Unknown territory!

[krichardson]

.....and this is my go-to for treating fish wounds.

It's topical so you'll have to capture the fish and apply it directly onto the wound......and,agreed on the use of some sort of divider until the wound heals. I wasn't aware that balas could be such pickers!

 

[Sassafras]

Since the general consensus of the respondents to this thread seems to be that Melafix is ineffective, this may not be of value to you, but for those who use it with larger tanks, Melafix for aquariums and Melafix for ponds are often the same price for equal amounts. Melafix pond is 5% Melaleuca oil while the aquarium version is 1% Melaleuca oil-same active ingredient, different concentrations. Just use the pond version, adjust the dosage as appropriate and save 80% of the cost.

 

[esoxlucius]

Since the general consensus of the respondents to this thread seems to be that Melafix is ineffective, this may not be of value to you, but for those who use it with larger tanks, Melafix for aquariums and Melafix for ponds are often the same price for equal amounts. Melafix pond is 5% Melaleuca oil while the aquarium version is 1% Melaleuca oil-same active ingredient, different concentrations. Just use the pond version, adjust the dosage as appropriate and save 80% of the cost.

It's funny you should mention that because the two 1890ml bottles I ordered are the pond version, and yes, cheaper than the usual stuff. But if this stuff is crap anyway then either way it's a waste of money!

I honestly think that once temporarily divided I won't need any meds. He's healed perfectly well in the past with no meds at all.

The last thing I need to be doing is actually getting him out of the water and manhandling him to apply cream and bandages. He'll go berserk!

 

[Fishman Dave]

Had to do similar with koi ulcers in the past and yes it’s a right pain. Had to use knock out drops, swab and dab areas, apply ointments and then apply coating agents to the wounds like powders that set. If you can barrier off it will be a pain but nothing like as bad!
The other product to look for with barriers is the chicken wire, they do a completely plastic version for round plants in the garden, great for cordoning off or with some tie wraps creating a big mesh basket from.

 

[esoxlucius]

Well, it's done. My polycarbonate divider is fixed in place, tank is roughly split in two now. The divider is on a diagonal from the back wall to the front viewing panel. I could have done a straight 90° angle from front to back but it would have meant cutting more off, and I was fed up as it was drilling all the holes in it.

It took a bit of tinkering about and securing in place with bricks/stones at the bottom, and zip tied to the canopy at the top. All five balas now on the right, RTGG to the left. He's also got my filament barbs for company!

Given time I'm confident his injury will heal perfectly well now, but it could be a few weeks given the state of it.

Below, a couple of pics of the progress from the original PC sheet to getting it fixed in place.

 

[esoxlucius]

It is with an extremely heavy heart I write this post. My big guy passed last night. It was quite a shock really because he looked like he was making some progress too. The divider and regular partial water changes seemed to be helping but he wasn't eating, which was my main concern.

I was giving him a tickle around 7pm last night and when I went in the fish room at 11pm to turn the light off on my hex tank I saw him on the bottom of the 360 belly up.

This has knocked the stuffing out of me for sure and this will be my last post for a good while. I need to re-evaluate a few things.

This is Esox, signing off!

 

[jjohnwm]

I am so sorry to read this, Esox! When I saw the thread back at the top again I immediately assumed it would be an update describing how that fish had bounced right back and was 100% again. This is a shocker. And, unlike some members, you are not a professional fish-killer, so you haven't developed the thick skin that makes this easier to bear.

Sadly, stuff like this just happens sometimes, not only with fish but even with people. No point in dwelling upon what you might have done or should have done; if there's a lesson here I think it's just that there's a lot of stuff we can't foresee or control.

I hope we see you back soon.