Piggy - dark patches, acne & lumpy scale

[titch 104]

Just now, koko said:

I would wait  

OK, just wasn't sure if the sand was used as a host for BBs or not.

I'll wait to add decoration etc back then, I'll just hook the filters back up with the new media and hoses, and run the tank bare for now.

[koko 14,377]

19 minutes ago, titch said:

OK, just wasn't sure if the sand was used as a host for BBs or not.

It can but if I was you I would go slow  

19 minutes ago, titch said:

I'll wait to add decoration etc back then, I'll just hook the filters back up with the new media and hoses, and run the tank bare for now.

 

[titch 104]

[titch 104]

On 14/08/2017 at 2:22 PM, koko said:

I don't think they are flukes hun. I think the only thing that is going to work is. Acriflavine - 1 week to 2 weeks (instructions on the bottle). Its going to wipe out your cycle.

Today is day 14 of the acriflavine. Do you/your friend think I should continue with this treatment a little longer or shall we give him a break for a while & see if there's any change?

I haven't spotted any shaking recently, but that's not to say it isn't happening when I'm not observing. 

I'm still swabbing his blister with meth blue twice daily. 

[koko 14,377]

5 hours ago, titch said:

Today is day 14 of the acriflavine. Do you/your friend think I should continue with this treatment a little longer or shall we give him a break for a while & see if there's any change?

No more meds only silver if you want  

5 hours ago, titch said:

I haven't spotted any shaking recently, but that's not to say it isn't happening when I'm not observing. 

I'm still swabbing his blister with meth blue twice daily. 

 

[titch 104]

9 hours ago, koko said:

No more meds only silver if you want

I guess the silver will aid the blister healing, right? How many drops do I need? He's in a 50 litre tub. 

[koko 14,377]

5 hours ago, titch said:

I guess the silver will aid the blister healing, right? How many drops do I need? He's in a 50 litre tub. 

yes it will my dear. I would go with about 10 drops  

[titch 104]

55 minutes ago, koko said:

yes it will my dear. I would go with about 10 drops  

Okey doke, I'm on it. 

[koko 14,377]

how are we? 

[titch 104]

10 hours ago, koko said:

how are we? 

Morning Koko 

Not too bad I think. As of yesterday, he's in clean water only (no silver). I've also stopped swabbing his blister with meth blue (Friday night was his last swab). I've seen no further change to the blister for a while now, so wanted to see if a lack of intervention would cause any changes. I'm keeping a close eye on it.

The blister has reduced somewhat from what it was at the start of all this, but it hasn't disappeared entirely - there's still a definite lump there (not hard, just jelly-like) and the area is still significantly darker than the rest of him. I'll try to get some pics later and post tomorrow for you to see.

As for my fishless-cycle, my ammonia is still at approx 4.0 (today is day 15). I tested yesterday, and while the green isn't quite as vibrant as it was, it's definitely not down to 2.0 yet. I'll test again later in the week.

 

[titch 104]

On 9/18/2017 at 0:20 AM, koko said:

how are we? 

 

On 9/18/2017 at 10:58 AM, titch said:

Morning Koko 

Not too bad I think. As of yesterday, he's in clean water only (no silver). I've also stopped swabbing his blister with meth blue (Friday night was his last swab). I've seen no further change to the blister for a while now, so wanted to see if a lack of intervention would cause any changes. I'm keeping a close eye on it.

The blister has reduced somewhat from what it was at the start of all this, but it hasn't disappeared entirely - there's still a definite lump there (not hard, just jelly-like) and the area is still significantly darker than the rest of him. I'll try to get some pics later and post tomorrow for you to see.

As for my fishless-cycle, my ammonia is still at approx 4.0 (today is day 15). I tested yesterday, and while the green isn't quite as vibrant as it was, it's definitely not down to 2.0 yet. I'll test again later in the week.

 

Photos as promised, taken this morning.

Note: The first one was taken on 12th July - I include it for comparison.

 

All others taken this morning. He wasn't very cooperative in posing for the camera, these were the bast I could capture I'm afraid....

[koko 14,377]

Looks a lot better.  Great job  

[DawnMichele 6,045]

 Hi Amy!!! Glad he is doing better!!!

[titch 104]

2 hours ago, koko said:

Looks a lot better.  Great job  

 

17 minutes ago, DawnMichele said:

 Hi Amy!!! Glad he is doing better!!!

Thank you both.

Well if you & AM are happy, then I'm happy ☺️

Not sure if the lump will ever completely disappear. As I've stopped medicating & swabbing, I'm keeping a close eye on it for any changes & I'll report anything I see.

Should I expect it to return back to smooth, lighter scales or might it always be a blemish like this?

Hopefully my cycle will start to progress soon & I can look forward to getting him out of his tub.

 

[FishyMandy 6,296]

I'm glad he is looking better!

I think that he might always have a little blemish, but it's hard to say

[ChrissieA 113]

Great job! 

[titch 104]

2 hours ago, FishyMandy said:

I'm glad he is looking better!

I think that he might always have a little blemish, but it's hard to say

 

2 hours ago, ChrissieA said:

Great job! 

Thanks guys! 

[titch 104]

Update...

He appears to have a whiteish 'crud' in his wen. It's almost silvery/pearlised. It's difficult to picture.

His acne has also reappeared - he has some pitting on his cheeks.

The blister on his side doesn't seem to have changed since stopping with the silver & meth blue swabs, but it's still very much there. The white/grey fungus-type patch still covers it (which Koko thought may be a healing patch).

Thoughts?

The pitting on his right cheek below his eye is really obvious on the first picture. He also has a little redness to the right side of his nose/mouth (not so obvious on the through-the-tub shots).

[titch 104]

Anyone? Do you think we’re still ok or have we taken a step backwards? 

[Arctic Mama 3,648]

I honestly don't know.  We have reached the end of my abilities to help and I'd involve a vet if further treatment is pursued.  It seems like something possibly viral st this point, and then the lesions sometimes become infected and we can treat that.  But after all this hey shouldn't be popping back up if they are bacterial or even parasitic.

 

I'd either leave him be or talk with a vet.  But there isn't really more we can do for in home treatment that would work, especially if it is viral.  If any get infected in an obvious way the meth swabs will help, but that's about it.

[titch 104]

59 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

I honestly don't know.  We have reached the end of my abilities to help and I'd involve a vet if further treatment is pursued.  It seems like something possibly viral st this point, and then the lesions sometimes become infected and we can treat that.  But after all this hey shouldn't be popping back up if they are bacterial or even parasitic.

 

I'd either leave him be or talk with a vet.  But there isn't really more we can do for in home treatment that would work, especially if it is viral.  If any get infected in an obvious way the meth swabs will help, but that's about it.

Ok, thanks AM. The pitting on his face doesn’t look infected (to me anyway), more like wrinkles. Maybe his old age is catching up with him! Lol!

The blister isn’t changing at all at this stage. No worse, no better. It was the greyish patch covering it that I’m interested in. Koko thought this was a healing patch, which I guess is a good thing, but with it not improving it made me wonder if it was something else. 

The pearlescent silvery ‘crud’ in his wen seems to have reduced over the last day or so. Maybe it was just detritus or wen growth?

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Hi Amy. How is Piggy doing today? 

[titch 104]

2 hours ago, DawnMichele said:

Hi Amy. How is Piggy doing today? 

Hi Dawn 

Ok I think, although to be fair I didn't have much time to observe him this morning before I left for work.

Not too sure what to do from here. Was planning to get him back in the tank before too long (once the cycle has completed), but if we're dealing something viral, I guess that's not really going to be an option as it'll just transfer to any new fish I get. 

[titch 104]

On 9/28/2017 at 2:33 PM, Arctic Mama said:

I'd either leave him be or talk with a vet.  But there isn't really more we can do for in home treatment that would work, especially if it is viral.  If any get infected in an obvious way the meth swabs will help, but that's about it.

I had to take one of our cats to the vet yesterday and got chatting to him about Piggy. Anyway, long story short, we took him in for a check-up and the vet believes he's suffering with mild septicemia along with possible melanoma (that blister thing). Possible in that he would have expected it to spread outwards if it was a true melanoma, but it hasn't.

He has prescribed Baytril injections - 1 every 48hrs for 2 weeks. Once we've finished the course, he'll reassess where we at. He administered the first injection for us yesterday to show us how to do it, so next one will be tomorrow. 

I asked if he thought it was viral and he does not believe it is, based on his observations. Nor does he think it's parasitic. Which I guess are good things, as it means I can introduce more squishy-faces in the future without too much issue of it being passed on (once Piggy's back to health of course!).

He has requested that I only perform 50% WC each day, rather than 100% to reduce any further stress. He also wants me to get him back in the main tank ASAP, so my cycle had better well hurry up!! 

As an aside, travelling to the vets with Piggy was interesting. Even though there was a lid on his tub and I drove like 'Driving Miss Daisy', it's a good job I've got rubber floor mats in the car - splish splash!!! He seemed to handle the trip well though.

 

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Hi Amy. How's your cat and piggy doing?