featherfin bacterial or fungal infections

[liquidforce5010]

i was wondering if any of you have ever seen this before... my featherfin was under a rock for a day and when he came out today he really bad. I immediately upped the salt in the tank and dosed it wit melafix but im wondering if i should do pimafix or tetracycline 2? i dont know if its bacterial or fungal... Any help appreciated i really like this fish
005.jpg
004.jpg

[liquidforce5010]

one of its eyes is cloudy 2

[troy tucker]

Looks bad. Looks more like a burn. Its it fuzzy in that area? also hows his water?

[mnemenoi]

Water change, Melafix/Pimafix, test tank water parameters

[liquidforce5010]

water quality is good but i did a water change yesterday just to b safe...

[mnemenoi]

They can occasionally get jammed into an area of rocks and scrape themselves. High Nitrates are something that many do not regard as 'critical', but will aggrevate wounds and if left at raised levels lead to increased bacterial/fungus infections on woulds that would otherwise heal. Long term exposure to elevated levels (above 50ppm) seems to be associated with HITH disease. Many cichlids can generate huge quantities of waste and even with the tank 'acting' normal see long term sustained levels of Nitrates above 200ppm.

[liquidforce5010]

ok i just bought a new test kit and this one says i have high nitrate levels around 160-200ppm i think my tap water treatment stuff was masking it for my other test kit....should i keep using mela and pima fix and start doing daily water changes or should i try to add some prime or something into it?

[liquidforce5010]

should i do a gravel vaccumn 2 or will that possibly make it worse? its been about 2 weeks since ive done one

[mnemenoi]

Lowering the Nitrate will take time, I would do a gravel vacuum and do a 50% water change daily until you get it under 50ppm. Look into possible Nitrate sinks that could be causing it to rebound up. What filtration are you running? Carbon has always given me issues as a Nitrate sink (it collects Nitrate and when full begins to release it back into the water column) and thus something I usually steer folks away from. For some chemical filtration it can work, but often is just a Nitrate sink that will eventually drive me insane trying to determine where it is coming from. Nitrates are not as 'deadly' as Ammonia and Nitrite, so the fish will be fine with solid water changes and a gradual reduction in the Nitrates. I just see more long term/immune system weakening as a result of long term exposure.

[liquidforce5010]

ok... its a 30gal tank with only a ropefish, a baby arrowana and the featherfin on it but i have a topfin 30 filter and then a an aquatech 20gal filter on it

[jeb102385]

Looks like a burn to me... do you have a heater in the tank?

[mnemenoi]

Hmmm, two HOB with premade filter pads? I assume it has those blue mesh inserts with carbon inside for mechanical/chemical filtration? I would certainly stick with a water change schedule of 50% every other day. The Ropefish and Arowana can both be sensitive to Nitrates and eventually stop eating. How has the ropefish fared with the featherfin in the tank? Is it getting enough to eat? They can be hard to work into a community tank as they are such slow methodical eaters and anything that is aggressive can essentially starve the ropefish. Is the Arowana pellet trained or just taking feeders? I would swap to newer filter pads on one of the HOB's and wait 2 weeks and swap the other. Another option is to pull out a bucket of old tank water and rinse the filter pads very well, trying to get off any detritus that could be adding to your Nitrate levels. Give the inside of the filters a good swish as well. Just use older tank water, as fresh water contains chlorine that would kill off your beneficial bacteria that is the bedrock of your Nitrogen cycle. Deep vacuuming of the tank for any areas where it is brown or thick with gunk will help lower your Nitrates. Once you get them back in check a solid water change schedule should have your tank back in good order

[liquidforce5010]

ok the ropefish is actually a much more aggresive eater than the featherfin...it destroys bloodworms and i have a few feeder guppies in for the arrowana but i dont no if the rope fish or the catfish has ever eaten any of them...certainly havnt seen it happen. The arrowana will also eat pellets though...im just trying to get it big enought to stick in my 135gal with out it getting eaten.

[liquidforce5010]

and ya it has the carbon inserts and one has a floss insert as well for bacteria

[liquidforce5010]

and yes i do have a heater in the tank and it does look like a burn but its on both sides of his body and ive never seen him around the heater before