Convict Rehab

[maverickbr66]

ok so my brother brought home a 5.5-6inch convict that a teacher at his college left behind when he was fired. he was covered in mold, ich, and fin rot. I have treated and cured all of these was wondering what i can do to help him regrow all the fins he lost. I am planning on hitting him with some melafix but i think he needs a break from being medicated for a while first. any help is greatly apreaciated (never thought he would live when i first saw him, he is one tough bugger)

 

[shroob]

If you just keep up the good water quality and a good diet the fins should heal rather quickly, meds can be useful in these situations, though its up to you if you choose to give them to the con.

In general fins should grow back, though in some extreme cases the damage is beyond repair (though very rarely have I seen this, like only 1 case where a fin didn't grow back properly when the fish was young something took a bite out of its fin).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah just excellent water quality and a good balanced diet should do it

while i kind of agree about a break from the meds, melafix is natural and quite a gentle med, it shouldn't cause the fish any more grief to ahve it in the tank and it does promote healing.

it does take a little while for fins to grow back though, so why not give him a week with no meds, then give him some melafix to give the re growth a bit of a boost for a few weeks?

 

[maverickbr66]

thaks i'v never had ne healt problems nearly this extream before and the boards here seemed to have alot of good info so i thought id ask. he is a interesting fish and i just want to keep him happy and healthy.

 

[bluetrane2028]

What kind of setup do you have for him (or her)?

 

[maverickbr66]

i tore the guppies out of my 5 gal and threw them in my 20 gal community. And put him in the 5 i know this is much too small for him, im cycling my 10 gal (should be sufficient right ?) that i had sitting in the attic and will move him there as soon as i get it stabalized (I think its ready but im giving it a little longer to be sure). I would have had this done ahead of time but i knew nothing of him till he came in the door. I believe it is a male but im new to agressives in general and im not sure if i sexed him right or not ill try to get a picture of him soon (wish i had a befor).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

he will need a bigger tank long term (like 30gals i think) however as a short term solution the 10gal will do while he recuperates

 

[bluetrane2028]

As my sig states, I've got about a dozen of 'em in a 29... it's probably overcrowded, but I haven't observed any bad behavior so far out of 'em (only three are close to "adult size", the rest are juveniles still). I would definitely upgrade the space though. Lots of people suggest getting a 20 long, as they really don't go very high in the water (and I can verify that with my 29, the same length as a 20L with more height)

 

[maverickbr66]

pics are going to have to wait a while, thought i had brought the camera with me but it must be at home. Have to see if a can steal one from someone and get some up here.