One of my leaf fish has some sort of bacterial infection that is eating away the flesh on his fins. I have him isolated in my display. Is there a chance that this will spread to other fish in the tank? He won't eat, so I can't medicate. Is there any chance he can recover without medication? Should I just put him out of his misery?
Are Bacterial Infections Contagious
- Thread starter nmprisons
- Start date
Steven Pro
New member
If it won't eat, I would move it to a quarantine tank and add an antibiotic to the water.
Bacterial infections can be contagious, but they usually only spread under certain conditions. A fish can become infected due to physical damage (nets are one of the leading culprits, but parasites can also damage them as can other fish), water quality issues, poor diet, stress, etc.
Bacterial infections can be contagious, but they usually only spread under certain conditions. A fish can become infected due to physical damage (nets are one of the leading culprits, but parasites can also damage them as can other fish), water quality issues, poor diet, stress, etc.
will the antibiotic hurt my corals (only zoanthids and soft corals) or kill the good bacteria on my live rock?
I don't have a quarentine tank ... could I put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons of tank water, some live rock from the tank and an airstone for a few hours and medicate that water?
I don't have a quarentine tank ... could I put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons of tank water, some live rock from the tank and an airstone for a few hours and medicate that water?
Steven Pro
New member
I prefer to use an aquarium for quarantine as making observations in a bucket or other plastic container is extremely difficult. I also don't like to use liverock. Instead, I am a big fan of air-driven sponge filters. If you have to set it up in a hurry, I would try Marineland's Bio-Spira as a good bacteria culture.
Your local K-mart or Walmart will have cheap 10 gallon tanks. Even a bad pet store usually sells sponge filters and small air pumps.
After your done treatment on your leaf fish and the quarintine tank has been cleaned out you can start qt'ing your corals before some other problem is introduced to the tank.
Carl
After your done treatment on your leaf fish and the quarintine tank has been cleaned out you can start qt'ing your corals before some other problem is introduced to the tank.
Carl
