HClH2OFish
New member
Hi all,
Our beloved bow-tie damsel, Priscilla, has come down with the most virulent case of fin/body rot I've ever heard of and I need info. She is 8-9 years old and about 4-5" long. Her tail has completely fallen off and she has lost approx. 1/2" of her body area in a semicircle by where her tail was. Imagine taking a bite out of a fish and that's what her back end looks like, to the point of her spine being exposed with some ribs. I need to know if my fish has any chance of recovering or if I should euthanize her. Here's the reason I haven't taken that route already - she isn't showing any major signs of distress other than not eating. She is still swimming just fine, comes out and interacts with me when I come by, her color is still fine, no red/bloody streaks as normally associated with fin rot. Today I noticed the exposed skin has darkened in color and the exposed spine appears to have fallen/dissolved/broken away. Approx. 1/8-1/4" is still exposed.
Tank data -
20g saltwater tank, Tetra filter, approx. 25lb live rock, 1/8"-1/4" sand bottom. Setup since August of 2009 (live rock approx. 7-8 years - all stock/rocks xferred from Phoenix to Annapolis, MD via RV in Rubbermaid containers with airstones)
50-75% water changes are done with PetCo Real Ocean approx. once a month. Top offs done with distilled water as needed. Glass top on tank, 20" Coralife light.
Only one fish - 9 year old bow-tie Damsel. Other inhabitants - Mushroom coral (5-6" dia) small patches of bubble algae, various anemones (likely aipstasia) from 1/4" to 1-1/2"
My fiancee discovered on Sunday that our damsel looked like her tail had been chewed. She had been fine just that Friday - neither of us noticed anything amiss with her when we fed her in the morning or when we got home from work (she likes seeing what's going on in the kitchen when we feed our dogs) I checked and her entire tail, including about 1/2 inch of her body looked translucent white and 'dissolved looking' for want of a better word. Almost like tapioca, but pure white. Her tail was almost completely disconnected and hanging by a small amount of flesh.
I immediately performed a 90-95% water change, including removal/cleaning of all live rock in tank water (shook the rocks out and sprayed down with turkey baster to remove detritus) Unfortunately none of the pet stores had Maracyn or Maracyn II so I began dosing with Lifeguard and Melafix. Oh, I did discover that her heater appeared to be functioning intermittently - I replaced it with a 50w heater at this time.
The next day her tail had fallen off completely but it didn't appear the affected area was spreading. I have continued the Lifeguard dosing, and reduced the amount of Melafix)
I received my Maracyn and Maracyn II today and immediately began dosing with this (today was last day for Lifeguard) I also received Finquel in case we need to euthanize her.
So....am I kidding myself with continuing treatment? Is it possible for her to even recover when her skeleton was/is exposed? I've found zero information online regarding body rot of this type or this extreme and what I have found is only relating to goldfish or bettas.
And please - if I've done anything wrong with this tank, please keep the flames to a minimum. I'll gladly answer any criticism but right now we're interested in the well-being of our fish.
Our beloved bow-tie damsel, Priscilla, has come down with the most virulent case of fin/body rot I've ever heard of and I need info. She is 8-9 years old and about 4-5" long. Her tail has completely fallen off and she has lost approx. 1/2" of her body area in a semicircle by where her tail was. Imagine taking a bite out of a fish and that's what her back end looks like, to the point of her spine being exposed with some ribs. I need to know if my fish has any chance of recovering or if I should euthanize her. Here's the reason I haven't taken that route already - she isn't showing any major signs of distress other than not eating. She is still swimming just fine, comes out and interacts with me when I come by, her color is still fine, no red/bloody streaks as normally associated with fin rot. Today I noticed the exposed skin has darkened in color and the exposed spine appears to have fallen/dissolved/broken away. Approx. 1/8-1/4" is still exposed.
Tank data -
20g saltwater tank, Tetra filter, approx. 25lb live rock, 1/8"-1/4" sand bottom. Setup since August of 2009 (live rock approx. 7-8 years - all stock/rocks xferred from Phoenix to Annapolis, MD via RV in Rubbermaid containers with airstones)
50-75% water changes are done with PetCo Real Ocean approx. once a month. Top offs done with distilled water as needed. Glass top on tank, 20" Coralife light.
Only one fish - 9 year old bow-tie Damsel. Other inhabitants - Mushroom coral (5-6" dia) small patches of bubble algae, various anemones (likely aipstasia) from 1/4" to 1-1/2"
My fiancee discovered on Sunday that our damsel looked like her tail had been chewed. She had been fine just that Friday - neither of us noticed anything amiss with her when we fed her in the morning or when we got home from work (she likes seeing what's going on in the kitchen when we feed our dogs) I checked and her entire tail, including about 1/2 inch of her body looked translucent white and 'dissolved looking' for want of a better word. Almost like tapioca, but pure white. Her tail was almost completely disconnected and hanging by a small amount of flesh.
I immediately performed a 90-95% water change, including removal/cleaning of all live rock in tank water (shook the rocks out and sprayed down with turkey baster to remove detritus) Unfortunately none of the pet stores had Maracyn or Maracyn II so I began dosing with Lifeguard and Melafix. Oh, I did discover that her heater appeared to be functioning intermittently - I replaced it with a 50w heater at this time.
The next day her tail had fallen off completely but it didn't appear the affected area was spreading. I have continued the Lifeguard dosing, and reduced the amount of Melafix)
I received my Maracyn and Maracyn II today and immediately began dosing with this (today was last day for Lifeguard) I also received Finquel in case we need to euthanize her.
So....am I kidding myself with continuing treatment? Is it possible for her to even recover when her skeleton was/is exposed? I've found zero information online regarding body rot of this type or this extreme and what I have found is only relating to goldfish or bettas.
And please - if I've done anything wrong with this tank, please keep the flames to a minimum. I'll gladly answer any criticism but right now we're interested in the well-being of our fish.
