Help! Finrot!

txfishman

Member
How do I help my fish? My clown trigger and my emperor angel have finrot!
What can i dose? Wat should i do? i have them in a 75gal. qt. with live rock. Is there anything i can do? Help my fishies.
 

fats71

Active Member
I found this by typing in cure fin rot into google... Always' check their first so your not sitting here waiting for no one to answer and get your fish healed up.
Fin Rot is a very common disease. It is almost always caused by poor water conditions. It is contagious, but most fish are robust enough to resist it given good water conditions. The primary cause is bad water conditions. The stress induced by poor water quality, or other factors like aggression, weakens the fish's immune system to the point where it can no longer fend off attacking bacteria. The fins will begin to shrink, appearing ragged or "bitten." Sometimes actual bites from other fish open up the fins to fin rot.
Diagnosis: The fin perimeter will begin to shrink in either an uneven, ragged way or outward in a circle, like a fire consuming paper. The edges where it is shrinking will turn cloudy and white. If you start to see any bit of white of the edges of the fins, go dig out the water tests.
Cause: Fin rot is caused by a normal bacteria in the water. It's usually harmless, but can begin to grow on the fish if it overwhelms the immune system, much like fungus on humans. Times of stress will reduce the fish's immune system to the point where it can't cope.
Cure: Fin rot can sometimes clear itself up if water conditions improve. Decaying plants in one of my tanks caused this in two of my Endlers, removal of the plants, three 20% water changes, and rinsing the filter cartridge improved the water to the point where the Endlers recovered on their own, and re-grew all their finnage. Otherwise, fin rot is extremely easy to treat once the stressor has been removed. Treatment can be as simple as a strong salt bath. For fish like livebearers that like salty water can go up to a tablespoon per gallon for a period of time. Average fish should be in about 3 teaspoons per gallon. Sensitive fish like catfish and loaches should only go up to about 2 teaspoons per gallon. Watch them for signs of lethargy, and remove in about 30 minutes. For more stubborn cases, nearly all antibiotics will work, namely melafix, maracide, or any other anti-biotic that says it's good for fin rot.
It's that simple. Severe cases may require fin trimming and stitching. If the fin rot is allowed to reach the origin of the fin, or penducle, it may be deadly to the fish. However, if your fish are allowed to deteriorate this far
 

fats71

Active Member
Here ya go
Aquarium Products Gel-Tek, The Medication Fish Eat!
Safe for aquatic plants, reef tanks, and biological filters.
GEL-TEK PENICILLIN
Aquarium Products Gel-Tek Penicillin is a broad spectrum bactericidal antibiotic that exerts anti-bacterial action on susceptible organisms. It is effective against a number of gram-positive and gram negative bacteria associated with fish diseases. Use for fin rot, cloudy or bulging eyes, mouth sores, bacterial infections, and septicemia.
Use 5 drops per fish twice a day. Repeat for 3 days.
#70056 - Aquarium Products Gel-Tek Penicillin 2-ounce ~ $3.99

I personally would keep my tank cleaner and do water changes.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Are you sure that it is fin rot? Can you post a picture of it? Are the fins ragged looking or are there sections of fin missing? If it is indeed finrot then the correct treatment would be Maracyn 2 for saltwater fish in a cycled QT.
 

txfishman

Member
the clown trigger is dead and the emperor is on the sand breathing heavy. HELP! Idon want to loose him too!
 

txfishman

Member
well the emperor is dead now too.
I had a nitrate spike over night and did a 15 gallon water change and got it back to normal but i guesse it was just to late.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
I am sorry for your losses. The nitrate wouldn't have spiked unless you had an ammonia spike previously. That could be what affected them.
 
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