Sore on Giraffe Cat - What is this?

[imagirlgeek]

My giraffe cat got what looked like a blister or boil on his face a couple of weeks ago. Then a smaller 2nd one appeared slightly under it. You can see in the picture the top one has opened up and is now an ulcer. I'm not sure if he rubbed it on a rock or if this is the natural progression of whatever is wrong. The smaller one is what they start out looking like. The smaller one also has gone away, but is now returning. I've done 2 rounds of Tetracycline and during those treatments, they didn't get 'worse', but didn't really get better either.

No other fish in the tank have any issues. The giraffe cat's appetite and activity level is normal. So...please...does anyone know what this is??!!

[Zulaab]

Traci --
I know this is Hoover we are talking about.
1. Have you thought about hitting him up with pure Metro ?
2. One of the drugs I really like for fungus and Ick problems is Kordon's Ick-Attack. This being 100% organic will assist the fish by killing off stuff that it might be fighting besides the sore problem. The open sore is what I am most worried about it becoming infected and he has to deal with a secondary problem.

I would not hit him up with Clout as one of the items in Clout is not good for scaleless fish.

Just looking at options. I would prolly hit up hoover with ick-attack, as it will help him generally and then start thinking about taking him out and putting him in a 100g tank (Tote) to start a Metro workout, as I am thinking 240 gallon treatments could get expensive quick.

[imagirlgeek]

Thank you so much for writing...I was beginning to think I was on my own with this one.

Yes, it's Hoover. I would love to move him and only treat the problem with him, but he is 25" - 26" long now, and weighs about 20lbs. The last time we moved him, we had to use a pillow case, and Hoov ended up with a cut on his face, and Charles ended up with a bump on the head. ) I'm prepared to drop some cash on meds...he's worth it.

I am worried about 'what' exactly it is, and also the potential for an absess to form. You can see in the picture where it's started healing around the edges. I was worried it would continue healing on the outside, leaving bacteria inside and causing Sepsis.

I can get some Metro to try, but that always clobbers my bacteria and then we have to cycle all over again. :icon_hang:

I have Ich-Attack (LOVE IT), but I had no idea it was good for fungus. I'll keep that nearby if the wound develops a fungus. Good to know.

Have you seen anything like this before??

[Zulaab]

I have seen it before, dealing with open sores.. Not always fun... Main thing is that the fish can heal it on their own.. They cannot handle secondary infections too.. which is why I would suggest right now hit the tank with Ick-attack. This is to stop anything to hit hoover before it does, and this helps with the healing.

Where I went wrong a time ago was the problem of not doing it, and saying I will just wait until I see a problem. Well it cost me dearly.. This is why I am saying prevent now, use a medication that will NOT "re-cycle" your tank. It will help with a slew of problems that could be going on. Right now I am thinking that your Tetracycline has most likely helped but you want to put something in there that can stay for several days and not need to be filtered out etc..

This is why I love Ick-Attack

[imagirlgeek]

You are 100% right. I'll dose the tank tonight with Ich Attack, then go out tomorrow to pick up more.

[Zulaab]

Isnt it amazing the amount of things we will do for our fish :)
Give it no more than 48 hours, you should see a change for the better by then. If not then you need to hit Hoover with Metro. What ever you do leave the Ick-Attack in dose with each water change until he is healed up completely. Add extra water moving items (power heads) into the tank to really get some water circulation down to him. Having water MOVE around him will help him.

[Zulaab]

How is your favorite giraffe doing ?

[imagirlgeek]

Thanks for asking!

He's about the same. The bottom sore is exactly the same as it was in the picture. The top sore was almost looking like it was healing, then overnight is blistered up again. Then it burst again. BUT it seems like each time this happens the next blister is smaller. I think it must be a virus.

[Complexity]

This page has a huge number of pictures of various diseases which might help you to diagnose what's going on. It's in Spanish, but the google translation to English is pretty good.

Warning, very slow loading due to the extreme number of photos.

Spanish version: http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=167187

English translation: http://translate.google.com/translat...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I hope Hoover heals quickly.

[imagirlgeek]

Update:

Hoover is doing much better. Both sores now look like, for lack of a better term, cat nipples. **Go ahead and get the laughter out**

I ended up emailing an aquatic vet and she replied! After telling her everything I had done so far, she recommended adding Vitamin C to his food by crushing up a human Vitamin C tab and freezing it into some of his food. I had some liquid vitamin for fish that I opted to use instead. I've been feeding him by hand everyday after supplementing his food with this liquid vitamin and I really think this is what is making him better.

[thekarens]

That is one spoiled fish! Glad he's doing better :)

[fshfrk]

Cool I will add vitamins to the food from now on! Thanks.