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About a week ago, I noticed my platy had a sudden hole on his fin, with a white rim. I did a 25% water change and treated with Aquarium Products Anti-Fungus for Fungus and Fin Rot for four days. The white rim disappeared, and the rot did not get worse. Two days later, my platys fin rotted more, and I treated with the same medication, but it became worse, and showed up on my male guppy as well. (But not the other two) A friend then recommended melafix instead. So, put the carbon back in, did a water change, removed carbon, and started dosing with melafix. After two days, the platy's fin is already healing.

To make a long story short...Is such a quick change of medications safe? Which way do you swing for fin rot medication?

Melafix is benign enough to blend with other meds and antibiotics. Another sister tonic is Pimafix, which I believe to be stronger and more effective than melafix.

It is good to hear a success story.

Did you check parameters the second time? Maybe the biofilter was affected by the first dose and ammonia started to show. This would cause burns.

I checked the parameters the first time around, but not the second-- I suppose I just assumed the medicine had not done it's job.

EDIT: My melafix bottle says it mixes and is more effective with pimafix. If I happen to come across pimafix, I'd get it, but I've yet to see it at my LFS.

Last edited by Mogmog at 13-Feb-2005 01:30

You can get it online

Do some searches to find the cheapest one if interested.

I stand by using my Melafix and Pimafix together. They can cure so many things plus its all natural, which makes it good!!!! So the bottom line is this: "Melafix and Pimafix are the best medications!"

Thanks! I'll try to get my hands on some Pimafix. My Platy is healing just fine, but my male guppy seems to be deteriorating. He's always been on the odd side, and a little deformed, but he did well until now. He seems to be losing weight and is still losing his fins.

Today, he was at the bottom of the tank, but alive, but doing a very, very good impression of being dead.

I plan to do a 30-40% water change after the medication cycle and then redose. Does this sound like a good idea?

Last edited by Mogmog at 17-Feb-2005 15:48

My 2.5 year old male fancy (Green Cobra) guppy sits on the bottom too. His belly has gotten big, and I figure he is not long for this world. But, he has been doing this for 6 months or more. I find that what picks him up and gets him off the tank floor is a dip in a hyper saline solution - just one or two dips of the net. I did it the first time thinking he may have parasites of some type (the kind you don't see). He stopped laying on the gravel. Mine was a mixture in the form of "Dip-Away" by Aquatronics. It contained sodium chloride and merbromin (mercurochrome). I would not try to make such a mixture at home as merbromin can be deadly in the gills, so it must be a very weak mixture. I think the salt did more than anything.

You could try to make a 0.6% solution by adding 2 Tbsp to 1 gallon of water and dissolving it. You can use tank water. Dissolve the salt in hot water first with a drop of dechlor (may take overnight) and then fill something with a gallon of water and add the solution.

Catch the little guy with a net and then dip him while in the net. Don't hold him down in it. On the first day, just try one dip for about 2 seconds, then return him to the tank. I'll bet from the get go he perks right up and stays that way for a while.

He would also benefit from adding some salt to the tank. If you have cories, otos or other scaleless fish, just use 1 tsp per gallon (not 1 Tbsp). Predissolve and add gradually throughout a day or two so the scaleless fish don't have a problem with it. They can tolerate such things provided it is gradual.

Thank you for the help, but he died a few nights ago.
Now, a guppy of mine named Bubba appears to have dropsy. She's named Bubba because she's unusually large, especially when she's pregnant, but now it seems to be dropsy. (But only on her underside)

Is only partial dropsy common? I had a betta who once had dropsy only on his face.

I have an aging fancy guppy - a Green Cobra - that has a very large belly on the underside. I keep waiting for him to pinecone and he's been like that for 6 months or more. But he eats and eats and eats. If I don't put food in the tank he picks at algae all day long and still gets really big.

One sided bloat is apt to be something like a kidney problem or fatty liver. With a female, maybe even a reproductive issue. I don't know what kind of guppy it is, but I've heard from others that fancies don't live that long from inbreeding. Mine is going on 2.5 years and I think he is nearing his end.

How old is she and what kind is she (common, fancy, etc.).

Last edited by Cory_Di at 20-Feb-2005 12:13

I'm afraid I don't know what kind. The LFS I bought her from only lists them under "Assorted female guppies." She probably has been inbred, though, as the tanks at the LFS are now starting to become overstocked, and their poor babies full of defects. She was fully mature when I bought her, and I've had her for about three months.
She's beginning to pinecone on the rest of her, and not just the underside. I'm treating with Maracyn 2, and increasing the salt amount just a little, along with stress coat.