PLEASE HELP: Hole in gill cover

Yikes! I haven't seen this before. My 7" butterfly panda has developed
a hole in her left side gill cover. The area surrounding it is red.
She has been placed in a 10 gal. aerated hospital tank with fresh
water and 1 tsp. of salt per gal.

What do I do now? I have Melafix. Is this the right stuff to use?
Should I do anything to the other fish that were also in the same tank
when this was spotted? They are all fine, no signs of stress. Water
parameters are perfect.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ed

Is there a chance that the hole could have been caused by something in her
tank (an ornament perhaps)?
Did you notice anything on the gill before the hole formed? Ulcer, spot? Are
any areas of the gill inflamed at all?
Until you determine what the problem is, I'd up the salt to 3 teaspoons (1
tablespoon) of salt per gallon. Do it gradually though (1 teaspoon per
gallon every 12 hours until you are up to the tablespoon). It's easier to
dissolve the salt in a glass of tank water prior to pouring it in.
Keep your water quality perfect and assuming it's a puncture wound of some
sort it should heal pretty quickly. As long as there are no other signs of
gill problems then I'd add the melafix, but if there's a chance it's not a
puncture wound and could be parasitic or bacterial then I'd hold off in case
you need to use other meds.
Mel.


"Budbudford" <ed DeleteThis @cheapskatecr.com> wrote in message
news:799dba8e.0310310026.6151d7b@posting.google.com...
> Yikes! I haven't seen this before. My 7" butterfly panda has developed
> a hole in her left side gill cover. The area surrounding it is red.
> She has been placed in a 10 gal. aerated hospital tank with fresh
> water and 1 tsp. of salt per gal.
>
> What do I do now? I have Melafix. Is this the right stuff to use?
> Should I do anything to the other fish that were also in the same tank
> when this was spotted? They are all fine, no signs of stress. Water
> parameters are perfect.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Ed