Hi everyone,

Please help!!!!
Suey has been really helpful already when I originally thought my fantail only had a swim bladder problem about a week ago.

See the following thread:

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/ ... id=244125#forumpost244125

Anyway he's been fine for last 4 or 5 days... by that I mean he hasn't been sitting at the bottom of the tank and has been swimming around normally. Although I've now noticed that his big fins at the back have become a bit jagged and have white egdes on them. One of the comets in the tank with him seems to occassionally nip at his fins... I'm thinking that maybe he has finrot but can't be totally sure. He's in the same tank as 4 other goldfish and they are all fine (he's the only fancy one).

Any ideas on how I can treat this? Might melafix help or do I need antibiotics?

Thanks
Danielle

You won't need antibiotics for finrot, it is fairly easy to clear up. Melafix should do the trick providing the water quality is good. Is there a lot of fin nipping going on?

Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't say a lot but I don't watch them all day so I can't be sure. If I watch them for an hour I might see the comet nip him once or twice.

Our water quality is good... if I out melafix in do I need to take out the carbon filter? I worry that if I take out the carbon filter the water quality will go bad.

Yes, chuck the carbon filter. You shouldn't use it all the time anyway, just for removing meds and other pollutants. Manufacturers will tell you to use it all the time but that;'s because you have to replace it every 4 weeks and they want your money

Now I'm confused... my fantail still seems to swimming around happily and is eating well but his tail looks like it's getting worse (more jagged and more white bits) and the fin nipping is still happening occasionally.

I've used melafix the last 2 days but haven't taken out the carbon yet. The guy at the aquarium shop told me that the carbon wouldn't remove the melafix from the water because it wasn't really a medication. The bottle says to do it though and so did Fishy-fishy! If I take out the carbon is that going to muck up the water quality and can I keep the carbon filter to put back in later (when the treatment is complete)? Do I need to keep the carbon filter moist or can I let it dry out then put it back in when I need to?

Also my fantail has also just today developed a white spot (that looks a little fuzzy) on the side of his belly. I've tried to get a pic but can't get a clear one... could this be fungal or bacterial? Will melafix sort that out too?

Sorry for all the questions but I really want to try and help my fantail

Carbon will reduce the efficiency of Melafix, so it is best removed. I can't think why removing it would affect your water quality unless your bio-filter is a bit dodgy (for example, newly set up) and you need to hold on to all your filter bacteria (carbon will house some filter bacteria, like the other filter materials do).

It's difficult to know about the spot on his belly without seeing it. Any chance you could keep him separate from the other fish for a while, so you can see clearly if this is down to harassment or not? What about a tank divider - simple and quick, and you can get them online.

Thanks Anna for the reply.

Our fantail looks like he's getting better... the spot on his side has gone and his tail looks like it's regenerating. He swimming around happily and eating well... we're only giving them sinking food now (pellets, frozen daphnia and bloodworm, and peas). We haven't taken the carbon out but have been using melafix for about 6 days now. We did a 30% water change last night - I might keep going with the melafix until the end of the week.

I hope he just keeps getting better now!!

Thanks again to everyone for their help!

Personally single tail fish and fancy fish shouldn't be mixed.

The single tails will become more faster and stronger as they grow and the fancy fish which are a hybrid will become more slower and will not be able to compete for food.

This creates stress factors which can activate all kind of problems.

Fin damage can be caused from poor conditions and then the secondary infection (fungus) can become evident if an open wound goes untreated.

Melafix is an excellent natural treatment for cleaning wounds and bacterial infections.


Robin