Heater Burn ...

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
I had a casualty yesterday in one of my tanks. One of my snakeskins managed to get wedged under a heater and must have panicked and really got stuck. I found it like that in the am so I have no idea how long it was there. Long enough to really get a serious burn. I am actually amazed its alive. I'm going to to try and use this as a learning tool and document it here. Sometimes these burns heal no problem on their own. This isn't going to be one of them. The Tissue is very burned and an infection has set in. I have moved the fish to a hospital tank and will be using Oxytetracycline on it. Its not my first choice but Its what I have and should work.

I have no idea if this fish will live of not. Its going to be a hard fix. If I see it suffering or declining in health I will euthanize it. But I hope to document its recovery here. I would be surprised if it didn't have a scar but Discus have surprised me before in their healing abilities. I did not think about doing this yesterday so we have to start on Day 2. Which is the first dose of antibiotics.

Day 2..

119711

Al

[jeep]

Wow, that's really bad. Good luck! I will be following!!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Wow, that looks bad. I’ll be following to Al.
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

At least you saved him, Al. I bet he will recover but have a big scar. I'm curious as to why you chose Oxytet rather than a heavy dose of salt or meth blue.

[danotaylor]

Holy cow Al, that's a bad burn. Is that 1 of your breeders? From a health care perspective, salt would be a helpful addition in the healing process, unless of it unmeasurably increases potency, or reduces the effectiveness, of the antibiotic.
All the best sir!!

[brewmaster15]

At least you saved him, Al. I bet he will recover but have a big scar. I'm curious as to why you chose Oxytet rather than a heavy dose of salt or meth blue.

Hi Liz,
Good question. Burned tissue is very susceptible to infection and the redness you see in the picture is indicative that its begun, The Burn is deep, past the skin. Salt is great for exterior abrasions and small cuts, but with an extensive area like this it could make it worse by drawing out the water from the fish and act as irritant stressing it out more. Meth Blue is a decent antifungal agent but I would not want to use it on a raw open wound.

Oxytetracycline is broad spectrum and absorbed by the fish even if it stops eating. This gives me a better chance of success. Its also the only antibiotic I have on hand. Its more slower acting than things like Kanamycin but its inexpensive and still very useful and easy to obtain. Its only real side effect in the fish is they can become skittish and jumpy.


hth,
al

[brewmaster15]

Holy cow Al, that's a bad burn. Is that 1 of your breeders? From a health care perspective, salt would be a helpful addition in the healing process, unless of it unmeasurably increases potency, or reduces the effectiveness, of the antibiotic.
All the best sir!!


Not one of my pairs but an adult I had plans for.:)

[LizStreithorst]

Hi Liz,
Good question. Burned tissue is very susceptible to infection and the redness you see in the picture is indicative that its begun, The Burn is deep, past the skin. Salt is great for exterior abrasions and small cuts, but with an extensive area like this it could make it worse by drawing out the water from the fish and act as irritant stressing it out more. Meth Blue is a decent antifungal agent but I would not want to use it on a raw open wound.

Oxytetracycline is broad spectrum and absorbed by the fish even if it stops eating. This gives me a better chance of success. Its also the only antibiotic I have on hand. Its more slower acting than things like Kanamycin but its inexpensive and still very useful and easy to obtain. Its only real side effect in the fish is they can become skittish and jumpy.


hth,
al

Good info to have, Al. I've always avoided Oxytetracycline because I heard about the jumpiness. The only antibiotic I have on hand is Kanamycin, but I bet it's so far out of date that it wouldn't do much good were I have to use it.

[slicksta]

Hi all,
I had a casualty yesterday in one of my tanks. One of my snakeskins managed to get wedged under a heater and must have panicked and really got stuck. I found it like that in the am so I have no idea how long it was there. Long enough to really get a serious burn. I am actually amazed its alive. I'm going to to try and use this as a learning tool and document it here. Sometimes these burns heal no problem on their own. This isn't going to be one of them. The Tissue is very burned and an infection has set in. I have moved the fish to a hospital tank and will be using Oxytetracycline on it. Its not my first choice but Its what I have and should work.

I have no idea if this fish will live of not. Its going to be a hard fix. If I see it suffering or declining in health I will euthanize it. But I hope to document its recovery here. I would be surprised if it didn't have a scar but Discus have surprised me before in their healing abilities. I did not think about doing this yesterday so we have to start on Day 2. Which is the first dose of antibiotics.

Day 2..

119711

Al

I'd flip him over and drizzle a little lemon juice and a smear of tartar sauce.

[jimmyjoe]

I hope all goes well, it sure would be crazy for this beautiful example of a SS to go belly up. Well, if anybody can bring this beauty back it's you Al good luck with the doctoring this fish is in good hands. Jim in Ohio

[Adam S]

Wishing it the best, but that's a nasty looking burn. At least it's swimming upright.

Concerning the heater: is it mounted with suction cups? If so, do freak accidents like this happen enough to merit not mounting them?

[Megalodon]

Good info to have, Al. I've always avoided Oxytetracycline because I heard about the jumpiness. The only antibiotic I have on hand is Kanamycin, but I bet it's so far out of date that it wouldn't do much good were I have to use it.

I would choose kanamycin before tetracycline. Too many organisms are resistant to the latter.

Drugs in dry form have been found to retain their potency decades beyond their expiration date. So wait for a sale and stock up! Also before certain drugs are no longer available without a prescription.

[Maddie]

I just started back on discus and I had two discus get burned on the heater but not as bad as the burn on your discus. I left mine alone and by next day no scar. I would like to see how your discus turns out. They are tough fish and I'm sure yours will recover. Hopefully without too large of a scar.

[Pices]

Sorry about your fish Al. Poor guy! In his favor, he has 1 of the best Dr.’s in the discus world on his side.
Do you think mounting the heater on the floor of the tank could help avoid burns? I could see a fish trying to swim behind a heater on the side of the tank, but maybe not so much under one on the bottom? Maybe they’d just end up burning something else? Anyway, He’s a good case study for burns. Also, I think we should name him sparky.
Patty

[warblad79]

My Giant blue had a deep cut a year ago and became infected. I noticed there's cotton like that starts growing around the wound. So I gave him a quick PP bath and Furan 2/ kanaplex combined for about a week. Luckily, he survived but the scarring took a while to completely heal.

[pitdogg2]

That'll buff right out.

[Mando]

How’s the fish holding up, Al?

[Willie]

Back in the day, I had a 4" discus stuck behind a heater. I wasn't particular observant and only noticed when I saw the fish with a burn pattern after the water change. The area was comparable to Al's fish. There were no scales left and the burnt area was just pink. Poor guy, must have been in so much pain.

Back then, I had no hospital tank and wasn't particularly up on medication. It stayed in the grow out tank and I just kept making large water changes. All this happened before I was doing daily water changes. I kept up the water changes (I don't recall the frequency) and just hoped for the best. Within a short time (I don't recall how long), the fish resumed eating. Eventually, it was fully recovered. The burnt area regrew scales. I recall it was a blue turq. The regrowth was surprisingly good. The striping went right through the burnt area, except it was somewhat offset from the unburned area.

My learning is: first, do no harm. Keep everything really clean. If the fish was in good condition beforehand, discus can be very forgiving.

Good luck, Al.

[Mando]

Back in the day, I had a 4" discus stuck behind a heater. I wasn't particular observant and only noticed when I saw the fish with a burn pattern after the water change. The area was comparable to Al's fish. There were no scales left and the burnt area was just pink. Poor guy, must have been in so much pain.

Back then, I had no hospital tank and wasn't particularly up on medication. It stayed in the grow out tank and I just kept making large water changes. All this happened before I was doing daily water changes. I kept up the water changes (I don't recall the frequency) and just hoped for the best. Within a short time (I don't recall how long), the fish resumed eating. Eventually, it was fully recovered. The burnt area regrew scales. I recall it was a blue turq. The regrowth was surprisingly good. The striping went right through the burnt area, except it was somewhat offset from the unburned area.

My learning is: first, do no harm. Keep everything really clean. If the fish was in good condition beforehand, discus can be very forgiving.

Good luck, Al.

It’s so nice for people to share experiences like this! Love this forum more and more every day.

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
I had hoped to do more updates but with the Holiday and family things it just didnt happen. The fish is doing well and healing..Its been 8 days since I posted this and have treated with Oxytetracycline. The infection has subsided and the healing is progressing well. Discus never cease to amaze me. They get a bad rap as weak fish but they really are not...If kept as they should be they have amazing immune systems.

Here was 8 days ago..

119927

Here is today..
flash
119928
no flash
119929

cropped burn area.
119930

When I treat with an antibiotic I don't cut short the treatment. 10 days for oxytetracycline is what I use as it takes a few days to reach therapeutic levels in the fish from my experience.

I will post more updates as it progresses but we are over the hill and on our way to patient discharge.:)
al

[Second Hand Pat]

Can only say WOW Al :D It is looking very good.
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

Amazing.

[Pices]

That is an amazing recover in just 8 days! I really thought he was a goner. Dr Discus does it again!
Patty

[jeep]

Nice job Al!!

[Mando]

So happy reading this! GJ!

[brewmaster15]

Thanks everyone. I didnt do much here though..just gave it good clean water, the judicious use of the right antibiotic for an appropriate duration, and good food. The fishes immune system did the rest.

Pretty happy so far with the healing.

Al

[brewmaster15]

Update time...

Fish is doing very well... the scab has fallen off and the healing continues, you can actually see some scales growing back in the middle of the wound.


Original injury... 11/17/2018

120186


today... 12/6/18

120187


closeup.. see the scales? That should start to close up now from the margins and interior.

120188


al


al

[LizStreithorst]

That's amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing pics when the fish is totally healed. I wonder if there will even be any sign of the injury.

[brewmaster15]

I don't know Liz, I think there will probably some scales that grow back funky. On a Snakeskin , it probably won't be that bad, but if this was a solid or open pattern fish like a turq I think it would be more obvious.

Time will tell.

So much for Discus being whimpy weak fish huh?;)

al

[Mando]

great recovery, and he is a beautiful one! glad he survived.

[Tuterosso]

what dose you use oxytetracycline in food or water?

[brewmaster15]

what dose you use oxytetracycline in food or water?

200mg/10 gal in water

[Tefloncat]

I know this is an older thread but is silver nitrate EVER used in this situation? In humans it's one of the drugs of choice. I only starting to learn to convert human medicines to fish (discus in particular).

[Tefloncat]

A second question, and maybe I missed it. But, did you or can you debride a burned or infected area of the fish? I believe clipping fins is okay, as long as it isn't part of the structural ray.