins, but if the infection has been lingering this long you might need to resort to antibiotics. You can soak Kanaplex in fish food using Seachem Focus as the binder.

I suspected it might be the crab but I feel like it's not likely that's what it's from. I've never seen the crab mess with any of the fish and he would have to be a pretty quick crab to get the fins of my tang.

ndz98 · Dec 9, 2015

Also this isn't something that's going to kill him right(atleast not quickly)? If I can wait just a few more weeks I might be able to get a qt up and running.