URGENT: Trachycorystes is really sick...

[josh pelican]

He doesn't look like he'll make it through the night. He's kind of propped up on his side with his pectoral fin. I tried to nudge him back down, but he seems to slowly lean over more.

This is what happened before I lost my huge Amphilophus.

 

[knifegill]

Still no pics? Geez, if he's already going to die might as well hit him with something nasty like nitra-furazone or clout in quarantine...

 

[josh pelican]

Still no pics? Geez, if he's already going to die might as well hit him with something nasty like nitra-furazone or clout in quarantine...

Oddly enough, today he's looking a little better. None of the wounds are red so they look like they're healing up since he's been out of the wood, but his tail is still questionable.

Sorry, I still haven't got any pictures. I am uploading some now!

I've been busy today. I might run out and grab some Furan though.

EDIT: Okay, they're not the greatest quality, but I wasn't trying to be fancy. I just wanted to show how he looks:

 

[knifegill]

Oh, those don't look terribly infected or anything. I agree that it looks like he's rubbed himself silly on the wood. Perhaps somebody in the tank has been nipping at him and he's been freaking out about it. His bones and flesh look pink and alive. I would do about a 75% water change every day and feed him things with neural cords like earthworms to help him rebuild tissue. Perhaps half of a PVC pipe would make a safe cave for him right now. Pay extremely close attention to the margins of the flesh. If you notice they recede at all, you'll definitely want to treat. But if that's all physical damage you'll most likely see it healing from now on.

He looks fat and sassy. If any catfish could pull through that type tattering, I'd think this one could.

 

[josh pelican]

Some spots are getting better, some are getting worse (mouth and fins). They're getting a little fuzzy so I'm thinking a small treatment of furan and lots of water changes will be helpful.

Would super worms be any good? I bought a few for the other aquariums as a little treat and I could give him a few if it's good for him.

 

[josh pelican]

Bad news.

He's getting worse. Much worse. There's a little red object on the bottom of the tank, which is part of his tail fin. His body is fading in color to a white. All the skin on his tail is falling off and is all red. The wound on his head has become larger. His eyes have gotten worse. He won't eat a thing.

He may not make it through the night.

 

[josh pelican]

Three posts in a row.

Okay, so it's definitely the Furan making him worse.

Here's what I did:

Night One: Two packets (20 gallons).
Night Two: Two packets (20 gallons).
Night Three: 25% waterchange. Added fresh carbon.
I realized after this it said I needed to dose him four times total before adding Carbon. Oops. He was looking alright, but some cuts got worse while some fully healed.

Two nights after when I noticed two new cuts on his head with fungus growing around them. I took the carbon out and I gave him one packet of Furan. The next morning most of the bad wounds were looking white/black (his normal colors) and not red. His tail is pretty bad because most of his skin is missing. I tried giving him one more packet because I figured it was the medication making him worse. I woke up the next morning and all of his wounds were bright red again and looked fresh.

I'm doing a 25%-50% water change now. I won't put Furan in until I can see what happens with the wounds. If they get better, I'll stop dosing him. If they get worse, I'll try the single packet dose instead of full dosages.

I didn't think he was going to make it a few nights ago, but he's one tough fish. He hasn't eaten in several days either.