Fin rot advice

[matttimms49]

Hey ovas people, I'm in need of some advice again.

I believe that my male honey gourami has fin rot. I noticed a small patch on his lower fin that had lost its colour before I went on vacation and now that I'm back his tail fin has lost all of its colour and looks a little ragged. So I think that it's fin rot, unless there may be something else I haven't read about?

I was wondering if people could advise a good medication for a planted, community tank with shrimp.

Cheers,

[Box Jockey]

Hi Matt,
I would first move the fish to a hospital tank, second dose with API E.M. Erythromycin and General Cure (at the same time) and third give him time to heal in the hospital tank.

If you cant find any of the above locally I can give you with some. Give me a call if you still have my number.
Good luck!
-Keith

[Gilbotron]

I've had a bit of a similar issue with some gouramis.  The pectorals got a little withered but otherwise fish ok.  Still not sure the cause, but rather than medicate I went the clean water route.  I highly recommend a good water change schedule for a couple days (say 25% daily for a few days). 

Water quality can fix most issues, and when in doubt of what the issue really is, its a lot safer than medicating...  Tough to find safe meds with loaches and/or inverts.

[Mike L]

 I agree about water changes. Medicating when not knowing the cause of the issues  can be problematic. Many meds affect bio in the tank which will cause other issues that exacerbate the situation. What other fish are in the tank?

[matttimms49]

At the moment have,green neon tetra, white clouds, pygmy cories and otos with some Nerite and cherry shrimp.

I'm gonna go for the water change method. Hopefully we can cheer the little honey gourami up.

Thanks for the advice

[Gilbotron]

Good call. Especially with otos. They can be very sensitive to meds.

Also, to improve water quality, reduce feeding . Do small daily water changes and only feed a little bit once every 2 or 3 days.

[Mike L]

Agree on the feeding too. May I ask why the small water changes and what percent. Large changes in the 50 percent range are far more effective.

[Mike L]

While I have limited understanding of other fish besides cichlids are tetras not notorious fin nippers too? Might that be an issue? 

[Gilbotron]

Smaller water changes are less stressful for the fish.  25%-33% (easy to eyeball) doesn't drastically alter water parameters, so I find this works well to keep water clean without adding additional stress to the fish.  Especially when dealing with sick/injured fish that are already stressed a big water change can add more stress as water parameters and mineral contents will swing. 

[matttimms49]

thanks for all the advice everyone. I've been doing smaller water changes for the past few days so will wait to see if his talk clears up.

[matttimms49]

He isn't looking too great, and is now hiding in the upper corner. Still eating, how long should I wait before maybe trying meds or a small hospital tank?

[Mike L]

 Hospital tank for sure.  With any cichlid I've owned at the top of the tank in the corner is as far away from harassment as they can get. Probably the same for all fish who feel threatened. Do you have a tank, filter and heater? I can offer a tank and small internal filter and would be glad to give you some established media. Pm if interested
Mike

[matttimms49]

I have an empty 2.5 gallon tank and a small filter for it. Can i use filter media from one of the tanks i have running at the moment?

The only thing i'm missing is a heater. Is a 2.5 gallon large enough for a hospital tank?

[Box Jockey]

If you don't have a spare heater you can always half submerge a plastic container of adequate size in your main tank to act as a temporary hospital tank.

[Black_Rose]

The only thing i'm missing is a heater. Is a 2.5 gallon large enough for a hospital tank?

I've used a 2.5 gallon tank to treat a sick fancy guppy.

I used an empty 5.5 when I was treating a zebra danio since he was very active.

[matttimms49]

Thanks for the advice and the offer(MikeL) I think I'm gonna get a small heater and set up a hospital tank for this guy tonight. Hope he gets better.

[matttimms49]

What medication would people recommend?

[Mike L]

 I have never medicated fish so can't answer that. The tank is on the small side but if it is harassment then getting out of that tank is better Imo. I'm in Kanata btw. I can offer you a 20 gallon  with ac.. Also yes to the use of one thing from your filter. A sponge or half of one. It will be the only inhabitant so just monitor perameters closely. Keep light off and don't feed for a couple of days then sparingly. If the fish is being harassed you with know pretty quickly as it will improve fault quickly. Almost all fish issues can be tied to aggression or poor water.