Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 8, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 8, 2005 Well, our fish Julian seems to have developed an ulcer on his tail. Not the tail itself, but the part of the body which meets the tail. It started off like a pimple, but became rapidly white, a bit puffy and seemed to ooze blood from the centre. After several days, we took him to the local fish shop. Our water parameters have been tested and they are all perfect. The fish shop told us that the fish definitely had an ulcer, and might have scraped itself and got infected. So we came home with ESHA 2000 drops and have put Julian through 2 rounds of it already. The redness has subsided a lot, and now it's mostly a flattish, rough white blob on his tail. Still, the white blob shows no signs of going away. Is this a fungus or...?? I don't know what else to do and don't want to put him through another round of meds without knowing whether it is working or not. The fish is doing fine though, swimming around and active as ever. fishywomble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted October 8, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 8, 2005 Hi fishywomble. Is it possible to post the params of the tank that the store gave you? This is info we are going to need, often lfs clerks will say everything is fine when indeed it isn't. Thanks Next is it possible to get a picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 10, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 10, 2005 We tested the water ourselves, we've got a test kit and have been testing the water periodically for months now. Everything's OK, 0 ammonia and nitrites, very low nitrates, the water is a bit hard but the fish have been bred for hard water - all the city water is hard. Not sure what to do. The white blobs on the tail look like they are slowly breaking up, but its happening so slowly that I wonder if the fish is getting better. I don't have a digital camera to take a picture of Julian, unfortunately. But it looks almost exactly like a blister or ulcer. fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted October 10, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 10, 2005 Ok, how is the fish acting? Is he normal or exhibiting abnormal behavior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Florissa Posted October 10, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 10, 2005 Is the blister/ulcer a silvery colour? I ask because I once had a fish with dropsy and a tumour and the tumour/ulcer went a silvery colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 11, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 11, 2005 The fish is behaving normally and eating normally... you wouldn't know it was sick. The ulcer is white, with flecks of blood underneath. Now the white bits seem to be lessening but the ulcer looks redder and bloodier. We are still using ESHA 2000 drops as it is the only med we have available (no Medigold here). Any ideas? It's been 2+ weeks without much change. fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted October 12, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 12, 2005 Since he is acting ok and eating at this point I would just watch it. If it changes or he starts acting sick then maybe do something then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 12, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 12, 2005 The ulcer has started to change and bleed a little again. It looks really ugly and scary, but the fish seems normal otherwise. I am wondering whether adding 0.1% salt to the tank will help it. fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 15, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 15, 2005 OK, we've salted the tank to 0.3% and the fish is looking progressively worse. It is still behaving quite normally, but now the ulcer seems to have flattened out, looks streaked with blood, and there appears to be a hole in the fin part of the tail where the ulcer is. Help, anyone? fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member JenW Posted October 15, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 15, 2005 Hi FW - most sores or ulcers on the body are caused by bacterial infection. The first and most important thing is perfect water quality - so you're half-way there I'd keep the salt up to 0.3% but would also add (if you can get it) medicated food - this will treat the internal bacterial infection and the salt should help externally. Are you able to get any medicated food? Otherwise, what meds are available where you are specifically designed for bacterial infection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 16, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 16, 2005 Hi Jen, We don't have much access to medicated foods in the UK unfortunately. We've been using ESHA 2000 drops in the tank water to try and control the fungus on its tail... I think it is causing some sort of fin rot, but although it seems to be fighting the fungus, after nearly 3 weeks, it hasn't got rid of it either and on the overall, the situation seems to be getting worse. We went to the fish shop and they gave us JBL Ektol Cristal, which is supposed to be a strong anti-fungal/ectoparasite drop for the tank. They also gave us some ESHA drops for enhancing and boosting fish immunity and health. No internal medicated meds. It is painful watching the fish, the ulcer looks sometimes bloody and painful but it is still behaving and eating normally. fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted October 16, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 16, 2005 FW, sorry to hear he is worse. As Jen said a medicated food is needed, I am not familar with what you have over there. You could put a little neosporin on the actual wound and see if that helps. Make sure not to get any on or around the gills or eyes of the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member fishywomble Posted October 24, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 24, 2005 Julian got worse despite two courses of ESHA 2000 drops. The whitish parts gradually disappeared but there was a big hole in its tail... We were advised by the LFS to add some "fish health booster" drops in the tank. The fish was still swimming around normally. Then small pinholes started appearing in its tail. A day later, the fish was no better and the holes in the tail were bigger. Ack! We changed water, added a new course of meds... and waited. Then Julian swelled up over the weekend... he didn't quite pinecone but he was dead on Sunday morning. This is awful. We've just had no luck with our fish so far. All indications suggested an internal infection, but without any access to medicated food... I just don't know what else we could've done for all our fish. fw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LaurieP Posted October 24, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 24, 2005 I am terribly sorry to hear he didn't make it. Often a fish is sick long before we know. Know you tried your best to help him. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Fire_Wolf Posted October 24, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted October 24, 2005 Sorry to read this! Treating the wound (ulcer) with a iodine (betadine or peroxide will work also) swab would have been one thing to do. It then can be sealed with extra strength powder denture adhesive such as fasteeth by fixodent. The water will seal it over and it will hold for a good 5 day's, keeping bacteria out and giving them a chance to heal. Do any of the stores sell antibiotic tablets/capsules? I know we can get those in the states. Those can be dissolved down and mixed with gel to make your own medicated food and works very nicely. Hopefully these little tricks will be of some use should you ever have problems again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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