fin and tail rot on swordtail?

fireman5214

AC Members
Mar 12, 2009
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Nazareth PA
my neon swordtail female looks like she may have fin and tail rot,
but on the fins are like white blotches. Is this something besides fin and tail rot? she also has a large white blotch across her forehead just above her eyes she eats fine the only difference is she tries to just hover but she does swim around, u can tell on the tail fin its like eaten away or
deteriorating i have KORDON Ich Attack 100% Organic ich, fungus, protozoans and dinoflagellates for fresh and salt water. its organic and non toxic link to what i have: http://www.novalek.com/kordon/ich_attack/index.htm

any help is appreciated. I am going to petco tomorrow so i can see what they have to help. the tank does have cherry shrimp in it and pics are not available, sorry. :help2:
 
Personally would not depend on this product too much as treatment. Besides, Fish may NOT even have external pasitic infestations. Any pics?

check you pH, NH3, NO2 if you have not done yet before any pwc.
 
If you can post some photos that would be very helpful. Also, as Cerianthus requested, please provide information regarding your tanks parameters: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp.

Are you monitoring the water parameters. If you can, please test with a good liquid test kit, such as API Master test kit, so you'll get accurate readings on those params. If you're using strips, those are very unreliable, and most often give inaccurate results. Daily monitoring your params is very important.

Most probably you have a bacterial infection going on, but it is difficult to even make an educated guess without some photos of your fish.
 
I've used Kordon Ich Attack and I like it, but it is not going to help with a bacterial infection, or very little anyway. I think it is good for some parasites, though it takes a long time to do the job.
 
Certainly there could be parasites involved, but it sounds very like there is a bacterial infection involved at this point. Pics are extremely important. I hope we can help
 
parameters are fine, well established tank 10+ yrs, I am not a newbie so I know about water changes and parameters. I finally got some pics, best out of the 10 i took are below: I have never been able to tae good pics of fish in a fish tank

100_0695.jpg 100_0698.jpg 100_0699.jpg
 
Try positioning camera in angle instead of directly in front of glass . At least no flashback.

How long has fish shown this symtoms?
I cant tell if tail is healing or deteriorating from pics.

Do you think if tail is getting worse?

As far as water testing, what I learned over 20yrs in industry was that majority of sickness was due to water condition, not necessarily poor condition but unideal condition for specific fish even with seasoned hobbyist.
No offense to you and I am not doubting you either. Trying to rule out the basics, that is all.

If tail seem to be deteriorating, look into erythromycin or ampicillin or simple penicillin in q/t.
 
Finrot is usually from poor water quality, and you stated that your water has been good so I would say this is not due to problems of water quallity.

If your parameters have been pristine: 0ppm on ammonia and nitrite, and your nitrate levels have been 20ppm or so, and you have a regular routine of water changes to remove excessive dissolved organic compounds, and you vacuum the substrate regularly to remove decaying debris, poo, and gunk, then water quality is definitely not the issue.

Evenso, so this is probably a bacterial infection. The possibilites are several pathogens, but I think this sounds like Columnaris, from your descriptions, especially that white patch you see on your female swordtails head.

If this is Columnaris, then perhaps a new fish has introduced the bacterium into the tank. If you have added no new fish, but perhaps you added plants along with the water they were in from your lfs, that might have had the Flavobacterium columnare bacterium in it.

However, I've read scholarly papers that state Flavobacterium is likely ubquitous in most all aquariums, and there are several strains of Flavobacterium columnare with varying degrees of virulence.

So, Columnaris can be in the tank, but not causing infection while the fish have strong immune systems.

Some kind of stress weakens the immune system, or some nick or injury from an ornament, netting, rough handling, can weaken the immune system and lead to an infection.

I would step up your water change routine, get Furan 2 and Kanamycin to treat them, bring your water temperature down to 75 F, because warmer temperatures speed the growth of the bacteria, and I would add salt, plain table salt is OK, to bring the tank gradually to .3%, which is 3 level teaspoons per gallon.

There's a lot of debate about using salt, however, in studies and in documented cases, salt reduces the possibility of infection in those fish not already infected, helps to slow the spread of the bacteria on the surface of the fish, and reduces mortality in those tanks that have .3% salinity. Salinties of .1% and .2% were included in the study, but the mortality was higher in those in the tank with less than .3%.

In that same study, in vitro growth of the bacteria seemed to actually get worse with the salinity percentages, but other documented accounts, by a degreed Discus breeder and others, have shown that salt really helps defeat this disease.

I would do a big water change, having removed any carbon from the filter, then dose both meds at that time. Then slowly, over the course of three days, bring the salinity up. If you are reluctant to go to .3% try 1 or 2%, however, I would go .3%

Someone with more experience and stronger convictions regarding your case may have other suggestions, and I defer to greater knowledge and experience, but in my opinion, I think this is Columnaris and needs immediat action on your part.

Continue to do ample water changes every 24 hours, just after dosing each day, and don't forget to compensate for the salinity, adding back the proper amount of salt to the replacement water.

Make sure that the replacement water is temperature matched, and I am a strong believer in using Prime as a water conditioner.

Prime removes chlorine and chloramines, and detoxifies ammonia and nitrite in the water, giving you breathing room to do the water changes every 24 hours. Any detectable ammonia and nitrite need to be addressed, and Prime, will handle it until you do your water changes every 24 hours.
 
thanks for the reply mel. I do have aquarium salt and will follow the instructions on the package for dosage i forget what it is but im sure its 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons. the female does have the same white spots on her fins. she keeps her fins tucked down now instead of being out and fanny i guess u could say. she just hovers around the other female and thats basically it. the male keeps going to her but she doesnt want anythinig to do with him. i did add new fish about 3 weeks ago, a mix breed pleco half leaopard/peppermint and 2 green corydoras. Would the kordon that i posted above work? I also just got API Melafix antibacterial fish remedy to repai fins, ulcers, and open wounds. It was the only thing my PETCO had that was SAFE FOR SHRIMP. I will do a water change just after I eat supper and do a salt dose and possibly if i have to do a chemical introduction. The other female swardtail might have these same spots starting. The first one is looking lik her tail fin is getting worse as its rotting away a little more.
 
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