re quarantine and medicated bath for goldfish?

Question

hi guys I have a goldfish not responding to melafix for fin rot though it has not got worse, only on 1 fin and it looks like it has 1 bone sticking out from it, attached to a small amount of fin tissue that is whitish. This is all due to nitrogen cycle and have now successfuly cycled a bigger tank fishless to house him as his current home is also way too small. If I use an antibiotic can I do a medicated bath as not to disturb the biological filter? submerge and return to tank after a couple of hours? I have a quarantine tank but I have minnows in it at present as they will be taking his old home when I tranfer him to his new home. Any suggestions on medicating. have used salt bath, melafix and also adjusted temperature, now thinking of using antibiotics. but no where to medicate..... other than 15 litre with no filter or air pump..

Answer 1

A bath won't be a long enough exposure to kill the bacteria that cause the fin rot. You're correct that in treating a bacterial condition your beneficial bacteria will be affected. And if the condition is already as severe as you describe, Melafix won't do much to cure your fish.

I'd switch the medication to Furanase or Maracin. Rather than treating the fish in the tank and having to cycle again, do you have a plastic storage container like a large Rubbermaid tub? If cleaned out, these make a good emergency tank, but you'll need to add a filter or airstone for oxygenation.

Answer 2

Melafix is a medication that is supposed to be used over a week to help get rid of bacterial diseases. You could try using Jungle Fungus Clear Tank Buddies or Mardel Trisulfa Tablets. when using these products you should treat the whole tank. Along with that you should improve the water quality by doing a good water change after using one of the products. Also make sure you do a water change to get rid of the Melafix out of the tank before using other medications. Both the products I metioned are found in most Petco and Petsmart stores. If it is white spot which it sounds like it might be than you could buy Pimafix which is a medication used to deal with fungal infections.

Answer 3

Hi, How long have you had your Goldfish? It sounds like it may be actually a parasite called Anchor worm, this protudes from anywhere on the fish and looks just like a bone, as the parasite gets bigger it gets two sacs on the end of the bit sticking out. The head that is on the fish feeds from the fish so normally makes a red sore around the area, because its almost an open wound this allows bacteria to get in.
If you have had the fish a while and domt tink it is anchor worm, then Melafix and Pimafix used in combination works quite well too. Especially for Bacterial things as well as fungal, If you think it may be anchor worm, the best thing to use is something that is actually for a pond. it is called Waterlife Parazin P and it will kill the parasites and will not affect your biologiacl filtration at all. its good stuff!
If you use antibiotics in the tank they 95% of the time destroy your biological filter bacteria meaning you will have to re-establish your bacteria again!
Another good thing for finrot is Interpet Fungus and Finrot...

Answer 4

It sound like the gold fish has white spot which is a fungal infection. you can buy a treatment from a fish supplier. gold fish are very hardy however this fish has been through a lot and there more disruption on the way. I think the best thing to do would be to put an air stone in the 15 litre tank don't retreat it with any other treatments for 2/3 days after that give it treatment for white spot when it completely recovered re home it in it new tank.

Answer 5

I have to agree with Copperhead here. Once you've reached this stage of fin rot, melafix doesn't do much good. The best thing you can do for your fish is to give it the best quality water you can. Don't be alarmed if patches start to turn black. In this case, black would not be a panic color. Fin rot on goldfish heals by first turning black then healing completely to the original color.

Good luck.