Exclamation Point Help!!!

[ricbennett3]

I have nine exclamation point rasboras.

Two of them seem to be experiencing some tail malfunction.
 

I noticed it just today. One seems to have lost the fins of its tail. The other seems to have developed a hole near the tail. You can see through it (not it the blurry pic…sorry, they are tiny). 
 

I have seen them chase each other around and nip that area. Could this be something they are doing to each other? 
 

Could it be fin rot?

…something I’ve never heard of?

 

Please help. Both ate and are active like normal. No signs of stress in the others.

[nabokovfan87]

On one it does look like fin rot.  On the other it might be body rot, but the fins are ok.  It looks like (very hard to tell) some sort of wound that is infected.

What are all of your water parameters and your temperature for this fish?  When was your last water change and filter cleaning? How much water do you normally change?

Recommendation right now is going to be pretty common treatment for fin rot type of injuries.
-Aquarium salt:  1 tbsp per 2 Gallon
-Catappa leaves / botanicals: recommended for antifungal and antibacterial
-Kanaplex or Neoplex per the directions on the bottle.
----> Kanaplex is a minimum of 2 weeks
----> Neoplex is a minimum of 3 weeks


-Ich-X can be used as an anti-fungal med if you're seeing cotton like fuzzy wounds.  It's not mandatory, but it's worth mentioning in case you do not have any on hand.

[ricbennett3]

On 8/27/2023 at 3:45 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

On one it does look like fin rot.  On the other it might be body rot, but the fins are ok.  It looks like (very hard to tell) some sort of wound that is infected.

What are all of your water parameters and your temperature for this fish?  When was your last water change and filter cleaning? How much water do you normally change?

Recommendation right now is going to be pretty common treatment for fin rot type of injuries.
-Aquarium salt:  1 tbsp per 2 Gallon
-Catappa leaves / botanicals: recommended for antifungal and antibacterial
-Kanaplex or Neoplex per the directions on the bottle.
----> Kanaplex is a minimum of 2 weeks
----> Neoplex is a minimum of 3 weeks


-Ich-X can be used as an anti-fungal med if you're seeing cotton like fuzzy wounds.  It's not mandatory, but it's worth mentioning in case you do not have any on hand.

Thanks, will those meds (kanaplex) kill the plants?

I just cleaned the filter last weekend. Usually do once a month. I change about 10-20% of the water each week. 
 

I test parameters once a week. Never get Ammonia or Nitrite. Nitrates usually about 5-10ppm. I dose easy green. PH is 7.2-7.4

Temp is 77 degrees 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/27/2023 at 3:52 PM, ricbennett3 said:

Thanks, will those meds (kanaplex) kill the plants?

The only concern with plants would be the salt. Salt is pretty critical to help them given what you're dealing with. As opposed to removing them (if the tank is 20G or smaller) then I would just pull plants if you're concerned.

The other way to do that is to move the fish to a QT tank.

On 8/27/2023 at 3:52 PM, ricbennett3 said:

I just cleaned the filter last weekend. Usually do once a month. I change about 10-20% of the water each week. 

What kind of filter? Lean closer towards ,~30% as opposed to closer to the 10% to avoid something like old tank syndrome.

 

On 8/27/2023 at 3:52 PM, ricbennett3 said:

I test parameters once a week. Never get Ammonia or Nitrite. Nitrates usually about 5-10ppm. I dose easy green. PH is 7.2-7.4

Please test when you can. Having GH and KH is also helpful. This is one of most important videos I think Cory has ever made.

 

 

On 8/27/2023 at 3:52 PM, ricbennett3 said:

Temp is 77 degrees 

Should be good.

[ricbennett3]

KH and GH are both 3 and 4 degrees, respectively. 
 

The filter is a HOB with ceramic rings, a fine and coarse sponge, and a sponge on the intake. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/27/2023 at 5:07 PM, ricbennett3 said:

KH and GH are both 3 and 4 degrees, respectively. 

KH seems good.  GH, let me double check the needs there to see if that indicates anything.  Some fish need a little bit of GH for proper development.  GH should be fine.  Filtration looks good.  Tank looks fine.  There aren't any obvious issues here.

Keep us posted as far as treatment and lets hope the white sore goes away and you see the fins healing up soon.  There can be a delayed or slow response given severity.  It's often important to run the full two week treatments indicated on the kanaplex packages if you don't see any signs of stress after the first course.

Does your tap water have high KH?