My chocolate Bobo needs help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks for the tip. The supplies arrived today. I stopped the kanaplex which didn't seem to be controlling the fungus (she would slough it off and it would come back). I've been treating her with salt and vitamin C (pharmaceutical strength). I've added even more aeration which she seems to like, floating in the bubbles. She's been getting 80% w/c each day. There are 3 large air stones, the waterfall filter and corner sponge filter.

I've discovered the extra water movement helps to blow the fungus off of her wound and keep it clear. Today her wound is about 85% clean of fuzz. Looks like she's wearing a white hat. A smaller area up top is pink, maybe a quarter inch.

She still won't eat although she showed some interest today. Did a little glass surfing but dropped down to rest earlier. Perked up with the complete removal of kanaplex. When I clean the poret foam in the waterfall filter it has stuff on it that looks like white snot. I'm going to try the iodine swabs without the bandage first to see if its effective that way. I'd rather be cautious.

And yesterday Bobo changed color for the first time since getting sick. She's now white with black tiger stripes!
 
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Normally I would post updates in the regular thread but since this is in the disease section I'll update here.

Mixed bag on Bobo. Some good, mostly not so.

I decided to remove her from her tank. Despite my best efforts with the water changes /filter cleaning it appears to be a (bad) bacteria factory keeping her healing process at bay. I've done a complete drain and everything is going to get rinsed/washed. The beneficial bacteria has pretty much been destroyed since the bad bloom anyway so I can't hurt anything. Clean water is cloudy the next day with little tufts on the glass (you have to see up close). Bobo definitely likes the aeration.

One positive is that her head wound area is definitely trying to seal itself. But progress is at bay from the fungus/bacteria issue. Her head wound has stayed pretty clean overall the last 2 days.

Now its getting dicey. She has early stages of fin rot on her tail and lower trailer. Couldn't see it in the tank, and it must have happened in the last day or so. In addition another lymph spot has popped up (like a red lined white pimple) on one side.

So here's the deal. I'm gonna throw everything I got at this and whatever happens happens. I'm pissed and frustrated because this is starting to remind me of the nightmare with Patch. Right now Bobo is in a drip bucket and she's going to stay there until I know the outcome. She's soaking in fungal/bacteria medication with aeration and later on will get swabbed with the iodine. She has too much loose tissue around the wound site for me to safely use the liquid bandage. So each day it will be the swabs. I'll also touch those areas on her fins that need it.

Effin hate this deal. No fair.
 
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This will be her current treatment plan along with the iodine swabs and vitamin C. I received this as part of a med package and figured I would try it. You use 1ml per 10 liters and no overdose. Appears to be a cross between meth blue and coppersafe but the box is in chinese.

I am encouraged by the cleanliness and healing of her head. There is no red area where she had one yesterday. I'm convinced the other problems were a result of the tank bacteria bloom. I'll take a pic of Bobo later.

medicine 1.jpg
 
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Update.

I heard back from Dr. Carr at Avian Exotics. I sent her the pictures of Bobo. Here's what she had to say, and I learned something new about lymphocytis:


"That is one large open wound / burst cyst. I assume Bobo's chronic lympho is Lymphocystis or an iridovirus infection. If you are referring to something else please let me know. If it is lympocystis then there is not a lot you can do. Keep the area clean to prevent secondary infections (bacterial or fungal) and give her time for her body to fight off the virus. As you know it takes several weeks for the body to clear the virus. Episodes can worsen with stress or be brought about by stress. I know you pay very close attention to your babies, but if there is any inter-fish tension or other stressors those should be addressed. If the lesion is progressing it could have become infected. The Sulfa antibiotic she is on is appropriate. If that is not working we can consider using a metronidazole based antibiotic or do a culture swab of the area and check for other bacteria or fungus. We can also try and confirm this is lymphocystis with skin swabs / cytology of the cysts. It's good that she is acting normally, but I understand why you would be concerned about the loss of appetite. The virus is known to cause cysts on internal organs. If she has any of those, depending on where they are it could be causing her discomfort or affecting her appetite. It is also possible that there is some other disease process that is masquerading as Lymphocystis. Other possible causes of that lesion include parasites (Epistylis), Epitheliocystis (intracellular bacterial infection), or some cancers. If this is significantly different from her previous episodes we may want to do further testing.

How long has this episode been? How many episodes has she had in the past and how long were those episodes? How long has she been on the Sulfaplex? Are there any other fish in that tank or in your collection that have Lymphocystis or similar signs? "

I will be compiling the information needed.
 
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I do hope it’s just lympho, definitely the best of all the possibilities listed.
 
Hikari used to make Bio Bandage Gel and Bio Bandage Powder that was great but it seems they discontinued it.

If you’re uncomfortable with the New Skin Liquid Bandage, you can try Hikari Bio Bandage Lite. Never used it so you’ll have to research but it doesn’t seem as good as the prior products.

They claim:
- Improve Medication Efficiency
- Improves medication adhesion at wounded areas
- Vitamin component speeds healing
- Can reduce treatment times & improve efficiency
- Helps detoxify heavy metals (unchelated)
- Highly effective when used with dye-type or antibacterial treatments

Bio Bandage Lite website:
www.hikariusa.com

BioBandage® Lite - Hikari Sales USA

A unique blend of ingredients to help enhance bath treatments, speed wound healing, and help reduce fish loss during transportation.
www.hikariusa.com www.hikariusa.com
 
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