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Hi Folks , need some help here . I have a Golden Barb with a problem . Photo attached . The Tank params are as follows .
Tank 60 g Community , well stocked
Filters Eheim Pro 2 & Otto Powerhead sponge
KH 7.0
GH 9.0
PH 6.9
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10ppm
Temp 23c
I use Sera Aquatan for Chlorine and Seachems PH7 for Stability of PH . I use Seachems ferts for plants which is something new for me .About 3 weeks.

Tank has been up for 18mts and has been very stable now for 6mts . Iv'e had a group of 5 GB's for about 9mts now ,I lost my largest Golden Barb on Monday and then discovered this one . The one I lost had a hole in the side too but I couldn't tell if it was the same as this or had just been chomped on by other fish . Didn't appear to be red like this . Not sure ????
The fish itself is showing no obvious signs of distress other than he seems to be hiding a bit more than usual . Seems to be feeding as normal.

I'm have been treating the tank with Melafix for 2 days , today will be the 3rd.Seen no improvement as yet but I realise it's too soon . I'm concerned that I should isolate and treat with antibotics . From what I a can find this could be "Furunculosis" again Im not sure .

I'm thinking about isolation in a small hospital tank , increasing the temp and using Triple Sulfa . Ive never had any succsess doing this in the past so Im a bit reluctant ? Also he gets very distressed when I net him which Ive done a couple of times in the past 2 days to get a better look .

Anyone got any thoughts ?
Garry





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I think your assessment of the disease being furunculosis is dead-on. It probably is the aeromonas salmonicida strain not only because the symptoms of the fish ( namely what looks like a burst furuncular lesion) but because only similar species seem affected, and that strain is common as muck. Its also possible that you may have a carrier fish/s that do not show symptoms but spread the disease to other fish. Fish related to carps and perches, barbs included, are in the primary firing line for this bacterium.Carrier specimens are common with this infection.

Your right about treatment being troublesome too, survival rates even under treatment vary widely, and some of the best results are actually achieved in quarantine by using a mixture of sulphamerazine and oxytetracycline in combination, which is to a degree, quite dangerous to the fish. Despite the large external lesions the main damage is done to the kidney and spleen which basically explains how non systemic drugs tend to fail and the use of oxytetracycline together with other bactericides tend to work. Thankfully drugs are moving on a little and if you can get furan 2, you should be able to treat it successfully, but again, its not a "no- risk" treatment, but it is probably the most practical treatment to date.

From there on in, the treatments only get more dangerous,with oxalinic acid as a suggestion for example, so Id go with furan 2.

Dont forget to give the fish sugary and fatty treat foods to help it along, as a lot of the early deaths are caused by hypoglycaemic shock, as the bacteria causes a massive drain on bodily sugars.

Specimens that survive initial infections often aquire an immunity, and possibly become carriers if untreated, so with that in mind its possible in theory to treat a fish in QT and then reinclude it back into the community even if the tankwater still contains the bacteria without a massive risk of reinfection. If worried you can always use a little melafix to knock down some of the ambient bacteria unprotected by the fish's body to increase safety.

If you have enough related fish to warrant treating the whole tank, then do that , but be aware that the filter will suffer. Its up to you to weight the risks and choose.

Good post BTW.

Good luck.

LHG, Thanks for the quick reply . Let me see if Ive got this right .
Isolate the fish, treat with Furan 2 to manufacturer specs ,
don t' put back into main tank until visabily cured
but before I return to main tank treat in the QT with melafix for 7 days .?

Continue treating the main tank with melafix for the recommended 7 days. ?

Does that sound about right ?

Many Thanks for the advice .

Garry

Just treat the main tank with melafix while youre treating the afflicted fish in QT with furan.

Right Thanks again, really appreciate the advice , will let you know how it goes in a few days .
Garry

Hopefully all will be well,and the plan seems good for now, but I thought id better mention a note of caution here, and that is if you do plan to get more fish for that tank, it might be prudent to go for a tankwide furan treatment, I appreciate its risky on the filter, but if carrier specimens are present theres always a chance that new fish may succumb to the infection, but this is a bridge we can jump off when we come to it

Its just something to think about preparing for. A UV steriliser would also be an alternative if you have that kind of cash.

LHG , well he didn't make it unfortunately. Probably just got him too late . Only lasted about 8 hours in the Hospital tank . Thanks for your help and advice at least we had a go .

Just for your info Furan 2 has been deregistered for use in AUS . I managed to get some from an LFS I know . But not on the market for sale anymore .
Don't have enough to do main tank . Any suggestions ?

Once again thanks for your help .
Garry

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Its a shame he didnt make it, but that is a very good photograph of the symptoms.It would be a good addittion to the disease profile pics.It certainly was a large wound. Poor little fella.

If furan isnt available then I guess your stuck with oxytetracycline for a real purge, but thats always risky. Depending on whether the other fish seem affected you may not have to go ahead with that.