hi. i have a problem with fin rot in one of my oscars, possibly the other as well. the one that has the fin rot is my new albino ruby red. i got him from my lps a few days ago, and he seemed to have come with the fin rot. he was in a typical fish store setup, six or seven small oscars in a ten gallon tank. he was the smallest, so imo it's pretty likely he was getting picked on. he didn't look bad when i brought him home, but the next day his anal fin was looking a little tattered, now his pelvic fins are looking like they might be being affected, and his anal fin looks very tattered, with most of the fleshy parts between the spiney parts being torn looking. yesterday, my original oscar roland had a tear appear in his left pectoral fin which i was thinking could be fin rot, but since he's very robust and healthy looking and eats with much gusto i thought it also possible that he just tore it swimming through somewhere he can't quite fit anymore [he still seems to think he's a little baby fishy]. but today the tear looks a little bigger, and while he still seems very healthy otherwise, i worry about it being fin rot. the outside edges of his pectorals the part where they would be fingers if they were people arms, not the side parts] seem a little more ragged than i thought they were as well. i was researching fin rot and it seems that it won't affect healthy fish, which is why i'm skeptical about my first oscar having it, but i'm thinking that the initial tear could have been a tear, which possibly led to the infection. but i worry that the medicine might be bad for him if he is not sick [sorry, i'm incredibly paranoid]. if i'm getting anything wrong here please feel free to let me know. so what i would like to know is the best treatment for these guys. i have an isolation tank, as i also have a young ornate bichir [polypterus ornatipinnis] that does not have any signs of fin rot and so i would rather not expose him to any medicine if i don't have to. anyway, i've read to start out with just using salt, and i've read to use medicines. i'd like to know what you guys recommend. new oscar's fin rot seems to be getting pretty advanced pretty quickly by now. also, if you recommend salt, exactly what kind do you recommend? i've read to use aquarium salt for treatment, and i've also read to use non-iodized table salt, and i've also also read that whether it's iodized or not doesn't matter. i also have instant ocean. would that be good to use [if you recommend salt]? if you recommend medicine, do you have a preferred brand? basically, if you can let me know the very best possible treatment i would much appreciate it. i don't want this to go any further.
thank you all very much for your time and advice,
jessica
thank you all very much for your time and advice,
jessica
