# Should I medicate?



## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

Afternoon, I have skimmed through the product review section of the forum and cannot seem to find some true experiences related to mine as a newbie.

I have had a 55g set up since April 2014. My featherfins whiskers have recently turned white on the tips. Also noticed small dots that trail up from his mouth and around his eyes. I began deep cleaning the substrate every WC, which was every 10 days. It does not to appear to have spread anymore. I have changed my WC's to every 7 days for the second week now. One day his whiskers look to be clearing but then comes back. Trails of spots stay the same. During todays WC, I noticed my male demasoni has a tiny white fluffy spot on his bottom lip. He has also been fighting with my alpha male due to breeding behavior.

There is currently 1 yellow lab holding, 1 demasoni holding her second clutch, and 4 one inch baby demasonis. My question is, is Pimafix the product I should use in this case? And if so, will it harm the holding mothers and/or my fry?

Would like to add: For the last 2 weeks I have also turned heat up to 86*F and included the deep substrate cleaning to help rid ICH as an issue instead of a fungal issue. Reading through the forum for the last few weeks, I am leaning toward fungal? I would rather go a natural route but cannot find info on more natural cures to fungal infections.

Any advice would be helpful. I do not want to add the chemical if it is going to do more harm than good. Plus, worried about mothers/fry.

Thanks


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I'm assuming the featherfins are Synodontis eupterus catfish, correct? The demasoni injury may be related to the fighting.

What is the substrate in the tank, gravel or sand? Some catfish can have their barbels damaged by foraging in gravel since they are relatively delicate parts of the body.

Can you please post the water parameters numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? This would be helpful to know if these numbers are elevated.

Meanwhile, more frequent water changes will help to reduce the nitrates and may improve/accelerate the healing of the injuries without resorting to medications.

Is there any chance you can post a clear picture of the injured fish? This may help determine whether medication is necessary.


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## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you for the quick reply. However, my PC quit working and my phone never alerted me to your reply. My apologies.

Levels are as follows:

A-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20-40.

Yes, he is a syno. I have had him since he was about 1 - 1 1/4 inches big. I have a mix of PFS and african cichlid substrate. He has always lived with this substrate and this is the first time his whiskers have ever been affected, that i know of.

Since my post, on monday i noticed me holding female dem also popped up with some white fuzz on her upper lip. Also, my smaller dem as well just above the nose. I decided to medicate with the Pimafix with hopes I could catch an infection and treat it before it infected the entire tank. I talked with the guy I feel comfortable with at my LFS, and we discussed it seemed like a mouth fungus. I also showed him some pics from my phone. The trail of dots on my syno we are still uncertain about. He was thinking maybe just a growth pattern considering Jose (my catfish) has had these for weeks. They never spread or change in color or size. 
Tonight will be the 4th day of treating with Pimafix. As per directions, no WC until after 7 days. 
Since treating, Jose has shown some healing on his whiskers. The trails have not changed at all. The white fluffy spot on my dem just looks like a white flat spot now, but the "fluffy" look to it appears to have diminshed. 
All of my dems now have spots above their noses and on their lips. It looks like someone rubbed clay on them? Like they have been kissing wet pottery. Best way to explain it. Its hard to say a specific color because it looks different under all different types of lighting. I do have pics and I will learn how to post them later after work. 
All fish acting normal, eating, not gasping for air, not breathing heavy. They swim and play alot. Tank is a little aggressive right now, but I think its because of the holding females and I have some yellow labs maturing. 
I will post the pics I have after work today. Thank You again for your quick response!!


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

No problem. It sounds like things are improving but clear pics of the problem areas would probably help a lot.

Increasing the surface agitation of the water will be helpful, especially if the temperature is still elevated and you are using Pimafix even though you aren't seeing signs of heavy breathing or gasping.


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## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

Here is the best pic I can get of him....(if i followed directions correctly on posting pics..lol.)

In this pic, everybody thinks ICH right off the bat. But that would have spread, infected others, or grew larger in size in the few weeks he has shown these marks, right?


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## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

The infected area is just above his eye. You can see it trails up, and it eventually leads to where his dorsal begins. These patterns are on both sides of his face. Also, trails down to toward his mouth and across to meet with the opposite side. Here are a few more pics that can maybe help..



Between his eyes is almost bare in the center but does have a few spots as well and also where whiskers begin.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nice looking fish! The pics are perfect for showing the problem.

It looks like a whitish powdery substance and Ich usually looks like salt granules so I'm not really sure what you are dealing with. Hopefully someone with more experience can help out.


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## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks again Dee! Yes, he is handsome... 

I will mention that I have brought the temp back down to 80-82 since I began treatment. I will continue to treat for the full 7 days simply because it does seem to be helping him and the dems a little. And I lowered the water line on the last WC, knowing then I was going to treat and that Pimafix removes/suspends oxygen in the water. So my surface agitation should be plenty for the situation.
Will post updated info on how the fish come along..


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

you may want to try planetcatfish.com... they're like this forum... only for catfish!


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## LearningLots (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks hisplaceresort1.. I didnt find a whole lot of info there.. But with further research, I did find a little bit of info on different catfish growth patterns. Also some pics that resemble his issue and are claimed to be harmless. I will just watch him. And see if his whiskers improve at all with 2 weekly WC's once the treatment is over. 
As for the Pimafix, it is day 6 of treatment and thhough it has not improved his whiskers to satisfaction, It has helped my dems with their lip locking wounds due to the aggression right now. It has not shown any harm on my holding mothers or my fry...
Thank you guys for the help..


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