# Treatment for sore on cardinal tetra



## mr_convitbau (Jan 7, 2009)

I have one of my cardinal tetras who has some kind of sore on the flesh near the tail. The sore is kind of white with red being around. Anyone knows what kind of disease is that? If yes, please suggest a treatment. Thanks a lot.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

First raise the temperature a little. Then get a broad spectrum antibiotic. It would be best if you can get a combined medicine that treats bacteria and fungus together.

But generally speaking, if the disease is not Ich, the fish will either live or go its way no matter what you do.

--Nikolay


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

If it was me, I'd QT the fish to ensure it doesnt have to compete with any of the others for food. That will go a long way for the fish, enabling it to heal on it's own. You may not even need to treat the water in the QT tank. Good food and clean water with time will help along with not having to compete with others or getting picked on. Once in QT if the sore gets worse you may want to dose with antibiotics to help get rid of the possible bacterial infection. 

If you do not have a QT or can't set one up I would keep an eye on it and if it gets worse I would cull it out of the group. It will not be worth dosing antibiotics in a display tank or keeping a sick fish in with healthy ones. Culling is needed when keeping fish without a QT tank.

GL!


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## mr_convitbau (Jan 7, 2009)

I just dosed some Pimafix yesterday. According to the manufacturer, Pimafix is an antifungal and antibacterial drug. 

This morning, I noticed that 2 of my Amano shrimps seem to struggle. I don't know if this is caused by Pimafix or anything else. Any idea?


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

What you are seeing is almost certainly a secondary fungal infection to some primary injury. The primary injury could be parasitic, traumatic, or a bacteria.

I've had next to zero luck with trying to medicate things like this. My advice would be to provide optimal conditions for the fish, watch it carefully, and hope for the best. Some things clear up on their own. The reality is that an intervention on your part probably won't make much difference.


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## mr_convitbau (Jan 7, 2009)

BryceM said:


> What you are seeing is almost certainly a secondary fungal infection to some primary injury. The primary injury could be parasitic, traumatic, or a bacteria.
> 
> I've had next to zero luck with trying to medicate things like this. My advice would be to provide optimal conditions for the fish, watch it carefully, and hope for the best. Some things clear up on their own. The reality is that an intervention on your part probably won't make much difference.


Would this fungal infection have the ability to spread to other fish in the tank?

According to what you said, do you think that I need to continue to dose any more Pimafix or stop? Would Pimafix affect other fish, shrimps, and plants?


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Fungal infections are opportunistic. If other fish have similar sores they might get a secondary fungal infection too.

I don't mean to sound defeatist, but I've had dismal results when trying to treat sick fish (apart from ich). I think it's safe to say that you don't have any idea what the primary infection is, or how the fish got it. You don't even know if it's bacterial.

Antibiotics work well enough when an infection is understood, but they'll be completely ineffective if your guess is wrong.

I have a pretty simple method of dealing with disease in fish:

1. Provide a healthy environment for the fish.
2. If a fish gets sick, watch it for a while.
3. If it gets better, great.
4. If it gets worse, remove it.

I am 100% certain that disease treatments have done more harm than good in my own aquariums. After a few decades of this and my own understanding of microbiology, pharmacology, and physiology from med school I haven't found anything better.

A good veterinarian can be helpful if you're dealing with larger or more expensive specimens, but even then the track record isn't perfect.


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