[thaerin]

umm panic help please now...err..ahhh!!!! I don't know what to do!
the male peppered cory in my mated pair is looking really bad.
He had what looked like red spots below his dorsal fin the other day and part of his tail fin was missing. I asked the peeps at the LFS and they said it sounded like he'd been in a fight. Give him good clean water, little bit of stress coat and he'd be good.
The tail fin is ragged and now how what looks like a sizable large white growth on the damaged part. I can't see any redness on him now but having trouble catching sight of him. As soon as I come near he hides. I know this requires medication but I don't have a quarantine tank! I've an old 2 gallon tank that's empty but no filter, heater or anything else required to set it up.

The only meds i have on hand are maracide and furacyn capsules.
In an old thread of mine, someone suggested Pimafix and Melafix, as being safe for plants and inverts. Anyone have suggestions?

 

[SnyperP]

You need to get some anti-fungal medicine for him. If you don't the white cotton looking thing will keep growing and eat away more of his fin. It'll eventually stop on it's own, but without anti-fungal meds it'll do more damage than is necessary.

I haven't had an experience with anti-fungal meds and planted tanks. Probabyl be ideal if you could move him to a quaritine(sp?) tank while you medicate him.

 

[John P.]

I've dosed Pima and Melafix for fin rot & in worked without problems. Hurry up!

 

[Error]

My recommendation would be a suitable anti-bacterial treatment.

Kanamycin should work well.

If you can get the fish out easily, catch him and put a drop of Nox Ich (or another ich cure with malachite green, meth blue, victoria green, or another dye in it) on the wound. If the growth is stained the color of the dye when you put the fish back in, it is probably fungal and should drop off. If not, don't bother with any of the anti-fungals.

 

[JanS]

Just to add; the Melafix won't hurt any of your other tank inhabitants, so I'd at least start out with that. Lot's of water changes would also be helpful.

If you medicate with antibiotics or antifungal, be sure you know exactly what the problem is first. Do a search on some of the fish disease sites and try to positively ID it. It's really hard to tell what it is without pics.
In most cases it does more harm than good to dose with meds if you aren't sure of the problem.

The Melafix is just a topical (rather than a drug) so that won't hurt, and it might help heal up any wounds.

Keep us posted.

 

[JanS]

I forgot to add; if you do need to medicate and don't have a hospital tank (the one you have would work, but you'd need a sponge filter and heater), I've had success with using the large convalescent containers (like the ones they hang on the tank at the store when they bag your fish), and just hanging them on the inside of the tank with an air stone. Since they are surrounded by the heated water, they stay at a stable temp.

 

[thaerin]

I hit a different pet store this time because they were close and happened to have the Melafix and Pemafix. They also recommended the combo so here we go. I just got a lot of baby red shrimp from Matpat so hopefully they'll be ok.
I did pick up one of those containers you mentioned Jan, but for right now I'm going to let him stay in the main tank. I'd rather he be with his mate (who hasn't left his side, it's so cute) and have places to hide to minimize stress. If the mela/pima mix doesn't work and I need more drastic measures, I'll use it.
The trip to the store netted me another useful fact. I really need a digital pH meter..I can't use those color comparing kits for crap. Said my pH was a nice 7.2.
But the likely culprit has been found: nitrite! It was a miniscule amount but it was there. His test was more sensitive than mine. Now to find the reason and fix it. Dosed seachem's Stability at a little higher than normal to help get rid of it and Amquel+.
I'll keep you guys updated, but in the mean time, thanks for all the help!