rjsomers Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 (edited) First I have been doing 50% W/C daily for the last 4 days in case nitrate / nitrite was a problem - bought test kit and I have 0 ppm apparently. I have a clown loach showing signs of ick - but the medication I has says loaches are extremely sensitive to treatment. What do I do? In separate tank - Betta has wound on back - not sure how it happened - treating with melafix / pima fix but still not improving. In yet another separate tank - guppies and mollies showing signs of stress possible fin / tail rot and possible fin clamp (molly) Don't know if it is related but all started when I started feeding NLS. I lost in 1 tank my otocinclus and angel's, Other tank a Molly and a guppy and betta tank lost an apple snail. All tanks have been tested and other than the KH being low tests show no build up, pH issues etc. Live plants in all tanks. Betta tank is cold water tank. I have never used anything other than Pimafix, Melafix and Nox ich Please help. Edited August 22, 2009 by rjsomers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sorry to hear of your problems... I have yet to completely trust any of my test kits...they always come in at 0! I stopped using them. Is your guppy tank crowded? If yes, you might want to thin out the crowd. Overcrowding can cause fish to be more suseptable to disease. I would suggest increasing the temperature in the tanks and add some aquarium salt...it's definately saved lots of my fish from medications. Also, maybe minor, maybe not...I wouldn't use the same net in your tanks...it can spread diseases. I have about 6 nets for that reason. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Wingin it, those are exactly my thoughts too except I don't own test kits. My other suggestion is to use a quarantine tank for new fish too. Good luck with your fish. We all hate to lose a fish!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 First I have been doing 50% W/C daily for the last 4 days in case nitrate / nitrite was a problem - bought test kit and I have 0 ppm apparently. you should not be showing zero nitrates if your tank is cycled. nitrite and ammonia should be at zero and nitrates in a cycled tank should be around 20 or so at most, if the tank is properly stocked and filtered. nitrate is not harmful to fish like nitrite and ammonia are. I have a clown loach showing signs of ick - but the medication I has says loaches are extremely sensitive to treatment. What do I do? i've only had to deal with ich once on a betta in a bowl, so i can't help you on this loach-wise, sorry. In separate tank - Betta has wound on back - not sure how it happened - treating with melafix / pima fix but still not improving. don't use melafix on bettas! the melacula (spelling?) oil in it is not good for their labyrinth organ. if the wound is not deep or in bad shape i would do daily water changes of at least 50% and see if that helps aid in healing. In yet another separate tank - guppies and mollies showing signs of stress possible fin / tail rot and possible fin clamp (molly) i would suggest daily water changes for this tank. fin rot happens when water quality goes downhill, and the clamped fins are signs that the fish are stressed. what size tank is it and how many fish in it? overstocking will stress fish and leave them more susceptible to disease. Don't know if it is related but all started when I started feeding NLS. i don't see how the nls could have a connection, unless you are overfeeding and not cleaning out the leftovers and the water quality is affected. I lost in 1 tank my otocinclus and angel's, Other tank a Molly and a guppy and betta tank lost an apple snail. All tanks have been tested and other than the KH being low tests show no build up, pH issues etc. Live plants in all tanks. Betta tank is cold water tank. the betta should be in a heated tank, as they are tropical, and like their water at about 78 degrees. I have never used anything other than Pimafix, Melafix and Nox ich the above issues, IMO, don't need medicating, just good old fashioned clean water. and as mentioned, equipment shouldn't be shared between tanks, especially when you have sick fish. keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Sorry to hear of your problems...I have yet to completely trust any of my test kits...they always come in at 0! I stopped using them. Is your guppy tank crowded? If yes, you might want to thin out the crowd. Overcrowding can cause fish to be more suseptable to disease. I would suggest increasing the temperature in the tanks and add some aquarium salt...it's definately saved lots of my fish from medications. Also, maybe minor, maybe not...I wouldn't use the same net in your tanks...it can spread diseases. I have about 6 nets for that reason. Good luck. I'll second this treatment option. I've found it very effective with the recommended salt dose on the side of the carton. I've saved corydoras and a baby clown loach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 on the off chance that there is bad bacteria causing the problems then raising the temp is not a good idea. bacteria like it warm and don't like cooler environments. as for salt as a treatment, yes, if you are definitely dealing with ich. but i wouldn't use salt as a 'general tonic'. freshwater fish like freshwater, no salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 2 of the tanks are 33 gallon 1 tank have 4 zebra danio's, 3 balloon mollies, 3 apple snails, a clown loach, and various nuisance snails. Temp is 78 degrees. I have added aquarium salt at about 1 tbsp as I have heard to be careful with live plants. I use the big al's water conditioner, bio clean and stability when I am adding new fish. Should I continue doing the 50% water changes daily on this tank? Add more salt? Other than clown loach showing white spots (assume ick) everyone else seems to be fine - but this tank had the highest loss at 5 fish within 72 hours. Started the W/C when first fish perished. #2 tank has about a total of 15-20 guppies from fry to adult but mainly juvenile, 2 blood parrot cichlids, 2 adult mollies, 2 juvenile mollies, otocinclus, clown loach and nuisance snails. Temp is 76. I have added aquarium salt at about 1 tbsp as I have heard to be careful with live plants. I use the big al's water conditioner, bio clean and stability when I am adding new fish. Should I continue doing the 50% water changes daily on this tank? Add more salt? Other than the 1 molly seeming not right, fins seem a bit clamped and 1 or 2 guppies showing fin damage / rot everyone else including fry are doing well. This tank lost 1 guppy and 1 molly. Again started w/c everyday after first fish. #3 tank is the 5 gallon betta tank with power filter - 1 betta, 2 guppy fry I can't catch and 6 white clouds. The white clouds were to go into the #1 tank but are just staying put at this point. Temp is 73 degrees. I have added aquarium salt at about 1 tsp as I have heard to be careful with live plants. I use the big al's water conditioner, bio clean and stability when I am adding new fish. Should I continue doing the 50% water changes daily on this tank? Add more salt? Other than wound on the bettas back and not minor IMO, everyone else is fine. I will sterilize my nets with active boiling water. I have several large nets which is fine but I will have to get a few more small nets. I do transfer plants occassionally. My hospital / quarintine tank was only set up yesterday so not comfortable putting fish in it yet. I have a few plants in it right now but should I have it a higher salt content and not have plants? treat it differently? pH in all my tanks is between 7-8 Tell me what I am doing wrong and help me fix it. Basically HELP. If I need to modify my routine anything ask I want these tanks to get better and have no problem admitting errors or stupidity. Other than plants I do not have any incoming fish for a week or 2. PS - Fish are fed small amount only want they can eat in 2 minutes. NLS flake, and a few pellets for my cichlids, once a week bloodworm, 1 algae wafer per tank for my bottom feeders as my tanks have zero visible algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Also - How do I clean my python ? Obviously I do not have 1 for each tank. I have a simple one for my quarantine and betta tank but use my python for my larger tanks. Would boiling salt water help / work? Should I quarantine new plants that come into my home? How long? Sorry for the questions. I want this to all work for me. Its been years and I was using soft water since living on Vancouver Island. I never had so many issues. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 For new plants head up your local pharmacy for some Potassium Permaganite(sp?) If you soak them in a solution for five minutes or so i've been told that it'll kill EVERYTHING On the plant but won't killor damage the plant itself. That might be your biggest issue. For the QT tank bare bottom for easy cleaning(a light dusting of sand is okay too) Hardy plants that you don't mind killing (hornwart is what i use) and maybe a cave or something for the stressed fish to hide in but is easy to clean. Don't forget to have that extra media in your tank filters to keep a backup supply for the occasional filter for the qt tank. Get some salt for that betta. Salt for the rest too and be sure to give a really really good gravel vac every water change. If you are worried about the plants you can always remove them to a couple of buckets until the treatments are over. I don't know what Big Al's stuff is like but i've never heard of BioClean. Anyway Test for Ammonia and NitrIte since you said you don't have NitrAte(the end product of the cycle that only plants and WC's remove) the other thing you can do is take a water sample into Petsmart for a free water test to be sure it's not your test kit and be sure to bring a few different samples as they use test strips and they can be unreliable but are a good general indicator. Good luck L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I have added 1 tbsp per 10 gallons in the loach / pleco tanks (33 gallons) - 1 tbsp per 5 gallons in the betta tank. I did a 50% water change this am and yes I always vacuum the gravel for waste / debri. I am increasing the temp to 86 by 1 or 2 degrees an hour and will continue high temp and salinating with 50% water changes (gravel vacuuming) for 3 days past last spot resolution and will not add such a high amount of salt after that (1 tbsp per 15 gallons). Thoughts on this? PS Betta tank is running 2 filters since can't move white clouds yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I have added 1 tbsp per 10 gallons in the loach / pleco tanks (33 gallons) - 1 tbsp per 5 gallons in the betta tank. I did a 50% water change this am and yes I always vacuum the gravel for waste / debri. I am increasing the temp to 86 by 1 or 2 degrees an hour and will continue high temp and salinating with 50% water changes (gravel vacuuming) for 3 days past last spot resolution and will not add such a high amount of salt after that (1 tbsp per 15 gallons).Thoughts on this? PS Betta tank is running 2 filters since can't move white clouds yet. Be carefull going too high in temp. I had a heater malfunction for a few days at 90 degrees and as a result I started loosing fish. The way the salt/heat treatment works is that the heat speeds up the lifecycle of the ich and then salt kills it off while it's vulnerable, young, and looking for a new host. depending on your strain of ich you might kill it off with temperature, but some strains are fine at the higher temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Still working on the Ich. Adding 3 tbsp to 33 gallon tank after daily water change - vacuuming gravel as best as I can around the plants. Temp is at 84 and has been for 3 days. I feel like I am not doing enough. I am used to medicating animals and dressing - this in not a cool feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Still working on the Ich. Adding 3 tbsp to 33 gallon tank after daily water change - vacuuming gravel as best as I can around the plants. Temp is at 84 and has been for 3 days. I feel like I am not doing enough. I am used to medicating animals and dressing - this in not a cool feeling. It takes a bit of patients. Are you still medicating the tank or is it purely salt now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I never did use the Noxich. Just salt, cleaning and heat. Should I use the Noxich? I have the desire too but thats the vet med influence. Suggestions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I never did use the Noxich.Just salt, cleaning and heat. Should I use the Noxich? I have the desire too but thats the vet med influence. Suggestions ? As the saying goes if it isn't broke don't fix it. If the fish are doing ok and getting better, don't start now. I've seen a few decent fish keepers swear by the method you're using. Many on here will swear by some brand of ich medication they have used. Others will swear this med or that med kills anything it touches. I'd suggest checking out http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=354 to learn a bit more about how these companies figure out what works and what doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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