My new Red & White fantail (6 days) has developed some redness by the base of all fins (dorsal, pectoral, caudal & ventral). It's almost bloody looking. My fantail looks and acts fine except for this redness.

I check the water of my 20 gallon tank and the Nitrites where a bit high (0.5) so I did a 25% water change this evening.

Are the red fins a sign of an internal disease? Should I take the the fantail back to my LFS for help?

Any helps is appreciated.

Kyle

Sounds like your fish has an internal infection.Probably Aeromonas as alot of people have been having trouble with high numbers of this bacteria this year.I would suggest a 4 day treatment with fungus clear made by jungle...its important not to do water changes while its in the water for the 4 days then if it still hasnt clear up you can change 25% of the water and add another dose and the 2nd dose always works for me if the first one hadnt completely.

Fungus clear costs about 3 dollars a box.You need one tablet per 10 gallons and each box contains 8 tablets.It contains multiple antibacterial medications and is effective.Before adding the meds it is probably a good idea to do a 25% water change again even though you've done one already.

Do you have sufficient aeration?

Insufficient aeratrion causes Aeromonas bacterias to thrive quite well in aquariums.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been reading around the web and Aeromonas seems more like an ulcer or sores on a fish. The fins on my fish are not sores (yet) but are streaky through the fins only. I don't know if that makes a significant difference or not.

I have an 18" fine "bubble wall" in my tank and a power filter (for 20 gallon tanks) circulating and filtering the water. Is this enough aeration for the tank?

Should I use any medicated food during the quarrantine and where can I buy the medicated food?

Hi,
I am not an expert but it sounds like what my fish had which was burns from the nitrites. I have heard that even a slight bit above 0 can cause problems. And I experienced it.

The water change should help--maybe you will still need to add a medication.

Read the information about cycling the tank. I got all of the tests kits and started over after a disaster with 3 red caps. Some GF are more sensitive than others.

Good luck!

I meant to say that it sounds like you have plenty of air circulating in the tank.

The aeration sounds good enough.Medicated food isnt neccessary but could be used.I know many online places carry medicated food.Some local pet shops might.None of mine do though.Aeromonas are responsible for many things from ulcers to fin rot to most common ailments.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA042

This is a good article.

Those meds I suggested will work fine alone.But its up to you whether you want to use medicated food.

So I tested the water again this evening and found that the water nitrite level was still at 0.5 to 1.0 after my first 25% water change. So I performed another 25% water change and re-tested the water. The water nitrite level is still at the same level! So that basically 50% water change over the past 2 days and the nitrite level has not gone back to zero. I will do another water change tomorrow and hope that this brings the nitrite level back down again.

I'll check the cycle process again and see if I can find anymore tips on lowering the nitrite level. I'm currently on my 18th day in the cycle.

Interesting link for Aeromonas and have bookmarked that link. Here's another link that I found.

http://aquanic.org/publicat/state/il-in/as-461.pdf

I guess a visit to the vet is in order and have this checked out.

Be sure and test your tap water for nitrates.Sometimes there are noticeable levels of nitrates in tap water and this could be causing the problem of the nitrates not going down.

I did not have any nitrite problems prior to this week. I'll check tonight and post the results.

Hello I just wanted to say that I agree that this could be a problem with Nitrites... I have encountered this problem a few times... even the smallest amount in the tank can cause problems like bloody-looking streaks in fins (especially noticeable in pale colored fins). If this is the problem a few water changes should fix this problem in no time B) and the streaks should disappear noticeably in a few days. To fix my water, I changed it at about 25%-30% two days in a row, then I waited a day... then I did about a 40% change the next day and my water was perfect I don't know for sure why this happened in my tank (spike in nitrites). I do water changes weekly in my 20 gal tank with two goldfish in it. THe guy at my lfs said sometimes when temperatures remain high for a while, it will cause a spike. Good luck fixing your fishie
~jujubee

"Who hears the fish when they cry?"
~Thoreau

Thanks everyone for their help. I contacted a local veterarian who actually knew something about fish! Apparently he enlists the help of an aquatist when he needs more detailed information.

Anyway, he said that the capillaries in the fins of my fish are just enlarged due to some type of stress (undetermined since I only spoke to him on the phone vs. bring the fish in), but suspects the nitrite and ammonia spikes from the cycling of the tank. He and the aquatist recommended that I do not do any further water changes since this slows down the cycling of the tank. He said let the natural biological filter to occur (3-4 weeks in my case) and then start the gradual water changes.

The vet and aquatist did not believe my fish was suffering from Aeromonas since the fish did not have ulceration and was not showing signs of lethargy. They said to continue to monitor the water and chart the progress.

As for the fantail, I decide to put him into another tank until his current residence has finished its cycling rather than risk losing him during the process.

Keeping my fingers crossed!