MAJOR EMERGENCY -

[BettaMomma]

I opted to do a water change for Jasper today and I was looking him over while he was in his temp cup while I switched out the water and I noticed that he just developed a big ol' red spot (much like a big ol' bruise) under his right eye - like he got socked in the eye.

is that a horribly bad sign?
He's currently being treated w/Maracyn Two - going to start coppersafe today.
i'll try to post a pic.

 

[black angel]

have you tested his water for nitrites and ammonia?
sounds like septicemia with the bruise. going to look at my notes and hopefully try and find something that matches the symptoms from your other post.

 

[WILDER]

Maracyn 2 is the right path for what he has, good luck, septicemia usually shows itself in red streaks and patches, just keep a close eye on him.

 

[black angel]

all i can find is bacterial and a list of meds for him, maybe theres one here you have..
MelaFix
Tetracycline
Furacyn
MarOxy

i also found that aquarium salt may help too. salting 1 level teaspoon per gallon and then 12 hours later again to give you .2%

 

[BettaMomma]

As Ray's dad says...
Holy Crap.

He was in his little cup waiting to be put back into his tank.
I looked down into the cup, and this huge bruise-like thing appeared over one of his eyes. He had REALLY REALLY dark black stripes (2 on each side) running down each side - horizontally, and he turned a peach color (his whole body) (obviously from MAJOR stress)

Now that he's back in his tank, he instantly turned back to his original color and he has no more stripes and I can't see that bruise anymore. I'm assuming that while he was stressed, he lost a lot of (well, all of) his color and therefore with the lighter color on his skin I was able to see the bruise under his skin.

He is now swimming around and around like a somewhat normal fish. He still stops to land and rest, but not for very long.

sorry I can't post a pic of the nasty bruise - can't see it anymore.
and, um.... now he's turned a gorgeous red color with hints of blue..

 

[WILDER]

Tetracycline is a strong antibiotic so she would have to issolate the fish, as it will kill all the bacteria colony off in her filter.

 

[black angel]

maybe keeping his water really clean by changing it every day may help. it might cause a lot of stress though but i think keeping him in really clean water might help, and salting it too. maybe he has gill flukes?
has he been scratching himself at all or shaking his head?

 

[WILDER]

Does it look lie he bleeding underneath the skin.

 

[BettaMomma]

No scratching and no shaking his head.
He's just been very slowly moving around the tank like a little old decrepid man.

I have a feeling after I've gone out and researched, he has:
Hemorhagic Septicemia
which SUCKS because if that is it, who the heck knows how long he's had it, it takes a long time to kill a fish, and if it's not caught early enough there's no hope.

I guess it's a good thing I saw the blood patch under his eye today - I can at least keep up with the Maracyn 2, and he's now got coppersafe in there too. I'm adding salt, too, but he seems like he's feeling SO very much better. I don't know if it's just that he really likes the clean water, but whatever it is, he obviously feels somewhat better.

Don't get me wrong - he does still stop and sit on the bottom of the tank, but he's at least swimming around (and NOT in circles anymore).

 

[BettaMomma]

Wilder - yes.
Under his eye there was a spot about 1/4 inch in diameter - it looked like he had a doozy of a black eye.

Does that mean you'll have bad news for me?

 

[WILDER]

Viral Hemorrhagic septicemia



A) Rhabdovirus



B) Widespread and very contagious viral disease of rainbow trout. This is a serious disease of trout in Europe. Affects both Salmonid in fresh water and sea water. Disease occurs in temperatures below 14oC.



C) Two forms of the Disease - Acute and Chronic



1) Acute disease: High mortality in affected fish. Fish have pale gills, dark body coloration, ascites, exophthalmus and erratic swimming behavior (spiraling). Hemorrhage is common in the eyes, skin, serosal surfaces of the intestines and muscles. Necrosis of the hematopoietic and lymphoid elements of the anterior kidney and congestion and necrosis of the hepatic parenchyma are histopathologic findings.



2) Chronic disease: See a slower prolonged mortality. Fish become lethargic, have pale anemic gills, darken skin coloration, exophthalmus, and distention of the abdominal cavity. Internal organs are commonly involved with splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and swollen kidneys.



D) Turbot, sea bass, and Atlantic salmon are commonly affected by similar viruses.



E) Transmission is believed to be direct with contact of carriers and contaminated water and feed. Vertical transmission via the egg is not reported.

 

[WILDER]

1) Aeromonas hydrophila (Bacterial Hemorrhagic Septicemia)



A) Gram negative motile rods



B) Effects many freshwater species and usually is associated with stress and overcrowding.



C) The clinical signs and lesions are variable.



The most common finding is hemorrhage in skin, fins, oral cavity and muscles with superficial ulceration of the epidermis. Occasionally cavitary ulcers (similar to A. salmonicida) are observed. Exophthalmus and ascites are commonly observed. Splenomegaly and swollen kidneys are common. Histologically, multifocal areas of necrosis in the spleen, liver, kidney and heart with numerous rod shaped bacteria are observed.



D) Diagnosis is rendered by culturing the organism from affected animals: Remember this is a common water saprophyte with a great variation in virulence in serotypes.



E) Disease is transmitted via contaminated water or diseased fish.



2) Pseudomonas fluorescens

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, that's what he's got. (Acute Viral Hemorrhagic septicemia)
His gills are very pale.
He keeps changing colors.
He's very lethargic.
Blood spot under his eye.

High mortality in affected fish.

Damn. I suppose that means he'll die.
Well, I'm going to do everything I can to try to keep that from happening.

 

[WILDER]

For a good chance you need a very strong antibiotic like tetracycline, but you would need to treat him on his own,add some salt as well, you will need to daily water changes and keep adding the med it could take up to 3 weeks or longer to cure, but it is very hard to cure but you can have a good go,

 

[BettaMomma]

I can get tetracycline tablets.
He's already on his own in a 2.5 G tank, no filtration.
Already have salt in the tank.
The daily water changes - won't that stress him out too much?
Why so many changes??

Um, should I discontinue the CopperSafe treatment or keep going w/it?
I just started that today...