a remarkable recovery journey
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 1:13 am
I've been keeping fish for 7 years now and I've never managed to save one from disease or infection. So when my poor cichlid was struggling to stay alive on Friday night, I thought it was a lost cause. I netted it easily and put it in an old breeding net. After diagnosing the problem, I realized it was fin rot.
Living on an island doesn't exactly make it easy to get emergency supplies, especially at 7 pm when all the fish stores on the mainland are closed.
I stayed up till 3 am watching my cichlid, and when I fell asleep, I didn't expect it to make it through the night. But when I woke up, it was still alive, barely. I quickly set up a 10-gallon tank for it, knowing I had family coming over the next day and I could get them to pick up the necessary supplies.
By Sunday night, I had moved the fish to the 10-gallon tank, got the filter running without cartridges, and started the Erythromycin treatment. Just as I was about to go to bed, I noticed the temperature was way too low - the heater was broken.
I had to get creative, wrapping the tank in blankets and cranking up the room temperature. Not exactly the safest solution, but I had to act fast.
Over the next 10 days, I continued the treatment, running the filter with media for 2 days in between the 4-day treatments. The fish was getting better, but it still had a long way to go. The fin was still damaged, and it looked like it was developing a fungus - it was all fuzzy and weird. But then, just as suddenly as it had started, the fungus was gone, and the fin was... well, not exactly gone, but it was down to a tiny nub.
I thought for sure that was it, my cichlid would never have a full fin again. But then, about a week ago, I noticed something - a tiny, clear protrusion coming out of the nub. The next day it was bigger, and the day after that, it was even bigger. Now, I'm thrilled to say that my cichlid has about a quarter of its tail fin back.
As of May 17th, 2016, at 1:48 pm, it's got about two-thirds of its tail fin back, and it's the happiest fish I've ever owned. It follows me around the room, watches me do stuff, and even sleeps next to my bed. It's like an aquatic version of my cat.
I'll post some pics once it stops posing for me and shows off its body instead of just its face.
Living on an island doesn't exactly make it easy to get emergency supplies, especially at 7 pm when all the fish stores on the mainland are closed.
I stayed up till 3 am watching my cichlid, and when I fell asleep, I didn't expect it to make it through the night. But when I woke up, it was still alive, barely. I quickly set up a 10-gallon tank for it, knowing I had family coming over the next day and I could get them to pick up the necessary supplies.
By Sunday night, I had moved the fish to the 10-gallon tank, got the filter running without cartridges, and started the Erythromycin treatment. Just as I was about to go to bed, I noticed the temperature was way too low - the heater was broken.
I had to get creative, wrapping the tank in blankets and cranking up the room temperature. Not exactly the safest solution, but I had to act fast.
Over the next 10 days, I continued the treatment, running the filter with media for 2 days in between the 4-day treatments. The fish was getting better, but it still had a long way to go. The fin was still damaged, and it looked like it was developing a fungus - it was all fuzzy and weird. But then, just as suddenly as it had started, the fungus was gone, and the fin was... well, not exactly gone, but it was down to a tiny nub.
I thought for sure that was it, my cichlid would never have a full fin again. But then, about a week ago, I noticed something - a tiny, clear protrusion coming out of the nub. The next day it was bigger, and the day after that, it was even bigger. Now, I'm thrilled to say that my cichlid has about a quarter of its tail fin back.
As of May 17th, 2016, at 1:48 pm, it's got about two-thirds of its tail fin back, and it's the happiest fish I've ever owned. It follows me around the room, watches me do stuff, and even sleeps next to my bed. It's like an aquatic version of my cat.
I'll post some pics once it stops posing for me and shows off its body instead of just its face.