# Open Sore (Picture Included)



## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

I had been treating my Jag for Bloat for about 2 weeks.

Eating nothing for 2 weeks, finally today he was able to eat a shrimp, when he lifted his head up I caught a glimpse of this circular sore on his "neck" area.

I had been treating with clout but this doesn't seem to apply to his case anymore.

I'm going to start doing daily 50%water changes, but is their any medication I can use that will help?


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

Started treatment of Melafix today.

Fish ate 5 shrimp today, hopefully on the right track.


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## renegade545 (Jul 4, 2008)

If its simply an open sore than Melafix should help the situation. Good luck.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Should you see any cottony growths around the area, or should it begin to get larger, you might consider switching to an antibiotic, such as erythromycin or sulfa. For now, I think Melafix and lots of water changes should be sufficient. :thumb:


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

So far I've done 4 days of Melafix. On the 4th day I did a 50% water change before treatment.

Adabeezy is eating shrimp everyday now, and his sore seems to be getting better.

Activity has gone up quiet a bit, though he still spends 90% of his time sitting on the bottom. He doesn't really swim around, he just sees me, swims to the top to beg for food, eats, then swims back down.

This is better than 2 weeks ago, but this will be a long road to recovery.

I'll try and get some photos of his sores as they are healing.

Thanks,

Stephen


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

That's good news, Stephen!

How does the area look where the sore was?


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

I tried to get a good shot but he was just not cooperating. This is the best I could do:










I think the sore is getting better, less of that really red color that you see in the first shot. I'd like to point out the sore about 4 inches down from the big one on his "neck".

Do you see that one, it doesn't seem to be coming along as well as the other one.

Behavior is still very isolated to energy bursts to eat shrimp and then immediatly returning to the bottom of the tank.

Also, he is refusing pellets and now only eating shrimp. I know I could starve him off the shrimp but I just can't do that. I'd rather him eat the shrimp than nothing.

I am continuing with the melafix treatment, today will be his 5th day.

Should I give him an antibiotic?

I don't see any cotton growth around the sore, do you guys?

Thanks for the help, hopefully his energy returns.

-Stephen


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

No, I don't see any cottony growths.

Was he a picky eater before? I'm a bit concerned about him not eating well now, but I've had finicky eaters before, so I know how that goes.

I would consider going with an antibiotic such as erythromycin or sulfa. If you can sprinkle some on that shrimp and soak it a bit and get him to ingest the meds, that would be great. (I just don't have alot of faith in treating the water column for things like this that are isolated to one fish...)


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

He has normally eaten pellets with shrimp/krill maybe once a week.

When I noticed him not eating I became increasingly concerned.

Now he is eating, but so far has rejected the pellets.

Instead his diet is now: Cichlid Delight, Beef Heart, and Krill.

He is now on day 8 or so of Melafix.

The sore seems to be closing up a bit, definatly not as red as before. He is really inactive however. All he does is swim to beg for food, and then go lie back down.

I think it might be time for an antibiotic. I'm really concerned that he won't regain his normally energy. I would think the various frozen foods would help him.

Sigh, this has been a really challenging illness.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The thing with an open sore like this is that it's hard to determine whether it is parasitic or bacterial. Since you never saw anything coming out of the sore, then I would do as you said and go with an antibacterial treatment. Erythromycin and sulfa are good ones, but if you want to be really proactive, treat with Maracyn and Maracyn II at the same time - this is erythromycin and minocycline, and provides protection against both gram positive and gram negative infections.

I would treat for 7 days, and if he isn't improving, then you might want to go with an antiparasitic med.


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

Can I do these treatments with other fish in the tank?

-Stephen


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

So far have done 2 days of Erythromycin and 1 day of Maracyn II.

I'll do a full 4 days of each and see what happens, it's a ton of packets to put into the watter.

Not cheap either.

I'll include pics after the full treatment.

Hang, I hope your not still grumpy!


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

I've done 1 cycle of both Erythromycin and Maracyn 2 combined, 5 days each.

I am now starting my 2nd cycle.

The fish has shown 0 improvement, continues to lay on the bottom of the tank, with no real movement at all.

The sores, I now believe are actually what I am calling, "tank sores". They are what I believe to be the same as bed sores. The fish spends 99% of it's time laying on the bottom of the tank, and has developed 3 sores on his neck area (direct contact with the bottom) and a slight sore along his bottom area, also constantly touching the tank.

He continues to eat krill which I soak in medication.

I have no idea what the **** is going on, no clue at all.

If this second round of medication doesn't work, I don't know what to do.

Thanks,

Stephen


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

After speaking with the DR at Fishy Farmy, I am going to start treatment for Hexamita, the medication I will use is Quinine Sulfate.

Hopefully this will help.

_Stephen


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I donâ€™t have much of an answer for you but I did want to speak up to commend your efforts!

What size tank is he in? You also mentioned tank mates, what else is he in with?

If it is a very large tank you may want to establish a smaller hospital tank to reduce med costsâ€¦ also isolating the sick Jag from aggressive tank mates (if there are any) may help lower his stress levels. But on the other side moving a fish to a smaller foreign environment will encourage him to hide, sitting on the bottom, which isnâ€˜t a good thing in your case.

What kind of substrate are you using? Sand may be softer on the fish than gravel (less pointy too), but sand could get ground into the open wounds too. Iâ€™ve never tried this, but you may want to put a cloth under where he usually sits. This may give some relief for a day or two to better let the medications do their work. Naturally this cloth would have to be kept clean.

Your getting better advice on Meds from Cichlidaholic than I could give and it seems like your trying everything you can on that sideâ€¦

Best of luckâ€¦


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## kingsac (Dec 10, 2004)

He is in a 110, he had a tank mate but he has been moved for the duration of this illness.

Substrate is gravel, I'm not really in a position to move to sand, though I appreciate the good idea.

I agree reducing the size of the tank would help a ton.

I have a 30G but it's so small, my Jag wouldn't really be able to turn around in. I'd rather pay the money and hope he is in comfort.


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