Is My Red Cap Oranda Ill?

HI all,

I'm relatively new to fish keeping and about a month ago I got a Red Cap Oranda with the tank he's in from a relative who needed to re-home him. The tank was of course already well established (she had the tank for a little over a year prior to me taking it.)

Everything has seemed fine for the last month or so since I set the tank up, but a few days ago I noticed some red streaking in the Red Caps tail fin. I thought this may have been a sign of stress, or perhaps an ammonia spike (or both) so I performed a thorough 66% water change, vacuumed the gravel and cleaned out the filter.

A day or two after that I noticed that there was now a small but very red area near the base of his tail fin as well as the red streaking.

Now (2 days since I saw the appearance of the red spot, around 4 since the first signs of streaking) the spot no longer appears to be red but now has what appears to be a cluster of what looks like white-ish lumps.

Does anyone with a little more experience have any ideas as to could be happening to my wee buddy? and what actions I should take, should this be a disease or infection?

I've included a couple pictures of his tail and a short video clip to show his general behaviour (Which seems slightly less active than usual). All were taken a couple hours ago.

Thanks in advance for reading, and for any help / advice

 

The bumps look like carp pox, but the red streaks could be from stress. I’d say continue doing water changes every other day or so. Do you have a test kit?

Carp pox is kind of a weird disease, no one really knows how it spreads, it has no cure and it doesn’t exactly hurt the fish. It’s just something that your fish might always have and there’s nothing you can do.

 

HI all,

I'm relatively new to fish keeping and about a month ago I got a Red Cap Oranda with the tank he's in from a relative who needed to re-home him. The tank was of course already well established (she had the tank for a little over a year prior to me taking it.)

Everything has seemed fine for the last month or so since I set the tank up, but a few days ago I noticed some red streaking in the Red Caps tail fin. I thought this may have been a sign of stress, or perhaps an ammonia spike (or both) so I performed a thorough 66% water change, vacuumed the gravel and cleaned out the filter.

A day or two after that I noticed that there was now a small but very red area near the base of his tail fin as well as the red streaking.

Now (2 days since I saw the appearance of the red spot, around 4 since the first signs of streaking) the spot no longer appears to be red but now has what appears to be a cluster of what looks like white-ish lumps.

Does anyone with a little more experience have any ideas as to could be happening to my wee buddy? and what actions I should take, should this be a disease or infection?

I've included a couple pictures of his tail and a short video clip to show his general behaviour (Which seems slightly less active than usual). All were taken a couple hours ago.

Thanks in advance for reading, and for any help / advice

I’m going to ask Gypsy13 to see what she thinks. She is really good with fish diseases and also with Goldie’s. Gypsy, can you help us out here? The spots almost look like little pimples on the tail now. Small, red and a few close but not on top of each other. Almost have a head on them except all red.

 

The bumps look like carp pox, but the red streaks could be from stress. I’d say continue doing water changes every other day or so. Do you have a test kit?

Stress was my first thought before the appearance of the spots / lumps. I'll continue with frequent water changes as suggested for now. I don't have a test kit no, I'm going to try pick on up some time in the next week hopefully (I live in a pretty small village so I have to go pretty far a field to visit a pet shop and online stuff takes a while to arrive out here to sadly).

I’m going to ask Gypsy13 to see what she thinks. She is really good with fish diseases and also with Goldie’s.

Thanks I appreciate the help!

 

I performed a thorough 66% water change, vacuumed the and cleaned out the filter.

Watch out for binge cleaning, it can crash the nitrogen cycle by removing all the beneficial bacteria.

 

Watch out for binge cleaning, it can crash the nitrogen cycle by removing all the beneficial bacteria.

Fair point, the tank was due one anyway though (it had been close to two weeks since my last one as I was working solid for a few days) so I thought this one I'd go a little more aggressive with it after I noticed the Red Cap's tail. I'll keep that in mind for future changes though!

 

Questions? When you look at bumps do they look like ulcers forming or just like pink bumps? Do you see anything in, under, around the peduncle scales? Use a magnifying glass. Is his wen losing color at all?
When you cleaned the filter, did you clean the media as well? If so, with what?

 

Questions? When you look at bumps do they look like ulcers forming or just like pink bumps? Do you see anything in, under, around the peduncle scales? Use a magnifying glass. Is his wen losing color at all?
When you cleaned the filter, did you clean the media as well? If so, with what?

1 in particular looks a bit more ulcer-like, looks more like a sore or hole than a bump now but the rest just look like white lumps /masses (the pinkness is coming from the red streaking underneath I think.
I don't have a magnifying glass but I don't see anything in, under or around the scales. Where the scales on his tail end as it meets the tail seems a little swollen though.
His wen doesn't appear to be losing colour but it's always been a softer orange than most pictures of red caps I've seen.
I did clean the sponge inside the filter by giving it a good few squeezes in a bucket of tank water I had syphoned from the tank during the water change.

I've also noticed the streaking going further into the tail and getting a bit more prominent, also the base of his front side fins seems a bit swollen and red now also along with a visible pinkness / redness along the spine and the base of his back (dorsal?) fin.

 

Can you get hold of kanaplex and furan2? Also methylene blue for baths? You did good with the water change and filter cleaning. The underlying cause is most likely a water quality issue since you’ve just bought the test. Use mblue baths for possible ammonia poisoning. Try very hard to get the kanaplex and furan2. Once you have the meds, follow this dosing schedules:


Swab the bumps with 3% hydrogen peroxide after the mblue baths.
Please hurry.

 

Thanks for the help!

I think furan-2 is only obtainable through a prescription from a vet in the UK but I can maybe try and get one.

I can't seem to find anywhere that ships or stocks KanaPlex to/in the UK either, is there any alternative to that?

I can get mblue and hydrogen peroxide (3%) though I'll order some as soon as possible as well as ring up a vet in the morning to see if a prescription for some furan-2 is possible.

How often would I do the mblue baths? on each day as well as the other treatment?

 

Any news on the nitrate levels? I don't see anything about the tank in your profile. Red streaking in goldfish is something I most closely associate with nitrates or other water quality. I'll put it this way, if we've missed a water quality issue and you get ahold of antibiotics the fish may continue to struggle with infections. I've seen red streaks clear with frequent water changes without medication in other instances.

 

Not yet, It'll likely be a day or two at least before I can pick up a test kit as I live rather rural (in the scottish highlands). I'll continue with frequent water changes anyway, but it was the sores / lumps on the tail fin that was causing me the most concern.

 

Oh yes. No I'm not ignoring the lumps in what I said. They could be an advancing progression of bacterial septicemia where the bacteria has created cysts in the fin like a lymphocitis. Bacterial infections and nitrates are goldfish peas in a pod. We were all talking kanamycin and furan but just want to make sure it gets a chance to work by finding any underlying causes

 

Yeah I see what your saying. I'll hopefully have some answers to said potential underlying problems once I procure a test kit. As for the KanaPlex/Kanamycin and furan both seem to only be obtainable through a vets proscription where I live (because they contain/are anti-biotics) so that might be difficult to get, especially quickly.. I should be able to get some mblue and hydrogen peroxide quick enough though so hopefully that teamed with frequent water changes will help enough for now.

 

Definitely sounds like septicemia has set in. What do you guys do when you need antibiotics for these poor guys? He needs some without a doubt.

 

Look like you need a script for kanaplex. Don't ebay it. I suggested that out ignorance, my mistake!

Maybe ask lfs to see what equivalent meds they recommend?

 

I'm also in the UK and was able to obtain some kanaplex from ebay (shipping from the states). Not too expensive. Could try getting some kanaplex and furan2 from there?

You were lucky it didn’t get caught in customs, it is illegal to import these drugs without veterinary prescription. I would strongly advise against suggesting others obtain it in this way, if they’re caught they could be prosecuted, sites like eBay & amazon are monitored by the Veterinary medicines directorate.

 

You were lucky it didn’t get caught in customs, it is illegal to import these drugs without veterinary prescription. I would strongly advise against suggesting others obtain it in this way, if they’re caught they could be prosecuted, sites like eBay & amazon are monitored by the Veterinary medicines directorate.

Thanks for pointing that out, I had absolutely no idea you needed a prescription!

I guess the only solution is getting a script from the vets then.

 

Definitely sounds like septicemia has set in. What do you guys do when you need antibiotics for these poor guys? He needs some without a doubt.

That has been a concern.. I hope my wee bud can hold on til I find him some treatment!

We have to get them from a vet, but I'm willing to bet many vets would probably only do so after actually seeing the fish themselves. Also you rack up vets fees along the way on top of the cost of treatment and prescriptions etc. (never been to the vets with a fish but I've had to take my meows in the past and the cost can really rack up even for relatively basic treatments. I had to spend over £200 to arrange for my cats ear to get cleaned out last year because he has a polyp and he needed to be sedated for them to do it properly)

Look like you need a script for kanaplex. Don't ebay it. I suggested that out ignorance, my mistake!

Maybe ask lfs to see what equivalent meds they recommend?

Don't worry no harm done Yeah that's going to be my next course of action, the closest one from me is about an hours drive so I'm going to ring them up in the morning and see if they have any alternatives that would avoid visiting vets. That, I fear, could take too long.

 

That has been a concern.. I hope my wee bud can hold on til I find him some treatment!

We have to get them from a vet, but I'm willing to bet many vets would probably only do so after actually seeing the fish themselves. Also you rack up vets fees along the way on top of the cost of treatment and prescriptions etc. (never been to the vets with a fish but I've had to take my meows in the past and the cost can really rack up even for relatively basic treatments. I had to spend over £200 to arrange for my cats ear to get cleaned out last year because he has a polyp and he needed to be sedated for them to do it properly)



Don't worry no harm done Yeah that's going to be my next course of action, the closest one from me is about an hours drive so I'm going to ring them up in the morning and see if they have any alternatives that would avoid visiting vets. That, I fear, could take too long.

Sorry. Talking difficult. Get to vet. Vet may give script for fish. Didn’t know UK. Sorry
Salt baths help till vet. 1 teaspoon dissolved aquarium salt/gallon dechlorinated water same temp. 10-20 minutes. Watch for discomfort. 3 times/day.

 

I counter the use of salt baths without a specific purpose. Is it's intended to reduce swelling in a swollen fish through osmotic difference? The more the read about salt, I stopped applying it for general reasons like "stress" or "slimecoat". It's like an API old wives tale.

 

Have you tried frequent water changes? I keep looking at the video. A bigger filter might help. He does look a little gaspy. A series of good partial water changes, without scrubbing the filter, matching temperature, can only help.

 

I counter the use of salt baths without a specific purpose. Is it's intended to reduce swelling in a swollen fish through osmotic difference? The more the read about salt, I stopped applying it for general reasons like "stress" or "slimecoat". It's like an API old wives tale.

Read about the antibiotic/antI parasitical/antI fungal properties of salt. Also read about the increased gill function associated with salt. And it’s pure sodium chloride not epsom salt so no we’re not talking about reduction of swelling. We’re talking about buying the OP some time. The only over the counter available is stuff like
Interpet antibacterial and antI fungal. (Sodium chloride and malachite green).

 

That has been a concern.. I hope my wee bud can hold on til I find him some treatment!

We have to get them from a vet, but I'm willing to bet many vets would probably only do so after actually seeing the fish themselves. Also you rack up vets fees along the way on top of the cost of treatment and prescriptions etc. (never been to the vets with a fish but I've had to take my meows in the past and the cost can really rack up even for relatively basic treatments. I had to spend over £200 to arrange for my cats ear to get cleaned out last year because he has a polyp and he needed to be sedated for them to do it properly)



Don't worry no harm done Yeah that's going to be my next course of action, the closest one from me is about an hours drive so I'm going to ring them up in the morning and see if they have any alternatives that would avoid visiting vets. That, I fear, could take too long.

As some have recommended, I would do same salt baths until you get him to the vet. I think only a strong antibiotic will be able to treat him.

As an aside (don't want to sidetrack this thread), if you end up taking him to the vets in order to get the kanaplex, mind saying how that went? Did you have to bring the fish in, how much it cost etc. Would be interested in knowing if I ever have to bring my fish in

Hope your fish pulls through

 

Sorry I've been quiet for a little while, been a busy week! Got some meds, Metronidazole (more info on this and the vet encounter below if you're interested) for the fish and have treated the tank with it today, hopefully the little guy get's better soon now.

Though he has seemed very lethargic since dosing, but I'd imagine that's normal for a fish when you give them what's presumably a pretty strong anti-biotic? Also I didn't receive any info about how long to leave the tank before performing any water changes or changing to my new filter etc. any idea on how long I should leave it un-interrupted for? I only got given enough for 1/2 doses but to my knowledge I'm only supposed to use it once?

Have you tried frequent water changes? I keep looking at the video. A bigger filter might help. He does look a little gaspy. A series of good partial water changes, without scrubbing the filter, matching temperature, can only help.

Yeah I've been 20% changes every other day, only cleaning the filter if it looses some flow. I have a new filter arriving in a couple days that is speced for a 110 litre tank so should be fine in my 55 Litre. (I think the filter I have currently is probably the root of the problem actually, gets gunked up super easy and looses a lot of its flow (at times literally just 'falling' out of the out-flow nozzle with no more velocity than you'd expect from unpropelled water just falling on its own).

As an aside (don't want to sidetrack this thread), if you end up taking him to the vets in order to get the kanaplex, mind saying how that went? Did you have to bring the fish in, how much it cost etc. Would be interested in knowing if I ever have to bring my fish in

The experience could have been better honestly (though through no falt of the vet's its a very small place here and they just send one vet down for a few hours every other day from the main vets in the next town from ours).

I booked an appointment, which was two days from booking. I took the fish in to the vets (a harder feat than I first imagined for a 7 Inch Red Cap) and waited about 15 minutes until the vet called me through.

He immediately looked rather embarrassed and unsure of himself and admitted that he had never seen to any fish before and had no experience with them aside from a small amount of info during his training/briefing to become a vet and hence he would be un-able to pin an actual diagnosis. He did however seem confident that it's likely some kind of bacterial infection and some kind of anti-biotic would likely be needed.

He then phoned another vet from the main centre in the town over that apparently had a lot of 'exotic animal' experience, but she also had experience with fish. So he than asked if he could ring me up later that day after he could get a hold of the head vet to find out what he could/was available to prescribe me.

I never did receive a call from him, but I had mentioned I would be on shift at the shop over the road and the receptionist came in after they closed at 6 and told me something would be mixed up and ready for me to pick up in the morning.

I went in to pick up the medication the next morning (this morning) and only the receptionist was there (I had hoped to speak to the actual vet again and ask some questions about it). I got home with it and all it said on the sticker on the bottle (which was a generic medicine bottle so I don't know if they gave me some of a pre-existing medicine or mixed something a little more unique up) was METRONIDAZOLE SUSP 200MG/5ML 100ML x 2.2 from 31/08/2018. ADD 9.6mls to 55L of tank water. I dosed the tank and now I will wait to see if he improves any.

As for costs. The initial appointment cost £15.50 and the mixture of Metrodinazole (1/2 doses worth) cost £14.30.

I wouldn't say this would be a typical vets experience with a fish though, I think it was a culmination of it being a very small, limited practice combined with the particular vets inexperience with fish that resulted in this endeavour leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but hopefully the prescribed stuff does the Job.

(Sorry about the 'novel' I ended up with above haha)

 

Thanks for the update. How long is their course of treatment they have you?

 

Sorry I've been quiet for a little while, been a busy week! Got some meds, Metronidazole (more info on this and the vet encounter below if you're interested) for the fish and have treated the tank with it today, hopefully the little guy get's better soon now.

Though he has seemed very lethargic since dosing, but I'd imagine that's normal for a fish when you give them what's presumably a pretty strong anti-biotic? Also I didn't receive any info about how long to leave the tank before performing any water changes or changing to my new filter etc. any idea on how long I should leave it un-interrupted for? I only got given enough for 1/2 doses but to my knowledge I'm only supposed to use it once?



Yeah I've been 20% changes every other day, only cleaning the filter if it looses some flow. I have a new filter arriving in a couple days that is speced for a 110 litre tank so should be fine in my 55 Litre. (I think the filter I have currently is probably the root of the problem actually, gets gunked up super easy and looses a lot of its flow (at times literally just 'falling' out of the out-flow nozzle with no more velocity than you'd expect from unpropelled water just falling on its own).



The experience could have been better honestly (though through no falt of the vet's its a very small place here and they just send one vet down for a few hours every other day from the main vets in the next town from ours).

I booked an appointment, which was two days from booking. I took the fish in to the vets (a harder feat than I first imagined for a 7 Inch Red Cap) and waited about 15 minutes until the vet called me through.

He immediately looked rather embarrassed and unsure of himself and admitted that he had never seen to any fish before and had no experience with them aside from a small amount of info during his training/briefing to become a vet and hence he would be un-able to pin an actual diagnosis. He did however seem confident that it's likely some kind of bacterial infection and some kind of anti-biotic would likely be needed.

He then phoned another vet from the main centre in the town over that apparently had a lot of 'exotic animal' experience, but she also had experience with fish. So he than asked if he could ring me up later that day after he could get a hold of the head vet to find out what he could/was available to prescribe me.

I never did receive a call from him, but I had mentioned I would be on shift at the shop over the road and the receptionist came in after they closed at 6 and told me something would be mixed up and ready for me to pick up in the morning.

I went in to pick up the medication the next morning (this morning) and only the receptionist was there (I had hoped to speak to the actual vet again and ask some questions about it). I got home with it and all it said on the sticker on the bottle (which was a generic medicine bottle so I don't know if they gave me some of a pre-existing medicine or mixed something a little more unique up) was METRONIDAZOLE SUSP 200MG/5ML 100ML x 2.2 from 31/08/2018. ADD 9.6mls to 55L of tank water. I dosed the tank and now I will wait to see if he improves any.

As for costs. The initial appointment cost £15.50 and the mixture of Metrodinazole (1/2 doses worth) cost £14.30.

I wouldn't say this would be a typical vets experience with a fish though, I think it was a culmination of it being a very small, limited practice combined with the particular vets inexperience with fish that resulted in this endeavour leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but hopefully the prescribed stuff does the Job.

(Sorry about the 'novel' I ended up with above haha)

Hey. I love audiobooks! Well written.
Ok. Did they give you two doses? Cause it should be dose the tank, wait 24 hours, do a 25% water change then dose again.

 

Thanks for the update. How long is their course of treatment they have you?

I'm not sure really. I didn't see the vet when I got the prescription and judging by the bottle it sounds like it was intended to be a one use thing (though the bottle had enough in it for a second dose probably).

Hey. I love audiobooks! Well written.
Ok. Did they give you two doses? Cause it should be dose the tank, wait 24 hours, do a 25% water change then dose again.

Thanks! There's likely enough left for another dose yeah. I'll maybe do that then. Right now the tank seems a very milky colour from the mixture (it's coated the inside of the glass pretty heavily too now) and he seems very lethargic now, often just sitting at the bottom of the tank and doesn't seem interested in food today so far. At points though he seems to get a little twitchy and will dart about for a second. Hopefully just a side affect of the meds and nothing to worry about (though it is hard to watch, I haven't seem him this lethargic before).

 

I'm so sorry for the situation you and your beautiful Red Cap Oranda are in. It makes me wonder what would the purpose be of needing a veterinarian to treat a fish in such a rural environment. It seems counter productive and even cruel to the animals. I hope the Vet is responsive and prompt. Good luck.
Brian

 

Sorry I've been quiet for a little while, been a busy week! Got some meds, Metronidazole (more info on this and the vet encounter below if you're interested) for the fish and have treated the tank with it today, hopefully the little guy get's better soon now.

Though he has seemed very lethargic since dosing, but I'd imagine that's normal for a fish when you give them what's presumably a pretty strong anti-biotic? Also I didn't receive any info about how long to leave the tank before performing any water changes or changing to my new filter etc. any idea on how long I should leave it un-interrupted for? I only got given enough for 1/2 doses but to my knowledge I'm only supposed to use it once?



Yeah I've been 20% changes every other day, only cleaning the filter if it looses some flow. I have a new filter arriving in a couple days that is speced for a 110 litre tank so should be fine in my 55 Litre. (I think the filter I have currently is probably the root of the problem actually, gets gunked up super easy and looses a lot of its flow (at times literally just 'falling' out of the out-flow nozzle with no more velocity than you'd expect from unpropelled water just falling on its own).



The experience could have been better honestly (though through no falt of the vet's its a very small place here and they just send one vet down for a few hours every other day from the main vets in the next town from ours).

I booked an appointment, which was two days from booking. I took the fish in to the vets (a harder feat than I first imagined for a 7 Inch Red Cap) and waited about 15 minutes until the vet called me through.

He immediately looked rather embarrassed and unsure of himself and admitted that he had never seen to any fish before and had no experience with them aside from a small amount of info during his training/briefing to become a vet and hence he would be un-able to pin an actual diagnosis. He did however seem confident that it's likely some kind of bacterial infection and some kind of anti-biotic would likely be needed.

He then phoned another vet from the main centre in the town over that apparently had a lot of 'exotic animal' experience, but she also had experience with fish. So he than asked if he could ring me up later that day after he could get a hold of the head vet to find out what he could/was available to prescribe me.

I never did receive a call from him, but I had mentioned I would be on shift at the shop over the road and the receptionist came in after they closed at 6 and told me something would be mixed up and ready for me to pick up in the morning.

I went in to pick up the medication the next morning (this morning) and only the receptionist was there (I had hoped to speak to the actual vet again and ask some questions about it). I got home with it and all it said on the sticker on the bottle (which was a generic medicine bottle so I don't know if they gave me some of a pre-existing medicine or mixed something a little more unique up) was METRONIDAZOLE SUSP 200MG/5ML 100ML x 2.2 from 31/08/2018. ADD 9.6mls to 55L of tank water. I dosed the tank and now I will wait to see if he improves any.

As for costs. The initial appointment cost £15.50 and the mixture of Metrodinazole (1/2 doses worth) cost £14.30.

I wouldn't say this would be a typical vets experience with a fish though, I think it was a culmination of it being a very small, limited practice combined with the particular vets inexperience with fish that resulted in this endeavour leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but hopefully the prescribed stuff does the Job.

(Sorry about the 'novel' I ended up with above haha)

Thanks, that's very interesting! I'm hoping (God forbid) if I have to take my fish to the vets they'll have some experience and would be willing to prescribe me some kanaplex etc, the stuff I know I need (holding on dearly to my last remaining tube lol) . Hopefully the metro will do the trick!

 

I really wish they’d given you better advise. But, even here, Vets knowledgeable in fish care are getting hard to find.

How is she now?

 

I really wish they’d given you better advise. But, even here, Vets knowledgeable in fish care are getting hard to find.

How is she now?

Yeah I think if I need to go this route in the future I'll try and push them a bit more to provide a prescription for something I think should work rather than let them find something on hand.

I think the vet may have messed up the dosage or something, because during the day after the dosing he was either very twitchy or very lethargic, just letting himself float with the current often before having a slow swim around. Yesterday morning though, I genuinely thought I was going to loose the little guy. He was just sitting in the very bottom corner of the tank very rarely trying to swim to the surface for a struggled gulp or two. I tried with his daily feeding but he wasn't interested at all, I came back 3/4 minutes after that and he was on his side at the bottom of the tank. I thought he was dead at first but his gills were moving just barely. I entered a bit of a panic honestly and decided that the dosage must have certainly been much too high (he seemed to decline very fast after that). So I immediately ran and got a bucket of fresh treated water, pulled him from the tank and sat him in it with a small spare filter to provide some flow and oxygen. I then proceeded to do a large water change flushing as much of the residual meds as I could before refilling the tank and returning the fish. After that he seems to be swimming around a little more, he still floats around with the current sometimes but he hasn't been at the bottom of the tank again yet at least. I've tried feeding him again this morning too and he seems to want to eat but looks like he's struggling to get any of the food from the surface and seems to give up very quickly. I'm not really sure what to do at this point.. I also fear if it was due to a too high dosage it may have harmed the good bacteria in the filter?

 

Yeah I think if I need to go this route in the future I'll try and push them a bit more to provide a prescription for something I think should work rather than let them find something on hand.

I think the vet may have messed up the dosage or something, because during the day after the dosing he was either very twitchy or very lethargic, just letting himself float with the current often before having a slow swim around. Yesterday morning though, I genuinely thought I was going to loose the little guy. He was just sitting in the very bottom corner of the tank very rarely trying to swim to the surface for a struggled gulp or two. I tried with his daily feeding but he wasn't interested at all, I came back 3/4 minutes after that and he was on his side at the bottom of the tank. I thought he was dead at first but his gills were moving just barely. I entered a bit of a panic honestly and decided that the dosage must have certainly been much too high (he seemed to decline very fast after that). So I immediately ran and got a bucket of fresh treated water, pulled him from the tank and sat him in it with a small spare filter to provide some flow and oxygen. I then proceeded to do a large water change flushing as much of the residual meds as I could before refilling the tank and returning the fish. After that he seems to be swimming around a little more, he still floats around with the current sometimes but he hasn't been at the bottom of the tank again yet at least. I've tried feeding him again this morning too and he seems to want to eat but looks like he's struggling to get any of the food from the surface and seems to give up very quickly. I'm not really sure what to do at this point.. I also fear if it was due to a too high dosage it may have harmed the good bacteria in the filter?

Oh no! Some heavy antibiotic treatments are stressful to fish and could be why you're seeing the lethargy etc.

Any way you could get your vet to prescribe some kanaplex and Metroplex (active ingredient is metrodinazole). These products are catered to fish and the dosage appropriate? I know getting them online is a big no no, but if you have a prescription maybe you could do it?

As for the good bacteria, only way to see if its been harmed is to test the water and see if you see a rise in ammonia etc

 

Yeah I think if I need to go this route in the future I'll try and push them a bit more to provide a prescription for something I think should work rather than let them find something on hand.

I think the vet may have messed up the dosage or something, because during the day after the dosing he was either very twitchy or very lethargic, just letting himself float with the current often before having a slow swim around. Yesterday morning though, I genuinely thought I was going to loose the little guy. He was just sitting in the very bottom corner of the tank very rarely trying to swim to the surface for a struggled gulp or two. I tried with his daily feeding but he wasn't interested at all, I came back 3/4 minutes after that and he was on his side at the bottom of the tank. I thought he was dead at first but his gills were moving just barely. I entered a bit of a panic honestly and decided that the dosage must have certainly been much too high (he seemed to decline very fast after that). So I immediately ran and got a bucket of fresh treated water, pulled him from the tank and sat him in it with a small spare filter to provide some flow and oxygen. I then proceeded to do a large water change flushing as much of the residual meds as I could before refilling the tank and returning the fish. After that he seems to be swimming around a little more, he still floats around with the current sometimes but he hasn't been at the bottom of the tank again yet at least. I've tried feeding him again this morning too and he seems to want to eat but looks like he's struggling to get any of the food from the surface and seems to give up very quickly. I'm not really sure what to do at this point.. I also fear if it was due to a too high dosage it may have harmed the good bacteria in the filter?

Metro can be especially hard on some fish. Just like people. Some respond differently than others. The bad thing is you’re not even sure exactly what they used.
I’m just not understanding why they won’t help. You paid for them to see your finbaby. We can go to the Internet to find recommendations (not always the best choice) a licensed vet can get onto a professional website to get suggestions. Then give you a script. I want so badly to help! The stuff available to you over the counter just isn’t quite right. It’s like I find one that has something that could maybe help. I go check the ingredients and it’s no good.
How is he tonight?

 

Metro can be especially hard on some fish. Just like people. Some respond differently than others. The bad thing is you’re not even sure exactly what they used.
I’m just not understanding why they won’t help. You paid for them to see your finbaby. We can go to the Internet to find recommendations (not always the best choice) a licensed vet can get onto a professional website to get suggestions. Then give you a script. I want so badly to help! The stuff available to you over the counter just isn’t quite right. It’s like I find one that has something that could maybe help. I go check the ingredients and it’s no good.
How is he tonight?

Yeah I think it hit him pretty hard initially.
Yeah they would probably try. I haven't contacted them since that original prescription honestly, after the first encounter I'm not really sure there's anything more they could do/tell me. I really appreciate that! I've only ever been posting here for general advice on the situation and even just to talk about it at some points. I genuinely thank you for the effort you (and everyone else in this thread) have been inputting to try and help!

On a much brighter note on his condition I think after flushing a bunch of the meds out (not all of it though) the day before last he's been improving rapidly again. This morning he started eating a little finally (and pooping!) and after I got home from work a couple hours ago he's full of energy again (if anything a little hyper now!) and he's also back to exhibiting his normal scavenger behaviour, picking away at the substrate and he also comes to the top of the tank looking for food if I walk over again!

As for his original symptoms, the lumpy-ness on his tail is still there but it's very thin and there's no redness to the lumps now, they just look kind of like scar tissue or residual damage now. The red streaks in his tail are still there now (and the redness along his spine), maybe a little more now since I dosed him but I'd be confident to chalk that up to the stress he's undergone in the events of the last 3/4 days.

I hope to get my new filter up and running soon too, I might try and wait a little till I get more of the residual meds flushed out though.

 

Thinking positive here! Keep an eye on the red streaks. I’m glad he’s acting better. Doing great!