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He had been treated with Maracyn, Maracyn 2, Melafix and Maroxy.

None of the treatments did any good. Water quality was immaculate (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate) and the ram was the only "aggressive" fish in the tank, the rest were cardinals and SAE's, so that rules out a fight.

Not that it matters, he died a few days after my last post on this thread. Someone else had suggested Flex...

It's a real crime that Blue Rams are never in great shape from the LFS, since they are such a good looking fish with interesting behaviour.

I know this is an old post, but I only just found your site and I just looked at the picture of that Ram. I wonder if it was Hole In The Head Disease? Rams are very susceptible to it and it will come up like white patches like that, and spread as described. Just a thought, might help in the future? Hope you don't mind me dropping in... a little late I know

when you think you have the best conditions running for your fish,some malady strikes..

I see what your saying..and I have done the same doses for a fish myself,and the water changes,air stone etc..
sry we couldnt help..

Just to clarify.

First dose was Maracyn and Maracyn2 at recommeded doses for 5 days. A water change and activated carbon for a couple of days while under observation. Problem persisted, so then I combined recommeded doses of Melafix and Maroxy for 5 days.

An airstone was run in the tank to ensure good oxygen levels, and nitrogen levels were monitored very closely to ensure the biological filter was not being affected and that there wasn't any additional build up of ammonia.

..Some fish are very sensitive to meds..
your fish in particular Im not familiar with..Im going on what you said in your post..saying that you have had the fish on Maracyn and Maracyn 2, maroxy..I think fungus cure and Melafix..
Im not a expert but was told and think it is possible as well that a fish can die with a overdose of meds,..now I dont know what water changes were done in between?..I think It takes a toll on the fishes slim coat..meds are aborbed in through the skin of the fish..and a tank full of medication for a long period also takes oxygen away in the water for the fish..
sry didnt mean to get you upset....wish we could have figured out what it was..
but I do know that pop-eye and and most fungus is due to bad water conditions..there are some exceptions.

P.S. This was not a wound. I went away for the weekend, and when I had returned, the white stuff had spread to another location on top of his head, completely detached from the whiteness around his eye.

And to clarify, he did have pop eye originally. His eye protruded out quite severely, but the Maracyn/Maracyn 2 treatment had brought his eye back to normal, although the white was still there.

How are antibotic agents going to kill a fish?

I'm sure Mardel and other companies are well aware of the fact that their products are going to be used to "treat" fish that may other wise be fine ("My fish is looking a little pale, it must be disease!" fishkeepers are sure to be out there).

You can't tell me that a health fish, exposed to recommended doses of Maracyn, Maracyn 2 or Maroxy (not that I used them concurrently even though Mardel says it is safe to do so) would die from medication.

sounds like the med killed him in the end..using a strong med like you did, before you realy diagnosed the problem.
Melafix first, then sit for a few days..and water changes in between meds..whether it being maroxy,maracyn,melafix.

sry bout' your loss..

Than I stand corrected Sand...

The Amazon Nut...

to Dafishman:actually Quick cure has Malachite green and Formalin in it. Both are used for fungus.

"Malachite green, an N-methylated diaminotriphenylmethane dye, has been widely used as the most efficacious antifungal agent in the fish farming industry"
"The filamentous fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112 metabolized the triphenylmethane dye malachite green with a first-order rate constant of 0.029 mol h1 (mg of cells)1. Malachite green was enzymatically reduced to leucomalachite green and also converted to N-demethylated and N-oxidized metabolites, including primary and secondary arylamines. Inhibition studies suggested that the cytochrome P450 system mediated both the reduction and the N-demethylation reactions."
" formulin-based medication for fish destroys parasites, bacteria and fungus."

This is why quick cure says on the bottle that it cures "parasites,.. etc"


[span class="edited"][Edited by Sand 2004-05-02 19:56][/span]

If it is, why hasn't dosing with Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to treat his popeye also helped out with the fungus.

He's not being treated with the Mardel products anymore, as he had a full dosage, but he is on Melafix. Still no improvement.

http://pages.infinit.net/bigdaddy/pics/fish/ram1.jpg
http://pages.infinit.net/bigdaddy/pics/fish/ram2.jpg

[span class="edited"][Edited by BigDaddy 2004-04-21 20:44][/span]

..I have read the post and then took a look at the pic..I rule out fungus as well..and agree with daFishMan looks like he injured himself,which in turn can still cause a fungus..treating with Maracyn,Maracyn 2 was a bit to strong a med..you should have treated with Melafix which is used for cuts, scraps,sores unknown..
what r u treating with right now?..
give it time..I have been very sucessful with Melafix.
and pls DONT raise the temp..lots of fish keepers do and I dont see the point..only when treating for a parisite you should up the temp..If this gets worse and fungus dose set in(secondary infection) the fungus will thrive on the high temp and get worse not better..

Sue

That is not pop-eye or fungus. Pop eye is a "puffy" eye, with one or both eyes swollen. The area around the eye would not be discolored.

As you notice, yours has a whitish discoloration AROUND the eye.. I have an African cichlid with the same thing on one eye.. 2 possible causes, a nitrate test showed an unsafe level (it was very high) I did a 40% water change and vacumed half the tank at same time.

2nd possible cause: Your fish hit something in the tank, causing a wound. Keeping water quality optimal will promote healing, and Melafix would help prevent any infection from settling into the wound, its an antiseptic made with natural ingredients (remove charcoal from filter during treatment) There maybe is a bully in your tank that chases your fish, leading to this type of wound.
Best of luck and I hope your fish heals !
DaFishMan







The Amazon Nut...

Sand, quick cure treats ick, not fungus..

And a salt dip treatment is a last resort treatment to be used by aquarists more experienced with fish meds/treatments, it usually involves a parasite infection of some sort.

It's great to show support for members who have sick fish, but don't suggest meds/treatments without knowing them yourself.. This can make things worse. I still have more to learn also, and when I don't know for sure what's wrong I either don't post, or just offer a supportive comment.
Hope this helps.



The Amazon Nut...

From the pictures that looks more like flesh than an external fungal/bacterial problem. Nothing I have ever seen before..

Does it look like flesh or is it a foreign growth? He has good colour, that's a good sign.

I hope he makes it!

Didn't say that, said if the Maracyn has no effect in a 10 day period, then switch to Tetracycline.

The Amazon Nut...

While he was in the hospital tank, the temp was raised to 81 F. The white inflammation still got worse with the higher temps.

Why would tetracycline be more effective than a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn 2?

It takes about 4 days for any med to start kicking in.. So you have to extend the suggested 5 day treatment for another 5 days (as it says on the box).. So 10 days..
Diseases like pop-eye don't disappear that quickly.

If your rams still have pop-eye and signs of fungus at that time, use something more appropriate such as tetracycline.

There's alot of nasty diseases hitting us members lately.
Good luck to you and hang in there.



The Amazon Nut...

It doesn't look like fungus, but I don't know what it could be. Try to raise the temperature of your aquarium, it might help alot.