fish surgery

Question
thank you again.. i have went along with ur advice of massive water changes and it worked.. not only did the fantails fin rot stop.. but it has completely grown back.. thank you very much.. just for ypur information, the fantail has healed from the broken swim bladder months ago.. and for the record.. i change my 40 gallon tank every 3 weeks.. currently in the tank is 5 neon tetras.. 2 other fan tails, and 2 algae eaters..
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Followup To

Question -
thank you for the advice.. and im shure not going through with the surgery is a good idea.. i dont want to hurt my baby.. i ran out to buy the melafix from the local petco as soon as i read ur message.. i have added the medicine to the fantails quaranteen tank... i have changed the water completely for his main tank as well as his quaranteen tank.. i have also bought a new bag of gravel just in case and replaced all the old gravel in the tank.. i bought a new filter cartridge and a new bio wheel for the main tank .. and now i installed an undergravel water filter and a powerhead on the main and quaranteen tank.. thanks for your help.. ill post in the future on how the fish is doing..

also.. just out of curiousity ... a few months ago this fan tail had a broken swimbladder.. so i bought some medicine that didnt work.. i found a trick on the net that said to feed the fish peas..but the fish wouldnt get the pea.. it wouldnt even go near it... the fish is all better now.. i just gave it some time and it healed from the broken swim bladder..im just curious and want to know a little more just in case..




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Followup To

Question -
hello karen.. i am deeply concerned about my baby fantail... ive had it for 5 months now.. and for the past month it has been going through fin rot.. ive been through an entire 24 capsule maracyn 2 and the fish has been fin rotting.. ive been searching up the net and found something called fin rot surgery.. ive been considering it.. but i am hesitating until i get professional advice.. should i do the surgery ? or do u recommend another month of medication?

the surgery is when u snip or the rotten parts of the fish.. u wrap the fish in a wet towel with stress coat and u apply hydrogen peroxide on the area u cut..

please help me out
-concerned and scared ..

Answer -
Dear Kelvin,
I don't think I would do the fin-rot surgery. It sounds to me like it is far too risky especially for fish not under anesthetic and it could cause the little fantail a good bit of pain...

It's very important when treating fish for finrot to insure the exact cause of it is eradicated during medication treatment. Finrot is a bacterial infection as you know that is caused primarily by dirty gravel or poor water conditions. Not treating the actual causes can only prevent medication from working properly. Insure the aquarium your fantail is in is absolutely clean. *I would use an aquarium siphon vacumm and thoroughly siphon the gravel while -draining the aquarium down to the fantail's dorsal fin-. You must be sure the make the replacement water equal in temperature to that of your aquarium and insure it dechlorinated well everytime with a water conditioner. I would do these massive water changes everyday along with medication. I might switch to melafix/aquarium salt treatment. Add the salt half a dose in the morning and another half a late evening to gradually get your little fantail goldfish adjusted to the salt.

Daily massive water changes and salt/melafix treatment should help. I would start this treatment as soon as possible.

Feel free to let me know how your little fantail is doing if you don't mind.
I really hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Karen~


Answer -
Kelvin,
I'm worried that the actions you took with the quarantine aquarium may be trouble in the future. I truly know you meant well. But replacing the gravel, filter cartridge and biowheel means you have completely depleted the beneficial bacterial colony that is so vital for a healthy aquarium. What I am afraid of is you could start getting high ammonia and nitrite levels. Something your little fantail certainly doesn't need. Try to test your water everyday as a caution, you could use a ammonia and nitrite neutralizing product such as Amquel or Prime but remember the best remedy is massive water changes. I just thought I'd give this warning to you so you wouldn't be left in the dark. ;-)

Swim bladder-
Well, this is a very tricky problem. Fantail goldfish as well as other fancy goldfish are very suceptible to swim bladder problems because of their odd shape. Swim bladder disorder as you know causes the poor fish to loose total equilibrium, he may float uncontrolably at the top, sink to the bottom, or even float unpside down beyond his will.
Swim bladder problems is most often caused by incorrect diet....Which leads to constipation and other things. I have found goldfish fed a high quality and varied diet seem to never get this problem. Water quality also plays a role. Good water quality including lots of very frequent water changes does wonders in all fish health and well-being. I don't think there is any better prevenative out there against fish disease than water changes. Of course diet plays a crucial role as well.

Should your fish ever develop swim bladder. I have learned that it does the fish very well to have them in a what is called a "net breeder" originally created for livebearers to drop their fry in safe surroundings. But in real fact it is a square plastic frame with soft fine netting over. Putting a swim bladder troubled fish in the net breeder keeps the little fish from exhausting himself by trying to keep upright or stable in the main aquarium due to the currents, other fish, or even trying to get at food. It could be comparable to a "hospital bed" There the poor fish can rest and recover, at first they may not accept peas. But you should NEVER give up on them. Far too many people decide to give up on a fish. But truth be told, I know a caring aquarist named whom had a Oranda named Mopsy who had swim bladder problems for 2 months and with patience and good care, Mopsy amazingly got better.

Well, I really hope this helps! And I wish you the best with your fantail!! Does he/she have a name? ;-)
Best wishes,
Karen~


Answer
Hi There Kelvin!
I love nothing more than to hear reports of how well a fish has gotten better after being ill for so long!
It's good to know I helped save that little Fantails tail--and her life!

I'm glad she also got over Swim bladder trouble. ;-)

Well, I wish you only the very best~! Obviously you are a very caring fish owner!
Best wishes,
Karen~