Salinity & disease treatment

[f8fan]

One of my figure 8 puffers has had a ragged tail fin for a couple months or so and I'm having a difficult time treating it.

My tank stats:
25 gallon brackish. Inhabitants (3) three figure 8 puffers. It has been set up and running almost two years.
Salinity = 1.008
PH = 7.8
Ammonia = 0. Nitrite = 0. Nitrate = 20ppm
Temp = 82 degrees.
Water changes = 20% 2x per week.

I have treated the tank with melafix for the last month or so. It hasn't helped one bit. He eats normal, and acts normal, and otherwise looks quite healthy (plump, nice white belly). There is no aggression between the puffers, other than a lot of excitement at feeding time, but no nipping or anything (that I have seen at least).

The only thing I have done differently in the last month or so was switch my water conditioner from Big Al's "Stress Coat Wanna-be" to Genesis. Do you think the lack of the slime coat additive is affecting him? He was like this before the switch, tho.

I tried taking pictures but, being the world's worst fish photographer, they didn't come out all that clear. I'm sure you all know what ragged fins look like

I know in SW tanks, people treat diseases with "hypo salinity". Do you think it's worth a shot to try and lower the salinity some to see if this will heal his tail up? I'm not really concerned with them being affected by a fluctuating salinity as brackish fish are used to this in the wild. I'm just stumped as to why he won't heal??

 

[Lotus]

Hmmm... I'm not too sure on treating in brackish water. However, fin rot sometimes doesn't go away with Melafix alone.

You could look for a med that treats in both fresh and marine, as I don't think all meds work in both. I know you're not too close to marine salinity, but it is something to think about when choosing a med. MarOxy might work, as it works in both SW and SW and treats both fungal and bacterial infections.

 

[f8fan]

Ok, like I said, I am the world's worst photographer . However, I took a little video of the sick puffer. It's attached. Turn your volume down, however, the tank is pretty close to my TV and I have the NASCAR race on...
YouTube - fin rot
I'm going to get an antibiotic tomorrow and see if it gets better.

 

[Lotus]

Poor lil fella

 

[Limi310]

Oh my gosh, they are so CUTE! Mine are still so small in comparison. Poor little guy though. Let us know if the antibiotic seems to be helping - you might also try an antibiotic food.
Is there any redness or discoloration around the fins? Do you see any whiteness around the edges? Do you see the other puffers picking on the injured one at all?

 

[f8fan]

The only aggression I ever see in the tank was when I had a molly in there. Believe it or not, the molly nipped and bullied the puffers! And it's been quite a few months since there has been a molly in there.

I don't notice and aggression or nipping between the three, however, who knows what happens when I'm not looking. At feeding time, yah, they get pretty excited but the only nipping and tugging is on the food. And I always make sure to put three krill in there so they each have one (kinda like having triplets, I guess )

I don't see any whiteness or redness, it's just visibly frayed. And it's just him, th other ones tails look at healthy as the one in my avatar
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I'm gonna go to the LFS here in a few and get him some medicine

 

[f8fan]

Thanks for the advise, Lotus, I bought some MarOxy tonight, i did a nice big water change and added the medicine.

Wish me luck! I had to go to three different places to find MarOxy and ended up finding it at Petco. I'm assuming because it's safe for SW fish, that I don't have to dilute the strength at all? Usually for puffers (since they are so sensitive and don't have scales) you need to be wary & careful about medicating.

 

[Lotus]

I believe it's fairly safe. It's always a good idea to keep an eye on fish within the first hour or two of treatment, just in case there's a reaction.

If you see fish visibly in trouble just after adding meds, it's time for an emergency water change.Things like a lot of gasping, laying at the bottom, trouble swimming, etc. (assuming they were swimming around fine before). It's pretty rare that you get that much of a reaction, though, unless it's a really harsh chemical, especially the more old-fashioned meds like meth blue or malachite green.

 

[f8fan]

So far so good this morning. All the puffers are acting normally. I decided that I'm going to still dose a bit on the low side as it's not like this is potentially "fatal" for him - it's just aesthetic and probably bothers me more than it does HIM! And why stress out his buddies cos he is a little worse for wear.

What I am doing is just dosing for 20 gallons. The tank is 25 gallons. Plus, I figure with the sand, decorations, etc. etc. there can't be more than 20 gallons of water in there anyway. The whole tank had a bit of a surreal look to it this morning, surfaces of stuff & sides of the tank glass inside had an almost slight white look to them. Like someone sprinkled a faint layer of powdered sugar in the tank. However, this sometimes happens when I do a larger than normal water change and don't mix my salt as thoroughly as I should. (I'm guilty if that sometimes ) ha ha. So I'm not gonna blame it on the MarOxy quite yet.

 

[Lotus]

I hope he gets better soon

I usually guestimate the volume of the decorations and dose accordingly.