# Advice on how to save Herbert? Treating a blood parrot



## Amberfish (Dec 15, 2020)

Hi I’m wondering if anyone has any advice to help me save Herbert. He is a pet from my daughter’s school and we have him in a hospital tank at our house. We maintain the aquarium there and happened to have a tank ready to go. He first presented with what looked like popeye. One eye was much worse, but it was evident in both eyes. He also had some white lesions on the front part of his body and was swimming awkwardly. We first tried treating him with melafix and then an anti-fungal medicine. We were then able to obtain some Kanaplex so began that treatment. He has had 3 doses, each spaced a day apart. The night of the first dose I saw him lying on the bottom of the tank belly-up and barely breathing. I knew he was going to die and felt awful about it. He was like that for several hours. When I got up in the morning and checked on him, expecting the worst, he was swimming around the tank! I was shocked! His demeanour has improved and he has been active and demanding frozen bloodworms every day (he is refusing other food). We kept treating him and the less-affected eye improved and the lesions on his body started healing. His bad eye did not improve, but instead started developing little white round bulges that protruded from the swelling. Some seem to have ruptured now and look like white craters, and the swelling around the eye is as bad as before, or maybe worse. We had some API general cure (only enough for one dose) so I put that in, but not sure if that was the right thing to do. We’ve also been adding salt to the water and have been doing about a 30 percent water change before each new dose of meds. Does anyone have any advice? I’m getting attached to this fish and really want to save him! Also, if anyone desperately needs Kanaplex please pm me as we ordered a bunch.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

Throwing so many different medications in the tank is like taking a shot in the dark, and is unlikely to make a difference in the long run. Unfortunately, when a fish is that far gone chances of survival are low.


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## Amberfish (Dec 15, 2020)

Thank you for the reply. Yeah, I don’t think his chances are good, but I’m really surprised at how active he is and how much his behaviour has improved. He has even eaten some cichlid pellets today. I put the general cure in because I thought maybe the weird white things could be caused by a parasite. I really have no idea. Does anyone know what they are? Maybe just abscesses? I wish we’d caught it sooner. We really only see the school fish when we do water changes etc.


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

How much salt are you dosing with? I think the salt and water changes are likely to be the most effective or at least the most efficient way to treat it.


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## Amberfish (Dec 15, 2020)

Thanks. We are putting in 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons and doing a daily water change. Do you think we should increase the amount of salt? He improved a lot and got his colour back, and his eye growths went down by two thirds or so, but in the past few days his eye is getting worse again.


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