Sickly Fish

[Sakura]

Okay. I also PMed Imo, so I hope she can offer some advice.

[Helen]

sakura, i am sorry to hear of your troubles with fuu . i have my fingers and toes crossed here in OZ that fuu will pull through.. i don't know anything about dropsey, but i'm sending big warm hugs your way..

good luck,

helen

[Trinket]

And I just realized... I hope it's okay that she is getting Medi-Gold antibacterial food AND having the Maracyn 2 in the water. What do you think?

Im so glad to hear she has perked up and above all that she is eating!! This is really good news.

Maracyn 2 (minocycline) is a synthetic tetracyline. It should not be used with Medigold (because it contains kanamycin) but can be used with metromeds and Jungle antibacterial food. Minocycline is a decomposing/oxidising antibiotic and will ONLY be effective in the dark, so you need to cover the tank for the duration of the medication.

How many days has Fuu been on Medigold Sakura and have you taken any breaks and fed any other food with it?

[Sakura]

Thanks for replying Imo!

Let's see. She was on Medi-Gold only for roughly a week, but then she stopped being able to eat. So after a couple days of her not eating, I started the Maracyn 2. Then a couple days after starting the M2, I was just so excited she had her appetite back, that I didn't really think about it and just began feeding her the Medi-Gold again. She had one feeding of Medi-Gold last night, while M2 was in the water.

What should I do now that I already made the mistake? Should I just go back to feeding her regular gel food and continue with the M2 for the rest of the suggested treatment? Should epsom and/or peas be used to try and clear the Medi-Gold out of her system?

[Trinket]

This is a tough call. Really in almost every situation I would say continue the Medigold but actually I think here, since the Maracyn shows signs of working the Medigold is NOT a good idea and I would stop it and feed ...yes...as you say peas and the saki hikari food if you still use that . The issue is the combination of tetracycline and kanamycin..never a good idea.

I assume you have no salt, no ammonia and a cover (towel or something) over the tank for shade from overhead light?

[Sakura]

Okay, I like that plan! Yep, there's no salt (epsom or regular) and the tank is well covered with towels. There is, however trace ammonia in the tank. I haven't had a cycled tank, so that's been unavoidable. However, I'm pretty sure that my 55 gallon tank has finally finished cycling, so today I was thinking about taking some filter media from there to use in Fuu's tank. But then the Maracyn 2 would probably kill the cycle anyways, huh? I have been doing daily full water changes (temp and pH matched) so the ammonia hasn't been too high. I should test again when I get home from classes, but the ammonia normally isn't above .25

[Trinket]

Do your very best to get it at zero. It will de-stress Fuu and mean the meds will work better. Otherwise it sounds like

you are doing good for him

[Sakura]

Okay, I will figure something out and make it work. Thanks so much for the advice!

[Badfish]

Just wanted to say, I really hope Fuu pulls through for you. Those most recent picks (where she is pineconed), she still has a definite sparkle in her eye....she just looks like she WANTS to recover and get better. That can make all the difference!

Best of luck with her....you are doing an amazing job so far.

[dogsbykat]

I agree, Fuu didn't look ready to give up the fight in the last pics. Thank goodness she's in a home with someone like you who's putting in every possible effort to help

[caitie]

Good luck Sakura. You are doing an incredible job of caring for Fuu and it shows by her incredible will to live.

[Sakura]

Aw thanks guys! I am amazed at both Mugen and Fuu's will to live.

[Sakura]

I think she may be doing better; she looks a little less bloated (but still pineconed) and she seems to swim around more. She doesn't sit on the bottom as much anyway, so that's good. But she still has those weird white bumps. She has a bunch under each eye, a couple on her side, and one on top of her head. What in the world are they?

[Sakura]

I need some advice! Today is day 5 of the maracyn 2, and according to the package it's supposed to be the last day of treatment. However, Fuu is still not completely better. Each day she is on the maracyn 2 her scales go down slightly, and she is slightly less bloated. But today is day 5 and she is still very slightly pineconed and bloated. What should I do? Should I stop the meds, or continue them until she is back to normal? She doesn't seem to be negatively affected by the meds so far. I don't want to risk stopping the meds too soon because then the infection will probably come back even worse than before, so I'm leaning towards continuing the meds for a longer time.

[Captain Findus Goldfish]

hey there - i'm just giving ideas just because I lost my fish to something similar... if Fuu is still dropsied - maybe you should continue the treatment you are doing for now, but maybe think of other possible causes for the dropsy. I just think that the maracyn seems to be controlling the dropsy - but not curing the cause... do you know what I mean...?

you are doing a great job and I hope Fuu gets better! she is so cute!

[Sakura]

Yeah I think I know what you mean. Often dropsy is a symptom of something rather than the problem itself, is that what you're saying? I've suspected all along that this is a bacterial infection perhaps brought on by flukes, which I have already treated for and don't see signs of anymore. I'm fairly sure the flukes are gone, but the infection remains, so I'm treating with the antibacterial Maracyn 2 to get rid of it.

I sure hope she gets better. She is such a fighter!

[Captain Findus Goldfish]

then she maybe has a bacterial strain that isn't totally included in the Maracyn 2??? or an especially resistant one - yikes... my turtle had that in her eye! took a VERY aggressive treatment to fix her poor thing.

hope she gets better!

[Sakura]

I don't think so actually, because the Maracyn 2 is the only thing that has helped so far. So I think it must be doing something good I do think it may be a particularly nasty bacteria though- after all I did lose two fish already to it.

[Captain Findus Goldfish]

poor thing... it's great she is fighting! i wish you the best of luck - my turtle made is and is now totally healthy - when everyone said she would die

[Sakura]

Here is a video of Fuu today :/

Fuu

[kukana d]

Oh Sakura,she looks good What did you decide on the meds?

[caitie]

Way to go Fuu. Sakura she looks so much better obviously you made the right choice with the meds.

[amynmitchell]

Fuu looks so much better. I would think one more day of treatment might not hurt, but I would want Imo to make that call for sure. My oranda gets those little white bumps on her cheeks and they go away. For her I think they are wen growth, but they look very similiar. I am so happy that Fuu is hanging in there.

[Badfish]

She looks really good Sakura!!

She does not look like a fish who is ready to throw in the towel, by any means! There is a lot of life left in that little girl.

Keep up the good work with her!

[Sakura]

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm so glad you all think she looks better. Certainly she does, it's just harder for me to see the improvements because I see them so gradually.