[wherewolf]

So I posted a while back because my crowntail, Tulio, had a strange open sore on his back and his dorsal fin is completely gone now because of it.

I had been treating him with Maracyn for a possible fungal infection, and it seemed to be getting better, but all of a sudden I realized that his dulled coloring was a shiny, copper-colored film similar to what I've read about velvet.

He's also changed in behavior, he hides out of sight nearly all day, won't eat, and has become really lethargic...

He's in a one-gallon tank that I'm going to change every day instead of every other day, and I'm adding 3 teaspoons of aquarium salt in over the course of 12 hours, replacing it after each water change. I'm keeping him in the dark, because apparently velvet reacts to light.

I just don't know what to do about the sore, and if I'm treating the velvet correctly. Can you guys help, please? I don't want to lose poor Tulio...

This is how he looked about a week ago...

and how he looks today. There are a lot of air bubbles because I just changed the water and added some aquarium salt.

 

[wherewolf]

I'll try to get some better pictures when the bubbles go away, too

 

[Fieldz]

I wouldnt put aq. salt. That will only make him worser at all if you keep adding too much. Why dont you put his termostat at 80-82F? Higher temperatures help healing faster and kills bad bacteries like ich. Oh yea, keep dosing the meds.

 

[wherewolf]

I'm adding aquarium salt as per DarkMoon17's manual on treating ich and velvet, and I would turn up the heat if the tank had a thermostat, sadly it doesn't =/ the water stays at about 78 though.

 

[lilyth88]

You could try shining a light over it to get that extra bit of heat into it.

 

[wherewolf]

I was doing that earlier this week... The problem is, do I give him heat, or do I give him darkness? I'm trying to find something opaque enough to block out the light I normally use.

 

[BeckyFish97]

You say he's in a 1 gallon, and before you think I'm going to give you the usual reply about size of tanks, I'm not! Put him in a room with lots of machines, I find the room with my freezer in is great, also my bedroom has a hot water pipe running right under it, basically, put him really high up in the corner of the warmest room in your house, does the tank have a lid? if yes take the lid off and put cling film over the top of the tank leaving a tiny gap for oxygen to circulate, put the lid back on if you can, that way you can give him both heat and darkness! Hope this helped

 

[lilyth88]

You can also wrap the sides of the tank in a blanket.

 

[wherewolf]

I'm scoping out my house for the warmest spot right now! I already have his tank wrapped in a few towels and today he is acting a little better than he was yesterday

 

[BeckyFish97]

Just a thought, and I might be wrong here? A hot waterbottle against the side of his tank might help?

 

[wherewolf]

It certainly couldn't hurt! Thanks so much, you guys. I'll keep you posted on how he's doing :3

 

[BeckyFish97]

I hope he pulls through, he's a truly gorgeous boy!!!

 

[lilyth88]

You could also double bag some hot water and float it. Just make sure it's completely sealed.

 

[BeckyFish97]

lilyth88 : great idea!

 

[DarkMoon17]

Hi there, do what you can to limit light as per everyone's suggestions. Temperature is a bit trickier though. If the sore on his back is fungal or bacterial, which it does appear to be, increasing the temperature will make it grow faster.

You should be able to get rid of the velvet with daily 100% water changes and 3tsp/gal aquarium salt (with a gradual increase in the concentration as you have been doing) without increasing the temperature. The aquarium salt should treat the sore as well if we're lucky.

 

[wherewolf]

I can definitely do that. Hopefully he perks up in the next few days. Thank you so much!