New fish disease! Need urgent help to remove it quickly!?

Question

My bolivian ram has some red on the part of the fin that is connected to the body. It looks almost like blood. I raised the temperature and I am ready to use whatever medication necessary. He just got it a few minutes ago. Please tell me what disease he has! Should I quarantine?

Answer 1

If this came up very quickly it's more likely damage than anything else. Other than that, a few things come to mind. If this is a new tank, it's possible it could be ammonia or nitrite poisoning. Check both of those levels and change water if needed to reduce the levels.

The other possibility as I see it would be a blood infection of some type. This is actually fairly rare and if you have had the fish more than a week or two I wouldn't expect this to be the case, but in case it is you would need to treat this with a good antibiotic. I would highly recommend Furanace. It can get into the fishes system far better than some of the other choices in the pet shops. I would anso recommend you feed with a medicated food. It also can be absorbed into the fish well.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

MM

Answer 2

I am usually in complete accord with Magicman but I want to add the possibility that the fish might be OK. I have 2 bolivian rams and their colors are constantly changing. Usually in the morning there is a lot of red on the tips of their fins and under their bellys and they are beautiful, but during the day something seems to stress them out and they have only a little color at night. I have seen them change their colors quickly when feeding. Try looking them up on the internet for a correctly colored Bolivian Red Ram (I have found many sites that say they are bolivian ram and then picture a blue ram) and see if that is the same color as your fish. If it is in the wrong spot completely then follow MM to the T, but there is quite a bit of red that only shows up when the fish feels safe. All I have to do with mine is go out and get more hiding places and they will show their beautiful red color all the time.

Answer 3

I would recommend checking your water parameter first as many diseases that cause red streaks (and more) are diseases of opportunity.

Please make sure your parameters are:

*Ammonia -0
*Nitrites- 0
*KH & GH around 80-100 ppm (around 5 dGH or dKH)

Calcium is also important for healing.

I would start with a partial water change.

As for medications, this sounds like aeromonas for which Melafix may work in mild infections; however in moderate to severe infections I would advice something stronger such as Kanamycin and/or Nitrofurazone.
Pimafix or Triple Sulfa may also help.

Here is a link to information about aeromonas bacterial infections:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Vibrio_Aeromonas.html

For more disease prevention information, I recommend this article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Disease.html

Answer 4

I don't know what that is, but try taking out the carbon and using Melafix? It's all natural and won't harm the other fish in the tank either. (Smells great too! like eucalyptus or something) You can get it at pretty much any pet store. Also, try a small amount of aquarium salt.