RTG scales rotting ?- need help

godfreylang

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2013
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I agree with the first two guys You need to do water changes and the flag tail Is probabley sucking the slime coat of your arow so I would move the flagtail and add extra salt I Hope it gets better but if you do not move the other fish until it has a chance to heal I do not think it will get better,I say this from experience i had my flagtail kill fish in my tanks before the same way
tks noelfishland. good idea to remove the flagtail to be sure. did a water change and put salt in the tank today. however i noticed that some red are showing up from the bottom of the scales. Anyway, still relieved that its probably not bacterial or fungal infection and hope the water change fixes the problem. The flagtail could be the culprit. In case my RTG survives, can I still put the flagtail back later in the tank ? I see in the net that a lot of people has a flagtail swimming with their aros without any problems.
 

Bderick67

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Aug 18, 2006
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Arowana and flagtail would have to be in quite an abnormal positions for it to be a case of the slime being sucked. Not to mention a heathy arowana is not going to just sit by and let the flagtail suck on it. Highly unlikely the flagtail has anything to do with it.

Look like scales that may have been dislodged and are dead but did not fall off. I would try removing the scales if they are loose, then treat the remaining wound accordingly.
 

godfreylang

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2013
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Philippines
Arowana and flagtail would have to be in quite an abnormal positions for it to be a case of the slime being sucked. Not to mention a heathy arowana is not going to just sit by and let the flagtail suck on it. Highly unlikely the flagtail has anything to do with it.

Look like scales that may have been dislodged and are dead but did not fall off. I would try removing the scales if they are loose, then treat the remaining wound accordingly.
I removed the flagtail just in case. I also doubted the flagtail first because i too thought that the bigger arowana will just not allow itself to be sucked. However I saw one time the flagtail sucking the wound part of the arowana but it was just like a quick one second touch which made me think of the flagtail as suspect. I already did a water change and added salt yesterday and it seems that the rot is not spreading anymore. However there is a clearer wound on the edges now that the scales are rotting back and exposing the skin underneath. I still dont have clear proof that the flagtail is the culprit. I am still thinking if i can add the flagtail when the arowana heals. do you think this is a good idea ?

tks ....
 

godfreylang

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2013
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guys, just an update ... the scales are starting to peel away showing the skin underneath. it is starting to look more serious as the pink skin is starting to show ... I hope that this is part of the healing process but i am not sure. any input will be highly appreciated as I am really hoping my aro recovers from this ...





Tks a lot guys ....
 

godfreylang

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2013
105
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31
Philippines
Only time will tell. How is he doing? Did you check the water parameters?
added stresscoat to the tank yesterday. I think the wound is slowly drying up now ... the red is not so red anymore.. slightly pinkish now ... i really feel that the stresscoat is actually helping it heal ... the only casualty now is the flagtail which i removed from the tank to be safe and transferred it to another tank with a smaller rainbow shark in it. I thought the smaller rainbow will not touch the bigger flagtail but i guessed it stressed out the flagtail and it just turned upside down one day ...

aro has a bigger appetite now although it started rejecting the usual sw's and now devours crickets !

thanks for asking and thanks to those who helped me with my aro problem ... really appreciate it guys ....
 

FJB

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2017
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Happy the aro is improving. Bummer and sad about the flagtail. A pity.
I have never had an issue with my flagtail, but I know of other people who have expressed about different experiences.
 
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