Do I put him down or continue treatment?

[Thundercracker]

Update (10/30/2023): Unfortunately he passed away in the night on the 23rd. Thank you to everyone for your help.

Updated version now that I'm not as busy: "Should I put him down? I got possible causes (ammonia/nitrate burn) on a forum and have been treating him with aquarium salt and increasing dosage amount for about two weeks according to aquarium co-op salt recommendations: 1 tablespoon of salt per 3 gallons of water for one week, then 1 Tbsp of salt per 2 gallons of water when that didn't work. I didn't increase to 1 Tbsp of salt per gallon because I have dwarf frogs, but I have put him into a separate bucket today because he was being attacked by the frogs, so I am now able to treat him with the 1 Tbsp/gallon if recommended.

 

I also treated him with 1/4 teaspoon methylene blue and 1 tablespoon aquarium salt for one gallon for 30 minutes about every other day for about a week. I wanted to do one a day, but my brother goes to sleep early to go to school early so I couldn't go into his room all the time. I am also willing to do: Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of 2.303% Methylene Blue per 10 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 3 ppm. Continue the treatment for 3 to 5 days. Make a water change and replace the filter media at the conclusion of the treatment.

 

Add 5 teaspoons (24.65 ml) per 3 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 50 ppm. It is not recommended that the concentration be increased beyond 50 ppm. Place fishes to be treated in this solution for no longer than 10 seconds. Return fish to the original aquarium.

 

As a note: The methylene blue will go into the bucket and not the main aquarium.

 

Could it be something else he is also suffering from that I can treat like dropsy or something and then after I treat that I start to treat the burn again? You can look at my posts and check his before photos from before he got sick as well as when he just started to show signs of ammonia burn. I just really don't want to put him down if I don't have to.

 

It's a 20 gal. long tank with 5 guppies and 3 African dwarf frogs.

 

Measurements are in ppm

 

Iron: 0

 

Copper: 0

 

Nitrate: 10

 

Nitrite: 0

 

Chlorine: 0

 

GH: 75-150

 

Alkalinity (TA): 120

 

KH: 120

 

pH: 8-8.4

 

Ammonia: 0

 

Photos from a few weeks ago:

https://imgur.com/a/SCM04Pm"

 

Original: "Should I put him down? I got possible causes (ammonia/nitrate burn) on this forum and have been treating him with aquarium salt and increasing dosage amount for about two weeks according to aquarium co-op salt recommendations up to the one where it says a certain amount of salt for two gallons, the second step (I don't remember; I'm super busy and don't have time to check). I also started to treat him with 1/4 teaspoon methylene blue and 1 tablespoon aquarium salt for one gallon about every other day for about a week. I wanted to do one a day, but my brother goes to sleep early to go to school early so I couldn't go into his room all the time.

Could it be something else he is also suffering from that I can treat like dropsy or something and then after I treat that I start to treat the burn again? You can look at my posts and check his before photos from before he got sick as well as when he just started to show signs of ammonia burn."

Edited October 30, 2023 by Thundercracker
I added a few more details and a list of the images from about a month ago

[Colu]

Little more information would be helpful what are your water parameters ammonia nitrite nitrate pH KH GH temperature how long has he had torn fins 

[Thundercracker]

On 10/22/2023 at 4:21 PM, Colu said:

Little more information would be helpful what are your water parameters ammonia nitrite nitrate pH KH GH temperature how long has he had torn fins 

I believe that the torn fins might be from the other animals in the tank because I saw one of the females go behind and nip at his tail. I also saw one of the frogs bite him yesterday and today. Today's attack by the frog was pretty bad because he wasn't really able to swim well. In the photo he's arched kind of like a cane and he swims in that position as well.

I think he's had torn fins for about one and a half weeks, I hadn't really noticed until just now.

 

Iron: 0 ppm

 

Copper: 0 ppm

 

Nitrate: 10 ppm

 

Nitrite: 0 ppm

 

Chlorine: 0 ppm

 

GH: 75-150 ppm

 

Alkalinity (TA): 120 ppm

 

KH: 120 ppm

 

pH: 8-8.4

 

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Edited October 23, 2023 by Thundercracker
Added water parameters

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/22/2023 at 2:04 PM, Thundercracker said:

Could it be something else he is also suffering from that I can treat like dropsy or something and then after I treat that I start to treat the burn again? You can look at my posts and check his before photos from before he got sick as well as when he just started to show signs of ammonia burn. I just really don't want to put him down if I don't have to.

I don't think you need to.

The raised scales looks like slime coat to me and should resolve itself over time. If it doesn't then it can be a bacterial issue and you would just use meds to treat that.

On 10/22/2023 at 5:50 PM, Thundercracker said:

I believe that the torn fins might be from the other animals in the tank because I saw one of the females go behind and nip at his tail. I also saw one of the frogs bite him yesterday and today. Today's attack by the frog was pretty bad because he wasn't really able to swim well. In the photo he's arched kind of like a cane and he swims in that position as well.

Yeah. That's unfortunate. Reducing stress is going to be critical to recovery here. I would move the fish to a tank by itself, use a breeder box, or move the frogs out.

If you see more permanent damage, then you'd want to take more photos and potentially use a different treatment course.

With regards to the swim behavior, if you can please try to get a video.

Having some sort of floating cover, hardscape, or plants may help as well to ease the fish from being stressed out.

[Colu]

What I do is a course of maracyn2 in food feeding a small amount twice a day for 7 days just in case there's a bacterial component if he's not eating then I would dose the tank with maracyn2 

[Thundercracker]

On 10/23/2023 at 2:10 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I don't think you need to.

The raised scales looks like slime coat to me and should resolve itself over time. If it doesn't then it can be a bacterial issue and you would just use meds to treat that.

Yeah. That's unfortunate. Reducing stress is going to be critical to recovery here. I would move the fish to a tank by itself, use a breeder box, or move the frogs out.

If you see more permanent damage, then you'd want to take more photos and potentially use a different treatment course.

With regards to the swim behavior, if you can please try to get a video.

Having some sort of floating cover, hardscape, or plants may help as well to ease the fish from being stressed out.

Here is a swimming video: https://imgur.com/a/ExmF3Rq

Here is another video and some pictures: https://imgur.com/a/wiirIQs

 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/23/2023 at 5:29 PM, Thundercracker said:

Here is a swimming video: https://imgur.com/a/ExmF3Rq

Here is another video and some pictures: https://imgur.com/a/wiirIQs

Looks like a spinal injury.  I'm very sorry. 

[Thundercracker]

Aw man, I was thinking the same thing when I saw him.

[Colu]

Long fin Guppies are prone to scoliosis and other spinal deformity that doesn't look good if you think he's suffering then I would humanely euthanize him with clove oil  @Thundercracker

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/23/2023 at 9:32 PM, Colu said:

Long fin Guppies are prone to scoliosis and other spinal deformity that doesn't look good if you think he's suffering then I would humanely euthanize him with clove oil  @Thundercracker

Video of a similar process. Sometimes it is the best way, to prevent further suffering. I like the airstone idea @Colu

I have also used baking soda instead of clove oil, on some occasions.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea