emergency!! Niger trigger is sick

[hcmo]

Until today, my 4" niger has been doing great. He is in a pred tank with a 4" Stars n Stripes, a 4" Panther grp, a 3" Undulated, a 12" Snowflake moray, and a large misc damsel. They are all very active, eat well, and i have not had any problems with aggression. Today when i was feeding them, i noticed the niger has broken out with LOTS of small(.5mm or less) red bumps that look like they could be scraped off. They are on the entire body of the fish. Any advice in treatment appreciated.

chris

[cwschoon]

that happened to my Niger a long time ago. I treated my tank with an API product that you can get in any pet store...I don't remember the name. A bottle with "tea tree extract" . Stinks like hell but it worked. DO NOT OVERDOSE!!! I can't believe I forgot the name"Mellaluca"? Just go to a pet store, you can't miss it, or go to an on line store and you will see it. Check the desease forum.

[bigevill]

the stuff you are thinking of is mela-fix. I have used it to treat fish that are beat up by there tankmates. fins heal up fast.

[cwschoon]

That is it!!!! I used to sell API products but quit just befor they came out with it. Some say it is a scam but I heard some success stories from my stores...I stayed in the business....and it either worked for me or my niger fixed himself. Again, DO NOT OVERDOSE.

[hcmo]

thanks for the input, im pickin up a bottle of melafix today...ill post results asap

[MarinaP]

Melafix is very mild remedy. If his entire body is covered, you need something more serious. I would isolate in a QT and treat w/antibiotics (either Maracyn 2 or Spectrogram come to mind). I wonder if your undulated is bothering him. He might not inflict direct bites, but sure can stress the niger to the point when the niger develops something odd. Undulates are not a good choice for a community tank, best kept by themselves. Even if you do not see direct aggression now, you sure will in the future.

[hcmo]

thanks for the input marina, but im sure its not due to stress from the undulated, bc the niger has always been the king of the tank. And when it comes to feeding time, the puffer and eel are most aggressive. if the melafix doesnt work, ill try the other antibiotics u mentioned

[hcmo]

ok...its been 2 days and i havent seen any improvement from the melafix. The trigger's symtoms look even worse now. The tiny reddish spots look like sand stuck on the fish. None of my fish are rubbing against anything, but my puffer looks like he has some ich developing on his fins and even eyes. All the fish are still feeding and acting normal....any ideas??? Need help desperately.....