Bacterial/fungal infection, advice needed

[MellowReefer]

I have never encountered this type of infection on a fish before so I'm not sure I've done the right thing and hope someone can advise me on what to do next.

I ordered 4 small fish from LA and they came in almost 4 weeks ago. A cardinal, a watchman goby, a harptail blenny, and a flasher wrasse. I don't normally get so many but they had everyone I wanted in stock and I have a 30 gal long QT that's been established for a while so I thought why not. The wrasse looked weak and stressed but the others looked fine (the wrasse later died but had no symptoms of infection that I could see). The other three were all eating and healthy for about a week. After a week I noticed that the blenny's fins were ragged and a few days later he developed a white patch near his mouth about the size of a dime and continued to lose his top fin and part of his tail. I started Paraguard treatment because its supposed to treat bacterial and fungal infections. After a week of seeing no improvement in the blenny I decided to try API's Pimafix/Melafix. It's been 3 days and he's just getting worse and looks near death, hasn't eaten in almost a week now. So I decided I'm going to try Maracyn 1 & 2. I put a polyfilter and carbon in last night to try to remove the Pimafix/Melafix because it made the tank so cloudy, but this morning it still looks really cloudy. Should I do a large water change before starting the Maracyn? I just finished making the RODI and will add salt after work but would only have a few hours for mixing. Or do you think it's okay to add the Maracyn while it still looks like the Pimafix/Melafix is not completely removed.

To summarize:

Is Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2 the best option to try now?

Do I need to worry that the Pimafix/Melafix is not completely removed?

If the blenny dies before I do this and the other fish don't show any symptoms, do I still need to treat the tank? (Is it contagious like ich/crypto?)

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[MellowReefer]

Now the cardinal is not eating, so I guess it must be contagious. The blenny is lying upside down and I don't think he's going to make it. I have added another HOB filter with carbon and polyguard to try to remove the Pimafix but the water still looks cloudy and smells like the stuff. Hopefully it will clear up soon and I'll add the Maracyn 2. Probably too late for the blenny but hope it will help the other fish. Knowing that I might lose 4 fish, I am really kicking myself right now for not just ordering one at a time. So much less risk if a fish is infected with something.

 

[HumbleFish]

I would do a large WC before beginning antibiotic treatment, as you have no idea how that's going to interact with whatever is in Paraguard/Pimafix/Melafix. And for future reference, I wouldn't mess with any of that stuff (I think it's mostly "herbal" crap designed to enhance the fish's natural immune system). Which might be fine as a disease management tool in the DT. But whenever you have a fish in QT; take full advantage of that, and use only real meds.

It might be too late, but using Maracyn 1 & 2 sounds like as good a plan as any right now. Btw, if it's the f/w versions you will need to double the dosage for s/w use.

 

[MellowReefer]

I ended up just changing a few gallons because I was afraid the water hadn't mixed long enough. With two filters running carbon I hope it got enough of the other meds out. I added the Maracyn 2 last night and all fish are still alive this morning. I can't believe the blenny is still hanging in there. It looks like the infection has really damaged his mouth and even if this helps it's hard to imagine him healing fast enough so he can eat before he starves.

I am so mad at myself that I was not prepared for this and wasted time using medicine not strong enough. But now I know to have it on hand just in case it happens again.