Angelfish Open Sores Getting Worse

[mhancock]

About 5 weeks ago when I came back from holiday (someone else had been feeding my fish), 2 angels had ulcers. I treated the whole tank with meds (somewhat reluctantly) and had to let one go when she got much worse with growth over her eye and mouth.

The one that survived has since then been very withdrawn (often hiding in the corner) and the sores have got worse again - larger, open and white/fluffy. There are holes developing at the base of the rear and top fins.

I don't want to subject the whole tank to meds again, don't have a hospital tank (but could improvise), and am wondering:

• Is it time to let this fish go as it will only get worse
• Is it better to let it go for the sake of the others?

Advice needed and appreciated please, thank you.







PS - nothing causing concern with water stats, tank stable and cycled, other fish fine.

 

[fluttermoth]

Why don't you want to put meds in the tank? What did you use last time?

 

[mhancock]

Why don't you want to put meds in the tank? What did you use last time?

I cannot remember the brand name (bought from chain pet store), but am reluctant as I've read many times that the meds are not good for the other fish, and am not sure if it's worth doing when the fish did not respond last time fully?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Why don't you want to put meds in the tank? What did you use last time?

I cannot remember the brand name (bought from chain pet store), but am reluctant as I've read many times that the meds are not good for the other fish, and am not sure if it's worth doing when the fish did not respond last time fully?

1. Yes medications can stress fish out, however there are many things you can do to improve the fishes comfort (increasing airation, keeping tank v.clean etc) however as long as you do not overdose they will not kill the fish (however if the fish has a life threatening disease, untreated this will). It is the lesser of 2 evils, and some fish diseases cannot be cured at all without the aid of meds.

2. I believe your fish has a bacterial infection (though Cauliflower Disease, a viral infection, is possible) due to the external ulcers/open sores on its body. I would personally recommend using a combination of something like NT Labs Anti Ulcer & Finrot medication, Stres Coat Dechlorinator & Pimafix.

 

[fluttermoth]

It might be worth trying an anti bacterial; Myxazin is what I normally recommend.

It's a tricky one though, the fish does look in a very poor state, tbh. I'm wondering if it might be 'external hex', which is related to HITH.

 

[mhancock]

Why don't you want to put meds in the tank? What did you use last time?

I cannot remember the brand name (bought from chain pet store), but am reluctant as I've read many times that the meds are not good for the other fish, and am not sure if it's worth doing when the fish did not respond last time fully?

1. Yes medications can stress fish out, however there are many things you can do to improve the fishes comfort (increasing airation, keeping tank v.clean etc) however as long as you do not overdose they will not kill the fish (however if the fish has a life threatening disease, untreated this will). It is the lesser of 2 evils, and some fish diseases cannot be cured at all without the aid of meds.

2. I believe your fish has a bacterial infection (though Cauliflower Disease, a viral infection, is possible) due to the external ulcers/open sores on its body. I would personally recommend using a combination of something like NT Labs Anti Ulcer & Finrot medication, Stres Coat Dechlorinator & Pimafix.

Thank you -

1) The tank is very clean, there's a 90cm air curtain, weekly large water changes and lots of plants!

2) Thanks for the advice, I'll go shopping tomorrow and see what I can get. Will also look at a hospital tank, I have plenty of mature media for one and the cost will be ofset by using much less meds that I'd need for a 225l tank!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

^ Cool glad to hear that, wish you the best of luck with the fish- although it certainly doesn't look good right now, with the right meds & care you'll be surprised at what fish can recover from .

The main thing though, is if worst comes to worst, not to let it die in the tank if you can (because it will cause the bacteria to completely leave their host and go on a mission to re-infect the other fish, which considering most fish are partial to picking on the remains of dead tank mates, can make a very high risk of transmission situation for your other fish in question). If he has survived for a while already with this disease he probably won't die that quickly from it (if he does), so keep an eye out for any bad changes in his behaviour (like suddenly becoming very lethargic, anti-social, breathing heavily or hanging around the surface or bottom of the tank a great deal etc) in which case you should certainly move him from the other fish (even if its just to give him a quiet space to die alone in). Some fish can also sometimes become very aggressive towards dying fish, picking on them and driving them away & hastening their deaths (so also keep an eye on your other fish to make sure they're not bullying him in any way).

Bacterial infections like this aren't usually that infectious (when the fish is alive) so its your choice wether you want to quarentine him or not. Like meds, quarentine can both do good to the fish (especially if the fish is being picked on or is very ill) but can also do harm (for example a very social shoaling type of fish may feel stressed being isolated by itself, or a large fish may become stressed being put in a very small quarentine tank etc).

 

[mhancock]

It might be worth trying an anti bacterial; Myxazin is what I normally recommend.

It's a tricky one though, the fish does look in a very poor state, tbh. I'm wondering if it might be 'external hex', which is related to HITH.

What is "external hex"? Googling it just gives different types of screws and hardware!

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a form of hexamita (hole in the head) that causes ulcers on the body, rather than it's normal form that attacks the sensory pores in the head of the fish.

 

[mhancock]

OK, from what I can see that effects large cichlids in particular so would make sense.

I found a bottle of bacterial treatment that I'd forgotten I had, so the fish is now in a 4l ice cream tub with some plants that will do as a temporary hospital tank. I'll put it in the airing cupboard for heat and change water for fresh from the tank to stop ammonia etc building up. At least if it does die then it will not effect others, and it can do so quietly rather than being harassed. Seems quite happy at the moment.

Hopefully in a few days I can update this thread with good news!

 

[mhancock]

My angel did die overnight, thanks for the advice about quaranteening Tokis, at least the last hours were peaceful and the infection contained after it died.

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, I'm sorry for your loss It was a beautiful fish and you did what you could. These kinds of problems are very hard to treat.