My monster Hrp Hulk is in trouble

[FINWIN]

Have you tested your water?

No

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

The ups and downs of fishkeeping continue. Discovered this today in the 125 by accident. Hrp Hulk has a damaged/white mouth that appears lacerated at the top. There are a few white dots on his tail in a vertical pattern, also a couple of tiny ones near the gill area. Possible beginning of tail rot. No swelling, eyes look normal. He can still move his mouth but you can see it's in poor condition. What's going on here? It's possibly from fighting the syno cat since the cat often goes into Hulk's cave and they scrap.

I did introduce some new plants last week but they were quarantined and no other fish are affected. I planned to start separating this group in the 125 this weekend.

pictures. Last w/c 4 days ago at 80%. Hulk appeared normal at the time.

 

[kno4te]

Looks like columnaris. When the mouth gets affected it’s usually very bad and too late to treat. Would move it into a quarantine tank and try kanamycin and furan2 if you want an attempt at treating the fish.

 

[FINWIN]

Looks like columnaris. When the mouth gets affected it’s usually very bad and too late to treat. Would move it into a quarantine tank and try kanamycin and furan2 if you want an attempt at treating the fish.

Thank you, I feared this. I started him on salt and Aqua-Cura (kanamycin base) for popeye, fungal, bacterial. Is there a substitute for furan 2 I can try? I have other meds while I try to get the furan 2.

 

[Deadeye]

Linking my experience with suspected columnaris:

White Growth in Jack Dempsey Mouth

Brief history: My Jack Dempsey had been refusing food for a bit, which I assumed had to do with some environmental issue (and the tetras getting it first). Eventually I managed to get him to eat and he seemed to get his food drive back, but after today’s water change I noticed a white growth...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

I don’t know for sure that’s what it was, but the white growths seemed consistent.
I was pretty resigned that the fish were all going to die so I rolled the dice and tried seachem polyguard as a last resort. The fish showed rapid improvement, and I haven’t had an issue since.
Hulk may be too far gone, but if there’s one thing about convict types it’s that they’re fighters.

Seachem - PolyGuard

www.seachem.com

 

[FINWIN]

Linking my experience with suspected columnaris:

White Growth in Jack Dempsey Mouth

Brief history: My Jack Dempsey had been refusing food for a bit, which I assumed had to do with some environmental issue (and the tetras getting it first). Eventually I managed to get him to eat and he seemed to get his food drive back, but after today’s water change I noticed a white growth...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

I don’t know for sure that’s what it was, but the white growths seemed consistent.
I was pretty resigned that the fish were all going to die so I rolled the dice and tried seachem polyguard as a last resort. The fish showed rapid improvement, and I haven’t had an issue since.
Hulk may be too far gone, but if there’s one thing about convict types it’s that they’re fighters.

Seachem - PolyGuard

www.seachem.com

Thanks you've given me a thread of hope at least...what about Nitrofurazone? (or is that another name for furan-2).

Also, how do I combine the meds per dosage? for how long?

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks you've given me a thread of hope at least...what about Nitrofurazone? (or is that another name for furan-2).

Also, how do I combine the meds per dosage? for how long?

That’s what furan 2 is. I remember trying to find nitrofurazone and it being largely prohibited…something about being a carcinogen…
I’d be wary about combining meds, sometimes they can have nasty effects when combined (not sure if this is the case for something like kanamycin and nitro though).

Another thing I’ll toss out there is that cats seem to do bad with meds. At the end of treatment, I randomly lost my raphael who showed no signs of issue before. Googling around I found similar experiences with Raphaels and antibiotics. This could be limited to doradids but worth mentioning given your syno.

 

[FINWIN]

Yeah furan-2 (by that name) is nowhere to be found around here. I may actually have polyguard on tap..

 

[phreeflow]

I got furan 2 here: https://a.co/d/05NMjvdk

I gave a full dose of Kanaplex and Nitrofurazone and that eventually took care of the columnaris but I still lost some fish. It’s a nasty illness and quickly spread to other fish.

I also lowered temps, fed sparingly, and did lots of water changes to keep bacterial growth and load down

 

[FINWIN]

I got furan 2 here: https://a.co/d/05NMjvdk

I gave a full dose of Kanaplex and Nitrofurazone and that eventually took care of the columnaris but I still lost some fish. It’s a nasty illness and quickly spread to other fish.

I also lowered temps, fed sparingly, and did lots of water changes to keep bacterial growth and load down

Odd, amazon has the full name version. So far no other fish are having any issues. I'm goint to try the Polyguard first because I'm cautious bout using carcinogen products.

 

[phreeflow]

Report back if Polyguard works for you. I’d rather use that as well if it’s effective