Jnh178 Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) Hi there, I started noticing the scales on the side of one of my Bala Sharks start raising about a week ago. Thought maybe he got in a bit of a tussle with another fish and suffered a wound. However, it has now grown into this mess on his side. I’ve started a treatment of Melafix for a bacterial infection but I’m unsure if I see results yet. Any ideas as to what this is/what I can do to heal it? He’s acting normal and eating, but now has this on his side. Water Parameters: PH: ~7 Nitrates: ~15 Hardness:~11 Nitrites: ~.25 Ammonia: 0 (just did 50% water change, did not check before doing weekly 50% change) Water Temp: 79 Degrees Any help is appreciated, Jon Edited December 10, 2020 by Jnh178 Add photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 the scales are symptom of dropsy, its a bacterial infection. How to treat: -Does erythromycin along with aquarium salt, doing frequent water changes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnh178 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Any idea where I could get erythromycin? Is it something that any pet store has? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 39 minutes ago, Jnh178 said: Any idea where I could get erythromycin? Is it something that any pet store has? If you live in usa you can get some from the aquarium co op store. If you live in canada (like me) you cant get it anywhere because its ilegal here. Instead you could use API Melafix which can be found at most big box pet stores or amazon. If you cant get any of those meds, salt works miracles and you can use that a 1Tb per gallom ratio. (Assuming you have no live plants or invertibrates in your aquarium, if you do i would move the bala shark to a smaller aquarium with no fish in it. Keep in mind this can be like a see through storage rubbermaid if your on a budget.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnh178 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, James Black said: If you live in usa you can get some from the aquarium co op store. If you live in canada (like me) you cant get it anywhere because its ilegal here. Instead you could use API Melafix which can be found at most big box pet stores or amazon. If you cant get any of those meds, salt works miracles and you can use that a 1Tb per gallom ratio. (Assuming you have no live plants or invertibrates in your aquarium, if you do i would move the bala shark to a smaller aquarium with no fish in it. Keep in mind this can be like a see through storage rubbermaid if your on a budget.) I’ve been dosing the entire tank with Melafix for about 3 days now, but I’ve just now moved the sick bala to a hospital tank and added Epsom salt in the ratio you suggested. I will certainly be ordering the antibiotic from Co-Op, but I’m gonna check if my local pet smart has anything as well just for the sake of shipping time. I’ll let you know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 13 minutes ago, Jnh178 said: I’ve been dosing the entire tank with Melafix for about 3 days now, but I’ve just now moved the sick bala to a hospital tank and added Epsom salt in the ratio you suggested. I will certainly be ordering the antibiotic from Co-Op, but I’m gonna check if my local pet smart has anything as well just for the sake of shipping time. I’ll let you know how it goes! yeah, shipping is offly busy this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 I think the recommendation was to use aquarium salt, and not Epsom salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnh178 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 1 hour ago, quikv6 said: I think the recommendation was to use aquarium salt, and not Epsom salt. Yes, that’s what I meant. My apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnh178 Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 6 hours ago, James Black said: yeah, shipping is offly busy this time of year. He unfortunately did not make it :/. The redness and swelling quickly spread despite the antibiotic. Thanks for the advice, wish I could’ve caught it sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 18 minutes ago, Jnh178 said: He unfortunately did not make it :/. The redness and swelling quickly spread despite the antibiotic. Thanks for the advice, wish I could’ve caught it sooner. , I'm so sorry to hear that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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