Help ID this bacteria, parasite or fungus?

[Fancyfish]

keep it isolated. i would not treat the tank unless others show symptoms. But i would add some salt to the tank. you said you added some stuff, it that's antibiotic, then do the full recomended course. you don't want to develp resistant bacteria. :)

[ScorpiosWife]

Thanks FF, into the Homer bucket she goes. Easier to do a water change that way anyhow! Hope she pulls through. Thank you so much for all of your insight & research.

[ScorpiosWife]

Well, she's still kickin this morning & her side looks a little better. Yay!

Yesterday, before I put her into the bucket, I noticed the area had "molted" or the scab came off, hard to describe. The entire affected area came off & was lying on the bottom of the beta cup with her. Her side still looked the same underneath the part that fell off, but today the red spot is a little more defined and the area is much smaller. I guess dosing her with the 4 things I have on hand at the same time is helping her or at the very least not allowing it to spread. Aquarium salt, Pimafix, Melafix & Sentry Mardel Batershield are what I used. Tomorrow Sunny is bringing me some more stuff & hopefully she'll kick this crap and be on her merry way back to the tank. She looks so bored in the bucket but I'm glad she's alive to be bored.

[SunnyHouTX]

Yay! Got a pic of that scab? Lol

[ScorpiosWife]

Actually, Sunny, I do! I was like WTH is THAT and snapped a couple of pictures, lol. I didn't post them cuz they're fuzzy but since you mentioned it... here's the best one.

[SunnyHouTX]

You think it could have been a fish louse?

[ScorpiosWife]

Um... *dunce hat* Fish louse?

[Fancyfish]

fish louse, Argulus, parasite. common in ponds and at the wholesale level.

[Fancyfish]

It's flat, has prominent eyes, a sucking disc and a stiletto. Transparent it tends to take on the color of the fish. Hmm then it says Ulcerations are common at the area the louse attaches to as is bacterial infection by Aeromonas and Pseudomonas. So continue to treat as you are doing. If it was still attached you could remove it with tweezers or dip it into a formaldehyde bath for 15 to 30 minutes.

[Fancyfish]

I was trying to see if I could see it in the previous pictures but I can't. And I can't really tell from the picture you posted. but that's ok. if it was and is now off the fish or if it wasn't the fish is looking much better you should be able to pull it through. Keep up with water changes.
:)

[ScorpiosWife]

Thank you, FF!

[SunnyHouTX]

LOL, I didn't have time to type all that up. I've dealt with fish louse a long, long, time ago and that wound did look like a fish louse ulcer.

[Fancyfish]

:)

[ScorpiosWife]

Whatever it was/is the whole thing fell off about 3 hours after the first round of triple meds, but the wound remains & is healing. She's still kickin, eatin & swimmin in her bucket. Hope to see her still doing so in the morning. I check on her so often, I feel like a stalker. To top all this off, she will be giving birth any day now. I just hope she gets healthy enough that going through that while recovering from this doesn't kill her. After all this is done, I'm gonna have to name her if she lives. I feel confident that she will. Thank you so much to all of you for your help!!!

$2 fish = $30 save, lol

[nacra99]

Make sure that you don't stop the antibiotics until the wound has completely healed over (add another day or two if you want to be sure). You need to make sure that you get all the nasties so they won't develop immunity to the drugs.