# Tiger barb with injury or disease, QT tank already occupied



## emro88 (Apr 9, 2012)

So--I have never written into any fish forum before (Hi everybody!), but I've never had a problem like this before. I have a juvenile tiger barb that looks as though it may have injured its mouth, or it could be some sort of bacteria--its top lip is generally sort of pulpy looking. I don't _think_ it looks fuzzy. I wish I could take a picture, but it's just so small. I can't even tell what I'm looking at, and I'm staring right in the tank!

I would move it into the QT tank and treat with melafix (just to be on the safe side), but I have some new fish in there right now, and it looks like they have ick. Bad timing. So what do I do? Leave it alone for now (even though I hate to let things develop into BIG problems) ? Or treat my whole 55 gallon with melafix? (5 tigers, 4 cories, 5 bloodfins, and 5 zebra danios) Or move her into an uncylced QT and treat her there? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

The medicinal ingredients in melafix are fine ones, but they are extremely diluted. It is a medication that smells good, but I wouldn't worry about whether I used it or not.
You're describing a common injury with scrappy fish (also with less than intelligent ones that crash full speed, face first into glass). With a tiger barb, that should clear up on its own if the fish accepts its place in the pecking order and doesn't challenge any more alpha fish. Just be sure that he/she doesn't get bullied, and barring the always possible (but not probable) complications, it should be okay.


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## emro88 (Apr 9, 2012)

So--I do think the tiger barb did start out having a mouth injury, but now I believe she has mouth rot. I moved her into an un-cycled QT tank (no choice, I felt, with columnaris). The tank she came from recently had ich--successfully cured for several weeks before her injury, but I wonder if her immune system was already weak. I am doing water changes on the QT every day since it is un-cycled. Currently, the QT has salt, melafix, and antibiotics, which I replenish in the proper amounts when I do a water changes. I also gave her a PP bath yesterday. 

She has seemed pretty chipper thus far, but now she isn't eating--still swimming around, but I haven't seen her eat in three days. I read one time about feeding egg yolk to fish with mouth rot, but now I can't seem to find that article. Any suggestions about getting her to eat?


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

dip the food in fresh garlic juice. I perks up the fish's appetite


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