just seems to go from bad to worse... after 3 weeks of treating with melafix, the 4 fish are no better. I went to the vets yesterday and got some antibiotics, which you bath them in for 20 mins a day for 3 days - then call him and see what to do next....

Thank goodness you got some antibiotics - you should hopefully see some improvement. What kind did you get?

To be honest loz - IMHO melafix does diddly squat to anything that needs special care. It may help if a fish scratches itself but not much more.

Have you completed the first round of meds yet?

no jen, day two today (call vet again monday) they are called, Metronidazole.

i agree, melafix seem to only work for the minor, or very early stages...

Gordon (goldfish), started as fin rot, perry (small blue shubunkin) started as very small ulcer, Dec (blue shubunkin) again fin rot & kevin (big shubunkin) had gill rot, fin rot, and now fungus... but look at them now...

vet says he does have another antibiotic i can try if this don't work, but it is very strong!

just googled the med...

What is metronidazole (me troe NI da zole)?
• Metronidazole is an antibiotic. It fights bacteria in your body.
• Metronidazole is used to treat infections such as abdominal infections, skin and tissue infections, bone and joint infections, gynecologic infections, and respiratory tract infections.

yeah - they look so poorly

Metronidazole is great for stubborn cases of lesions - it's used especially in cases on hole in the head disease, so hopefully it'll do its work well. It also treats humans for what you mentioned above and is packaged as Flagyl. It's a strong med to cure many internal bacterial maladies.

Have you seen any improvement at all? How are they acting? Can you feed them any medicated food? Although I think you face the same problems we do in Australia, they're hard to come by

Was the other antibiotic your vet mentioned baytril?

no, no med food that i can find in UK, and my supply of medi-gold has run out.

they are still swiming about and eatcin fine.... not had there med today yet... did it about 5pm yesterday, so same today i think, they don't like being moved from tank to tank... but i have to...

he didnt say whay it was called, and he would have to check it out as 1 fish med has recently been banned as it is really dangerous!

he mention 1 i may have to inject them with! and may have to swab the dead skin off too....

gawd knows how much this will all cost, i didn't even ask... they have opened me an account..

Yeah, I have an account at my vet also and when the bill comes in each time? Oh the pain....

I've a feeling the injectable med he's talking about is baytril - something I now keep in my fish meds cabinet at all times.

The first time I had to inject one of my bigger fish (he wasn't responding to anything else) I was an absolute mess but with the helpful instructions from my vet, it became easy (admittedly, i almost fainted the first time ). It's about the only way - other than medicated food - that a fish can get immediate help.

Swabbing the dead skin off? I don't envy you that task especially as it's a fair bit different than swabbin fins with iodine. Wish I was there so I could come over and help you.

I'm praying the metronidazole works quickly and please loz, post back after the next bath. I'm hoping it goes well

thanks jen, wish you were here too, i am dreading having to do injections & swabs... i'll be a wreck... i know mum wont do it, and i think dad may be a bit heavy handed.... yes lets pray the metronidazole works, i'll take some pictures today as well, so i can see how much it's working...

Ohh Good luck making your fishies better. How is the metronidazole doing? I know thats a good tough anti-biotic. I really hope it works for you and I hope your vet doesn't charge you a fortune.

Good Luck with the treatment Loz...will be crossing my fingers for you

Thanks Guys

nichjake, they get the second treatment today..... so i'll post back when they ahve had their bath.

Good luck Loz!

Good Luck! I have faith they will pull through

Thank you both

they have just had today's bath, i think Gordon looks a bit better (goldfish) not sure if perry does (small shubunkin with big ulcers). i'm taking pictures everyday to see if there is improvment....

I think it may be a few days before perry starts to improve although if his ulcer isn't getting any bigger - that's a massive plus.

Maybe you may only need to inject perry if he shows now improvement in the next couple of days? And that's great that gordon is looking a little better

How long did the vet say to look out for any improvement? What about dec and kevin? Any improvement there? Has the fungus started to disappear yet?

vet said no improvemnt by monday, then there wont be and he would get the other med.

Kevins fungus bit looked a hint less, ant's fins looked same i reckon.

I have to call vet monday let him know how they are, and if i need any other meds, the antibiotics will only last today then i'm out, i only had enough for 3 days. he did say the perry may need to have a swab to get rid of dead skin.

let you know how they are after todays bath

oh lozza i really hope they do get better
i dont know what to suggest

thanks tink, nothing to be suggested now, last resort was vets/antibiotics, so *fins crossed*

My fingers, toes & fins are crossed loz, they really are

okay last bath today...

oh Lozza
im so sorry

Right, i need to decide now if it looks better or worse......

it is so hard to tell........









what do you think?????

To be honest loz - I see some improvement but not enough to feel comfortable the meds are working as well as they could. I think Kevin and Dec are looking less red but Gordon and Perry still look a bit concerning.

Don't be discouraged though loz - if your vet can supply you with some baytril/or other injectable - it'll go straight to the heart of the bacteria. What time do you have to ring him?

Just be as patient as you cna, most anti-biotics take ten days to start seeing thier effects. Hang in there...

ta guys.... mum is going in at 9am, about hour an half, she has got photos from all 3 days, and what i have told her - slight improvment, but not a great deal.... the vet said if there is no improvment within 3 days, he doubts there will be.... so i think i'll be getting another med....

let you know how i get on

good luck Lozza.
i think there may be slight improvement in kev and Dec...
hang in there huni

okies, got the same antibiotics for 5 days and some iodine to swab.... *fins crossed*

5 days - well that's more like it

3 days wasn't a whole lot. Are they faring well?

seem to be, they didn't like the iodine at all... not impressed.... but it is for their own good. They certainly seem more active, and hungry!! even after the stress of iodine & bath, they ate the pellets fast! Which is nice....

so hopefully, 8 days in total should do the trick!

It sounds as though they are finally on the mend <woo hoo> . The extremeties are the last to heal - but it sounds to me as though the internal infection is being taken care of - especially if they're wolfing down their food with gusto. That's such great news loz.

Now I hope you have your camera ready.... can't wait to see pics of their progress

ooo yes the camera is too hand every day, figured it's the only way i can really see it work..... today:

Am I seeing some improvement in Gordon too? It's not nearly as angry looking now is it?

What do you think loz?

Perry's definitely looking better though

seems to be yeh.... i hope so..... i hope this works i really do.... promise to keep up with progress... sant post todays picts, but will tomorrow and firiday

oh gawd.... i'm at work, mum just called - perry is resting on the bottom of the vat, hardly moving..... i told her to get extra airation into the water... i dunno what else to do - i'll be going home at lunchtime to check on him - 3 & 1/2 hours away that......

Oh loz - I hope he's just resting. Post back as soon as you know.

Is there a plan b? I guess what i'm asking is whether the vet would be open to injecting antibiotics?

I showed your pics to my best chum who is a vet and then asked what she would do - I sort of knew what she'd say and that was she'd inject to treat the internal bacterial problem - as it tends to be more precise at treating the underlying cause.
Bathing can be very successful depending on the problem but getting a fish to ingest medicines tends to show more results.

Hopefully he is just resting and it's a false alarm - i'm certainly praying so.

Thanks for the support Jen, Perry was dead by the time i got home.

I was obviously too late in getting the antibiotics to him. *fins crossed* Gordon, Dec & Kevin pull thru.

I’ll keep you updated.

Aww no loz thats a shame, maybe his infection was too much. Perry

Lozza huni im so sorry
you did everything you couold

Oh sweetheart....I am so sorry......hugs to you. You worked so hard at this....hang in there.

thanks guys..... i really hope the other 3 get thru this....

I am so sorry about Perry.

Oh no loz - i'm so very sorry

How are Gordon, Dec and Kevin today? I'm praying they continue to improve

they seem okay, they have had there bath... been swimming about... gordon's back looks better today... hopefully they are on the up....

thank you guys for the support, means a lot....