Fast moving infection - large fahaka

[Brondo]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

My 4.5 yo Fahaka is in trouble.
It started with a little flashing, then a clamped gill. He kept burying himself in sand, I couldn’t tell if it was ich or not but I thought I saw a few grains on his fin and on a few tetras in the tank. So I started ich-x. Quickly his sime coat became an issue. It started sloughing off. Sand stuck all over him all the time, hanging in strands. After 6 days of just getting worse I notice after brushing him down (he lets me wipe his sand off daily instead of scratching off things) it is a greyish film that never leaves. Definitely Slime coat disease- and right under both sides of his mouth are big patches of red/white areas that are definitely not right. I am positive he has either a bacterial (which makes sense with the slime coat disease, often caused by gram neg bacteria I have read) or maybe fungal.
I started Kanaplex last night. Today it is much worse. Bright red spots. Maybe from constant sand abrasion from burying idk. Im freaked.
Do I just go straight to the Trifecta
Furan-2, metro, kplex?

He just went thru a long illness with his mouth that we never figured out. A lump that made him stop eating for 4 months. Turned into a major ordeal. We did the trifecta with that. I had to sedate and tube feed him to keep him alive. He just started eating and getting back to normal a couple weeks before this started so he is weak. Now a week without eating and a real bad infection, going bad fast. I need to act now. What would you do?

Water quality is good. I have been ontop of the numbers with the meds just incase.
No amm or nitrite. Nitrates at 10. Ph 6.8
80f
Waterchange 30% yesterday before the Kplex.

 

[fishdance]

I don't usually post in the disease and health section because it's so easy to misdiagnose from a description or photo. No tissues samples, no histology, no idea of your fish keeping expertise and experience.

I do suspect you have burnt the fish from Ich-X as Formalin & Malachite Green ingredients are very easy to overdose and unfortunately this damage takes a few days to appear. Slime coat is gone, muscle tissue in places is dead/dying and becoming necrotic. The prognosis is not good. I would not continue further medication. The fish will either self recover or decline very rapidly. Keep the tank dark and peaceful. If you feel it is in pain and getting worse, consider euthanasia.

Best wishes for your fish.

 

[Caveden]

My 4.5 yo Fahaka is in trouble.
It started with a little flashing, then a clamped gill. He kept burying himself in sand, I couldn’t tell if it was ich or not but I thought I saw a few grains on his fin and on a few tetras in the tank. So I started ich-x. Quickly his sime coat became an issue. It started sloughing off. Sand stuck all over him all the time, hanging in strands. After 6 days of just getting worse I notice after brushing him down (he lets me wipe his sand off daily instead of scratching off things) it is a greyish film that never leaves. Definitely Slime coat disease- and right under both sides of his mouth are big patches of red/white areas that are definitely not right. I am positive he has either a bacterial (which makes sense with the slime coat disease, often caused by gram neg bacteria I have read) or maybe fungal.
I started Kanaplex last night. Today it is much worse. Bright red spots. Maybe from constant sand abrasion from burying idk. Im freaked.
Do I just go straight to the Trifecta
Furan-2, metro, kplex?

He just went thru a long illness with his mouth that we never figured out. A lump that made him stop eating for 4 months. Turned into a major ordeal. We did the trifecta with that. I had to sedate and tube feed him to keep him alive. He just started eating and getting back to normal a couple weeks before this started so he is weak. Now a week without eating and a real bad infection, going bad fast. I need to act now. What would you do?

Water quality is good. I have been ontop of the numbers with the meds just incase.
No amm or nitrite. Nitrates at 10. Ph 6.8
80f
Waterchange 30% yesterday before the Kplex.

Do you have pics? I have had exactly the same symptoms of my fish before. Perhaps I could help if a picture is posted.

 

[Brondo]

Do you have pics? I have had exactly the same symptoms of my fish before. Perhaps I could help if a picture is posted.

Sorry. I though I added them.

 

[Brondo]

Do you have pics? I have had exactly the same symptoms of my fish before. Perhaps I could help if a picture is posted.

I don't usually post in the disease and health section because it's so easy to misdiagnose from a description or photo. No tissues samples, no histology, no idea of your fish keeping expertise and experience.

I do suspect you have burnt the fish from Ich-X as Formalin & Malachite Green ingredients are very easy to overdose and unfortunately this damage takes a few days to appear. Slime coat is gone, muscle tissue in places is dead/dying and becoming necrotic. The prognosis is not good. I would not continue further medication. The fish will either self recover or decline very rapidly. Keep the tank dark and peaceful. If you feel it is in pain and getting worse, consider euthanasia.

Best wishes for your fish.

I was very careful with the Ich-x dosing less than the amount of my tank because of the sand. Only dosing every 24 hours and removing 30% of the water before hand The fish store guys told me to do it every 12 hours and to gravelvac/wc every few days. I sure hope it isn’t that. He is covered in slime all the time though. I wipe it from him. I jusy dont do his mouth area so it hangs from that spot.
Now I don’t know what to do. I need to choose a path and hope its right. Something started this mess, he is still suffering from the starting illness.

 

[Caveden]

Looks similar to what happened to my stingray last time. Other members told me it was bacterial infection. Big red ulcers and slimecoat coming off. Add kanaplex and continue water changes.

 

[kno4te]

Fat Homer

 

[phreeflow]

Ich X is a gentler formulation and I’ve used it successfully with various puffers before without issues. However, it can burn if overdosed or maybe your puffer is extra sensitive to it.

You should not randomly do the trifecta…meds can be hard on the internal organs and push a weak fish too far. Only use meds if you know what you’re treating. If I had to guess, based on what you said about its previous condition with its mouth and it’s current condition, I would guess it’s suffering from columnaris and a secondary bacterial infection.

As a last option, you can try a mix of Kanaplex and Furan 2. But wait for a confirmation from other members

 

[phreeflow]

Here’s some additional info on columnaris. Read it and see if it matches your puffer’s symptoms

Columnaris: Cotton Mouth Disease In Fish – Fishkeeping Dudes

www.fishkeepingfolks.com

 

[Fat Homer]

https://www.aquariumcircle.com/cory-catfish-mouth-rot/

B Brondo Sorry for late reply, the only thing i would add to this conversation is if possible (which i know might be difficult) is to place the puffer into a quarantine tank while treating and maybe give his original tank a really good clean to try and remove any possible remaining disease, mainly due to the fact that as you already know, puffers are sensitive to meds, so maybe giving the tank itself a good clean without the puffer in it may help...

I also attached a link i saw before about this although its not for a puffer, the steps are pretty similar to what phreeflow posted above...


Hopefully your puffer pulls through and just as a final note, i'm not sure if rubbing off the sand everyday is a good thing or not? because it is still a protective slime coat on the puffer that is helping create a bit of a barrier between its skin and the stuff around it, but with that being said, it you are just removing the grains of sand it may not affect him too much which is also why i think a bare bottom quarantine tank might help as their will be less stuff to irritate the puffer during treatment...