Sick Zebra Swallowtail Angelfish

[zibba]

Hoping for some help with this one:

I had a pair of Zebra Swallowtail Angelfish come in during the last week of March. They went directly into a QT system. The male was extremely stressed and had a red external sore starting to form. It got pretty bad over the next few days so I started dosing a combination of Kanaplex, Metroplex and BiFuran. I have done 3 doses and the male's sore seems to be going away, however, he has stopped eating since day 2 of medication.

During the medication process the female a black spot started showing up on it's side. That black spot has grown and I also noticed a growth between her eye and mouth.

Sorry for the discolored water -- there's still bifuran in there (it turns the water yellow).

I'm wondering what the next steps should be.

Thanks,
Z

 

[melypr1985]

Keep the antibiotics going for 10 days straight. The growth could easily be Lymph which is viral and should go away on it's own with a healthy diet, vitamin supplements and clean water. Them not eating is a concern, but I'd prefer you finish out the meds then take a break before medicating with anything else to get them back to eating. I'm not 100% on the black spot. Humble is out of town but I'll put the call out to him so if he checks in he can take a look at it for us. @Humblefish

 

[Humblefish]

I'm pretty sure the black spot is a bacterial infection (could be gram negative). The combination of meds you are using is the way to go. I've also had good success using Nitrofuracin Green Powder (Nitrofurazone, Sulfathiazole Sodium, Methylene Blue and sodium chloride) to treat red & black sores on angels & butterflies. I think the addition of Methylene Blue helps to heal the physical damage.

 

[zibba]

Thanks all. The male's spot has cleared up but he's still not eating and he's super low energy; basically just isolated in a corner barely moving. The outlook isn't good there.

The female has not shown any improvement. It has been 11 days of kana, metro, bifuran (dosing per directions). She's eating and very active though.

 

[melypr1985]

Has the growth on the female's face gotten any bigger? Changed at all?

 

[zibba]

The growth is the same, no new growth. The black spot is also the same.

 

[melypr1985]

The male's spot has cleared up

I'm confused.... is it still there or gone? Never mind I got it.

 

[melypr1985]

At this point you may want to switch over the combo humble offered. If that doesn't work, then she will have to battle that bacteria on her own, unless humble has any other ideas for it.

 

[zibba]

At this point you may want to switch over the combo humble offered. If that doesn't work, then she will have to battle that bacteria on her own, unless humble has any other ideas for it.

Since the antibiotics that are currently in there aren't doing anything for the female, my plan is to do a large water change tonight and run carbon to clean up the remaining antibiotic. I'm going to go a few days without any meds to try and get the male eating again (assuming he's alive when I get home).

My main goal right now is to get the male eating regularly. I'm hoping that with clean water the growth will clear up on the female. Assuming she can't get over the infection (or shipping damage?) on her own during that time period, I'll order some Nitrofuracin Green Powder. I do have Methylene Blue on hand and something else that's green...Malachite Green, maybe? I don't think that's the same though.

I have Erythromycin and General Cure as well. Maybe I'll give those a try with the hope that I can run them for a longer period of time without suppressing the male's appetite.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[zibba]

Sorry to report that the male died overnight.

The female is still acting relatively normal despite looking so awful.

I ordered some Nitrofuracin Green Powder -- will give that a go as soon as it gets in.

 

[michellejy]

I'm so sorry about your fish. I hope the female pulls through.

 

[sc50964]

I've always heard not to mix medicine unless the manufacturer says it's okay, and I've checked with seachem, presumably where you got Kanaplex and metroplex, and their answer was no unless if you are blending with focus and frozen food and use it to feed only.

 

[melypr1985]

I've always heard not to mix medicine unless the manufacturer says it's okay, and I've checked with seachem, presumably where you got Kanaplex and metroplex, and their answer was no unless if you are blending with focus and frozen food and use it to feed only.

In this case, he will be removing the current meds and then using the Nitrofuracin Green Powder. But your right! Dont combine meds without knowing before hand if there will be any bad reactions.

 

[zibba]

I've always heard not to mix medicine unless the manufacturer says it's okay, and I've checked with seachem, presumably where you got Kanaplex and metroplex, and their answer was no unless if you are blending with focus and frozen food and use it to feed only.

Kana+metro+bifuran is a safe combo and a lot of people use it with success. In this case though, it didn't seem to work.

The female is still acting normal but her side and the growth are worse today.

The tracking on the Nitrofuracin Green Powder says it won't be delivered until Wednesday -- I'm not sure if I should try to wait that out or try another antibiotic.

@melypr1985 & @Humblefish, do you have any suggestions on a course of action considering the Nitrofuracin Green Powder won't be here for 4 more days?

 

[sc50964]

Kana+metro+bifuran is a safe combo and a lot of people use it with success. In this case though, it didn't seem to work.

The female is still acting normal but her side and the growth are worse today.

The tracking on the Nitrofuracin Green Powder says it won't be delivered until Wednesday -- I'm not sure if I should try to wait that out or try another antibiotic.

@melypr1985 & @Humblefish, do you have any suggestions on a course of action considering the Nitrofuracin Green Powder won't be here for 4 more days?

Here is my reference.

 

[tommyntina1117]

Sorry to report that the male died overnight.

The female is still acting relatively normal despite looking so awful.

I ordered some Nitrofuracin Green Powder -- will give that a go as soon as it gets in.

If you get them with or they get red dots it's cuz the way they were couaght there from deeper water and were not handled right