Sick Copperband butterfly

Question
Dear Jennifer, my Copperband butterfly is sick. It has been happy hanging around the tank.  It has eaten.  I heard it was tough to feed but I saw it eat 2 small shrimps.  Today it was not hanging out at it normal place.  It was near the top of the water. The water conditions were tested and are fine.  I took it to my hospital tank and observed it carefully. It has little red marks on parts of the body, both sides ..almost as though it was bitten, it's fins seem good. the tail has a little bite mark.  Are the red marks disease or bites? seems like blood. How should I treat it? Meds? I only have Melafix at home at this moment. What should be my next step?  The hospital tank is dark. I heard that it should be dark.  Hope you can help me save my Copperband. I love that thing.

thanks.
Vu

Answer
Hi there Vu. It sounds like your fish is suffering from bacterial septicemia. When bacteria get into the blood stream and are not dealt with by the fishes' defenses, bacterial septicemia results. Red streaks show up on fins and/or body which may later lead to ulcerations, fin and tail rot and liver and kidney damage resulting in death. It sounds like you caught it in time and you may want to start a treatment of antibiotics in your hospital tank. I do not usually recommend the use of antibiotics but this infection is internal and the fish will most likely not make it if treatment is not put into action. There are cases of the fish fighting this infection with its own immune system but this bacterial infection can proceed rather quickly if left untreated and you can use an antibiotic in conjunction with boosting the fishes' immune system to make a quicker recovery. To help boost the immune system of your fish keep it in a low stress environment, keep your water quality as pristine as humanly possible and provide him with the proper nutrition. Good antibiotics to use for this are kanamycin,  erythromycin, or gentamycin. Try using these in a food soak rather than in the water itself. Mix one 250 mg capsule with about 1 ounce of food. Feed at least twice daily for up to two weeks.(do not stop treatment earlier than two weeks even if the fish seems healed) If the fish is not eating very good you can use it in the water at a rate of 50-100 mg per gallon repeating treatment every 3 days. All carbon would need to be removed if using directly in the tank but everything can remain the same if using it in the food. The food method is a much better choice especially since the fish is not in the later stages of the infection. Keeping the tank dark is a good idea because it keeps the fish calmer but if left in the dark at all times it will not eat. You should just keep the tank dimly lit not completely dark. If you can't get ahold of any antibiotics right away just keep the fish in the hospital tank until you can and keep the water quality good and his nutrition high. These fish are very prone to diseases and this is not an uncommon one for him. I am so glad to hear the concern! I know that you truly care for your fish and that is what I am all about. We need to take the best care we can with our ocean dwellers and I can tell from your concern that you do. I hope your butterfly gets well soon!