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FAQs on Freshwater Diseases 3
Related Articles: Freshwater Diseases, FW
Disease Troubleshooting, Ich/White Spot
Disease,
Choose Your Weapon: Freshwater Fish Disease
Treatment Options by Neale Monks,
Related FAQs: Freshwater
Disease 1,
Freshwater Disease 2,
Toxic Situations,
Aquarium Maintenance, Freshwater
Medications, Freshwater Infectious
Disease, Freshwater Fish Parasites, Ich/White
Spot Disease, Worm Diseases,
Nutritional Disease, African Cichlid
Disease 1,
Cichlid Disease,
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Texas has tumors 10/29/09
Hi
My Texas cichlid has not been well for about a month. At a guess he is
about 8 years old. He started getting sores on his side which I treated
with Melafix and they cleared up.
<Likely unconnected... Melafix isn't much of a medication, and at best
helps the natural immune system repair damage and fight infection.>
Then a few weeks later he started to getting sores again. I removed him
from the tank (950 litre tank) and treated him again with Melafix. It
didn't clear up the sores and he started to develop pink lumps
(tumors???)
<These look somewhat like Lymphocystis, a not uncommon viral complaint
seen among "advanced" (Perciform) fish including cichlids. The precise
causes of this disease are not completely understood, but it seems to be
triggered by stress, likely environmental stress if occurrences in the
wild are anything to go by. So do check the aquarium, paying attention
in particular to water chemistry and water quality. Herichthys spp. need
hard (10+ degrees dH) water with a basic pH (7.5) and the water should
be medium temperature (around 25 C) and clean (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and
nitrate less than 20 mg/l). Because cichlids are messy feeders, and
because this species is so big, keeping water quality where it should be
can be difficult.>
I changed his medication to aquari-cycline and he developed more lumps
between his bottom fins. I then tried treating him with para-cide and
after 2 weeks he still has sores and tumors which are appearing at the
base of his fins, his body is bloated. He is still eating, his energy
levels are a little lacking and is gasping.
<Again, I'd tend to be looking at water quality/chemistry issues. Make
sure the tank isn't overstocked, and that the filter is adequate to the
needs of the fish. For cichlids this size, I'd be going with filter
turnover rates 8 times the volume of the tank per hour. Make sure the
carbonate hardness is sufficiently high that pH isn't fluctuating
between water changes. With a few exceptions, cichlids are
hypersensitive to low oxygen levels, and low water turnover and
excessively high temperatures can cause an "oxygen crisis" for these
fish that tend to stay near the bottom of the tank, where oxygen levels
are invariably lowest.>
I am about to start treating him for fluke and tapeworms.
<Obviously, make sure you haven't fed anything like live feeder fish.
This isn't a thing in the UK since feeder fish aren't sold here, but in
some parts of the world they are still available, and that causes major
problems. To produce a fish you can sell for pennies, healthcare will
not be a priority. A feeder fish is really just a way of getting
parasites into healthy fish. So if you have used feeder fish, then yes,
there's quite a good chance your Herichthys has picked up something
nasty. Certain fish species used as feeders, notably goldfish and
minnows, have high levels of thiaminase and fat, and over the long term,
both can cause serious problems. Thiaminase breaks down Vitamin B1,
leading to deficiencies, and among other things, this causes the immune
system to work less well. Fat causes problems by building up around the
internal organs, and again, over time, that's going to lead to all sorts
of metabolic abnormalities.>
I really need some advice as I would hate to loose him. In the pics you
will see that his lumps are around the base of his fins and the sore on
his side
<Indeed. Lymphocystis is essentially untreatable, and comes and goes
depending on the health of the fish. Given optimal conditions and a
balanced (i.e., varied, vitamin-rich, including plants) diet most fish
do recover. Provided the tumours aren't obstructing an orifice, they are
not substantially more dangerous than warts. But it does take months for
fish to recover. While Lymphocystis won't be causing laboured breathing
or sluggishness, the environmental problems that cause Lymphocystis
could well be causing other problems as well.>
Thanks
<Cheers, Neale.>
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Flashing 10/12/09
I have a 55 gal freshwater which is into its 4th week with fish. Nitrite
levels are extremely low and I have been keeping up with my water
changes and testing quality every 2 days. I know the tank is still
cycling because it isn't showing any appreciable level of nitrate just
yet- I have no live plants. For stock, I have 5 albino Corys and 5
golden bar platies. I wanted to make sure the tank cycle was stable
before introducing more fish. I noticed several of the platies flashing
about two weeks ago. Other than this, they have no signs of disease
whatsoever. All fish are swimming, eating, and behaving appropriately,
other than the flashing.
<Flashing is a common behaviour when the water isn't "quite right" -- be
alert for ammonia and nitrite. Both of these will cause fish to dart
about or scratch against rocks. All the fish feel is irritation
(burning, perhaps?) on their most sensitive parts, their gills. They
can't know the difference between a parasite (which they try to brush
away, hence the flashing behaviour) or a chemical "burn".>
Research led me to think gill flukes, since there are no signs of ich.
<Pretty unlikely, to be honest. Never come across flukes in 25+ years of
fishkeeping. They're more common among wild caught fish, and
particularly common among pond fish kept outdoors, but not really a
problem for most farmed tropical community fish.>
I would normally treat with salt, but I read that Corys are sensitive to
salt,
<Actually, copper/formalin as used in most Ick medications is *far more*
toxic to Corydoras than the low levels of salt needed to treat Ick. Do
remember that the whole issue with salt is osmotic stress. Some
hobbyists might say things like catfish are "allergic to salt" but
that's utter garbage. Indeed, there are various catfish that live in the
sea! So salt, in and of itself, isn't toxic to them. If you routinely
added too much salt, week in, week out, that certainly will stress
Corydoras and indeed any other fish from the soft waters of the Amazon.
But across the short term, and in small amounts, it's harmless.>
so I have used Quick Cure for three days as directed on the packaging
(one drop per gallon- I only added 50 drops), doing a 25% water change
today. I know that treatment might take longer than this.
<Likely won't do anything either way. I somehow don't feel this is a
gill fluke problem. The fact your tank is just 4 weeks only strongly
implies variable/poor water quality, and I'd expect fish kept in such a
tank to "flash" from time to time. I'll also mention here that carbon
removes medications from the water. Some inexperienced aquarists use
carbon in their filters (usually without understanding why, but rather
because the retailer sold the stuff). Always remove carbon when
medicating the fish, or precisely nothing will happen.>
I am concerned the Quick Cure may have totally destroyed my bacteria
base and the tank will need to cycle all over again.
<Non sequitur. QuickCure doesn't harm filter bacteria if used as
instructed.>
I have an established tank with a goldfish in it, and the levels there
are great. He's been in the tank for over a year. Perhaps I could add
some of his water to jump start the cycle once treatment is complete?
<There are little/no filter bacteria in the water. By all means add a
cup or two of the gravel, or even better, some filter media. But
water...?
Pointless.>
Also, should I discontinue the Quick Cure or treat for a little longer,
doing water changes every third day? I have not seen any flashing
behavior today.
<Don't automatically assume "ergo propter hoc".>
Sorry if this question has been asked before. I searched and searched
for info on nitrifying bacteria and quick cure, but I couldn't find much
definitive info.
Helen
<The correct explanation here is likely the simplest one. Do read,
understand cycling and be aware of the likely problems when you cycle
with fish. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Flashing 10/13/09
Thanks a lot Neale!
<You are welcome.>
I feel much better about it now-the idea of gill flukes had me in a bit
of a panic. I checked the ammonia in the tank and the levels were under
recommended parameters.
<Not sure what you mean by "recommended parameters". It's a common
misconception that "low levels" are acceptable. They are not. Any
ammonia above zero is potentially dangerous. A healthy aquarium has zero
levels of ammonia and nitrite. Anything above zero means your tank is
overstocked, under-filtered, overfed, or not yet fully cycled.>
I will do as you suggested and add some of the filter media from the
established tank, as well as continuing to monitor water quality in the
new tank and keep up with water changes.
<Very good.>
I did remove the filter pads, which have activated carbon in them, when
I started treating with the Quick Cure. I will discontinue the treatment
and just focus on the water from now on. Thanks again for your advice- I
very much appreciate it.
<Cheers, Neale.>
Concerned and Confused... mis-mix FW, induced troubles, lots
of reading... 7/9/09
I have a 30 gallon tank. It is about 7 months old.
Community Tank with the following fish:
2 Dwarf Gouramis
<Do see WWM re: Colisa lalia; a problematic species in many ways, and
not recommended.>
1 Silver Mollie
2 Sailfin Mollies
<Mollies usually do best in warm, hard, slightly brackish water; this
makes them incompatible with most community fish.>
1 Pleco
<Will need a tank twice your size within 18 months or so; maximum length
is about 40-50 cm, depending on the species.>
3 Cory Cats
<Groups of 5 or more, please.>
1 Red Tailed Black Shark
<Highly aggressive, and will terrorise your fish once mature in a tank
this small.>
2 Mystery Snails
<Needs subtropical conditions as well as a cooler dormant period of a
few months in damp soil every year; most specimens kept in tropical
tanks die within a year.>
3 Neons
3 Glowlights
<Again, schooling fish, so must be kept in groups of 6 or more
specimens, and ideally 10+ if you want them to be happy and to look
nice.>
1 African Dwarf Frog
<Difficult to feed, and must have wet frozen bloodworms and other
wet/live foods periodically; frogs fed dried foods and pellets very
prone to constipation.>
2 Angels
<If these are males they will fight, and if they pair off, they could
become unholy terrors, so be careful.>
1 Guppy
My Silver Mollie and Sailfin Mollie both gave birth about 3 wks ago. I
have the fry in a breeders net (I hate these things!) The fry seem to be
happy and healthy, but I find about 2 dead each day. My Silver Mollie
died about 1 week ago. From the symptoms she displayed, I believe it was
from "Dropsy".
<Mystery deaths of Mollies usually come down to people keeping them in
the wrong conditions. Be under no illusions about this: Mollies are not
"easy" fish, and they are ONLY hardy when kept in brackish water.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm
>
The week before, my male guppy died, I'm not sure why, he seemed to be
doing fine one minute and the next minute he was sitting on the bottom
of the tank. My local "Fish Expert" said it looked like aggression to
him?!@#
<Sounds a pretty vague analysis to me.>
Anyway, now my Dwarf Gourami was hiding in a plant, acting strange, not
eating (normally one of the first grabbing for food), top fin not
standing up, and a hairy cloudy white patch on both sides.
<Sounds like a fungal infection; treat accordingly using something
reliable (not Melafix, Pimafix or any other tea-tree oil medication). Do
be aware of the numerous problems with this species:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/dwfgdis.htm
Best avoided really, and I don't recommend them. I have an article
coming out in TFH Magazine shortly all about commonly sold fish that
should be avoided, and this is one of the species mentioned. Colisa
fasciata and Colisa labiosus are infinitely better fish.>
In the 7 mths that I've had the tank, I haven't had any problems. Is
this just a freak thing...is my tank diseased, or what do you think is
happening?
<Your choice of fish is a bit random and, frankly, poorly thought out.
Without statistics on water quality, temperature, water chemistry it's
also impossible to say whether you were unlucky or have been keeping
this fish badly. I can say that sudden deaths of livebearers for example
are most
common when the water isn't sufficiently warm or hard or brackish, and
both Mollies and Guppies will thrive best at about 26-28 C, hardness 15+
degrees dH, pH 7.5-8, and ideally slightly salty conditions, around 3-5
grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water.>
What steps should I take to correct the problem(s)?
<Read, understand, anticipate, pre-empt. Cheers, Neale.>
Dying Fish 4/10/09
Greetings,
<What ho!>
I have been using your website for years now and I really appreciate
what you guys do. I have been trying to build a successful tank for four
years now, but am still having trouble making it work.
<Oh dear.>
The equipment I am using is:
1 - 48”x22”x18” tank
1 - 350 magnum pro canister filter
2 penguin power heads (300gph) for my under gravel filter
The conditions of the tank are checked weekly and are:
The alkalinity is 120 ppm
The hardness is 200 ppm
The temperature is 78°F
The pH is 7.5 (I would like to lower the pH and hardness of the water
and have been doing twenty percent water changes with distilled water
twice a month for several years now, but that doesn’t seem to make a
difference.)
<I wouldn't bother; little to be gained, much to be risked. The water
chemistry here is fine for most community species.>
The stock I have in the tank is
One Black ghost knife fish - approx 6.5”
One marble angelfish - approx 3.5” in diameter (this is the body only,
not including fins. I am assuming this is how they are normally measured
although I believe it is full-grown)
Two Bala sharks - approx 5”
One Pleco - approx 4”
<All of these are fine in basic, moderately hard water.>
Problem:
The first thing I am worried about is the pH and hardness. I have read
about RO/DI systems on your website, but it seems like they are doing
the same thing distilled water would do, so I don’t know if getting one
would really help.
<Don't bother; it's not like you're breeding these fish and need
particularly soft water.>
I looked but can’t figure out any other methods to lower pH and
hardness.
<By definition, if you have 50% water at 20 degrees dH hardness, and 50%
at 0 degrees dH, you'll end up with water at 10 degrees dH. The pH will
drop somewhat, but unless there's something to acidify the water as
well, you'll still have a slightly basic pH. What tends to happen though
is that as hardness (specifically, carbonate hardness) declines, so the
propensity for acidification between water changes increases. This is a
bad thing. Adding stable, buffered water at pH 6.5 is fine if the tank
stays at 6.5 between water changes; but if the pH drops from 7.2 to 6.5
between water changes all by itself (because of nitrate going up,
organic acids, etc) you are likely to stress your fish. Ergo, it's much
better to give fish moderately hard but stable pH water.>
In the last three years I have lost 4 gouramis, 3 hatchet fish, a Kuhli
loach, a rainbow shark, and two angelfish. The gouramis, rainbow shark,
and angelfish all bloated and then died several weeks after they had
initially bloated. All of their deaths were spread out over a three year
period, the last death being the angel fish which had been in the tank
for two and a half years before it got sick.
<Whatever the causes, and I certainly can't determine them from this
message, not providing these fish with soft/acid water wasn't the key;
on the other hand, exposing the fish to constantly varying pH could be a
stress factor.>
All of these fish were introduced into the tank at the same time (three
years ago). The hatchet fish were eaten and the kuhlii loach is just
missing in action.
<Probably eaten by the Apteronotus.>
I haven’t figured out what I am doing that would cause this and am
worried it will continue to affect more fish.
<Would concentrate on choosing a few species of comparable size, and
then taking care to optimise water quality and diet, rather than fussing
over pH and hardness.>
I feed them twice a day, but not very much so I don’t think I am over
feeding them. The angel fish that is still alive and active has never
really had much color and its eyes have always been red, which was not
the case in the pet store when I purchased it.
<Commercially bred Angels are not especially beautiful fish, in my
opinion; certainly, the quality varies.>
I also have always really wanted to have discus, but from what I have
read that would be a very bad choice while I have the Bala sharks, plus
my track record isn’t doing too well.
<Symphysodon are certainly not appropriate to this aquarium. They need
warmer, stiller water than, for example, Apteronotus. Concentrate on
keeping fish that all share the same environmental conditions above all
else.>
I am hoping you can tell me what I am doing wrong so that I can add more
fish and retain them. If getting rid of the bala sharks and somehow
lowering the pH of the tank would allow me to get discus in the future I
would be interested in that, if not would you have any recommendations
as to what fish I could add since I have seemed to lose all the
compatible tank mates that I have found?
<Depends what you're after. Apteronotus albifrons will outgrow this tank
fairly quickly, so your prime issue is finding something bigger for this
potentially very large fish (250 litres upwards). It comes from shallow
but reasonably fast-flowing water habitats with plenty of oxygen, so
fish from similar habitats, such as Whiptail catfish and Brochis catfish
would be appropriate, as would some of the larger, but non-nippy,
characins, e.g., Silver Dollars or Bleeding Heart tetras. Congo tetras
look good with them too, though they're African rather than
Neotropical.>
Thank you so much in advance for your advice and your wonderful site,
Chris
<Thanks for your kind words, Neale.>
Deadly Diseases: Lymphocystis, Glugea, and Henneguya. 02/09/09
Hello All! Just writing this bc I had an important question and maybe something
you don't deal with often ... Before I start I have a 60 Gallon FW tank that has
been running for about a year. My ammonia/nitrites are always 0 and my nitrates
always 40ppm or less ... Anyways, about 1 month ago or so (maybe a little
longer) I noticed one of my blue rams which I've had almost a year had white
pimple looking bumps on the top of his head ...
After researching I came to the conclusion that he had Lymphocystis so I left
him in the tank. It would spread around his face, reappearing on a different
spot on his head as another healed but never got any worse than when I first
noticed it (he is still alive btw). Now, my question is this
... What is the
chance that this isn't Lymphocystis and is Glugea or Henneguya? (I never took
him out of the tank bc everything I've read said these diseases are even more
rare than Lympho.) The reason why I ask is bc over the past 3 - 4 days I have
lost 4 or 5 fish for unknown reasons ...
And they all exhibit the same
signs: Loss of color. They were all eating and active except for the color and
it got to the point where I could look in the tank in the morning and know which
fish were going to be dead by the time I got home from work based on the color.
Glugea and Henneguya is the only reason I could think of bc I have not done
anything different to my tank in a long time and I religiously keep my tank
clean and maintained. So what is your opinion bc I truly believe that my whole
tank will be dead in a month or less at this rate. (Which means I convert my
tank into a dart frog tank and forget fish forever lol). Thanks for the insight.
-Nick-
<Nick, I think these are unrelated issues. Lympho is by far the most
common viral disease among cichlids; or at least, the most common one aquarists
can recognise. It isn't fatal, and as you've noticed, it comes and goes.
It's a nuisance, but doesn't seem to harm the fish any, and eventually goes
away. If you're losing a bunch of fish -- of different types -- in a short span
of time, it's most probable there's an issue with water quality or chemistry.
Also consider reviewing diet, temperature, and even the age of the fish. So:
What are the fish? What is the water chemistry? Cheers, Neale.>
Freshwater Aquarium Disease
11/20/2008
Hi there,
1 month old 10 G freshwater aquarium, Fluorite substrate, 7 medium- sized
plants, holding steady at 80 degrees. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, trace nitrates. Was
populated with a single perfectly-healthy and happy male Betta fish.
<A single Betta in a 10-gallon tank is an excellent way to keep fish. Well
done.>
After a lot of research, I decided to add some cardinal tetras, so I
bought 8 of them from my local fish store.
<Hmm... Cardinals are sensitive,
and wouldn't be my choice for addition to a tank a month old... Also, small
tetras, even the "peaceful" ones, will nip the fins of Bettas. Unless you
absolutely 100% know better, Bettas are best kept alone or with small
invertebrates such as cherry shrimps, Nerite snails, etc.>
Fish looked
perfectly healthy and were had the brightest colors of any cardinal tetras in
town. I made the purchase and acclimated them to the water using the trickle
method over a nearly 3 hour period (I'm new and wanted to take every
precaution).
<OK.>
Fish looked great, were schooling perfectly and my
Betta was chasing them a little when they got in his way, just trying to assert
his authority I guess. I noticed that after a few hours one of them didn't
school with the others very much, and took to hanging out in a corner. When I
saw this behavior I removed him and put him in a separate container.
<Moving
fish to small containers is usually like switching them to Death Row. It's
almost always best to find out what the problem is and fix it.
Isolating
fish makes sense if you're moving that fish to another proper aquarium for
breeding or quarantining reasons, but just putting them into a bucket or jar
doesn't, in my experience, ever seem to do much good.>
The next morning his
swimming had changed dramatically. He just kind of paddled backwards very
rhythmically, banging into walls and everything, and was very non-responsive. No
symptoms other than this.
<Likely just stressed, too cold, bad water quality,
etc.>
Also, another loner tetra in the main tank which I removed. I was a
little freaked out. It reminded me of The Happening. Great movie FYI.
<Haven't heard of this movie, I'm afraid.>
Also, that morning I noticed my
Betta had stopped chasing the tetras. I thought he had just gotten used to them.
Both my Betta and the tetra school had very good appetites that morning. As the
day passed, my Betta became more and more reclusive, hiding near the bottom
under leaves. He would not come out to eat dinner that night. By nighttime, more
loner tetras, and both earlier loners died. Some white spots on the fish as
well. Went to the fish store and the owner gave me some Nox-ich, which I used
per the instructions for tetras. His cardinal tetra tank was crawling with an
ich-like something and he had lost many of them.
<Ick/Whitespot is indeed
very common in pet shops, and almost always when aquarists see it in home
aquaria, it is immediately after buying new fish.
Multiple ways to treat the
disease, the safest of which is the high temperature/salt method.>
The next
morning, white spots all over the place (I know it sounds like ich, but don't
tune me out just yet). My Betta had a literal white mask over his face, and a
large (3-4) millimeter round white spot on one of his gills. He was also
completely unresponsive, and solely concerned with trying to breathe through his
mask at the waters surface. He would also not leave the corner where the heater
and filter output were, and still wouldn't eat. The remaining four tetras were
schooling normally and were still eating, but they had ich-looking spots all
over their bodies. Over the course of the day, all of them died except one,
which I discovered the next morning in my filter input.
<At least some of the
other symptoms may be related to environmental issues. You haven't mentioned
temperature, nitrite, ammonia, pH or hardness levels, all of which are relevant
here. Almost always, diseases like Finrot and Fungus, both of which can explain
white growths on fish, are related to either environmental issues or physical
damage.>
More observations: after their deaths, tetras became much less
colorful, more gray (I assume that's normal). Before he died, my Betta was
having problems keeping himself righted in the water, kept falling over to one
side or the other. Whether this was a result of a swim bladder problem or lack
of oxygen I don't know, but I am pretty sure that his eventual death was caused
by oxygen deprivation. Also exhibited an odd behavior where he would stop moving
for a few seconds and then half jump out of the water.
Seemed he was trying
to get his labyrinth organ thing out of the water or something. Also, I think my
Betta's white mask was a result of him chasing the tetras and presumably coming
into contact with them, with his face.
White mask extended from mouth all
the way over his eyes at the time of his death.
<None of this particularly
unusual or indicative of one specific disease.>
Went to the fish store a day
after my final fish death and every cardinal tetra was dead. Over 200. BUT there
were other species of fish in that tank that were still alive! The fish-store
owner asked me what my tetra experience had been, and I told him everything I
just told you. He said that what I described with my Betta sounded like a fungus
of some sort. It was only that day that I remembered having noticed a white
fuzziness on some of my plants.
<The fuzziness on plants is usually not
fungus. Fungus grows on decaying organic matter, for example a dead fish, or
dead tissue on healthy fish.
Fuzziness on plants is usually algae, but
sometimes bacteria. In the latter case especially, it is a clear sign of poor
environmental conditions: too much food, too many fish, not enough water
changes, and not enough filtration. Bacterial fuzz is typically off-white or
grey in colour, and frequently has a silky appearance.>
Its very small and in
very localized patches, and on only one species, so I didn't think it was any
kind of fungus or mold. Also, for the life of me I can't
remember whether
the first time I noticed it was before or after I put the cardinal tetras in.
<Oh.>
Now that the tank had no more fish in it, I cranked my oversized heater
up to 89 degrees and left it that way for a week, but stopped using Nox-Ich.
After this week the white fuzziness has not seemed to have grown or changed at
all.
<Ick medication obviously only treats Ick.>
What is this crazy ich-fungus?? What monster of a disease can kill 200 healthy
tetras and the most beautiful Betta in the world, IN FOUR DAYS??
WHAT HATH NATURE WROUGHT??
<If nothing else, a simple lesson: Quarantine new
fish before adding them to a community. When a bunch of fish die immediately
after being added to a small aquarium, it is overwhelmingly probable that water
quality is the issue. The other common problem is that the aquarist exposes the
new fish to dramatically different water chemistry. Contrary to myth, fish can't
"acclimate" in a couple of hours to changes in water chemistry. It actually
takes some days. Of course, we normally impose on this, and only give the fish
30-60 minutes to adjust to the new water chemistry conditions, but that still
means that for a few days they're in a delicate, disturbed phase proportional to
how different the old and new water chemistry conditions are. Now, I mention
this because some people unwittingly keep their fish in water from domestic
water softeners, which you should NEVER EVER do.>
is this just some horrible
ich strain? (fish store owner said it was the worst outbreak of any disease he
had seen in all his years of fish-keeping)
<There are "super" Ick strains
going about. But rarely do they kill fish if treated properly. Certain
medications don't work at all on these stronger strains, though some do, for
example eSHa EXIT, a product widely available in Europe and the UK at least. In
addition, the old school salt/heat method will work too.>
finally, how the
heck do I sanitize my tank?
<You can't. Leave it with no fish for at least
two weeks running the salt/heat treatment. The salt will kill any free-living
parasites in the water, and the lack of hosts means the mature parasites can't
exist at all.>
Thanks so much for all the hard work you put in for the
aquarist community and our fish friends, you guys ARE AMAZING!!!
Ryan
<Cheers, Neale.>
Fish shock, FW... hlth. 08/18/2008
I recently added 3 new fish to my tropical tank, two are the exact same
specie and the third is another variety of the same species. When I
attempted to do my weekly gravel cleaning and water change I was
removing decorations from the tank. The new fish swam quickly from the
other side of the tank towards the decoration I was removing and slammed
into it. Then he floated around the tank for about 20 min.s barely
breathing before he fully recovered. I was wondering what I could do to
reduce his stress, I wasn't moving fast while removing decorations.
Should I get another fish of the same species, I know the pet store has
one. I also noticed my female guppy changes colour when my tank light is
out, she becomes pale but when the light comes back on she regains her
colour. I've tested ammonia and nitrites and there are none. Is this
normal for guppies to do, my other female doesn't seem to do this
though.
<No, it's not normal. You should certainly be doing everything you can
to reduce stress on your fish while performing maintenance. There's no
reason to remove all the ornaments and plants from a tank when cleaning
it, assuming you're maintaining the tank in a sensible way. If you do
25-50% water changes per week (the correct amount/frequency) all you
need to do is stir the gravel a bit with your fingers and suck up any
detritus with the siphon as the water is taken out. The filter will
handle everything else, assuming it's adequate to the tank (I recommend
choosing filters that offer four times the volume of the tank in
turnover per hour). Tanks only become dirty if they are too small for
the fish concerned, massively overstocked, or completely
under-maintained in terms of filtration and water changes. Take care
that any water added to the tank is identical in chemistry and
temperature to any water removed. Guppies do not like dramatic changes
in pH, and the use of marine salt mix (rather than "tonic salt") at a
low dose of around 3-6 grammes per litre will help here by adding
buffering capacity to the water. Generally livebearers appreciate the
addition of marine salt mix, but other types of tropical fish do not, so
review any tankmates carefully before doing this. Do remember that
Guppies need a tank at least 90 litres/20 gallons in size, with a proper
filter. Males are aggressive towards one another and pester females, and
in smaller tanks this aggression causes serious problems. So consider
the size of the tank, as well as the availability of hiding places,
particularly floating plants, before adding any more fish. You should
always have twice as many females (at least) than males if you want to
avoid behavioural problems. Cheers, Neale.>
Crayfish, cichlids; health ...
English... "Buttons are not toys"
7/31/08
ok so I have had my electric blue crayfish for about 5 months now. he's
appx. 5 inches long.
<Cool. Now, make sure you don't keep him with any fish.>
doing well until I accidentally introduced a seemingly well cichlid into
the tank.
<Oh dear.>
he blew up and died about a week ago. I think the Cray may have eaten
it!
<Well, fish don't "blow up and die" for no reason. Crayfish can catch
living fish and eat them, and they certainly will consume fish that are
sick/dead for other reasons.>
he's pretty lethargic now and he sits cocked up to one side and his legs
on top just sway back and forth. he really wont eat and I know he's
dying. is there anything I can do??
<No information here to work from. How big is this tank? What filter are
you using? What is the water chemistry (at minimum: the pH)? What is the
water quality (at minimum: the nitrite concentration)? Almost certainly
water quality is an issue, if not THE issue.>
pet smart gave me 'gel Tek' 'ultra cure PX'
<Pointless, unless you know what's wrong and how you cure it. Since you
have no idea what the problem is, how can you treat the animal?>
they said it would be ok for him to eat too, but he really wont. and now
my other cichlids are getting blown up looking too.
<Ah, definitely water quality.>
I noticed when the other cichlid died her scales were like coming up.
don't know if any of that helps, but what can I do to save my Cray and
my cichlids!??? I know by the way everyone looks I don't have long!
thank you!
<I'm assuming this is an overstocked, under-filtered tank, quite
possibly with the wrong water chemistry for the species being kept.
Without names for these cichlids, it's impossible to say what conditions
they require. Some (e.g., Mbuna) need hard, alkaline water. Others
(e.g., Severums) need soft, acidic water. All cichlids need spotlessly
clean water with zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and ideally as little
nitrate as possible, certainly less than 50 mg/l. In any event YOU CAN'T
MIX CRAYFISH WITH FISH. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: crayfish, cichlids; health 8/2/08
well the cichlids are African Kribensis, and ive had them since birth.
still have the parents in a diff tank. the water is fine, for all, checked
it over and over.
<If you say so!>
the cichlid I introduced was already sick, I know that, now) and when he
died, the kribs ate it and I think so did the crab.
<Letting fish eat dead fish is asking for trouble. Many diseases are spread
that way. Remove fish as soon as they die, and ideally isolate them when
they're sick.>
they were all fine till about 3 days after the Wal-Mart fish died. he seems
to be fine with my fish, ive never seen him raise a claw to them. not that
it wont or cant happen!
<Indeed. Many cichlids become territorial only once sexually mature, which
may take 6-12 months, depending on the species.>
I am well aware of that. so total in the tank I have 2 cichlids, and 5 small
tetras, and the Cray. the cichlids are still juvenile, only about an inch
and a half. all were fine until I put the seemingly fine Wal-Mart fish
(which I didn't buy, a friend did.) in.
<If you can't quarantine new fish, then you should be very carefully about
selecting additional livestock -- so accepting fish from friends really
isn't a good idea.>
I have a 50 gal tetra filter, with two filters, and a 20 long, which will
soon be a 30 long. I know I need at least a 50, but funds are low right now.
there's plenty of room for them, the Cray doesn't seem to mind, he's usually
busy and healthy, molted about 4 times successfully.
<Seems as if you're aware of the potential problems but depending on luck.
While we've all done that one time or another, it's hardly the best
strategy.>
its definitely a sickness from the Wal-Mart fish.
<Why do you say that? Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Unfortunately, there's no
guarantees that just because you've _added_ a new fish, the aquarium has
_developed_ problems because those new fish were sick. While it can happen,
it can also happen that the additional fish overwhelm the filter, or break
up the social structures, or a variety of other possibilities.>
I think by eating the dead sick fish they got sick.
<OK, if you say so. Can't say I'm convinced.>
the tetras I don't think ate any because they are fine and Im sure the
cichlids didn't let em get to eat any of the dead fish.
<Hmm...>
I noticed though that the cichlids scales look funny too. this just started.
they seem to be itching on the rocks. no ich though. can you think of
anything???
<Many things. If they're itching themselves, then Ick/Velvet are both
possibilities, and both can make a fish sick *without* obvious external
symptoms, because both diseases attack the gills before the skin. If the
fish are breathing heavily, for example, as well as itching, that's a good
clue that Velvet is in the tank. Saying the "scales looks funny" doesn't
help much. Are we talking excessive mucous, making the body look cloudy?
That's usually a water quality/water chemistry issue. Are the scales
sticking outwards, like the scales on a pine cone? That's Dropsy (oedema) a
symptom of a variety of things from internal bacterial infections through to
inappropriate use of "tonic salt". Cheers, Neale.>
Re: crayfish, cichlids; health 8/2/08
ok so Im not god, I don't know for absolute sure that the Wal-Mart fish
did it but here's my evidence... got 2 cichlids (don't know what there were,
just they were yellow.)
<Likely Yellow Labs, Labidochromis caeruleus. A smallish, fairly well
behaved Mbuna.>
kept em quarantined for month and a half. one got fat, and died.
<Right. If this happens *in the quarantine tank* then you obviously don't
put the survivor into your display tank. You run through all the possible
diseases, or ideally, and what I would have done, you take them back to the
store. This of course assumes the water conditions in the quarantine tank
were appropriate to the species in question. For a Mbuna, that would mean
hard, alkaline water with zero ammonia/nitrite, and low levels of nitrate
(less than 20 mg/l if possible). There is *absolutely* no point quarantining
in a tank that isn't cycled or doesn't have an appropriate chemical filter
to remove ammonia directly. You can't just stick in a new filter and hope
for the best. If new fish are exposed to a cycling tank, OF COURSE they're
going to get sick and die. You may known this, but I'm just putting this out
here fair and square so other people reading this can understand things.>
thought it was because of the water, they were in with goldfish, I know, but
it was the only thing I could do at midnight (drunk friends do dumb but
thoughtful things). I wasn't going to risk putting em in my good tank. not
fair for the goldies I know, but what else could I have done???
<Hmm... no idea.>
so when one yellow fish died, after being fine for a month I figured it was
indeed the water.
<Why "the water"? Think about this logically for a moment. Fish live in
water. They like water. So why would water kill them? There are really only
two ways that water *conditions* can kill them -- either the wrong chemistry
or poor water quality. Pick and choose. If 50% of your new livestock die,
then your plan of action is firstly to see if the environment was right. At
minimum, you check nitrite and pH. In the case of Mbuna, you'd need zero
nitrite and a pH around 8.0. If this tested fine, you would then look for
possible symptoms of disease. But you would absolutely NOT move the
remaining "healthy" 50% into the show tank until you'd at least checked off
all the possible diseases and perhaps treated proactively.>
so I moved the last yellow cichlid to my good tank in hopes it wouldn't die
too. after about a week he did die, at night.
<I'm concerned that these "mystery yellow fish" are Mbuna, and you're
exposing them to completely inappropriate water chemistry and quality. Just
to reiterate, Mbuna need water with a high level of carbonate hardness and a
high pH. Adding "tonic salt" will not work. Kribs will tolerate -- but don't
appreciate -- such conditions, and South American cichlids will be
positively stressed by them.>
nothing I could do. by the time I woke up he was already being consumed...Im
not depending on luck, but Im tryin to do the best I can with what I have.
<We've all been here. Which is why I'm stressing research and water
chemistry/quality so strongly. You have very little scope for error and
seemingly no Plan B, so you have to get things right first time. This
demands a slow, methodical approach rather than hoping for the best. In
other words, carefully identify all your livestock. Write down what
conditions they require. Determine whether you can provide those conditions.
We can help with all of these things. But so too will a good book. Libraries
are full of them.>
I did not ask for these fish nor did I want them. like I said drunken
present at midnight. not something I would have ever done. didn't need any
more fish. now, the velvet thing sounds like what I have. a lot. would this
cause my Cray to be sick too??
<Crayfish won't get sick from the disease, but they certainly can carry the
infectious stages of the parasite life cycle on their bodies. In any event,
any Velvet medication can, likely will, kill the crayfish because they
contain formalin and/or copper, both highly poisonous to invertebrates.>
and what do you recommend to fix it?
<Remove the Crayfish to a quarantine tank. Treat the tank with a
Whitespot/Velvet combo medication. Nothing tea-tree oil based! Remember to
remove carbon from the filter (if you use the stuff).
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwfishmeds.htm
Once I'd finished that course of medications, I'd perhaps run something for
systemic bacterial infections, for example Maracyn.>
thanks for being prompt, I don't think I have much time!
<Cheers, Neale.>
|
Black pom poms... no data of any sort ID 5/26/08
My freshwater fish tank has been afflicted with numerous black balls like pom
poms the size of the eraser on the end of a pencil. What are they and how can I
get rid of them?
Thanks
<... gots me... Any chance for a pic or two, water quality tests, history and
make up of your system? Bob Fenner>
Re: got prob again 5/16/08
hello,
dear Neale, thank you so much that u answered my question even you were busy,
thanks a lot.
<You are most welcome!>
May God blesses you and ill medicate them until they become fully active and
fresh but until I use medicine should I introduce more fish or not?
<Medicate the fish until healthy. Once you are happy the fish are in perfect
condition, and the water quality is good, then think about adding another fish.>
thanks
ALI
<Have a good weekend, Neale.>
Sick fish in distilled water- yikes! -05/07/08
HELP!!! My fish is floating at the top of the tank. It is sideways so I can
see it. Some scales are missing and it is hardly breathing.
<Sounds to be on the way out, to be honest.>
It looks normal apart from that but it is very skinny.
<Suggest starvation... have you been feeding it properly?>
I've put it in a separate tank with clean, distilled water.
<Distilled water will kill your fish. Remove. NOW!>
What is wrong with it and what do I do? Please help me save my fish.
<No idea. Need you to tell me what the fish is, how big the aquarium is, what
the pH and nitrite measurements are. Describe the symptoms. Then we can do
something (perhaps). Cheers, Neale.>
Question about disease/illness in FW 5/6/08
Hello,
<Hi>
What is the most likely diagnosis for a fish that breathes rapidly and stays on
the bottom of the tank. There are no physical signs on an illness on the fish's
body. I have had this happen a few times and find it hard to diagnose and treat
in quarantine. Both times it happened was when the fish was in my quarantine
tank after purchase.
Thanks for your help.
Zach
<By far the most common cause of these symptoms is water quality issues.>
<Chris>
Black calvus breathing really hard for air
03/19/2008
I bought a black calvus and it is breathing really hard for air.
<... Mmm, all fishes (in fact all livestock) is damaged, stressed in
shipping/moving... hence one part of the suggestion to quarantine, allow it to
"rest up" before being placed in a community setting where it may be harassed,
have to compete too hard for food...>
I put him in well established tank, 80 degrees PH 7.9 nitrites and nitrates are
in a normal parameters.
<... need data, not subjective evaluations>
The other cichlids he is with are doing fine and breathing normal. He just sits
on the substrate doing nothing. He does not have any signs of disease no white
spots or no cloudy eyes all fins are good he sits right side up no swaying or
anything what do you think
Troy
<... Read more widely on the Net re fish physiology, husbandry, particularly the
value of quarantine... there is very likely nothing "wrong" with this Cichlid
than that it's new. Bob Fenner>
Re: Fish suddenly sick
3/17/08
Hi Neale,
<Allison,>
Unfortunately, all my fish died over about a three-day period (after the pH
shock I wrote to you about a few weeks ago, see the email below).
<Not entirely surprised, but I'm sorry anyway.>
I don't feel up to trying to do another community tank, and after all that I
don't even think I believe in the pet aquarium business anymore, but I have a
beautiful 30-gallon aquarium set up and don't want it to go to waste, so I am
thinking of just getting a male Betta.
<Ah, don't give up! Figure out what went wrong. My recommendation would be this:
go hard water! A hard water aquarium is easy to set up, and chemically VERY
stable. Put plenty of calcareous media in the filter to act as a buffer, and
maybe mix some coral sand in with the plain gravel or silica sand substrate. Use
limestone or tufa rock for decoration. Skip live plants or at least use plants
that like hard water (such as Vallisneria, Egeria, Anubias, and Java fern). What
fish? Livebearers are the way to go! Other good hard water fish including
wrestling halfbeaks and Australian rainbowfish. Plenty of scope between these
for size, colour and temperament. The big "score" for hard water tanks is they
intrinsically buffer themselves, so wild pH changes shouldn't happen.
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwhardness.htm
Trust me on this; such a tank will be easy to maintain!>
I don't have any bacteria left in the tank. Do you think I can get the singular
Betta and the cycle won't be too bad, or should I do a fishless cycle?
<Do a thorough clean-out of the tank and filter, start from scratch, and use a
Fishless cycle product of your choice. Bio-Spira is popular, but I'm Old School
and simply grab some established media from another tank.>
I'm only going to have this one fish and there will be a lots of dilution for
his pollution, but I've read that the bacteria won't build up until the ammonia
spikes. Do I really need to have a big spike or can the bacteria get started
even without lots of ammonia?
<Bacteria DO NOT need a spike in ammonia. Just a little. 0.5 mg/l or less is
ample.>
Thanks,
Allison
<Cheers, Neale.>
|
Various issues with guppies, Gourami, molly
and giant Danio- Itching, not eating, fungus, White "poo" the list goes on-
Please help! Iatrogenic issues... – 03/10/08
There are so many different possibilities on what's wrong with my fish the
100's that I have read are doing nothing but confusing me more- So, I turn
to you and Thank you in advance for your assistance and your extremely
useful/informative site- Now, where do I begin?
Yesterday I had one of my male FT guppies die- this was in my 10 gallon tank
<Hard to keep such small volumes stable, optimized...>
and about 1 week prior a piece of his tale came missing- then a few days
later he started "shimmying" then a day before he died his back tail got
"clamped" and yesterday he succumbed...I had just bought a used 20 gallon
(so I can convert my 10 to a hospital/quarantine tank) and after his death I
moved all the fishies, gravel, fake plants, and filter media only to the 20
gallon.
<Good>
The light is much better in there and I saw that on my other male guppy he
has 2 fairly large scaleless patches on both of his front side fins and its
white where the scales used to be. my sm/med Molly and guppy are noticed to
be scratching on everything- but no other visible symptoms
Just scratching seems pretty vague- No white spots, and still eating- but I
do assume that this is related to the death of my other male guppy
<Likely so>
and possibly the male Betta that I just took out of the tank yesterday
(thinking maybe he was the one who caused the missing piece of fin,
<Could well be>
but he's still healthy)-
One big problems is I went to the LFS store today and they gave me Organi
Cure
<Uhh, don't use this... too toxic>
and said to use it and it was safe- dumb me put it right in and then noticed
that it was for MARINE FISH-- ugh...So about a half hour after putting it in
I re-inserted the carbon and am now about to change half of the water....is
it safe after this to put quick cure for FRESHWATER fish in after this??
<NOT safe to use formalin period...>
And is it safe to add aquarium salt to this tank to aid in the medicine with
neon tetras in there?
<Mmm, Neons don't "like" much salt...>
My next issue is in my 100 gallon- this as of yesterday is now completely
cycled- the day before my Nitrites were still reading about 1.0ppm but now
its gone completely and my Ammonia has been gone for at least a week- One of
my dwarf Gouramis is acting "ill"-
<... it wasn't present during the nitrite...?>
and I have a Giant Danio that has had a white spot on his lower lip (maybe
"fuzzy") for at least a week but no other symptoms (still swimming and
eating like crazy!)
Gourami (100 gal)- "hiding" either on ground or upper back corner of tank-
not eating or moving much- going on for at least a day and I did notice that
him and one of my other blue dwarf Gourami's have "white stringy fecal
matter" (haven't noticed anyone else though)
<The species of Dwarf Gourami, Colisa lalia is notorious for ill health
issues... see WWM re>
pH: 8.2 in both (has remained stable)
ammonia: 0 in 100 gal (20 isn't really anything since all new water today 2
days ago it was around 1)
nitrite: 0 in 100gal (20 now irrelevant 2 days ago around .5)
<Any present is toxic>
tank temp: 78 in both now but before I changed the 10 gal to 20 I realized
the heater was broke in 10 and the water temp was about 70-72
Volume and Frequency of water changes: 100 gal about a week ago 25%
20 gallon all of it yesterday (when moving everyone from 10) and about to do
half since I think it might be over medicated
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Charcoal in both- (double dose
Prime with all water changes
In 100- Aquarium salt (about 15 tablespoons), aquarium fertilizer for plants
(safe for fish) but only half dose, Bio-Spira about a weeks ago
In 20- While everyone was in 10 gal I had 2 tablespoons of salt (is it safe
for tetras?) and in the 10 gallon yesterday morning(?) I did put one of
those Lifeguard tablets in for about 20 min (about half dissolved) then took
it out put in the charcoal and my husband then put a "fungus tablet" by
jungle in there (it was only in there for about a hour and half before I
found out and put the charcoal filter back in- Since yesterday after
changing everyone into the 20 gallon (with all new water) and just added the
Organi Cure (which contains formaldehyde and Copper)
<Yes... both toxic...>
It was in there for about an hour that not only was it for marine fish but I
gave the marine fish dose (1 drop per gallon) so I put the charcoal filter
back in-
Tank inhabitants:100 Gal- 3 male Gouramis, 5 Mickey platies, 3 Bala sharks,
2 mollys,2 giant Danios, 3 bloodfin tetras, 2 med/lrg angelfish- 1 rainbow
shark and 1 albino rainbow shark
20 gallon- 5 neon tetras, 4 molly fry, 1 sm/med molly, 4 FT guppies 2 male
(1just got today(oops))
<Ummmm... see below>
2 female
Recent additions to your tank: 100 gallon - plants- always rinsing and
adding more plants but I do take out ones that look anywhere near bad and
added the albino rainbow today and new bubble wand
20- just added replacement male guppy today and new tank/filter/heater/water
yesterday
I finally ask how should I treat these itchy fish that are scratching their
scales off?? Should I QT them and/or treat the whole tank and with what and
Should I treat the old tank prior to putting anyone else in there (could it
be in the gravel that's left) (whatever "it" is)
What should I do about my Gourami- I want to put him in my hospital tank but
I am afraid that there is something still in there from yesterday....AND
should I worry about the Giant Danio? Maybe QT and treat him also?
Thank you so much for following all this and I am sorry about the length I
just wanted to make sure I had everything covered in order to get the most
accurate advice....I am ever so grateful to all and any assistance I
receive...Thanks again!!
V/R a newbie that needs to stay away from the meds and stop buying and
stocking so many tanks!!! (but I just don't want my fishies to suffer by
being in cramped quarters or being ill and want to help ASAP!!)
<We, you, need to skip back a few steps... a very good deal, okay, all of
the problems presented could/should be avoided through simple use of
isolation/quarantine of new specimens... Posted on WWM... the sudden loss of
your Guppies... may well be infectious... see the Net re Chondrococcus
columnaris... the treatment you list (OrganiCure) ingredients are dangerous
to use, should NOT be placed in main/display tanks (only in controlled
treatment ones)... and the mixes of livestock... Neons and some of the
livebearers (e.g. Mollies) are poor... too wide-differences in temperature
and water quality... I strongly encourage you to stop buying livestock (for
a few months) and instead going to the public library or online and
buying/borrowing a few standard books on freshwater aquariums, reading them
at your leisure, taking down good notes... The many and grievous errors you
are making will just kill more livestock... Bob Fenner>
Re: Various issues
with guppies, Gourami, molly and giant Danio- Itching, not eating,
fungus, White "poo" the list goes on- Please help! – 03/18/08
Your advice about stopping the increase of my fish load and educating myself
on aquarium care and each species requirements is perfect and I honestly
have been trying to do just that.
<Very good.>
I don't plan on having the mollies in with the Neons much longer- only
until they are big enough to not get eaten in my main tank (they are 4
fry and its taking forever for them to grow)
<Fry should take 3-4 months to get big enough to return to a community
tank.>
My husband and Dad both seem to think all this carefulness is a bunch of
"bull" and it was my dad that started this whole thing in the first
place by buying my 5 month old son a 1 gallon quickly followed by a 10
gallon fish tank and overstocked them with inappropriate fish, which in
turn guilted me into buying a 100 gallon (used) tank so they could
spread out- (and then a 20gallon so I could use the 10 for a "hospital"
or QT tank and have a tank for the non aggressive fish).
<I'm sure your Dad has many wonderful character traits and personal
skills, but when keeping animals of any sort, you DO need to be careful.
It's like raising kids: some people make very little effort to raise
their kids, and the kids turn out nice as pie. But often times when
people are neglectful parents, the kids get ruined. If you want to raise
great kids with the most chance of success, you need to make an effort.
Same with fish: some people have great fish tanks but do nothing more
than change the water once a month. But most folks who take this
approach end up with dead fish. So here at WWM we advocate a "best
practise" approach that delivers the highest likelihood of success.>
Dad has had a 55 gallon for quite sometime now and has never paid
attention or attempted to learn anything about the Cycle process, water
quality, compatibility, or health of fish- His method of fishkeeping is
buy em put em in the tank feed 4 times a day and when one dies flush
then get a replacement.
<Flushing fish down the loo may well be breaking a law in your state. In
any case, his approach is about comparable to parents who say children
should be beaten on a regular basis. Might have been acceptable in
Victorian times, but not any more.>
I am trying to take a more educated approach- even though fish don't
have "nerves" (according to him) and cant "feel" I still find it
important to take the best care of them I can providing my resources.
<Your Dad is out of step with the science; there's increasing evidence
that fish can feel pain, though perhaps not in quite the same way as
mammals. At least some of the argument against fish feeling pain is a
way of rationalising fishing: if we discover that fish do feel having a
hook placed in their mouth and then dragged by it out of the water, can
we really treat fishing as a harmless sport? I say this as someone who
quite enjoys angling.>
Luckily I've finally got both men to stop stocking the tanks for now (
it took a while there have been quite a few additions since my last
email) and taking care of what I have is what the majority of my time
has turned into- Of course with a 5 month old the only time I can do
anything is when he's sleeping which leaves me no time to sleep myself
:). I am trying to educate myself as quickly as possible and I have even
tried to return some of the fish but the places they bought them from
won't take them back.
<Very good.>
I have initiated the use of the QT tank and have treated a couple of my
fish with great success thus far- My only ongoing problems - not
surprisingly to you I am sure- Is my dwarf Gouramis.
<Total waste of space, these fish.>
My first one finally passed and I can't help but think it was only
because he wouldn't eat- I didn't see him eat a thing for well over a
month...after treating him with Fungus clear (I thought it was worth a
try because he was swimming and "resting" on his side and/or upside down
and it treated swim bladder) he became right side up within 24 hours and
no longer seemed ill aside from the not eating (when I fed him he always
appeared to try to get the food but couldn't aim right or something) At
any rate he passed a few days ago and my 2nd one (a reminder I have 3)
started not eating and seemed to have a bubble in his belly. My husband
put him into QT but we haven't done any sort of treatment except trying
to get him to eat (peas included). My 3rd still seems fine however I did
move him from the 100 gallon to the 20 because I noticed today that my
Angels were nipping and chasing him away from the food (and as soon as I
put him in the 20 gallon he pigged out)
<Angels can be bullies at the best of times. Anyway, re: Dwarf Gouramis,
see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm
>
Anyways- my new questions are solely related to DGD- I have read that
this disease stays in tanks after the sick is gone- now, is this only if
the infected actually dies in the tank or if they show symptoms in it?
<It's a viral disease, and no-one really knows whether it "stays" in
tanks. Some viruses can lie dormant for ages, other viruses die quickly
if they have no hosts. No-one really knows how it is transferred between
fish, either. I'd tend to avoid Dwarf Gouramis anyway, hence for me it's
an academic question, not a practical one.>
Also, the one symptom none of my Gouramis have had is the skin lesions.
I've looked very carefully at all 3 and did not see any abnormalities at
all. Does this mean that they do not have DGD or is this not a necessary
symptom to classify it as such.
<May be other things. Dwarf Gouramis do get sick from Finrot,
constipation, and all the other things aquarium fish can suffer from.
It's just that in my experience here in England, most of the sick Dwarf
Gouramis I see in shops have symptoms of the viral disease, so when I
hear/read stories about sick Dwarf Gouramis, I tend to put the viral
disease at the top of the list of suspects.>
I guess that's not my only problem because I have noticed that almost
all of my fish have had the white sometimes even clear and/or tape-like
segmented feces. Does this mean I should be treating them all for
parasites?
<Unless you actually see worms (tapeworms or thread-like worms poking
out of the anus) likely not; constipation or lack of fibre is a more
likely problem. Hexamita and Hole-in-the-Head will also cause similar
symptoms, though this disease is most often seen (in FW tanks) with
cichlids. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwwormdisfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfoods,fdg,nutr.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hllefaqs.htm
>
Its a come and go thing and other than these issues they seem perfectly
healthy.
Thank you so much for your extremely informative and helpful website and
your time and dedication you give to us new hobbyists. I am sure its
frustrating when so many people jump into these things feet first
without any previous education or forethought and then have to come to
you when the inevitable problems begin to arise.
<Ah, you "get it"! Yes indeed, if people researched before they bought
their fish, we'd get a lot fewer messages! But even if people do make
mistakes, what matters is that they learn from them. I've done some
really stupid things in my time... for example putting a too-small male
halfbeak with a female (she ate him!). When stuff happens, figure out
what went wrong, come up with a better plan, and move on.>
Thank you again for your time and this amazing resource. Very
Respectfully, A dedicated student.
<Good luck! Neale.>
|
FW... disease, learning
2/15/08
Hi Guys.
<John>
In the last two days, 4 of my 13 fish have started flashing.
<Mmm... have you "done" something recently to the tank? Added any new fish, live
plants or foods?>
Sterba's Cory
Albino Cory
Juvenile Black Molly
<Mmm... a brackish water animal...>
Juvenile Red Wag
I've looked hard but at this point I do not know whether it is velvet or ich.
<Or...?>
I want to protect the other fish but I can't take the flashing fish out of my
30G as my 10G quarantine tank is being used right now.
The only meds I know that treat both velvet and ich is Coppersafe but half my
fish are Corys and I had a bad experience with Coppersafe
before.
<I would not use copper...>
I feel like I should be doing something now but am I supposed to wait until I
see obvious signs of what it is before I use any meds? The
flashing is pretty regular so I know something is wrong but at what point would
one normally use meds?
<On more assurity of their need, usefulness>
I'm still pretty new to this so please forgive my ignorance. I did try to find
an answer to this by hitting a lot of the forums and
google searching but I couldn't find anything that was specific enough hence my
bothering you guys.
Thanks.
John Murphy.
<Raising temperature may be enough here to effect some relief... Read on WWM
(again) re Ich... and re the Molly:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
and http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
FW... Ich, Guppy dis., using
WWM 2/13/08
Exactly 2 weeks and a day ago, I bought 4 fish from PetSmart. 2 Fancy
Guppies (Male is, I don’t know about female) and 2 Chinese Algae Eaters.
<Do read re this fish, Gyrinocheilus... very mean... don't eat much algae...>
I put all four fish in Wardley Essentials Ick Away in a 3 gallon tank
<Mmm, too small, and why the medication?>
for 3 days. At the end of the 3 days,
<Not long enough to treat an actual case of ich...>
the male guppy and C.A.E.’s were moved to the community tank (10 gallon; four 1
inch swordtails
<Will need more room than this>
and some sort of snail) The female was moved into a 1 gallon hospital tank and
treated for Ick
<If one fish has ich... they all, the system does...>
with the medicine I mentioned. For 2 weeks and 1 day now, she doesn’t get better
or worse. Her top fin is clamped and her color has faded. She eats A LOT.
<A good sign>
All the fish food and frozen bloodworms and everything. She is also pregnant.
She swims like normal, but breathes rapidly. She’s always breathed fast, opening
and closing her mouth. The swords don’t breathe with their mouths open, but
maybe guppies
do. (These are my first guppies) I’m totally out of ideas.
<I'd be reading on WWM re...>
This doesn’t look like any disease people have ever mentioned. They say that the
fish stops eating. Mine doesn’t. (Oh, and the edge of her tail looks like it was
traced with something white.
<... reads like a case of Columnaris... Chondrococcus...>
(The edge of her tail is white)) When she swims all fins are erect, but when she
drops down her top fin droops. I don’t see any parasites on her body. I’ve also
heard something about giving egg yolk to fish. (I can’t find the website again.)
Please help. Any help at all will be much appreciated.
<Read, on WWM, the Net re... Bob Fenner>
Freshwater Aquarium Issue,
dis... env.? 1/27/08
Hello,
<Ave.>
Your site is a great resource. I read the faq's nearly everyday and have learned
a lot. I have a problem with one of my aquariums that has me pretty much
stumped.
<Hmm...?>
The aquarium is a 55 gallon that has been set up for about 6 months. It has a
Marineland HOB filter (rated at 350 gph) and a new Fluval 305 Canister filter.
<Sounds good.>
Its inhabitants are 3 Congo Tetras, 2 Geophagus Surinamensis, 1 gold Severum and
a Rainbow Shark (all less than 3 inches).
I do weekly water changes of about 25%. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates around
.20, pH 7.6, temperature 76.
<All sounds fine. G. surinamensis is a superb fish, though notoriously sensitive
to nitrate, so keep an eye on that.>
Now, to the problem: The canister filter was added about 3 days ago (replacing
an old Marineland HOB (200 gph)). All was well until about a day later when I
noticed slightly clamped fins on one of the Surinamensis. I then noticed the
Severum had some redness above its mouth. Within hours, everybody (except the
shark) was breathing heavier than normal and generally were listless.
<Uh-oh.>
I tested for water quality problems but all tests came back as normal, just as
previously noted. I started suspecting that somehow something toxic might have
been introduced with the new filter (I had rinsed out the inside of the filter
and all media before installing), since there have been no other recent changes
(fish, diet, hardware, etc.). I changed 50% of the water and added Quick Cure (I
know I am medicating without knowing exactly what is wrong but I have had
success treating unknown maladies with this product on more than one occasion
and have never had any negative consequences).
<OK. You seem to know what you're doing, so I'll let this slide...!>
I followed-up 24 hours later with another 50% water change, more Quick Cure and
rinsed the canister and its entire media with very hot water. I am now seeing
some improvement. The redness has disappeared from the Severum and most of the
fish have started to behave normally, albeit, they all seem to be breathing a
little more rapidly than normal.
<Does sound as if there was something in the water. Did you clean anything with
soap before running it in the tank?>
The most worrisome problem is the Surinamensis, who continue mostly to just sit
on the substrate instead of doing their normal foraging throughout the sand.
<This is what they do when water isn't 100% perfect. They are among *the* most
sensitive cichlids out there. All the Geophagines are. They're better than
Tanganyikan goby cichlids I suppose, but not by much.>
I am not sure what else, if anything, I should do at this point.
<Do consider whether water chemistry changed; pH is often overlooked. The
absolute value is relatively unimportant, but changes can be dangerous. Do also
think if anything might have got into the water, e.g., paint fumes, beverages.>
I feel like the situation has improved overall and I am tempted to just let
things sit and see if the improvement continues.
<Agreed. Provided water chemistry is sound, you should just leave things be.
Water changes are always a good idea when things like this happen, so feel free
to do another 25-50% each day for the next 2-3 days just to make sure anything
nasty has been flushed out. Adding some carbon to a bubble-up box filter might
help, and can be removed after a week. A left-field thought is Velvet, which
often attacks the gills before anything else. Perhaps you had an outbreak of
that, and the QuickCure helped, and now things are better. Velvet often
irritates the gills sufficiently you see distressed breathing long before you
see the cysts.>
Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Michael
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Freshwater Aquarium Issue
1/27/08
Neale,
Thanks for your very quick response. In the few hours that have elapsed since I
first wrote, ALL of the fish look much better.
<Good news.>
The Surinamensis are out and about and I would like to declare victory, except,
I've been fish
keeping for about 45 years and know it's a bit premature.
<As you say. But I suspect you're over this problem at least, and things should
settle down.>
Thanks to you and WWM I knew that dilution (since I've seen parasitic,
bacterial-type problems, etc., in the past), via big water changes, was a key
element to resolving this particular problem. It should be noted that your
advice concerning awareness of soap residue (or any foreign chemical) on
aquarium equipment and external toxicity issues are imperatives and we all need
to be vigilant concerning these.
<Agreed. I confess to using soap from time to time to clean things, but that's
always followed by serious rinsing and soaking of said ceramic ornament or
whatever. An "Old School" trick after soaping or bleaching items is to stick
them in the cistern of the loo. With each flush, it gets rinsed a bit more! The
safe alternatives are lemon juice/vinegar (great for removing lime scale from
things, while being harmless to fish; brine (great for generally killing algae
and bacteria, also non-toxic); and hydrogen peroxide (for serious grime removal
and disinfecting, but breaks down so quickly as to be harmless after a quick
rinse and dry).>
In hindsight, I would have to blame something with the new filter (every time
I've checked the pH it's been about the same) and in the future, I'll be even
more aggressive in rinsing/cleaning anything I add to my tanks.
<OK.>
Thanks again for your quick response and dedication to helping others in our
hobby.
<We're happy to help. Enjoy your fishkeeping!>
Michael
<Cheers, Neale.>
?... Neale... FW...
nitrogenous... 01/14/2008
I had my water checked about 2 weeks ago. The lady said the ammonia levels
were a little high and to change 1/4 of the water which I did so I'm doubtful
that it's the water, but I'll go get it tested again.
<You should have, at minimum, a NITRITE test kit at home, so you can do this
test whenever something looks amiss. Regardless, ammonia levels are never "a
little high" -- the only safe ammonia level is ZERO, and everything else is
somewhere on the spectrum of dangerous to fishes and likely to cause disease.
High levels kill fish outright, lower levels trigger Finrot, fungus, etc. You
should also be changing not less than 25% of the water per week, and I'd
heartily recommend 50% per week if you're observing problems. Nothing helps fish
health more than regular water changes. Just from your use of words here, I
suspect you aren't maintaining your aquarium properly, and you have water
quality issues, and this in turn makes me assume the problem is Mouth Fungus or
similar.>
It's nothing like a wart, well it's not distinct. Its kind of a milky white
color but nothing actually sticks out of his skin, but you can tell the mouth is
swollen. Here's a picture, its kind of blurry but you can still kind of see what
I'm talking about.
<Can't see the picture, but assume Mouth Fungus (actually a bacterial
infection). Get a combination Finrot/Fungus medication and use AT ONCE. Follow
the instructions on the package carefully if you've never used a fish medication
before. Removing any carbon from the filter is essential.>
View full size
<Picture didn't come through.>
as you can see there there's kind of a milky color on the top of his mouth, and
its swollen which you cant really see from the picture
<Sounds like Mouth Fungus.>
View full size
<This picture didn't come through either.>
this was how he looked before with nothing around his mouth But thanks so much
for your help and fast response!!
<Over to you. The problem here is two-fold: likely poor water quality through
inadequate maintenance, and then the Mouth Fungus infection itself. Fix both of
these! Cheers, Neale.>
Sudden FW
angelfish death... & Epistylis/Protozoan f' 11/25/2007
Hi,
<Hello.>
I've been reading and reading your site looking for answers to the
sudden death of one of my Leopard Angelfish.
<Hmm... sudden deaths are always signals to check aquarium conditions:
water chemistry, water quality, correct functioning of heaters,
filters.>
I've had these 5 Leopards ( none larger than half dollar size and most
between half dollar and quarter in size) for about 4 weeks in a 12 gal
QT.
<Quite a small tank even for juvenile Angels, and small Angelfish do
not, in my experience, always travel well. I recommend people buy them
around half-size, say, 5-6 cm.>
The fish arrived just after an outbreak of ich in my 55 gallon cycled
tank and so I had to move the worst victims of ich into the hospital
tank leaving the 12 as my only resource and not cycled. I have been
doing twice weekly 25% water changes ever since to the 12 gal QT and
checking the levels of ammonia, PH 7- 7.2 , nitrites and nitrates and
all were kept at zero or nearly so.
<When it comes to nitrite, "nearly zero" isn't good enough. Cichlids
generally, and Angelfish especially, are sensitive to dissolved
metabolites.>
The nitrate being the only one ever over 0 and not over .25.
<0.25 mg/l of nitrate is safe. But do you really mean this? Not many
test kits are this accurate! Most seem to measure on a scale of 0-100
mg/l. Nitrite, on the other hand, is commonly measured between 0 and 1
mg/l.>
Is this enough of percentage of a water change each time?
<No. 50% per week, minimum.>
This tank also has a Bio Wheel and I added a small pouch of charcoal-
ammonia absorbent in addition to it's regular filter material.
<Well, bin the charcoal for a start. If this is an uncycled tank, then
you may as well use Zeolite (ammonia remover) exclusively. I'd
personally skip any sort of fancy filter for this. Just go with a plain
vanilla bubble-up box filter stuffed with Zeolite. Replace the Zeolite
every week. You can usually recharge Zeolite, so get two "batches", and
use one batch while recharging the other. There's absolutely no point
cycling a tank with Angelfish -- they will die long before the filter
bacteria come on-line.>
They've been healthy and lively and voracious eaters, but not overfed I
think. This morning I noticed one of the larger angels staying low in
the water near the heater. Tank heat is kept at 80 degrees. I have just
seen on your site that I should probably vary their diet more than I
have been doing. They've mostly been on flakes and freeze dried worms.
They ignored my attempts at adding an algae pellet though.
<Angels will eat anything... if hungry enough. They are easily overfed.
I'd use a mix of plain flake, Spirulina flake, and
live/frozen/freeze-dried insect larvae. Because they willingly gorge
themselves, you have to be careful not to put too much food in the tank.
One or two flakes per day is plenty for Angelfish this size. Since
they're young, feed perhaps twice per day. Do watch the nitrates though,
and try to keep below 20 mg/l and certainly no more than 50 mg/l.>
I went ahead did my regular 20-25% water change this morning, and by
this evening the lethargic angel was worse, lying or hovering near the
bottom seeming to gasp for air. The other fish were fine, acting
normally and active except for one other large angel that seemed to be
chasing the other three away from the sick fish.
<Indeed. Angelfish are schooling animals when young, but become
territorial as they mature. All too often people end up with a single
big Angel that rules the tank.>
I did another water test and the levels were the same, Ammonia 0, Ph
around 7- 7.2 and the nitrates and nitrites 0. At about midnight my poor
angelfish died.
<Oh.>
There were no signs of any battering, discoloration in fins, skin, not a
mark, but I did notice a tiny speck of red near the outer edge of the
eyeball on both eyes, but in different placements. I'm totally baffled
as these fish were tank raised and extremely healthy from the minute
they arrived and showed no signs of any distress or illness whatsoever.
I've grown quite attached to them to the extent that I don't even want
to put them into the now healthy 55 community tank and would like to
upgrade to a 30 gallon tank for just them. I considered them so
"pristine" and didn't want to take any chances on them being exposed to
diseases.
<Quarantining new stock is always a good idea.>
What do you think happened? The only thing I can think of after all the
reading I've done is water quality and ammonia, nitrate or nitrite
poisoning, but that doesn't make sense with the readings I took. The kit
is fairly new, but I'm not exactly sure of the expiration date since it
was marked on the covering of the kit which I threw out a while ago. I
hope this is enough information.
<To be honest, I have no idea what precisely happened here. Sometimes
very young fish don't travel well, and one or two in the batch will die.
This is less of a problem with big fish because people tend to bag them
up sensibly. Profit margins on big fish are proportionally smaller, so
everyone along the distribution chain takes more care. But small fish
are often overcrowded. Individually each fish makes a proportionally
larger profit, so if a few die, it doesn't matter. Mass-produced fish
also tend to be produced for a quick sale rather than quality, and
there's free use of antibiotics by the farmers and wholesalers, and by
the time they arrive at your house these drugs have worn off and the
results of overcrowding become apparent. For now, I'd not blame
yourself, but simply focus on water quality and correct diet.>
Thanks for your wonderful site. It has the best tips, help and advice
I've found anywhere on the internet.
<Thanks!>
Thanks you in advance for any insight you can give me.
Polly
<Good luck, Neale.>Re:
Sudden angelfish death 11/25/2007
Neale,
<Polly,>
thanks for some answers to water quality, tank size and feeding. Good
advise.
<Cool.>
This morning the remaining 4 Leopards are still fine and looking
unaffected by whatever killed the other one. These fish came from a very
small breeder in Michigan and I was worried about them travelling when I
bought them via Aquabid, but they were well packed, double bagged and in
Styrofoam qt. size cups, with oxygen, a mild sedative and an ammonia
blocker and when I acclimated them to the QT they moved in and bounced
back like champs almost immediately. I think I was very lucky there. The
breeder/seller communicated with me and wanted to know how they arrived,
talked me through any questions about acclimation and general
appearance, behavior, etc. A good man who was into his fish, which he
bred himself, rather than the moola, I think.
<This is indeed the best way to buy Angels, and it sounds like you've
dealt with a very decent supplier. My comments were really more about
the mass produced fish farmed in Florida and Southeast Asia, primarily
for the low end of the market.>
So you think a 50% WC once a week is better than 25% twice a week?
<Yes.>
Not to sound dumb here, but why is it better?
<Many reasons. Primarily a question of dilution and reducing the effect
of acidification. So, your filter removes certain pollutants, but does
nothing about nitrate, phosphate, organic acids. These accumulate.
Nitrate is a known toxin to cichlids generally, being at least one of
the factors behind hole-in-the-head as well as a general lack of vigour.
Diluting by 50% each week is the cheapest, easiest way to get good water
quality. Works better than carbon for a fraction of the cost.
Acidification is something that happens in all aquaria. The longer the
interval between water changes, and the smaller those water changes are,
the more acidification takes place. This is one of the reasons why new
fishes put into an old tank sometimes fail: the existing fish have
adapted to the sub-optimal conditions, but the new livestock are
shocked. Again, water changes are the cheapest, easiest way to maintain
a steady pH.>
I never intended to use the angelfish to cycle the QT tank, just got
stuck because of the Ich in the 55. I've been looking around for a good
price on a 30 gal for them, but since I'm running a 30 with 7 female
Bettas and 5 Corys, the 55 community and two 10 gal with guppies in one
and 6 baby Pearl Gouramis in the other and three 5 gals with single male
Bettas I have to tread softly with my husband who is strictly a dog
person! lol
<Indeed! Perhaps keep Dogfish, so you'll both be happy. (Note to
Americans: a Dogfish is British vernacular for small sharks,
particularly Scyliorhinus spp., which for some bizarre reason Americans
called Cat-sharks!>
Also, do you think I should switch over to a sponge filter in the 12 QT
instead of the Bio Wheel? I have one spare hanging around.
<If both are being used as purely biological filters, then stick with
the one that is most mature. But in quarantine tanks, using a box filter
filled with Zeolite is invariably easier, cheaper, and more reliable
than any biological filter. You have a zero run-in time, and you can
sterilise it between uses.>
Thanks again, Polly
<Good luck, Neale.>
Re: Sudden angelfish death
11/25/2007
Neale,
<Polly,>
all makes perfectly good sense to me and thanks for the answers to my
questions.
<Good-oh.>
We always called those small sharks, Dogfish around here in Maine too
and they are nasty guys. Like to go for the bait in the lobster traps
and will follow the traps up while they are being hauled. Just hoping
for the bait or a nice fat Lobster to fall out I suspect. VBG
<Ah, I guess that's why they call New England 'New England'... because
you speak English rather than Americanese! And yes, ours steal food from
Lobster Pots too. They're actually pretty amazing animals. Live for at
least 30 years, and perhaps as many as 100 years. The eggs take 2 years
to hatch. Not something for the impatient aquarist!>
I will switch to a 50% WC in my tanks once a week from now on and just
rotate the days when each tank is scheduled, add to the diet for the
angels and follow your advise.
<Sounds good.>
I'm going to look into the Zeolite too.
<Yes, Zeolite is definitely a good idea in temporary tanks or any sort
of tank where you don't have time to mature the filter. Cheap and
effective, provided you start off with enough to deal with the ammonia
produced by your livestock.>
Thanks, Polly
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Sudden angelfish death
11/26/07
Neale,
<Paula,>
when it rains, it pours!
<Indeed?>
The Leopard Angelfish are still fine, but when I was doing the WC in the
Betta/Cory tank, I noticed that my largest Cory had some spots on him,
def. not ich or velvet. They appear to be oval-ish and are concentrated
on his spine and the base of the dorsal fin and tip of dorsal.
<Hmm... sure this isn't Ick? Do also cross off silt particles and air
bubbles. Both of these can stick to fish and be mistaken for parasites.>
I QT'ed him in the hospital/baby tank, promptly discovered that the Gold
Platy was starting to give birth, moved her into a breeding/bearing net
hung over the side of the community tank where she lives and went to do
some research on the internet to see what was up with the Cory.
<Not a great fan of breeding traps, so do take care not to stress her. I
prefer to use floating plants, and then remove the fry as they're
discovered hidden among the plants, either to a trap or to another
tank.>
It sounds like Epistylis from the descriptions given. Can't seem to find
any pictures that show it though. I went back and took a magnifying
glass and flashlight and checked him out and the spots are not ich-like
in appearance at all, not moving and one spot, near the end of the
dorsal fin, is tufted a bit. The other spots are oval, greyish-white in
color as well and as I said, concentrated in two or three areas. He has
a space missing on his tail fin, but no growth or spots on that area.
<Does indeed sound like Epistylis.>
If indeed it is Epistylis, do I treat him in the 2.5 gal tank with
something like Jungle fungus meds?
<I'd treat the tank with the anti-fungus medication of your choice.
Corydoras generally tolerate these medications well.>
Do I treat the Betta/Cory tank as well or just keep and eye on the
others and see if something develops?
<Treat the tank.>
I did noticed that some of the other Corys have a few ragged fins!
<Fins sometimes get ragged when Corydoras are mixed with aggressive or
nippy fish; otherwise can be a prelude to Finrot.>
I try and spend time each day sitting and closely looking over each fish
to see if there is anything different in their physical appearance or
behavior. Yesterday this sick Cory was just a tad underactive. Think
it's a female from the size and width of the body, but not positive. I
didn't notice any ragged fins on the others until today either.
You must think I'm a bad fish mamma at this point. Sorry to keep
bothering you.
<Don't worry about that.>
thanks, Polly
<You're welcome, Neale.>
BTW, the Platy has had three babies since I moved her and then stopped
giving birth. Stress from the move most likely. Babies look good.
<Good-oh.>
Re: Sudden angelfish
death -11/27/2007
Neale,
<Paula,>
Just went and looked at the Cory in the QT and the lesions/spots have
reduced in number, but some are still present. Are they going into
another reproductive phase, something like the ich spores do?
<No, I don't think so. Epistylis is a ciliate protozoan that mostly just
sits there on a fish. It's not a parasite as such; as I understand it,
it's more a fouling organism than anything else (i.e., like barnacles on
a boat).>
That brings up lots of questions in my mind, secondary infections etc.
but .... I then checked the Betta/Cory tank and three of the Corys have
no signs of fin damage, color good, very active and looking for food.
The fourth is looking a little lethargic, fins ragged and no spots or
lesions, nada, just out of sorts and not active or looking for food,
similar to how it started with the sick Cory. Should I haul him out into
the QT with the sick Cory and still treat the Betta/Cory tank as well as
the QT tank?
<Definitely treat both tanks with anti-Fungus/anti-Finrot. Trying to
target one particular fish is probably a waste of time here because the
pathogens are in the aquaria generally.>
BTW, Bettas are fine and active, eating, clear of anything on their
skin.
<Good.>
As of midnight last night, I did another 25% WC on the Betta/Cory tank,
bringing the total WC for yesterday to 50% on that tank. There was some
uneaten stuff and crud underneath an aquarium decoration and around the
roots of some of the heavier planted sections of the tank .
I removed the large decoration and tried to really clean up the crud,
for lack of a better description, and left the decoration out afterward
to make it easier to do WC in the event of doing treatments to the tank
for any length of time. Did a 50% WC to the QT tank as well.
<Good.>
As for the weapon of choice in treatment. Here's what I have in house
right this minute. Will any of these do any good? I have been trying to
buy meds every time I go to the LFS to have them on hand, but as you can
see I am still way under stocked on what I imagine are all the basics.
Ich Attack by Kordon, for ich, fungus, protozoans, and dinoflagellates
<Might work; Epistylis is apparently sensitive to Formalin and Malachite
Green.>
Ick Guard II by Jungle
<Ditto.>
Fungus Clear Tank Buddies by Jungle (tablets, 1 tab per 10 gallons)
<Won't fix the Epistylis, but will help with the ragged fins.>
Pimafix
<Useless.>
Melafix
<Useless.>
Bettafix
<Useless.>
Aquarium Salt
<Might help if used in the same way as for treating Ick, but not my
weapon of choice here.>
Erythromycin and another antibiotic...it's downstairs at the moment and
I forget, but I tried to get one gram positive and one gram negative
when I bought them.
<Useless. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections only.>
I do live on an actual island. No bridge, and therefore can't just pop
into town willy nilly. My husband is going to go over to the mainland
this afternoon and if there is anything he could pick up this would be a
good time. What meds should I have him get if none on hand are
appropriate?
<See above; you may already have the tools required. Check the
ingredients lists on the medications, or simply test them out. Epistylis
isn't doing the fish any direct harm -- the problem is that they open a
wound that can become infected, and furthermore that they occur at all
is a sign of middling to poor water quality.>
To sum up, still treat the Betta/Cory tank as well as the QT with a
fungus med? Move the second Cory exhibiting signs of Epistylis to the QT
, OR treat him in the Betta/Cory tank?
<Treat both tanks. There's no mileage in isolating diseases caused by
environmental issues, since all fish are likely subject. So treat all
fish up front to prevent further infections.>
Much thanks once again. You are very patient with all the questions and
problems I've thrown at you in just two days time. Let's hope the rain
stops pouring ASAP.
<It will.>
BTW Angelfish still fine.
<Double-plus good.>
Thanks, Polly
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Sudden angelfish death
11/28/2007
Hi Neale,
<Polly,>
well, I lost the first sick Cory in the QT .
<Too bad.>
I had started treating both tanks with the Jungle Tank Buddies for
Fungus as I hadn't heard from you and I thought I needed to do something
quick. (The time difference between us. ) I didn't go with the Kordon
Ich Attack as it doesn't contain anything but botanicals, no chemicals
like formalin or malachite green.
<This is a somewhat unwelcome trend: eschewing proven pharmaceuticals in
favour of ingredients that may be safer and less toxic if overdosed, but
are of questionable usefulness in some cases.>
I probably waited too long for the first sick Cory or he was traumatized
by the move and being alone as well. You know how Corys are. They look
like little tanks that can take anything, but they are so social.
<Indeed. With schooling fish it is normally best to treat the tank
rather than individual fish. Lone Corydoras don't necessarily die, but
it is one more stress factor on an already sick fish.>
I did a water test before I did anything to treat the 30 gal tank or do
the WC that brought me up to the 50% WC total, forgot to mention this
last post. Everything read as it should. Ph was between 7.2 and 7.6, I
have high PH normally from the well water, the ammonia was 0, nitrites
and nitrate 0 as well.
<All sounds fine. Corydoras are relatively indifferent to water
chemistry, and tolerate hard, alkaline water just as readily as soft,
acidic water. What matters to them is stability and quality more than
anything else.>
That didn't make sense to me since the problem is an environmental one,
so I did a test on the 55 and got the same results except the PH being
different from the 30. The 55 gal was at PH 7-7.2 and nitrate and
nitrite 0. Could the test kit be getting old and need to be replaced?
<Possibly. But it also important to remember that aquaria have a
background acidification process. So as soon as you put water into any
aquarium, it gradually becomes more acidic unless something acts to stop
that. The key factor is decay of organic material, which produces
organic acids, and these lower the pH. The speed with which the tank
acidifies depends on its size, its loading of fish, the amount of
organic matter (including plants and algae), the presence of alkaline
buffers such as tufa rock, the nitrate level, the ammonia level, the
amount of carbon dioxide, aeration, and the frequency of water changes.
In other words, no two fish tanks will acidify at the same rate, so it
is entirely possible that these two tanks will have very different
environmental conditions despite receiving the same type of "new" water
each water change.>
I bought it within the last month, but it was the last one for FW on the
shelf at the LFS and didn't know about expiration dates for tests.
Didn't check to see what the date might be and it was apparently on the
outer clear packaging cause I can't find it anywhere in the actual test
kit.
<Test kits can and do go "bad", but this is rare unless the kit is
extremely old. The chemicals are largely inert, and provided they are
stored somewhere cool and dark they should be stable for many years.>
Since I wasn't sure of the test kit's accuracy, I did a 50% WC on all
the other tanks that hadn't been done over the weekend, except the guppy
and baby tank (did 20% on that ) because that tank seems to always be
fine, totally knackered me, but done. I'm so completely paranoid now
about the other tanks that I see cilia and parasites in my sleep. lol
<Ah, the joys of fishkeeping.>
Obviously, my problems are directly linked to poor water quality and my
husbandry. My question ( will they ever stop you think?) is... are water
parameters not always linked with cleanliness, are the two not one and
the same?
<Interesting question. Most disease is directly or indirectly linked to
water quality and water chemistry. Provided those two factors are
appropriate to the fish being kept, the incidence of disease should be
very low. While disease can sometimes happen for other reasons, such as
genetics or the introduction of unquarantined livestock, at a first-pass
there's a lot of wisdom in assuming any unexplainable sickness was
caused by water quality and/or chemistry issues. Now, cleanliness can be
looked at two ways. Oddly enough, visible waste tends not to be a major
problem. Yes, decaying plant material and fish faeces contribute to
acidification, but "the wild" is full of decaying material that the fish
don't seem to be harmed by. Indeed, many fish, such as catfish and
loaches and cichlids, positively revel in the stuff, extracting
significant parts of their diet from the decaying material or
micro-organisms living therein. Invisible waste, on the other hand, is
the killer: nitrite and ammonia in the first league of dangers, and then
nitrate somewhere below them. On the other hand, regular water changes
undertaken to remove solid wastes in the tank invariably dilute the
invisible wastes, and a good mechanical filter with plenty of current
will not only remove solid wastes but like have plenty of space for a
good biological filter as well. So while the two things are not
identical, they do tend to go hand-in-hand as far as practicalities are
concerned. It's too simplistic to say a clean tank is a healthy tank:
after all, a brand new aquarium may look spotless and yet have high
levels of ammonia and nitrite because the filter isn't mature. But
established aquaria that are kept clean through water changes and
adequate filtration tend to have zero/low levels of ammonia, nitrite,
and nitrate as well.>
Can there be too much goop or pollution in the bottom of the tank that
never show up on a test kit's results and should water from testing be
from the lower regions of the tank? (why the Corys were the first
affected?)
<Not normally, no. But if the sediment at the bottom of the tank becomes
anoxic because it isn't regularly cleaned somehow, it can house bacteria
that can, in theory, cause problems. In practise this is an easy fix. If
you're using sand, for example, keep it thin and install some burrowing
snails (such as Malayan livebearing snails) which will aerate the sand
in the same way as earthworms on land. Catfish and loaches generally
like to dig and will keep sand very clean anyway. Gravel can be more of
a problem to keep clean (surprisingly to some) but when stirred once a
week at water change time cleaning gravel shouldn't be too difficult.>
Hypothetical question.....say the second sick Cory makes it and has some
open wounds from the Epistylis. Should I then treat the tank for
possible secondary bacterial infection problems?
<Yes.>
What would be the med of choice? If antibiotics, gram positive or
negative?
<I can't really answer this from experience, since antibiotics aren't
available to aquarists in the UK. But my expectation would be a product
such as Maracyn would be appropriate. Really anything to treat Finrot,
as that will get the Aeromonas/Pseudomonas bacteria likely the problem
here.>
The more I write, the more questions I have and the guiltier, to the
fish and you I feel. Is there a book you can recommend that I should buy
that you consider the best reference for fish disease and treatment?
<Many, many choices. I happen to like the 'Manual of Fish Health' by
Chris Andrews et al.>
Thanks Neale, You Da' Man,
Polly
<You're welcome.>
Angel fish fine, mother Platy ate the 3 babies, you are right about
breeding nets!
<Indeed. Trust me: floating plants work much better. Simply check the
tank once or twice a day and scoop out the babies as you see them. Any
floating plants will do. Even bunches of pondweed or algae. Plastic
plants even. The baby fish instinctively go into them, and the parents
tend not to notice them.>
Re: Sudden angelfish
death 11/28/07
Once again, thank you Neale for the detailed answers to my
questions.
They are extremely helpful and make me want to do more reading on water
chemistry, acidification, substrates, different types of filtrations
systems, aeration, etc. Lots more reading! VBG
<Very good! Once you understand the basics of water management,
everything else in fishkeeping is easy. But if you're muddled about
water management, then things become more dicey. An hour or two spent
reading around this topic is time very well spent.>
The second Cory is still with us and shows improvement. He never
developed the full blown growths on his body and after spending most of
yesterday on the bottom hiding in some plants, came out in the early
evening to hang out with the other three and actually start to actively
ferret around on the gravel for food.
<Good stuff. I find that once a sick fish starts feeding again, you're
almost always home free.>
On further examination of the hype on the Jungle Fungus Tank Buddies
box, it states that it also contains something to fight secondary
bacterial infections, but I will probably also treat with something else
for the fin damage that he displays. The other three Corys still seem
unaffected.
<I have never used that medication so can't speak from experience.>
The substrate in this tank is a combination of an under layer of
Fluorite with some gravel over it to keep the fluorite in place and make
cleaning easier. The fluorite is great for the plants, but I've found it
hard to deeply vacuum without causing major cloudiness.
<A problem with sand. The trick is not to vacuum. Instead, let the
catfish and plants and Malayan livebearing snails do the hard work for
you. Also lower the sand on one corner so detritus collects there. You
can then siphon or even pipette waste as required. Much easier.>
There is probably an inch of Fluorite and a 1/2" of gravel over it. In
our LFS it's is very hard to find small/ medium uncoated gravel for our
FW tanks.
<I sympathise. I tend to buy my substrates from garden centres. Easier
and cheaper, provided you choose smooth, lime-free sand or gravel rather
than, say, sharp sand.>
I like the Fluorite for the plants, but am not too sure I like the
substrate for the fish. I have just Fluorite in the 55 gal tank , about
1" deep. The Betta/Cory tank is running a Bio Wheel filter, minus the
media right now. I will be adding Zeolite, which my husband found for me
on his mainland trip the other day, to all the tanks.
<Zeolite is completely redundant on tanks that have biological filters.
Serves no purpose whatsoever other than wasting your money in these
cases. Zeolite is exclusively for tanks with no biological filter, e.g.,
quarantine tanks or tanks with strongly acid pH.>
I love planted tanks, but have decided that too many decorations such as
rocks, caves, artificial tree trunks, etc. are too hard to clean around
if not lifted at least every other time I do a WC, so have removed quite
a bit of the aquascaping add ons and will try letting the plants and
maybe one cave for the shy fish, suffice.
If you're finding too much silt and detritus, it is likely you have
insufficient water movements and/or mechanical filtration. In a tank
with complete circulation, there shouldn't be any solid waste on the
plants or gravel. Well, maybe a bit, but not enough to be unsightly. So,
do check water currents around the tank, and if required, add another
filter. If the bottom of the tank has poor water flow, this will mean
higher levels of ammonia and nitrite down there, and this could be a
factor for your catfish's ill health.>
I went to amazon.com to see if the Manual of Fish Health was available
and found there seems to be a revised edition. The Interpet Manual of
Fish Health by Andrews! I assume it is a revised edition anyway, and
will order it.
<My copy is from '88. It's a good book. Good level of science, but lots
of photos and charts explaining what's going on.>
As for snails......I had one hitchhiker on a plant and now have what
seems to be a million in the Baby/guppy tank, Yikes! No sure I want to
introduce them on purpose as I'm sure they will appear, as if by magic
in due time in the tanks they haven't yet. LOL
<Snails can be a mixed blessing, but do remember they turn waste into
snails. In a clean tank, their numbers tend to be very steady, and
removing them by hand works fine. Snail plagues almost always follow
over-feeding and under-cleaning.>
I'm cultivating a Java Moss like type plant in the baby tank and will
move some of it into a birthing tank. Will save those breeding traps for
brief isolation and examination purposes. VBG
<Enjoy the babies! Best bit of the hobby, I think.>
Thanks again,
Polly
<Bon chance, Neale.> |
Tropical fish disease... FW, no useful data
11/15/07
Hi please help with a long term problem
we have variety of tropicals in a large tank, not overcrowded, water quality
consistently fine,
<Need values...>
plenty of plants doing well, Dry and live food given. Platies doing well and
unaffected by disease (several batches of babies) BUT other fish suffering from
sores often with white fibrous material in center also some have white material
in mouth and gills some become very bloated 12 fish have died in last 6months
Treatment with Medifin hasn't helped. Hopefully, Dot.
<... need data... re the set-up components, maintenance, what IS doing well
here, actually all livestock... Bob Fenner>
FW? Dis.? 11/13/07
hi my fancy tail has suddenly turned black and being bullied . it looks like
his tail has been eaten too. please help
<Hello Lisa. Fancy tail what? Guppy? Goldfish? Angelfish? Fish normally change
their colours to black when stressed, and the fact his tail is eroding would
suggest Finrot. I'd be checking the water quality before anything else in this
situation. So, let's have the name of the fish and some information on the
aquarium: it's size, the hardness, the pH, and a nitrite test result. Cheers,
Neale.>
Tropical Fish possibly sick?
10/3/07
Hello WWM crew,
<Hello!>
My boyfriend and I have gotten into aquariums within the last 3 years. I love
how peaceful fish are and there little personalities they all have. So of course
it really is a bummer to see them ill. (especially to think its probably due to
something we may have forgotten)
<Indeed.>
Problem #1 (26 Gal. Tropical tank-1 black molly, 2 blue dwarf gouramis, 3
Corydoras catfish, 1- Boesemanni Rainbow *temporarily until he gets to big* and
a female guppy) This problem is only with our dwarf blue gouramis and our
mollies. The mollies seem to have black speckles on them, very tiny ones, and
they are also flat...they don't seem to be raised. (and the older molly has a
cut on her nose (from our aggressive black molly...who is REALLY aggressive and
am beginning to think there's some sort of...problem? anyways, the cut on the
balloon mollies nose never healed. Its still bright red and seems to have gotten
even redder.) I've looked at many different bacterial infections, parasites, and
other information online. I can't seem to find out what it is, and I don't want
to treat for the wrong thing. Also the gouramis have dark spots on them but
these aren't like the "speckles" found on the mollies, these look more like dark
"patches" on the fins. The only thing I've heard on the black patches is that it
could be cancer? or nerve damage.
<Hmm... black spots can be caused my a variety of things. Cancer and nerve
damage are not among them though, or if they are, they've most unlikely. The
most common reason is the fish are infected by parasite worms (flukes). Long
term, it isn't anything to worry about, because once the worms try to move to
the next stage of their life cycle, they leave the fish. Because the life cycle
can't be completed in the aquarium, the worms die, and that's that. So for now,
simply monitor the condition of the fish, ensure they are eating properly, and
treat the water with something like anti-Finrot medication to ensure they don't
get secondary infections (which is what the red or grey patches most likely
are).>
Problem #2 (80 Gal. Tropical tank- 3 mollies, 2 platy's 2 pearl gouramis, 1 gold
ram, 1 blue ram, 2 Bolivian rams 2 emerald green Cory cats, 2 swordtails, 4
tiger barbs, 8 cherry barbs 3 bleeding heart tetras, 1 boesemanni Rainbow and 2
keyhole cichlids....)
This problem is driving me NUTS. We "adopted" the 3 bleeding heart tetras *whom
are doing very well* one of the emerald green Cory cats and the 2 keyhole
cichlids and ever since we put them in a few of our fish seem to be getting
sick.
The Emerald green has a curved spine...and I recently noticed that 2 of my
albino tiger barbs are now developing slight curves by the base of there tails.
I've been asking around and it seems it could be a mineral deficiency? I went
out to by the frozen foods and minerals that I was told, but I would LOVE to
hear what you think.
<Bent spines are very common. I have at least one peppered Corydoras with a bent
spine at the moment, and I've seen similar situations with halfbeak and cichlid
fry. Typically inbreeding (or at least bad genes) are at the root of the
problem, but trauma when the fish is young appears to cause similar problems. I
suppose diet could be a factor, but it's unlikely for something as omnivorous as
barbs and catfish. Usually, diet becomes a critical factor when specialist fish
are being kept, because they have adapted to eating a certain sort of food not
easily provided in the aquarium.>
I've read through your forums most of them) and spent many hours browsing,
trying to find tips or solutions. I'm really worried about my little guys, any
tips or info. you can provide would be much MUCH appreciated. The more
information I can get, the better homes the fish will have. I enjoy this hobby
as long as the fish stay happy :)
Thank you very much
~Crystal
<Well, I hope this helps! Neale>
Sudden dying fish advice!
10/3/07
Hi
<Hello.>
I hope you can help me, am a bit of a novice fishkeeper and after a promising
start am slight concerned about the goings on in my tank!
<Oh dear.>
I have a 35gallon freshwater aquarium, which I've had for three weeks
(originally my brothers and kept for 6yrs). It had 5 Malawi's and one Plec and I
added another 8 Malawi's, another Plec and 5 red claw crabs (about 2cm each).
<Red-claw crabs are brackish water animals, and shouldn't be kept in a
freshwater tank. They are also amphibious animals, and keeping them permanently
submerged is cruel. Kept properly, they are more like frogs, rooting about on
land, but dipping in the water to moisten their gills periodically.>
Everything was going fine but then in the last 24hrs both my catfish and the
alpha male (a 2.5inch blue zebra) of the tank have died!
<Check water quality when two fish suddenly die.>
I have checked all the levels and everything is normal.
<Define "normal". I'm assuming you aren't using brackish water, so the
conditions aren't normal for your crabs at least. More specifically, have you
tested the nitrite level? Also, what's the pH and hardness? Malawi cichlids need
fairly hard water to do well (at least 10 degrees KH, and a pH around 7.5-8). I
don't know what Malawi cichlids and plecs you are talking about, but 13
Pseudotropheus zebra and two common plecs such as Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus
simply cannot be kept in 35 gallons of water. There is no way water quality will
be acceptable for them all. Even a single common Plec needs around 50 gallons of
water, at least.>
My concern is that, could this be the work of the crabs and should I really get
rid of them? The shop said they could live together but now am not so sure
<Crabs shouldn't kill most fish, though they will certainly catch and kill very
small fish like guppies. But unless you are keeping them in a brackish water
vivarium with a sand-bank and wood for them to climb about on, then no, this
isn't an acceptable home.>
Advice would be most grateful as I don’t really want £80 stock all to die off!
<Indeed.>
Best regards,
Lester
<Lester, you need to sit back and review the aquarium conditions. A 35 UK gallon
tank is simply too small for all the fish you are keeping. What will happen is
that the fish will die, one by one, until the aquarium reaches its "carrying
capacity". You can delude yourself into thinking the aquarium is fine, but
Science doesn't work that way, and until the population reaches a sensible
level, fish will keep getting sick and die. For 35 gallons, you should be
thinking about, say, one or two Ancistrus Bristlenose catfish along with maybe
three cichlids (one male, two females). Nothing else will work in the long term.
Hope this helps, Neale>
Sudden loss of half of our fish, FW...
nitrate, nutritional deficiency effects likely 9/27/07
Hi,
We're (my 9-yr-old daughter & I) fairly new to the land of tropical fish keeping
(we started in January); I've read your website a lot and have learned so much,
and we wrote you a while back about a sick fish.
All had been going well with our aquarium for a couple of months, then in the
last few days we had 5 fish die. We are so sad. I'm hoping that if I describe
the situation, you might have some insight as to what happened/what we can do to
keep the remaining fish alive. I'd gotten some ideas from your website but I'm
really not sure what to think of all this.
We have a 12-gallon Eclipse system that has been cycled since last January (we
did fish-less cycling ?worked great), and we've had a few different inhabitants
along the way but we'd been stable for the past 3 months or so with:
5 platies, 3 danios (2 zebra, 1 leopard), 2 Otocinclus, 2 panda cories.
The tank has one Amazon sword plant that is not robust but sends out new baby
leaves and hangs on.
We do 25% water changes every 2 weeks; though we've only been siphoning the
gravel once a month, the other time we just change out the water).
<Mmm... a dangerous, too-changeable approach... Best to make more frequent,
smaller change-outs. Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwh2ochgs.htm
and the linked files above>
We feed with a tropical fish flake food,
<Mmm, may want to mix in some more substantial fare... frozen or dried,
freeze-dried foods...>
and once a week or so an algae tablet. We had ended up with not an ideal
male/female ratio with the platies, 2 females and 3 males, and our oldest male
(a 1 ½ inch Mickey Mouse) was rather an alpha male when we added his 4 friends,
he chased everyone, but after a couple weeks they all seemed to get along with
minimal chasing.
A couple weeks ago, the platies starting dying, one by one; we have only one
left (the Mickey Mouse). The platies showed no sign of illness that we could see
(spots, growths), but, each time a couple days before they died, they stopped
eating. They would try to eat, but spit it out. Then they would start swimming
with fins clamped. They would lose that nice round platy shape, and die.
In the middle of this, one of the zebra danios got a really fat belly all of a
sudden and the next day it was dead.
<Yikes>
So, once this started happening, we did a water change
<How much and how?>
and started looking on your site. We have a test kit, our measurements were:
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 40.
<Much too high... You want to keep NO3 under 20 ppm>
Temp is 78. One other idea I saw was malnutrition ?
<Yes>
so I bought some frozen Emerald Entrée which has veggies in it as I thought it
possible they weren't getting enough veggies.
<Or protein>
I put an algae tablet in too, and the platies did go after that. They didn't
much go for the Emerald Entrée. Another idea I saw was internal parasites, but
as nothing new had been introduced in the tank I hated to just medicate without
some more of an idea of what it might be?
<Good>
I did add 1/8 tsp. salt which isn't much but I read that the cories don't
tolerate salt well.
<Correct>
So, we're very sad and I'm thinking we should've done something else but I don't
know what. From this description, can you offer an idea of what we might do at
this point?
<The nitrate, nutritional deficiency effects likely...>
The Mickey Mouse platy is looking very sad on his own, and the 2 remaining
danios are wildly chasing each other around ? I know we should not introduce any
new fish until we are stable again but we sure would like to not lose these guys
too. The oto's seem fine, they are a bit skittish but they always have been. The
panda cories are extremely shy, they will not come out if we are nearby and I
only get a glimpse of them every once in a while (like when we do a water change
and move the furniture to siphon) and they seem OK. Any ideas you have would be
appreciated.
Thanks,
Jana (and Jenny)
<Bob Fenner>
Re: sudden loss of half of our fish... FW
cycling 9/28/07
Thanks for your reply. We now have 2 different kinds of flake food, some
TetraMin crisps for tropical fish, the frozen emerald entree, frozen brine
shrimp, and the algae pellets. I hope a combination of these foods will be
better nutritionally for our fish. If you have any other suggestions they are
welcome.
<Posted...>
We will also start doing 2-2.5 gallon (17-20%) water changes once a week.
<Good>
How long do you recommend we wait before adding new fish?
<At least two weeks>
And, I know you recommend a quarantine tank; we have a 6 gallon Eclipse system
that a neighbor gave us when they moved, however it is currently dry except the
BioWheel has been kept in a jar of water and fed a couple drops of ammonia every
2-3 days. But I have no idea if the good bacteria would still be around on the
wheel -- is there a way to keep a BioWheel "alive" if we can't keep the tank set
up all the time?
<Mmm, well... they're "in the air"... will get there in time...>
That is a side question -- the main question is, if we set this tank up with
some gravel and water (how much water?)
<A gallon or two>
from our current tank and put the BioWheel in, are we likely to have a cycled
tank 'soon', or will we have to start from scratch with our fish-less cycling
schedule?
<Siphon some gunk out of the present tank, place it in the new... Will likely
instantly cycle>
We have a test kit so I can monitor for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate...
Thanks,
Jana
<Read on my friend... http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
Bob Fenner>
Curved Spine TB? 9/11/07
Hi WWM Crew,
I've read and read and now have become confused. Is a curved spine a definite
telltale sign of TB or could it be a symptom of swim bladder disease or
something else? I have a convict cichlid. She is very tiny 2 inches at most.
She's about 3 years old. She was fine and a spunky little fish. There is another
adult pink convict (a male about 4 inches) in the tank who is sometimes a bully.
Most times they are compatible. They are in a 10 Gal. tank with water changes
every week. Yesterday I saw her floating on her side in a curled up position.
Her fins were moving and it seemed she was trying very hard to right herself.
When I noticed this I put her into a breeding net to keep the male away from
her. I didn't notice any visible signs of trauma. No bloating or bleeding or
missing scales/fins. I did a 75% water change and cleaned out the filter and
treated the water with Epsom salt. I didn't know fish could get TB until I
visited your site. She is very thin, no appetite and curling up as if in pain. I
feel really bad for her and want to ease her suffering. The male isn't showing
any signs of illness (yet). He keeps swimming past her outside the breeding net
though and she tries to move toward him. It's very sad. I am hoping you can help
me try to diagnose my little girl. Do you think it may be contagious and is it
possible the male will be infected too? Please help!
Thanks,
Maureen
<Hello Maureen. Just as in humans, physical deformities can be caused by any
number of reasons, and it's important not to assume that because something is
symptomatic of a particular diseases, that it's ONLY caused by that disease.
Also, Fish TB isn't the same thing as the TB humans get. Fish TB is caused by a
bacterium called Mycobacterium marinum, whereas human TB is caused by a number
of closely related species including the appropriately named Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. Fish TB is very uncommon in freshwater aquaria, and almost always
when freshwater aquarists blame fish deaths on Fish TB they're really making it
up and have no idea what killed their fish. A bit like those "internal
parasites" people mention for similar reasons, citing Fish TB amounts to nothing
more than a scapegoat alternative to actually admitting their tank was
overstocked, they used live feeder fishes, they didn't quarantine new stock, and
so on. In your case, you have a couple of problems that are likely factors. To
start with, a 10 gallon tank is not nearly big enough for convicts. I'm assuming
you're talking 10 US gallons (= 8 UK gallons, 38 litres). Even for a matched
pair of convicts you wouldn't be able to keep them in a tank that small. While
you might consider them to be small specimens, the fish don't know that, and
adults in the wild are anything up to around 15 cm long and defend territories
something of the order of 1-2 metres in diameter. Males are notoriously
belligerent to unreceptive females when kept under aquarium conditions. You have
to remember that evolution hasn't needed to come up with a "play nice" gene; in
the wild, if a female enters a male's territory but she doesn't want to breed,
she just swims away. In the aquarium, she has nowhere to go, and the male's
natural territoriality (which, in the wild, is a good thing by making him a
reliable father) ends up becoming destructive. It is entirely possible she's
received internal damage from being attacked by the male. You don't say anything
about water chemistry or quality either. Convicts need moderately hard to hard
water with a pH somewhere in the slightly alkaline range; pH 7.5-8, 10-20
degrees dH is what you're aiming for. Water quality needs to be excellent, as
just like any other cichlid, dissolved metabolites in the water do harm over the
long term. Water changes must be of the order of 50% weekly, and given your tank
is so tiny, I'd be doing two such water changes a week. Regardless, you're after
0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and nitrates ideally 20 mg/l or less and certainly not
more than 50 mg/l. Finally, diet is an issue. Convicts are omnivores, and that
means you need to include green foods in their diet as well as flake or frozen.
Algae pellets and flakes are probably the easiest things to use, but tinned
peas, Sushi Nori, spinach, blanched lettuce, and so on can all be tried. Very
few cichlids don't eat greens in the wild, and for many it provides important
vitamins as well as fibre. You may want to send along a photo so we can better
diagnose your sick fish, but in the meantime, I'd encourage you to review some
of the factors mentioned above and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale>
Sick fish,
FW 9/6/07
Hi
<Hello Kristi,>
I'm a novice with a new freshwater tank. As with most novices, I added
the fish before it cycled and are now working to get this done (with
Neale's guidance and encouragement).
<Very good.>
Here are current parameters:
20 gal freshwater ? been going for about 4 weeks (fish for about 3 of
them)
Temp 78 degrees F.
Gravel substrate, artificial plants moderately used, and couple of cave
decorations
Power filter ? just changed to Bio-Wheel yesterday along w/ adding
BioSpira pH 7.6, high alkalinity
Ammonia ? nil
Nitrite - ~ 1.5 (I know ? yikes. This is actually better than before and
I'm working on it w/ emergency water changes, BioSpira, sea salt for
short term decrease in toxicity, etc. A huge THANK YOU to Neale for
helping me on this!)
Nitrate ? 5.0 (still high, but better than before)
<Everything except the nitrite is fine. Nitrate of 5 mg/l is practically
perfect, and suggests you have very low (no?) nitrate levels in your tap
water. As for the nitrite, that's way over the red line, and you should
be doing water changes as often as it takes to keep it well below 1
mg/l, and ideally below 0.5 mg/l. Because you have zero ammonia, it's
apparent that the nitrosifying bacteria have become established, but
you're still waiting on the nitrifying bacteria. So you're about "half
way done" in terms of cycling.>
Inhabitants: Started with 1 MM platy and 1 dwarf Gourami about 3 ½ wks
ago (along w/ 1 swordtail and 1 sunburst platy ? both died). Added 5
glass fish, 1 ADF and 1 black molly about one week ago (none in QT?
didn't know about this). Let's say I was less than patient (along with
my 3 year old daughter) to get going on our new friends. All look great
except for smallest glassfish and the platy (symptoms described below).
<Hmm...>
Let's first state the obvious ? water quality is waaaaaaaaaay less then
optimal and is the most likely contributor to illnesses. Knowing that I?
slowly but surely working on this, I need your help to do some damage
control in terms of treating the illnesses of 1 glassfish and 1 platy.
<Well, the first thing is to simply do more water changes. It isn't
glamourous or high-tech like adding potions, but more than anything else
it improves fish health. It's kind of like human healthcare: to improve
your health across the board doesn't take a gym membership and bottles
of vitamins with breakfast, but simply things like walking instead of
driving and eating more fruit and vegetables instead of meat and starch.
There's no secret to keeping fish healthier either: more water changes =
healthier fish.>
The glassfish ? noticed white specks last night on the smallest of the
five.
The specks are about the size of table salt and suggested ich based on
WWM reading.
<Indeed. Very common in glassfish under poor water conditions. That
said, they can be relied upon to recover very quickly. Medicate the
water with a good quality treatment of your choice.>
However, the fish is otherwise fine? eating like a pig (literally) ?not
scratching against anything? not lethargic, etc. Today those specks have
clumped at the base of his fin which made me consider Lymph.
<Lymphocystis is very common in glassfish, especially ones that have
been dyed. In fact lymphocystis is really only found on "advanced"
freshwater fish that have evolved from marine ancestors, e.g.,
glassfish, cichlids, and gobies. It's almost never seen on "primitive"
freshwater fish without marine ancestors, i.e., catfish, characins,
barbs, etc. Now, it doesn't typically appear out of nowhere, and is
rather slow growing. So I'd assume it's whitespot by default, and treat
accordingly. If it is lymphocystis, as you probably realise this isn't
treatable, but does at least go away by itself. Lymphocystis is a viral
disease, but studies on wild fish have show that the trigger is poor
water quality. So again, improving water quality is the way to avoid
lymphocystis and, in part, fix it should it appear.>
I'm attaching a picture for your review. It may be hard to see in the
picture, but the largest spot on the base of his back tail fin is about
5 small specks clumped together. No other fish ? including the other
glassfish ? are showing ANY of these spots. Thoughts?
<It's almost certainly whitespot. Whitespot/ich is, well, white, whereas
lymphocystis tends to be cafe-au-lait colour and has a distinctive
texture often likened to cauliflower florets.>
The platy ? Continually getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I know
pregnancy is a possibility, but want to rule out bloat. Dropsy doesn't
seem to fit because her fins are not extended like a porcupine (see
attached picture).
<It's the scales, not the fins that extend, and it's like a pinecone
rather than porcupine. But regardless, I agree, not dropsy. Just fat,
really. Platies are very messed around with genetically, and in every
batch there seem to be some that, in some way or another, are mutants.
Provided the fish stays healthy otherwise, I'd ignore. Naturally, factor
out constipation by feeding more greens, and take care not to overfeed.>
She also eats like a pig ? including non-natural foodstuff like the
frozen blood worms meant for the glassfish and ADF. Her activity level
and mannerisms all seem normal. Constipation seems likely, but unsure as
to how to treat this given freshwater vs. marine tank. If this is the
case, than how can I get the ADF and the glassfish their blood worms
while keeping her away from them?
<Very difficult, but what I'd do is feed in the morning with only green
foods. The frog and glassfish will ignore. Use blanched lettuce,
squished cooked/tinned peas, Sushi Nori, algae wafers, livebearer flake
food, etc. Let the platies eat these. In the evening, feed the meaty
stuff.>
I've had a difficult time wading through freshwater vs. marine guidance
and need your treatment suggestions.
<Fundamentally very similar, especially for fish like glassfish and
platies that have evolved from marine ancestors. The only real
difference is that in a marine tank you need to use medications that
won't harm invertebrates, whereas this is rarely an issue in freshwater
tanks (snails are resistant to medications, and shrimps/crabs/etc are
rarely kept).
I am prepared to set up a hospital tank if need be, if suggested.
<Probably not required at this stage.>
Clearly I will convert from hospital tank to QT when adding our next
fish (plan on final add of a dwarf Bristlenose Pleco for algae control).
<As I've said elsewhere this week in the FAQs, fish don't control algae.
At best, they eat algae but at the cost of increasing the rate of algal
growth. At worse, they simply increase the rare of algal growth
dramatically. The only thing that "stops" algae are fast growing plants.
They do this through one of two things, allelopathy and by removing
nutrients from the water faster than the algae. No-one really
understands the mechanism, but it seems to have evolved to allow plants
to remain algae free in the wild (which, largely, they are). Cabomba,
Hygrophila, Vallisneria etc are what you want. Things that grow so fast
(under good light) you're trimming them back weekly. Under such
conditions, tanks stay remarkably algae-free. All that said,
quarantining Loricariid catfish is an excellent idea. Wild-caught
specimens especially arrive rather emaciated, and giving them optimal
conditions and plenty of food is the best way to ensure their success in
captivity. Once fattened up, they can then be placed in the community
tank.>
If the glassfish warrants a treatment tank, would I just transfer him
and hope his loneliness won't negatively affect him further?
<Yes, but I don't think you need to. For whitespot, you have to treat
the tank, not the fish. Indeed, you can't treat the fish -- the parasite
isn't killed by the medication. Only the free-swimming infective stages
are killed by the medication, and they're in the water and on the
gravel. If it's lymphocystis then obviously no treatment is required or
possible.>
Or would I transfer the whole school?
<No.>
In terms of a hospital tank, the smallest I can get away with the better
(budget wise). I know 10-gal is ok, but could I get away w/ a 5-gal? Or
would the water quality in a non-cycled 5-gal be too variable?
Suggestions?
<In US gallons, it would have to be a 10 gallon tank. A 5 gallon tank
would just be too difficult to keep constantly good. There's really no
mileage to having an unsafe, unhealthy quarantine/hospital tank, for
obvious reasons.>
Thanks for your help!!!!
Kristi
<Hope this helps, Neale> |
|
|
3 dead 1 left... FW trbleshtg...
9/3/07
Hello,
<<Hello, Lxxx. (Interesting name, by the way. :) ) Tom here.>>
We bought some fish about a month ago.
<<What type of fish?>>
We’ve treated the water for a week before we bought them and had the water
tested by the pet store.
<<Treated the water how? The vast majority of “cycling” products found in stores
are of questionable effectiveness at best. (There’s some evidence that, contrary
to what we’ve believed in the past, there are bacteria (Nitrospira) contained in
these products that do, in fact, deal with nitrites, as well as those dealing
with ammonia, but only because these are “naturally occurring” bacteria and are
contained in the product far more by accident than by design. By bacterial
standards, these bacteria reproduce extremely slowly, however, and the
populations of the bacteria can’t be guaranteed from one container to the next.)
Recognize, too, that early in the cycling process ammonia may be undetectable
with our common test kits. This may give the false impression/indication that
all is well when, in fact, the process has yet to really begin.>>
I hoover the tank every week, but still we’ve lost 3 fish. Each one’s dorsal fin
has gotten flat then they become sluggish and die.
<<Too little information for me to be very specific on the cause for this other
than to suggest to you that the behavior is indicative of poor water conditions
and/or quality. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the water’s “bad” but it may
not be right for your fish.>>
We have three real plants in the tank. I can’t see any spots or fungus on the
fish. There is also a shoal of the little fish in the tank!!!
<<Well, now you’ve given me a little to work with. Almost certainly you’ve got
livebearers of some type (Platys, Swordtails, Mollies, Guppies, et. al., fall
into this category) at least one of which is/was a female. Fish in this group
require relatively hard, alkaline water conditions. (Mollies are a brackish
water species requiring still a different environment.) Without knowing what the
current ammonia/nitrite, nitrate and pH levels are (hardness would be another
good reading to have), nothing I can offer to you would be more than a wild
guess on my part.>>
Please help. I don’t want this one to die and its fin is starting to
deflate!!!
<<The best generic approach I can suggest is to stay on top of water changes.
From what I can gather, the problem is largely, if not completely, environmental
which can be addressed with these changes. Change out at least 50% of the water
a couple of times each week. In the meantime, get yourself a test kit so that
you know – without relying on the sometimes questionable results that the pet
store may give you – exactly what’s going on in your tank. I understand that
you’re very concerned here and likely wrote to us in a hurry but we need some
detailed information the next time. Type of fish, tank size, type of filtration,
heater (if any), water temperature, type(s) of food you’re providing and, most
especially, the exact water parameters. I specify “exact” here because ‘good’,
‘fine’, ‘safe’, ‘within limits’, etc., are too subjective to be of any real use
to us. What certain fish may be able to tolerate over a brief period of time
might kill others in short order.>>
Many thanks
Lxxx
<<Well, I don’t think I’ve been able to give you much more than a place to start
but if you’d like to write back with the information I’ve suggested, perhaps I
can be of more assistance. Cheers. Tom>>
Fish rubbing on rocks - a sign of something
other than disease? 7/25/07
Hello WWM,
<Didi...>
I have another question, unrelated to the fish disappearances :) The question is
about the same fish - molly, 2 swordtails and a guppy in the 3 gallon tank. I've
had them since February, and they haven't been sick yet (except the latch-on
worms that the molly came with from the store... but we got rid of those early
with CopperSafe).
<Mmm, Lernaea? Not treatable with such>
Anyway, so my fish have been healthy and happy and I've never seen them rub on
rocks for any reason. However, recently I decided to make their life a bit more
interesting and changed the decoration. I took them out, cleaned the tank
<Describe this process... Not too thoroughly I hope>
and put in new rocks, shells and plants, organized in a different way. I put the
fish back in (with a portion of the old water, to keep the bacteria and
everything). At first the fish looked confused, not recognizing their home. Then
they started exploring the new decorations, and vigorously rubbing themselves
against everything - rocks, shells, even the plants. All of the fish did that
for a while.
They would approach an object, look at it for a moment and with a swift motion
rub the side of their body against it. They weren't exhibiting any signs of
illness - no white spots or patches on their skin, no worms, etc. They did the
rubbing for a while that evening, and by morning the next day they were fine
again. That was several weeks ago.
They haven't rubbed since, and none of them has gotten ill. They look as
healthy, active and stupid as always :D
<Trouble with all the too much, too soon changes here... Very likely you've lost
bio-cycling...>
My question: is rubbing a sign of anything else, that is not a disease?
<Can be indicative of a few challenges... though some rubbing is "natural">
If those were cats, I'd assume they're marking a new territory, hehe, but who
knows what fish mean with it... The marking is the only thing I can think of.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Didi
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Fish rubbing on rocks - a sign of something other than disease? Wasting
time... 7/28/07
Hi Bob,
<Didi>
I've mixed in my replies with the previous message:
>I have another question, unrelated to the fish disappearances
:) The question is about the same fish - molly, 2 swordtails and a guppy in the
3 gallon tank. I've had them since February, and they haven't been sick yet
(except the latch-on worms that the molly came with from the store... but we got
rid of those early with CopperSafe).
><Mmm, Lernaea? Not treatable with such>
--> no, ours were tiny, fat white worms. Lernaea are long and
thin, and darker in color. Anyway, one of the fish experts at our PetCo has 30+
years of experience and knows a lot;
<I built their program in the early nineties before the first
time the co. went public...>
he looked at the fish and said CopperSafe would kill the worms
it had (CopperSafe should kill anything that's invertebrate).
<... no... Please... don't waste our time writing... Read a
reference book or two... You attend college? They have a life science dept. I
take it...>
The latch-on worms never came back. I occasionally see Planaria
worms crawling on the glass, but that's all.
> Anyway, so my
>fish have been healthy and happy and I've never seen them rub
on rocks
>for any reason. However, recently I decided to make their life
a bit
>more interesting and changed the decoration. I took them out,
cleaned
>the tank
><Describe this process... Not too thoroughly I hope>
--> Okay, the process. With this small tank, I do 1/3 water
changes
every week. Then once a month I take everything out, rinse the
tank,
gravel and shells with just water (scrubbing the nasty layer of
algae
off the walls and washing the mountain of crap out of the
gravel),
reassemble and let the fish back in with about half of the old
water +
half fresh water with conditioner, plant enhancer drops and a
bit of
salt. With the bigger tank hopefully I won't have to take
everything
out, but this small one gets very dirty very fast. I got a
"gravel
vacuumer" hoping to be able to suck the waste out of the gravel
instead
of taking the gravel out and rinsing it, but it doesn't work
with such a
small tank. By the time I've vacuumed a third of the bottom,
I've
already sucked almost all the water out of the tank. With the
large tank
there's more water and I'll have more time to clean the entire
area, so
I won't have to take the gravel out.
<Please see WWM re... FW maint... I would not switch out this
much water...>
> and put in new rocks, shells and plants, organized in a
>different way. I put the fish back in (with a portion of the
old water,
>to keep the bacteria and everything). At first the fish looked
confused,
>not recognizing their home. Then they started exploring the new
>decorations, and vigorously rubbing themselves against
everything -
>rocks, shells, even the plants. All of the fish did that for a
while.
>They would approach an object, look at it for a moment and with
a swift
>motion rub the side of their body against it. They weren't
exhibiting
>any signs of illness - no white spots or patches on their skin,
no
>worms, etc. They did the rubbing for a while that evening, and
by
>morning the next day they were fine again. That was several
weeks ago.
>They haven't rubbed since, and none of them has gotten ill.
They look as
>healthy, active and stupid as always :D
><Trouble with all the too much, too soon changes here... Very
likely you've lost bio-cycling...>
--> I cleaned the tank just as I had done every month, and as I
described above. The fish never reacted this way before though.
The only
difference now was that I had new shells and two new plants
(same
gravel). The fish never rubbed after cleaning sessions before.
<Tapwater is not a consistent product... could be that your
livestock were poisoned with sanitizer...>
Seems
like they were reacting to the new decoration itself. What I
noticed
before is that they were aware of the particular decoration I
had in the
tank before, and after putting them back in after cleaning, they
recognized the tank as the same space (I put the decoration back
exactly
as it had been) and knew they were at home. They would return to
their
usual sleeping places, feeding places, etc. What threw them off
was the
change of setting - the familiar rocks were gone, so now it
looked like
they were in a new space. That's how I explain it. The parts of
the tank
that are in the same locations, like the filter tube and
cascading
water, they recognized right away. I used to always feed them
right in
front of the cascade (so the water can spread the food around),
and when
I leaned over the tank after the big move-around, they all swam
up to
the cascade in a cluster and started vacuuming the surface in
search of
food.
Anyway, my point is that fish have a memory for landmarks as
they need
to navigate in the water in the wild, so in this case they must
have
interpreted the change of landmarks as a change of location
altogether,
and acted confused because they were in unfamiliar territory.
<Possibly got used to it though, and now they're not rubbing
anymore.
With that in mind, I still wonder if the rubbing was indeed a
response to the change of scenery, and if, behaviorally speaking, the rubbing
has a particular message and purpose. Let's assume that it's not a matter of
health, because none of them have gotten sick or exhibited any signs of weakness
or dullness. Is there a behavioral explanation?
<Interesting... but I know naught>
>My question: is rubbing a sign of anything else, that is not a
disease?
><Can be indicative of a few challenges... though some rubbing
is "natural">
>If those were cats, I'd assume they're marking a new territory,
hehe, but who knows what fish mean with it... The marking is the only thing I
can think of.
>Please let me know.
>Thanks,
>Didi
><Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
>and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
--> I read the article, thanks. I am in the process of
establishing the environment in the big tank now, by using the old shells and
gravel from the small tank + a small school of zebra fish for a start. It's been
cycling for more than a week now. The small tank was already established though,
and whenever I had to clean the walls and rinse the mountain of crap out of the
gravel, I put at least half of the old water back after that.
<Good>
Including in the case of the new decorations when the fish did
the rubbing...
<Ok! RMF>
FW, fish don't last... Can Neale hold on!? 7/2/07
I recently started a new 5 gallon fish tank with a bio filter. I started
with 5 fish but now I'm down to one. They all do the same thing, they lay on the
bottom of the tank with their gills and mouths opening and closing. I added an
air pump after the first four died. HELP!
<Greetings. For a start, 5 gallons is a very small aquarium, so keeping fish
healthy in there at all will be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. The
bigger the tank, the easier. For beginners, a 10-20 gallon tank is a better
starting point. Anyway, the reason the fish are dying is that the filter is
immature. The fish produce ammonia, and without a biological filter that works,
the ammonia accumulates and kills the fish. It takes about 4-6 weeks for a
biological filter to go from zero to established, and a few weeks more for it to
be really stable and 100% effective. The easiest approach is to grab a quarter
to a half the filter media from an established tank's filter, stick it in the
new filter, and then add a small number of fish. With luck, the "old" media will
work straight away and colonise any new filter media in the filter, and jump
start the whole cycling process. (Don't worry about the filter in the
established tank -- mature filters will colonise new filter media almost at
once, so apart from cutting down the food a little for a few days, there's no
risk involved.) Have a read of this excellent article on "Your First Aquarium",
here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwset-up.htm . Then read this
article on Cycling aquaria:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm . Hope this helps!
Cheers, Neale>
Help my fish is dying - I can't help without more
useful information! – 6/12/07
I have a Plecostomus floats on its side.
<Not a good sign. How long has this been going on?>
The tail fin is either nipped off or deteriorating off.
<None of the fish you mention would below would likely cause this sort of
injury (although I'm not sure what a "small ground feeder" is...); I'd be
willing to bet this is tail rot, a condition typically caused by poor water
quality. Have you used a quality liquid test kit (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
and Tetra both make good products) to measure the levels of ammonia, nitrite
and nitrate in the water? The former should be at zero, while the latter can
safely be as high as 20 ppm (though lower is better). How large is this tank
and how often do you do water changes? What type of filtration is running on
the tank? I need lots of information to be able to help you/your fish...>
I have added three neon fish and a dojo fish to my tank that all ready had
come with the Plecostomus another small ground feeder that has never changed
sizes for the last three years and another fish not sure what it is. I
haven't had any problems with them until I added this dojo and neons. What
should I do?
<Test your water for starters. Most fish illnesses and diseases are caused
by poor water quality; remedying this underlying environmental cause often
times will solve the problems. However, I can't say for certain without
additional information; see questions posed above. In the meantime, start
reading: here's a good place to begin -
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsetupindex.htm
Best regards, Jorie>
Thanks Cassi
FW crashing.. but numbers look good. - 04/20/07
Hey guys, your site is great. I tried to sign up to post something on the
boards, but it said registration was down. I didn't want to email, but this is
pretty serious.
<Hello, and thanks for the compliment.>
I have a 75 gallon FW tank and as of Saturday its only inhabitants were 3 small
zebra danios, 5 Neons, 3 marble hatchets, and two Cory's.
<Certainly plenty of space for those fishes!>
My wife decided she wanted new fish for the our Easter party, so on Saturday I
did a 15 gallon water change, and changed all of the carbon pads in my 3 hang on
Penguin powerfilters.
<Why are you using carbon? I can't say this often enough, but except in very
specific situations, filter capacity is better used to hold some biological
filter media of your choice. Carbon serves no useful purpose in a regular
aquarium except to part aquarists from their cash. Worse still, carbon removes
most medications, so making treatment for things like whitespot more complicated
than they need be.>
On Sunday we bought 6 mollies and 6 zebra danios.
<Mollies wouldn't be my choice here: they *need* hard and alkaline water and
arguably do best in brackish water. None of your other fishes share these
requirements, and in fact prefer soft and acidic water. Please, get an aquarium
book and read the sections on water chemistry requirements before purchase.>
I floated the bags, dumped out the LFS water, and put them in my tank. They all
swam around, met each other and things are great.
<Dumping the LFS water solves one problem but causes another. The problem it
solves is keeping the ammonia produced on the trip home out of the aquarium. The
problem it causes is that your fishes had no chance to "taste" the water in the
aquarium before they were put into the tank. If the pH and hardness differences
are great, this can be fatal. Far better to use a variation on the drip method.
Put the fish and LFS water into a bucket, and then add water from the tank a
half-cup or so every 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes, net the fish out and put
them in the aquarium. This way, they've had a chance to acclimate to any changes
in conditions. Extend the period of acclimation for more delicate fishes like
discus or halfbeaks.>
Monday night I notice a little wiggly black thing in the tank, and then another.
It didn't take long for us to find 15 small molly fry (and for me to get back
from my LFS with a net breeder).
<Very good!>
Tuesday no news, just enjoying the tank.
Wednesday night notice a molly not acting well.
Thursday morning. I have now found four out of six (adult) mollies dead, two out
of nine danios dead, and three out of five Neons dead.
<Oh dear.>
I found the Neons last, and up until that point had thought that the fish were
just diseased and stressed from the over crowded LFS tanks.
<Possibly, but (contrary to expectations) it can be more harmful for a fish to
go from bad conditions it is used to to good conditions it is not used to. Hence
the importance of acclimation and quarantining.>
But when I saw the Neons I thought my tank was imploding.
I tested and here's what I found:
Temp 78, trite 0, trate 10ppm, amm .25ppm, pH 8
<Your ammonia level is way too high: 0.5mg/l is a lethal level for many fish,
and even half that is severely stressing them. Also, the pH is really a bit on
the high side though most freshwater fish will generally adapt to pH 8.0. They
may not like being dumped straight into it, though. Hence acclimation and/or
quarantining!>
The water change was done with R/O water from my 'non big box' LFS so I can't
imagine chlorine.....
<My concern is with the filter. That you are using carbon suggests to me you
don't *quite* understand how a filter works or what it does. Please have a look
at the primer, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfiltration.htm and then read
around a little more. Carbon is a legacy from when people didn't do water
changes -- the assumption was that "old water" was better than new water. Carbon
removed dissolved organics (the stuff that made the water yellow) and so made
the aquarium *look* sparkly clean at least. We now regularly do 50% or more
water changes once a week, and have learned that the more water changes, the
better. Under such conditions carbon has almost no time to do anything useful.
What you want in a filter is as much biological filtration capacity as possible,
because it is ammonia (and nitrite of course) that kills fish. So, bin the
carbon, and replace with sponge, filter wool, high-end ceramic media, whatever.
Also, perform daily water changes of at least 25% to bring down the ambient
levels of ammonia.>
I know adding 12 fish seems stupid anyway...but without so much as a spike in
anything...I can't seem to figure out what's going on.....PLUS...all of the
Molly fry are still alive and eating like pigs, I thought they would have been
the first to go if the water was THAT bad. Any ideas?
<What will happen is that the fish will (literally) die back to what the filter
has biological filtration capacity to support. Everything will then suddenly
seem fine. This is the basic biological law that whatever is in least abundance
limits success. In this case, you may have plenty of aquarium space, but your
filtration capacity is limited, and that's putting a ceiling on the number of
fishes you can keep. Have a read through the Cycling topic, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm and then once
ammonia is at zero add a couple of fish at a time, building up the numbers
perhaps every other week. This will give the bacteria a chance to colonies the
new biological filter media you are using, ramping up the filters capacity to
clean and purify the water. Keep checking the water chemistry/quality.>
Thanks very much,
Bruce in Chicago
<Cheers, Neale in Berkhamsted>
Re: FW crashing.. but numbers look good. - 04/20/07
Thank you very much for response. I do read very often, and do
understand how a cycling tank works.
<Cool.>
I use the carbon pads for two reasons. They have a sponge on one side,
the side the water initially goes through, which removes large debris
from the water (and since it has a large surface area allows bacteria to
grow).
<Filter media *either* work biologically, chemically, or mechanically.
They can't do two or three things at once. So if the carbon is at the
front of the filter, straining incoming water (i.e., mechanical
filtration) it will get coated with detritus and silt very quickly, and
this will prevent the carbon adsorbing dissolved organics. Clean carbon
works for a matter of weeks at best in most aquaria, and the whole point
of "activated" charcoal is that it is sintered to maximize its surface
area. As soon as silt fills the micro cracks on the surface of the
carbon, it's effectiveness drops orders of magnitude.>
The water then flows through the carbon to help remove waste and since
it too has a large surface area, being porous, it contributes to my
bacteria culture.
<Again, it can't do both these things. If bacteria coat the carbon, they
isolate the carbon from the water, and prevent adsorption. I agree
carbon makes a good substrate for bacteria, but there are better ones,
like ceramic filter media.>
All three filters are the type that also have a 'bio-wheel', which spins
in the stream of water, allowing bacteria to meet water and air and
grow.
<Yes indeed, this is the case. But honestly, the carbon is doing nothing
useful. It is mostly a commercial con: by "looking" more sophisticated
and being part of a proprietary filter cartridge, the manufacturers are
able to get more money from you. It's a case of "giving away the razors
but selling the blades". By all means stick with carbon if you want --
it's your money -- just remember to remove it any time you medicate the
aquarium.>
BUT....I will take a look further into your suggestion because it makes
the same sense to me as using live rock in my SW tanks.
<Exactly so. Pretty much everything you've learned with your marine
tanks holds with freshwater, too. Biological filtration trumps
everything else. Get that right, and the rest is easy. Mechanical
filtration is next in importance, and primarily for aesthetic reasons
rather than fish health. Chemical filtration is (normally) way down the
list, except perhaps where you are using the filter to buffer the pH via
peat or calcium carbonate. Beyond that, stuff like carbon and Zeolite
are bolt-on goodies to spend money on if you want but hardly essential
or even useful.>
Porous bio-balls or ceramic give much more room for bacteria to live,
therefore increasing the amount of contaminates they can take care of. I
did read both of the links provided, thank you, but I did have one
question. If using bioballs or the like in my powerfilters, would the
cultures benefit by placing airstones in the back of the PF with them?
This would seem to add quite a bit more oxygen, but I guess I'm not sure
if there is such a thing as TOO much oxygen with these bacteria.
<In theory, yes, the more air bubbling through the filter the better.
But the problem is if you get bubbles inside the pump, you reduce the
flow of water and increase the amount of noise. At worse, the bubbles
can stop the pump turning altogether, which will cause the filter to
fail. So it depends on the precise filter system you have. If the air
can rise to the top of the filter without getting sucked into the pump,
certainly your idea is well worth trying.>
Thank you for taking the time to respond, the lesson has been learned
(about fish and filtration alike) and I appreciate the input.
<No problems.>
Bruce in Chicago
<Neale in Berko.>
Gravel washers, dis. transmission – 4/10/07
Greetings,
I recently purchased a gravel washer and believe it's the best thing since
sliced bread for water changes! I do water changes and gravel washing at least
every two weeks.
<Wow, you're a better person than I... water changes weekly, gravel cleaning
once or twice a year!>
I am wondering though, should the gravel washer be soaked in any kind of
disinfectant between washes?
<If you have more than one aquarium, it is a good idea to clean things between
moving them from one tank to another. You'll see retailers nowadays often keep
their nets in jugs of disinfectant so that any diseases in one tank can't
hitchhike to another. But realistically, cleaning the gravel washer every two
weeks is probably overkill. If you want, sit it in a bucket of strong (at least
70 grammes/litre) salt solution. That'll kill most bacteria and parasites, while
at the same time not being toxic to the aquarium fish if any gets left behind on
the device.>
I realize that the water is chlorinated going through the tubing back into the
tank but trapped water does lay in the tubing between washes.
<Store things dry. Most bacteria and aquatic parasites cannot tolerate exposure
to air or sunshine (UV light) for very long.>
Could that be a potential source of any kind of disease for the fish?
<Potentially, yes, but the risk is trivially small compared with live foods
(esp. Tubifex) and new aquarium fish.>
Just wondering what you might recommend. Thanks in advance!
<Cheers, Neale>
Linda Ritchie
Gravel washers & Value of "Quarantine", aka Isolating new
livestock... FW here – 4/10/07
Morning Neale,
Thanks for the quick response.
<No problem.>
I'm slowly getting it through my head that the best way to protect your existing
healthy fish is to use an iso tank for the newbies.
<Yes it is. Also, when breeding fish, nothing beats having another tank to
cosset pregnant females or rear the babies.>
I've taken many fine suggestions from your crew and website. Most of our LFS in
this area are large chain stores that don't do much to isolate or even recognize
a problem with their stock so it's vital that I take every precaution to prevent
infestation in my tanks. It's very relaxing to me to watch my livebearers go
about their daily chores happy and healthy and to watch the fry grow into
adults. I've been keeping fish off and on for almost 30 years and much has
changed in husbandry techniques since I started.
<Cool. One thing I forgot to mention in your original question -- is chlorinated
water going into the tank when the fish are there? It shouldn't be. The chlorine
is quite nasty as far as the fish are concerned. So always use a dechlorinator
on any water that is in the tank when the fish are there.>
Linda
<Cheers, Neale>
Re: Gravel washers & Value of "Quarantine", aka Isolating new
livestock... FW here – 4/10/07
Yes, the water is chlorinated but I add the dechlorinator in conjunction with
the water. I put some water in a pitcher and add the dechlorinator to prime the
filters. So far this has worked great. I wash the filters and filter packs with
the water that comes out of the aquarium into the sink during the water change.
<Cool.>
I don't try and adjust the pH to much for the livebearer tank.
<Always wise. Easiest to get fish that like your water, rather than try to
fiddle the water to suit your fish.>
I just added some crushed coral to work on the KH, it's a little low at 4.
<Agreed, and the solution sounds good. Be sure and deep clean the coral sand
though: once covered in bacteria and algae (i.e., after a few weeks) it is
isolated from the water, and doesn't do any buffering.>
GH is right about 7-8 which should be okay. Ph is very stable at about 7.4.
<Both fine for platies.>
Found out the hard way that the pH neutralizer does a number on the live plants!
<Odd. Some plants like acid water, some alkaline, so that may be the thing. Many
of the hardier plants, such as Vallis, like hard, alkaline water. If you soften
the water too much, they get unhappy very quickly. Done this myself and watch
hundreds of Vallis die overnight! Not pretty. Again, best to choose plants for
your local water. There are lots of species that love hard, alkaline water:
Vallis, Egeria, some Amazon swords (e.g. E. bleheri), some Crypts (e.g. C.
wendtii and C. ciliata), Java fern, Java moss, etc.>
I bring down the pH to around 7.2 for in the tetra tank. As long as it remains
stable the fish are okay.
<Most tetras shouldn't mind even pH 7.4, so I'd not bother with the pH
adjustment. The difference between 7.2 and 7.4 is not that important. Fish don't
really "feel" pH anyway; they feel the total dissolved solids, which the
acidifying agent isn't doing anything about. I personally wouldn't bother with
the pH adjuster -- I'd sooner do more water changes to keep the quality high.
Cheers, Neale>
Stocking a 15 Gallon FW Plant Tank 3/21/07
Hello, I have a 15 gallon eclipse system tank, that has been cycled since
late August. The inhabitants I currently have are 3 marbled hatchets, 3 nanus
neon cories, and 1 German blue Ram. There are also 2 different Amazon swords,
one is ground level that grew a stem and leaves to reach the surface, emergents
I am guessing? Also, the second is a large sword, with large broader
leaves that stretch to the top of the tank. These have been in my tank since
Early November or late October. Temperature is at 78 degrees and pH is about 6.4
(slowly bringing it down to 6, it used to be 7)
I have a couple of questions. My blue ram is very shy. He has been in my tank
since October, the last fish added, and since then he has been very frightened
of me. He eats and explores the tank, but only when I am not in the room.
I would have to hide and watch as he scouts around the tank. When I walk by, he
hides, and does not come out at all. Is there a way for me to get my trust in
him and so he gets to know who I am better? He won't even come out to feed when
I am standing there, I would have to go hide. Up until this day, he has not had
any diseases or such and has been quite healthy. I don't even feed him the
bloodworms because it doesn't go to his belly but to my tanks nitrates. Any
advice?
< Rams are normal very shy fish to begin with. Having other fish in the tank
creates some activity and helps these fish get over their shyness. They are
referred to as dither fish.>
Second, is my stocking complete? I have the three small nanus cories, at the
moment not bigger than an inch, the 3 marbled hatchets about 1.5 inches
long each. And the ram who is about two inches. I understand that the inch per
gallon is just a general idea to help you stock, but it doesn't necessarily
give you the exact stocking level. The tank is 10 width, 20 length, and about
18-20 height depending on how high the water level is. Can I add anything else
to the tank? Maybe a mate for the ram or a small group of tetras?
< Check the nitrates. If you can keep them below 20 ppm between water changes
then you can add some additional fish. A small group of tetras would work just
fine for your dither fish problem too.-Chuck>
I am fixing up the tank, adding some real driftwood, more live plants, upgraded
lighting to the least 30 watts, and better fertilizing gravel for the
plants. The lighting is the only problem, because of the eclipse hood.
Thanks, Joe
Fish problems... actually Hobbyist problems
3/20/07
Greetings,
<Sherly>
I'm so glad I found your site, but since I work 50+ hours a week, I
don't have a whole lot of time to read & find all the info I
need. Please forgive me for needing to ask of your time.
<We'll see...>
I love my fish, and because of bad allergies, they're the only pets that
I can have.
After a year+ of having tropical fish successfully, about a month ago I
went from a 10-gallon to a 30 gallon tank.
But I'm having some problems. Since my original fish appeared to be
healthy in their new "home", I bought some more fish to fill the rather
empty tank.
<No quarantine?>
But I had 4 deaths in the first week, and 2 of my original fish don't
look so well these past few days.
I find it unusual to have so many deaths in such a short
time. Normally, I see one pass away after several months. The deaths
of my very first & original fish occurred over many months, but one at a
time and not within a few weeks of each other.
My original fish included:
3 Rosy Reds (test fish -- all gone)
<Are coldwater minnows... not really suitable for tropical aquariums...
may have brought disease in...>
2 Lemon Von Rio Flame Tetras (had 4, the other 2 have passed)
3 Black Phantom Tetras (had 5, ... 2 have passed)
2 Colored Kuhli Loaches
1 Golden Algae-eater (had 2, I watched this survivor "Sardine" kill
the other by sucking, ramming and literally knocking the other
algae-eater out of the tank)
<Is often too "mean" to keep with smaller fishes... Look up
Gyrinocheilus... on WWM, the Net...>
I added...
6 Blood-fin Tetras
5 Silver Hatchet Tetras (which I was told they jump & therefore,
purchased a different lid)
5 Albino Cory
5 Upside-down catfish
<Live in different water...>
I lost 3 Albino Cory, 2 of the deaths were less than 12 hours from each
other (and only bothered replacing one -- since that's all I had time
for)
And I lost 1 Upside-down catfish to the water filter (don't ask me how
it managed to swim in there, I found it during a water & filter change
after the other 3 deaths).
<...>
But 2 of my Black Phantom Tetras are ill (I think). One is displaying
very, very red gills (and one side of his gill looks flared-out ... or
just plain broken/bent out of shape), and the other has some funky junk
on his mouth. I put fish medicine in the tank (I doubt the stuff works,
but it says it treats red gill and fungus mouth).
<...>
... and just recently I got 4 Balloon-belly Mollies --
<What re your water quality?>
"Ebony", "Ivory", "Salt" & "Pepper" (I got impulsive today). And
"Ivory" gave birth to 17 fry (16 survived... I lost one to the water
filter (again with the filter). I have the fry in a breeding basket in
the same tank. I do plan on checking with the pet store(s) here to see
if they'll take these fry because I think I'm a bit overloaded.
<You're a bit compulsive I'd say>
I want to know what I might be doing wrong?
<The list is long... not researching the life... its requirements,
compatibility before purchasing... Not monitoring water quality...>
I only have a PH test kit - and it's last reading was 7.0 (I haven't
checked since I got the mollies today & added a little aquarium salt...
<The Characins/Tetras don't "like" salts...>
and had an unexpected birth of fry). I also have a different
filter. Instead of one that hangs outside the tank, I have one that
submerges in the tank. I got this filter because it's quieter (and I
can't sleep with loud noise at night).
My current water temperature averages 76 Fahrenheit. I set up this new
tank just like the 10 gal -- I let it run a week before adding fish,
<Cycled?>
except this time I didn't use any of the cheap 10 cent fish after a
week, I just transferred my original fish. My algae-eater is now 5"
long ("Sardine's" the largest thing in the entire tank). I feed my fish
freeze-dried bloodworms, shrimp pellets and an algae chip for "Sardine"
-- my original fish stopped eating flakes after a while, so I switched
to bloodworms to get them to eat again (are they being picky?)
<Mmm, no>
All the other fish seem fine, I'm at a loss at what exactly I did wrong
to incur so many losses in such a rapid time. I don't want to lose any
more fish and don't really have the time to constantly return to the pet
store.
~Shirley
<Well... it dawns on me that you may just not have time for this hobby
really... To be absolutely frank with you (though my name is Bob), I
think you ought to consider whether you're ready to commit (yes, with
the big C) to being involved with captive life... Your letter reveals a
few things. One: a lack of reading, involvement... Two: Good/Bad
consumerism... you "just buy" things... This is not a hobby/past-time
for such casualness... IF you intend to keep an aquarium, this will
demand more of your time... In investigating what can "go together", and
how to set-up and maintain a given mix of compatible species... Are you
willing, able to make that promise? Perhaps another non-living interest
would be better for you at this time. Bob Fenner> |
Neale's much better response... 3/20/07
Greetings,
I'm so glad I found your site, but since I work 50+ hours a week, I
don't have a whole lot of time to read & find all the info I
need. Please forgive me for needing to ask of your time.
<Please understand that we all work, too, so forgive me if I send you
along to pages you should read over to get the general idea before
trying to answer specific questions.>
I love my fish, and because of bad allergies, they're the only pets that
I can have.
<Catfish instead of cats, eh?>
After a year+ of having tropical fish successfully, about a month ago I
went from a 10-gallon to a 30 gallon tank.
<Good, a bigger tank is usually easier to care for. But you did cycle
the filter in the new aquarium, didn't you?>
But I'm having some problems. Since my original fish appeared to be
healthy in their new "home", I bought some more fish to fill the rather
empty tank.
<Never a good idea. With a new tank, go slow. Add the fish you have,
wait a few weeks, then add some more only if the water quality (nitrite
and ammonia) is where it should be, i.e., zero.>
But I had 4 deaths in the first week, and 2 of my original fish don't
look so well these past few days.
<Anytime fish die off unexpectedly or in clumps, whip out your nitrite
and/or ammonia test kits. 99% of unexplained fish deaths are caused by
water quality issues.>
I find it unusual to have so many deaths in such a short
time. Normally, I see one pass away after several months. The deaths
of my very first & original fish occurred over many months, but one at a
time and not within a few weeks of each other.
<It is unusual. So DID you do a nitrite or ammonia test?>
My original fish included:
3 Rosy Reds (test fish -- all gone)
2 Lemon Von Rio Flame Tetras (had 4, the other 2 have passed)
3 Black Phantom Tetras (had 5, ... 2 have passed)
2 Colored Kuhli Loaches
1 Golden Algae-eater (had 2, I watched this survivor "Sardine" kill
the other by sucking, ramming and literally knocking the other
algae-eater out of the tank)
<Algae-eaters (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri) are notoriously aggressive and
just plain nasty fish. Watch your specimen very carefully, and be away
it will reach about a foot in length.>
I added...
6 Blood-fin Tetras
5 Silver Hatchet Tetras (which I was told they jump & therefore,
purchased a different lid)
5 Albino Cory
5 Upside-down catfish
<OK, here's where you went wrong. When fish die unexpectedly, you find
out why. You don't add new fish. It's most likely a cycling issue, so
please read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm >
I lost 3 Albino Cory, 2 of the deaths were less than 12 hours from each
other (and only bothered replacing one -- since that's all I had time
for)
<Please realize that you may be "wasting time" but your poor fish are
"wasting their lives away". Spend the time figuring out the problem
before buying any more fish!>
And I lost 1 Upside-down catfish to the water filter (don't ask me how
it managed to swim in there, I found it during a water & filter change
after the other 3 deaths).
<Strange. Perhaps it died and got sucked in? That said, these catfish
must have hiding places, and if there aren't any in the tank, they will
search in places they shouldn't go.>
But 2 of my Black Phantom Tetras are ill (I think). One is displaying
very, very red gills (and one side of his gill looks flared-out ... or
just plain broken/bent out of shape), and the other has some funky junk
on his mouth. I put fish medicine in the tank (I doubt the stuff works,
but it says it treats red gill and fungus mouth).
<PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a water quality test for nitrite and/or
ammonia. Also pH if you can. There are nice, inexpensive dip sticks that
will do water quality and water chemistry tests all in one fell swoop. A
real time saver. Fish almost always get sick because the water quality
is bad (in the same way people get hypothermia when they're too cold, or
cholera when given dirty water). Just wildly adding medications hoping
for the best will not work!>
... and just recently I got 4 Balloon-belly Mollies -- "Ebony", "Ivory",
"Salt" & "Pepper" (I got impulsive today). And "Ivory" gave birth to 17
fry (16 survived... I lost one to the water filter (again with the
filter). I have the fry in a breeding basket in the same tank. I do
plan on checking with the pet store(s) here to see if they'll take these
fry because I think I'm a bit overloaded.
<Breeding baskets are not a good idea with mollies. The mollies are too
big, get stressed, miscarry, and generally get unhappy.>
I want to know what I might be doing wrong? I only have a PH test kit -
and it's last reading was 7.0 (I haven't checked since I got the mollies
today & added a little aquarium salt... and had an unexpected birth of
fry). I also have a different filter. Instead of one that hangs
outside the tank, I have one that submerges in the tank. I got this
filter because it's quieter (and I can't sleep with loud noise at
night).
(Why are you adding salt to this tank? Sure the mollies like it, but the
tetras and catfish won't. Salt is redundant in a properly run aquarium.
Mollies are basically incompatible with most community fish. They need
either pristine freshwater (less than 20 ppm nitrate) or brackish water.
You have neither.>
My current water temperature averages 76 Fahrenheit. I set up this new
tank just like the 10 gal -- I let it run a week before adding fish,
except this time I didn't use any of the cheap 10 cent fish after a
week, I just transferred my original fish. My algae-eater is now 5"
long ("Sardine's" the largest thing in the entire tank). I feed my fish
freeze-dried bloodworms, shrimp pellets and an algae chip for "Sardine"
-- my original fish stopped eating flakes after a while, so I switched
to bloodworms to get them to eat again (are they being picky?)
<Don't expect fish to eat one food, day in, day out. Cycle them. Give
bloodworms one day, flake the next, some veggies the third, and so on.>
All the other fish seem fine, I'm at a loss at what exactly I did wrong
to incur so many losses in such a rapid time. I don't want to lose any
more fish and don't really have the time to constantly return to the pet
store.
<1. Do a nitrite/ammonia test. 2. Don't add any more fish until
everything is settled down and the fish are happy. 3. Don't buy any fish
for a while; buy a nice aquarium book instead. 4. Go buy some more fish
now you've read up on what would be compatible, but just a couple, so
you don't overload the filter and give everything time to re-adjust.
Cheers, Neale> |
A very new fish owner. FW, ich, cycling 2/23/07
Dear Crew,
<Stacy>
I am really having a hard time keeping fish. I believe that the 6 neon tetras
that I bought 5 days ago now have Ich. I've been all over the web and,
admittedly, have found tons of information. However, everything is so
confusing!
<Let's see if we can make all clear/er>
Here are the facts:
My tank is a 6-gallon tank.
<First source of trial here... small volumes are difficult to keep stable...>
I had my water tested (I managed to kill 4 other fish a couple of months ago by
overfeeding and kept the water - I did a 50% water change, rinsed all of the
ornaments, let the water sit for a day, and then bought new fish).
<... not likely cycled... Are you familiar with aquatic biological filtration?>
The fish currently in the tank are: 2 small orange fish (not goldfish, but I
don't know the name!) and 6 neon tetras.
Now, the neon tetras have white spots all over them.
<Does "sound" like ich>
I also bought a small algae eater the same day, but he died yesterday (not
enough algae in the tank?
<Perhaps... could be that the system is simply not cycled...>
No one at the store advised me about algae fish food). Maybe the ich?
<Perhaps>
I have an aerator, a filter with a bio-wheel and a water heater. The temp stays
at about 81degrees F.
Please help!
With care,
Stacy Menendez
Desperate fish owner
P.S. I have two children - they're 5 & 7 - and it's killing me for them to see
these fish die!
<Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
and the linked files above... You likely need to add a bacteria culture or other
source (see the articles) for useful material to rectify the environmental
troubles here... and I would just elevate the temperature (to the mid 80's F.)
to rid the ich... for now... READ soon... Bob Fenner>
Re: A very new fish owner 2/23/07
Thank you so much! I've been told that I should definitely take the fish
back too. Since I got them 5 days ago, there's a chance that the ich came
from the store.
<Of a certainty, it did>
You are very generous with your advice. Thank you again.
Stacy
<Welcome. BobF>
Bubbles? - 02/09/2007
I have a small ten gallon fresh water tank for my daughter. It is about a
month and a half old. For some reason fish continue to die. I test the water
regularly and the only area that seems to be of even the slightest concern is
the hardness.
<Mmm, how hard... what species of fishes?>
All other areas fall under the recommended norms.
<Need values...>
Before the fish die they always seem to develop what look like tiny bubbles on
their sides, fins and amongst their tails and fins.
<Mmm...>
The fins and tails appear almost matted as well. I had a Chinese algae eater in
there after about three weeks but it died also.
<Wow... this is a very tough animal generally>
I started with two guppies and one is still around. However two more have died.
After several weeks I added two more small community fish, I can't remember what
type right now, but one has survived and seems in good health, but another just
died recently. Any ideas?
<Mmm, all sorts... but need more data... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
And get back with me re what stirs your consciousness here. Bob Fenner>
2 Angelfish,1 Platy with clamped fin--what's the cause/cure? 1/26/07
Hey all,
<Dave>
I’ve been a long time lurker (I’ve learned a ton from this site) but I haven’t
been able to find an answer to this anywhere, so now I’m posting. I have 2
adult angelfish in a 30 gal freshwater community aquarium with a few platies,
tetras, and a couple new yo yo loaches (added just 2 days ago). I change out 5
gal of water every 2 weeks (last change was this Sunday) and test the water
conditions weekly, everything looks fine as far as the water’s concerned and I
haven’t done anything differently over the last 8 months that I’ve had this
tank.
Let me start back 2 days ago (same day I added the loaches). One angelfish
began to gasp at the surface
<Mmm, likely more related to the water change... best to (nowadays)
pre-condition, store new water for a week or so before using... Not the loaches
influence>
(it looked like at least, I don’t know if she got any air) but otherwise was
fine. I noticed it more yesterday so I tested the water (fine) and changed out
about 5 gals. I figured they needed more aeration so today I picked up a
powerhead and placed it in the corner of the tank. After sitting in front of
the tank to watch the fish in the current I noticed that both Angelfish were now
holding their right-side fins close to their bodies. They will use them if they
need to move quickly, but if they’re just hanging out the fins are held close to
their sides. Their side fins are frayed slightly at the ends, I think because
they nip on each other a little but I am not positive as their main
top/bottom/tail fins all look excellent (and move freely). Also, their clamped
side fins are red near the base, where the muscle attaches to the fin. I
decided to feed them to see how their appetite was doing, both appeared hungry
but the gasping one barely ate and seemed a little confused near the surface—she
would look at the food and then let it drift on by. Also, I noticed yesterday a
platy (been in the tank for at least 2 months) was resting on the bottom of the
tank and was clamping its fins as well, but it’s body is black so I cannot see
any discoloration.
Any ideas? Could the loaches have brought in a new disease that could progress
this far in 2 days?
<Mmm, unlikely... but a remote possibility>
I’ve read that clamped fin could be caused by parasites, maybe I should invest
in a hospital/quarantine tank and treat the angels/platy? Any info would be
greatly appreciated.
<Hard to decide here... on whether to suggest a sort of pre-emptive treatment
for possible infectious or parasitic disease... or to advise you to wait out
what is likely really only a situation arising from environmental challenge...
Have you, had you tested for nitrogenous wastes, pH... What did these tell you?>
Thanks,
-Dave
<Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Freshwater ick? Not likely - 1/22/07
Hi folks,
<Jennifer>
First off, thanks for all of the great info you offer on your website! I've been
an avid reader since I started the hobby a few months ago.
I think I have an outbreak of ick in my 29 gallon freshwater tank. I haven't
introduced anything new to my tank for about a month.
<Yes... FW Ich can "rest" indefinitely...>
The tank has been up for about 3 months. Right now I have 3 platies, 6 penguin
tetras, 3 panda Corys, 2 spotted Corys, 3 dwarf gouramis, 3 Oto catfish and a
rainbow shark. I just noticed that one of the platies has a white, round, fuzzy
growth under her bottom lip. It seems bigger than the pictures of ick that I
have seen online so I'm not sure it is ick.
<Mmm, no... likely a "secondary" bacterial infection, following some sort of
physical trauma... a bump, jump into something>
Maybe a fungus or something? The water parameters have been stable and pretty
good (nitrates at 5, nitrites at 0, ammonia at 0) except for some unknown reason
the pH started dropping in the past week.
<Natural... can be, likely should be countered with just partial water changes
(maybe weekly) with water that has some degree of alkaline reserve>
The guy at my LFS told me that instead of purchasing a pH upper, I could just
use pure baking soda to raise the pH and stabilize the alkalinity.
<This is so>
So I did that, and added some dissolved baking soda (about a teaspoonful as per
the guy's recommendation) to the tank
<Not directly... should be introduced, dissolved in new water during a
change-out>
which has helped the pH situation. That was this morning. The other change that
I made recently was about a week ago I switched from the filter that came with
my tank to a Penguin Bio-Wheel filter. Could that have been the cause of the pH
drop?
<Mmm, not likely... pH drops are mainly due to reductive/acidic (natural)
activity...>
Could that have stressed my fish too much and caused the outbreak?
<A possibility, yes>
I have some aquarium salt on hand so I was hoping that I could use that to treat
as soon as possible as the stores are all closed by now.
<Mmm, not much... the Corydoras and Tetras don't "care" for this>
However, I've read that salt can be dangerous to some catfish and I was worried
about my Corys and the Otos. I tried to read more about the salt treatment by
clicking on the link in one of your FAQ's but the link wouldn't work for me and
kept saying that the page had a fatal error.
<Mmm, could you send along the specific URL/page...?>
Is there another page you could recommend to read up on the salt treatment?
<I would just read the FAQs on the one there. There is no article as yet as far
as I recall>
Will my cats be okay with the salt?
<I wouldn't add more>
If it isn't ick but rather is a fungus of some sort will the salt help or hurt
it?
<Should help>
Should I raise the temperature in addition to the salt or is that going to be
too much stress on the fish at once?
<To the low 80's F. should be fine>
Thanks so much for all of your help!
Jen
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Prophylactic treatment 1/10/07
Hello Crew,
<Hey Eric, JustinN with you today.>
Thanks for answering my past questions and thanks again for taking the time to
read this one ( and hopefully answer it ).
<Thanks for the kind words, we answer all that we receive (when our mail server
troll doesn't consume them!)>
I quarantine all new additions to my tank ( learned the hard way a couple of
years back ) for a couple of weeks at the minimum.
<Good to hear. We all learn the hard way at some point in time.>
Initially I treat them prophylactically with a regimen recommended by a fellow
aquarist who works in ichthyologic research. He recommends ( after I told him
that I lost a batch of cardinal tetras in quarantine ) that I treat new
additions prophylactically with the following regimen - Nitrofurazone ( I use
Furan-2 as per instructions which are one tablet/10 gallons every other day for
four days with a water change after each 2nd dose), followed by malachite green
( as per dosage on bottle ) for three treatments every other day. He also
recommended ( especially for cardinals ) an anti-bacterial food and an initial
bath in Praziquantel if available. I always like to get additional opinions
before making a decision so what do you think of this regimen ?
Thanks,
Eric
<This sounds like a very harsh regimen of unnecessary medications. I much prefer
the idea of perhaps a quick methylene blue dip en route to an extended
quarantine (3-4 weeks) to watch for any signs of ill effects, and then only
after diagnosis follow with proper treatment. It just seems to me you're forcing
the new additions to harden up in potentially toxic conditions, surely making
the task harder. After the rigors of shipping and changing of hands, these
little guys could usually sure use some TLC (tender love and care) when they
first reach you! Hope this helps you! -JustinN>
New Tank Crashed, No Quarantine Tank, Bad Advice 1/7/07
Hello. My name is Pip. I am rather concerned about my fish in my tropical
tank.
I have a 36in long glass tank, with an undergravel filter, internal power
filter, heater, light, plants (real) and several fish. My tank is fairly new. I
set it up at the end of November with the help and advice of my local aquaria
store and several books, some that I bought and some from the library. I like to
read up on a subject to do with animals before I actually start keeping them, so
that I more or less know what I'm doing, and doing it right.
< Very commendable.>
My aquar store, told me to set it all up, get it up and running and leave it for
a week to settle before introducing any fish, which I did.
< Really you only need to let it set up for a day or so to check that the heater
and other equipment are working properly.>
Then as suggested by them I introduced 5 white cloud mountain minnows, one of
which I'd had on his own for about 4 years, and 5 leopard danios, as they are
hardy fish and would help with the nitrogen cycle. At the same time I also
bought a few test kits, i.e. ammonia, pH, nitrite, GH and KH, and a nitrate kit,
which I used every few days to make sure everything was fine. Within a week, the
ammonia was 0, and the nitrite was 0, and the nitrate was 25 which I was told
was ok.
<A tank cycling from scratch in a week is not possible without some introduced
bacteria from another tank or possibly the plants.>
I then introduced 2 female and 1 male Siamese fighting fish, which settled in
very well. Again tested the water and waited till it was right, then added 2
female and 1 male red dwarf Gouramis a pair of breeding dwarf Gouramis with the
blue and orange stripes, male) silver and blue stripes (female), and 2 female
and 1 male black balloon mollies. Did the same thing with the water testing then
bought a red tailed black shark. Everything seemed fine, and I was told I would
be able to buy more fish, so I bought 2 pairs of platys, 4 zebra danios, 5
silver tipped tetra's 10 neon tetra's and 2 bulldog plecs. I always introduced
all my fish the way the books said, turning off the lights and floating the bags
in the tank to acclimatize for half an hour or so, then I used a net to put the
fish into the tank so that I didn't have to tip the water from the bag in incase
there was anything not very nice in there. All seemed fine for ages, the fish
were eating well, even mating. The temperature was and still is 75. (Which
incidentally the mollies and platys are still doing and seem to be gravid). But
about just over a week ago I noticed that one of my leopard danios seemed to
have bulging eyes, which I thought might be pop-eye, so I bagged her up and took
her to my dealer for confirmation and to buy a remedy. He confirmed it for me
and gave me a med that would treat that as well as dropsy, which I read can also
cause bulging eyes, but she didn't seem to be bloated. Then I noticed some of my
other leopards and minnows started to look bloated and pop-eyed too, so I
treated the whole tank for dropsy carefully as the instructions said and got a
smaller tank with some other meds that were sold to me to dip the fish in for 20
min.s or so, which I did, and gradually, one by one I began to lose them. I was
very disappointed because I also lost Minnie, my 4 year old minnow. Gradually, 2
of my minnows seemed to recover, and become less bloated and bug eyed, though
they are looking a bit tattered as their scales were a mess, though they are
beginning to look a little better now and are still eating, though they are the
only two minnows I have left now, both females. One of my leopard's has
recovered, but doesn't appear to be eating. I have 3 of those left, the other
two escaped the disease. Now some of my neon's are beginning to look bloated, I
found one half eaten on the tank bottom about 4 days ago and promptly removed
it, and two days ago another went missing, which I haven't found. To top that, 1
leopard that escaped dropsy and 1 silver tipped tetra both look like they may
have tail rot. I'm not sure if it is rot or if they've been nipped, the others
are fine though, so I've put them both together in my spare tank to keep an eye
on them, I don't want to treat them for fin rot in case it isn't that, so I'm
just watching to see if their tails begin to regenerate. One of my back balloon
mollies had what looked like whitespot all over her mouth, eyes and sides of her
head, and looking closely some of the smaller fish, leopards and silver tips
seem to have the odd one or two as well, so I treated the tank for that
yesterday (not at the same time as for dropsy, that was about a week ago), most
of my mollies spots have gone now, but some are still there, as are the other
fishes, the treatment says to use again if necessary 48 hours later, so I will
if I need to, but what I don't understand is what I did wrong. My sister has a
tropical tank and her dealer said that my problem was called 'fisherman's run'
and would sort itself out, that doesn't make me feel any better, I don't want to
give up, but I sometimes feel like it, I'm determined not to cos I love the
hobby, what should I do? Is my tank still going through it's maturation process?
I tested the tank yesterday and the pH is 7.6 (which has been the same since the
start) GH was 9/180 and KH was 4/40 ( which is quite soft compared to what it
usually is which is around 6 or 7) Nitrite was 0, Nitrate was 25 which was 10
for quite a while and ammonia is 0.I also have a smaller tank set up of guppies
with 5 pregnant females, though I'm not sure what the gestation period is or
when to move them to a breeding tank, they're all fine though, though their KH
is 5/50 which was usually 6 7 or 8.
I'm really sorry to be bothering you with this very long epic, but I felt that I
had to tell you the details so that you could maybe help me see what I'm doing
or have been doing wrong. Thank you for your time and patience. Yours
desperately Pip.
<If you really read up on all those books you might have discovered that it
usually takes about 30 days to cycle a tank unless some bacteria were added or
an additive like Bio-Spira was added to the tank to get things going. You should
have placed the fish you had for four years in the tank, since you knew it was
disease free. Additional fish could have been purchased but placed in a
quarantine tank for at least two weeks. Diseased fish could be treated in the QT
tank and not affect the main tank. When you medicated the main tank it probably
affected the biological filtration in the tank and you may have had ammonia
spikes that have stressed the fish. Now what to do? Start out by doing a 50%
water change, vacuuming the gravel and cleaning the filter. Treat with
Nitrofurazone and Metronidazole as per the directions on the packages. raise the
water temp to 82 F to treat the ich. Add a teaspoon of rock salt per 5 gallons.
When the fish are either dead or cured you can add carbon to the filter to
remove any medication. Then add Bio-Spira from Marineland to establish the
biological filtration. All future fish need to be quarantined. Lots of current
info on this website about quarantining fish. The term "Fisherman's Run", is
crap! Find a new fish store.-Chuck>
Hello, hello, my Tiger Barbs are going oh! 11/27/06
Dear fish experts please help,
<Will try>
I tried to take pics of my poor poor tiger barbs...but none turned out well
enough to bother. My tank is a 40 gallon, I have to
<two?>
very old golden gouramis and 2 old silver dollars and two new ones, a
Plecostomus, and I had 6 tiger barbs, Im down to 4...
Im new at the whole aquarium thing I didn't know about water changes, I wished
I had done more research..
<How about now?>
anyhow my tiger barbs were great happy and brought so much life to my tank.
after having them for 3 days I wake up to see 2 of them with their mouths and
little faces all red and puffy and swollen. No white fuzz or any fin or body
problems. but their mouths in very bad shape over night!
so I ran immediately to the pet store and told them my fishes faces looked
terrible like they were falling off, they the women told me to put malefix
<... Melafix? The Melaleuca "tea" leaf extract product from AP>
in the tank and this would fix them up
<No>
and to do a water change before and after 25%.
<Good idea>
I did this 3 days go by. None of them die and they are still trying very hard to
eat and seem pretty active, but no change and I notice now 4 have this. so I
call a couple pet stores ask when this will start to improve tell them the
situation, and they say a week or two, and read the same thing on line. (though
I still keep hearing that they should have some white fuzz on them, and they
must have been fighting - which neither is the case), anyhow I get worried and
they look so horrid, that I risk the worst one to stress and take him and some
water into the pet store to test it and look at him.
I have one guy look at my poor fav fish and make a disgusted face and get the
other guy. He says to add Maracyn 2
<Better "shot in the dark" here>
to the tank and keep doing the melafix (that all the melafiz was doing is
keeping it from spreading to other fish)...
<Not even this>
he didn't tell me what my fish had and I had to chase him to ask questions...
so disappointed and 25$ later I get my fish home and they didn't do a water
test he said there was no point and it happened because I didn't do a water
change soon enough...which he was so condescending I wanted to cry I feel bad
enough...
well I get home return the very ill fish and add the 8 tabs of Maracyn like
the guy said, and an hour later my fish died. I knew the stress may get him...
<Yes>
but then within the next 2 hours another one died, and now I have another Im
sure will be dead soon.
Im sorry, but my question is, what do I do to try and save my poor 4 remaining
tiger barbs, and what the heck is this and what can I do to save them, Im so at
a loss! I don't want this to happen ever again to any fish I get (which will be
a long time).
please any info, thx so much, I hope you return my email, I need answers.
Tammy
<Well... let's start somewhere toward a beginning here Tam... You need to know,
supply information re your water quality... pH, ammonia and more are really the
likely root cause of your problem here. Please take the time to read on WWM
re... starting here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Losing Fish and a Sick Angelfish 11/16/06
Hello, and thank you so much for providing this valuable resource.
< Thank you for your kind words.>
I've looked through the other queries and haven't seen anything exactly like
this.
I bought a 4 inch tall angelfish (used) from a pet store along with a small
blood parrot fish about a month ago for my 55 gallon tank that has been
established now for nearly a year. The angelfish adapted immediately with a
voracious appetite and I thought all was well. About a week ago my 6 inch long
bala shark kicked the bucket for no apparent reason followed the next morning by
(horror) my friend's foot long, 12 year old Pleco. Both had been acting
somewhat lethargic and the Pleco had stopped cleaning algae off the glass,
though he would still eat the seaweed paper I put in for him. I did an
emergency 20% water change; nitrates were at around 20 ppm, pH of 7, and no
detectable ammonia. So back to the angel, previously the third largest fish in
my tank, now sadly the largest, has been swimming listlessly around the tank
refusing to eat. (The remaining three lemon tetras, two longfin rosy barbs and
parrotfish appear totally unaffected). I have moved the angel into a smaller 3
gallon Eclipse hospital tank (cringe I know it's pathetic but it is established)
and am prepared to treat him for what my internet research tells me may be an
internal parasite. But what should I use? He's not bloated in anyway, just
refuses anything I offer from flakes, to frozen blood worms and brine
shrimp. He also occasionally appears a bit unbalanced, tilting to one
side. I'm really crazy about this beautiful gold angel and am already
distraught at having lost my favorite fish from my now emptyish tank. What
should I do?
< Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Treat the
angelfish with Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace or Clout in the hospital tank.
Feed only once a day and only enough so that all the food is gone in two
minutes.-Chuck> <<A bit more explanation offered... I would treat all; the
suggested treatment protocol is intended to address the most likely pathogens...
and the water change to further dilute metabolites that are likely
mal-influencing your livestock. RMF>>
Mysterious Deaths – 10/24/06
<<Hello, Jamie. Tom with you this morning.>>
Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail. I have no clue where to start
so I'll just try from the beginning. I'll write in point form.
<<This will work…>>
*My Aunt brought home four small (two inch-ish or less) "gold fish" and a little
over a gallon size tank. The fish were not all gold. One had a black spot on it
but other than that it was gold. Another was brown on its spine fading to silver
towards it's belly. Another was almost all brown and yet another which was all
gold.
<<Jamie, my first admonition – and I promise to be very redundant on this point
– is that the tank your aunt came home with is 30 times too small for one
Goldfish and perhaps 60 times too small for four Goldfish.>>
* Within a week or two, 3 of the 4 fish had died. My Aunt suggested that I
overfed them which may be true. The water I used came from out tap which is
delivered water that does contain chemicals. I added the solution that came with
the kit. It is called "Goldfish Bowl Conditioner" which "Instantly Removes
Chlorine", "Neutralizes Toxic Ammonia" and "Detoxifies Heavy Metals". I added a
measured amount to the tank and put the fish into the tank. The water was within
the range of room temp.
<<No filtration, no “cycling” and conditioner added directly to the bowl. Your
fish never stood a chance of surviving. Overfeeding, almost certainly, sped the
process up via ammonia poisoning. (You’ll learn about ammonia contamination when
you research aquarium cycling…and before you buy another fish, I hope.)>>
* After a few days "GOLDY" the gold fish injured her eye, I think, and was going
downhill fast. She was not swimming properly so I decided to put her into our
pond to let her go naturally.
<<Her eye wasn’t “injured”. She was suffering from a condition generally
referred to as “Popeye” which occurs when a fish is suffering from an internal
infection/disease.>>
* In the next week or two, two more fish died leaving me with one fish.
* My aunt then bought me five new fish that are gold and white. They resemble
Koi but are just inexpensive gold fish. She also bought an almost two-gallon
tank for them to live in. On that same day she purchased two beautiful
"goldfish" that have really pretty tails. They are slightly fatter and longer
than the other "goldfish".
<<Once again, I must insist that these “containers” are far too small for
Goldfish to live in. Goldfish are “messy” in that they produce a great deal of
waste. More so than many other fish. In no time whatsoever, the bowl becomes so
polluted that the fish may as well be living in a sewer. Additionally, some
varieties of Goldfish – Commons and Comets, for instance – grow, if properly
housed and cared for, to 12 inches in length. Yes, they may be small now but
they’ll remain small in a tiny bowl until they die many years before they
should. These fish needs lots of room.>>
* Again, I made the water room temp. and added the conditioner. I have slowed
down to feeding them once a day and sometimes once every other day. I feed them
regular flake food.
<<A step in the right direction regarding feeding though you need to research
the diet that Goldfish need to thrive. Flake food is okay but their diets need
variety, as well.>>
* Recently one of the Koi looking fish died. I had noticed that she wasn't doing
well. She would just sit at the bottom or float near the top. I put her in a
separate container and kept a close eye on her. She didn't eat and would float
at the top on her side most of the time. When I poked her (gently to see if she
was responsive) she would swim to the bottom the let herself float to the top
again. Eventually she died.
<<Sadly predictable…>>
* I awoke to one of my pretty-tailed fish dead one morning. I have no idea at
the cause. My aunt said that it looked like it's stomach was a bit bloated so
she researched a little and thought that maybe it was constipation. She told me
to feed them peas without the skins on them. I didn't. (For lack of
responsibility is my guess. I just didn't feel the need or want to do it. I now
wish I had.)
<<The fish’s life was in your hands and you “guess” you lacked responsibility?
Frankly, I’m certain of it, Jamie.>>
* Today yet another fish of mine died ( the total now is :-( six) Over the past
few days it seemed like he was losing his color but I didn't worry to much about
it. I just found him laying at the bottom of the tank. I couldn't see him so I
lifted out the artificial rock/bridge thing-y and then he floated to the top. I
am not sure if he
was trapped underneath the rock but I doubt it.
* I have no idea as to what the cause of these number of deaths are. I am hoping
you can help me.
<<I/we can if you promise not to purchase another single fish until you’ve done
your research. This means researching the proper cycling of an aquarium before
you even consider adding a fish to it. It means doing your homework and learning
about the size of a tank and the water conditions that your fish require. It
means learning about proper filtration and how to maintain the filter properly
so you don’t wipe out the beneficial bacteria that live there. All of this
information, and much, much more, is available right here on our site.>>
And one final question. I tried feeding Romaine lettuce to the fish today. The
pretty- tailed fish ate some of it but I also notice him sucking it in and then
spitting it out. Do you think that the lettuce wasn't chopped finely enough?
<<Probably wasn’t to its liking, is all.>>
Thank you for any help.
Jamie in British Columbia
<<If there’s something, anything, that isn’t clear to you while you’re reading
through the material on the site, please, don’t hesitate to ask us. And, for
what it’s worth, Goldfish aren’t quite the “beginner” fish that most folks seem
to think they are. Easily cared for when you have the right information, though.
Tom>>
Mystery Disease - 10/22/2006
Hello.
<<Hello, Gabriel. Tom with you.>>
I have had a 10 gallon aquarium for several years, but about 6 months ago, I had
to restart it because of a mass die-off. It bounced back and is fine now. At
around the same time, I started a 20 gallon tank stocked with 2 platys (male +
female), a pair of guppies, a pair of zebra danios, a male dwarf Gourami, and a
Corydoras catfish. Now, (about 2 months later) I noticed-first on the male
platy, a little bit on the female, and on a goldfish (separate tank but they
share tools and water)- the same symptoms. It started as a ring of skin right
behind the platy's head that turned white seemed to peel back. The ring filled
in with white and began to shrink (good sign?). At about the same time, the same
symptoms have appeared on some of my other fish. I don't know if it spread or
they all got it simultaneously from some environmental factor.
<<Gabriel, while I haven’t heard of a problem of this sort manifesting itself
exactly in the way you describe, peeling skin on fish is often associated with a
pH drop or crash. In a nutshell, the water goes from being more basic to acidic
in a very short period of time, sometimes in less than 24 hours.>>
This all happened at a horrible time because my female guppy gave birth and I
now have 5 little baby guppies who are probably the most susceptible to it. The
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all normal, but in the goldfish tank, the water
is slightly cloudy, and in the 20 g tank, the pH is a lot lower than it should
be, but at my local pet store, I was told not to use pH altering chemicals and
that it would go away on it's own.
<<I agree that using pH altering chemicals would be ill-advised but disagree
that it will “go away on it’s own.” Increase the regularity of your water
changes and consider a little scientific experimentation by monitoring a sample
of your tap water closely over a period of days. If you note a sudden drop in pH
in your sample, you can rest assured that the same will likely happen in your
tanks. Some municipalities provide water that is better buffered against drops
such as these than others. Likewise, the pH levels provided are not always
uniform from one period of time to another. I recall one fellow whose pH levels,
from the tap, ranged from 6.8 to 8.0. Yow!>>
This is probably coincidental but the female platy is very fat and I couldn't
find a gravid spot, but she acts normal and has no dropsy-like symptoms. I have
not been able to find anything that sounds like what my fish have, so any help
would be greatly appreciated.
<<The new “concensus” regarding pH is to go with what you have from your tap and
avoid “toying around” with it as long as it remains stable. Acclimating fish to
pH levels outside of their “norm” is considered far less detrimental, in the
long run, than possibly setting one’s self up for unwanted, potentially fatal,
crashes. Best of luck, Gabriel. Tom>>
Sick or Gravid? - 10/21/2006
First of all, love your website, lots of info and great questions and
feedback. <Thanks!>
I have a 20 gallon fish tank. Use r/o water, been setup for just over two
months, everyone (zebra danio, neon tetra, black neon, couple guppies) has done
very well and thought I had no problems. I do have a concern now, however, with
the Oto. I have only one and was worried that maybe I hadn't enough algae growth
for it, so I add a slice of blanched zucchini, leave it for a day and have given
it at the closest every 2nd or 3rd day, as I still want to get the tank cleaned.
Don't know if it's a male or female, but 'she' was very diligent and was doing a
great job. However, as of late she has gotten a large belly, when she's been on
the glass, it looks like her belly kind of has rings like a bull's-eye on it,
like maybe rings from stretching or something...and sometimes, just balances on
things, don't notice her cleaning like she was. I only have the one, can they
have eggs without a male around? Also, how long is gestation? This has been for
quite a while now. I had noticed she was attached to an underwater diver
bubbler I have and I could notice something swaying in the current... like a
piece of waste from her without the brown color, just clear or white, like an
empty poop. It was about an inch long, Another day couldn't see it on her
anywhere...then saw it again but quite a bit longer .... 5" or so. Haven't seen
it since and she is still large. Any advice?
Tamara
<Although many female fish can become gravid without a male, the clear poop is a
sign on an internal infection. This is a delicate fish when it comes to meds. I
would pull her to a algae free tank and feed only medicated flake food. I don't
think medicating the water will help. And please, never medicate the main tank.
Don>
Betta question / can fish get cancer? 10/7/06
<<Good morning. Tom with you.>>
Can fish get cancer?
<<Short answer? Yes.>>
I've had my betta since May 2002.
<<A long time in Betta-terms...>>
He's had a normal appetite and behaviors, but overnight, between his front
side fin.. in front of the fin and face (the part they can flare out)
there's a huge lump on the one side.
<<I would venture that this is not cancerous in nature but more likely the
result of an infection/abscess. Consider that cancer, in overly simple
terms, is an irregular/abnormal growth of cells. The host's body develops
(ironically) additional blood vessels to feed, and remove waste, from these
new cells. (When the "waste" removed from the growth contains cells capable
of duplicating similar growths elsewhere in the body, the cancer is
categorized as malignant. If not, it's considered benign.) The point here is
that such a development is unlikely to occur "overnight" while a pathogenic
infection very well might produce the lump you've observed.>>
He's swimming upright, and eating, but appetite not as good as
yesterday/normal. He's swimming less (but if I didn't feel good, I probably
wouldn't either) he moves okay and his color is still vibrant. With a sudden
huge lump this got me wondering if a fish can get cancer, or if he has
another disorder in light of his age.
<<I would recommend treatment with a product such as Maracyn-Two, which is
effective against internal infections. Treatment is best-performed in a
hospital tank but I would guess that your Betta is kept alone so this isn't
as critical as it would be in a community environment. Follow the directions
very closely and pay attention to any collateral effects such as cloudy
water that might accompany its use. Might answer some questions for you in
advance.>>
Thanks
<<You're welcome and good luck with your pet. Tom>>
Wild Fish Introduces Wild Diseases 9/9/06
Hello! I've read many questions from others on your site in the past,
but never have had to write my own before. Though you have vaguely similar
cases this time, I believe mine is too different to go by the advice of
others'.
In the past 2 months, I had introduced a 'lake fish' (very small, less than
the length of a penny) into my community tank. Just in the past 2 weeks, he
died. I realized then the horrible mistake that I might have made, by
introducing a parasite-ridden lake fish into my tank. After the lake fish's
death, I started noticing my fish 'flashing' that is scratching against my
tank decor and plants. I consulted my local go-to fish expert, and she gave
me QuICK Cure, but told me to add half as much as recommended on the bottle.
I did so for about 4 days, and the itching, I believe, ceased. I lent the
QuICK Cure to my boyfriend for use on his tank, and that same day the
itching reappeared. So I started treatment again.
My 55 gallon tank currently consists of 4 angelfish (a marble, blushing,
pearl, and silver veil-tail), a traumatized parrot (he was in a tank with
Oscars, and is very timid), and a black balloon molly. I know it's a strange
mix, but I started out with balloon mollies in my 10 gallon, and while the
others passed away, I guess it wasn't her time yet. So she made the switch
to my 55 gallon.
Then, last night, I realized that my fish were noticeably much less
interested in food (bloodworms, cichlid pellets, and flakes) than they
normally were. I thought maybe it was because I fed them a couple hours
later in the day, and for sure by the next morning they would return to
their norm. I also realized my balloon molly was swimming a little funny,
not very noticeably, but I watch my fish a lot. I made the prediction that
she would die last night or today. I woke up this morning and she was dead
in one of my plants (Amazon sword). Also, my fish were still very
unenthusiastic about eating.
Then, I noticed that my blushing and marble angelfish have red lines where
their side fins attach. And the fish have all been uncharacteristically
crowding on the right side of the tank where the filter and heater are. It's
baffling, please help!
My pH is 7.2, and I do 20% water changes weekly.
Now I am very nervous that half a dose of QuICK Cure isn't enough... and I'm
terrified that my other fish are in danger. I do not know, however, if it
might have been my molly's time to go? Please help I am very nervous and
very attached to my fish!
< You have bacterial infection. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and
clean the filter. Treat with Nitrofuranace or Kanamycin as per the
directions on the package.-Chuck>
Fish Dying No Clues - 09/02/06
Dear Chuck! Good Evening! I am sorry to bother you yet again,
something is terribly wrong, I have spent the last few hours searching your
site, and I am not sure what is happening. I found the missing fish
this morning, dead, and it appeared to be covered with white fuzzy stuff,
when I got home early this evening, Benjamin was also dead, as were two
other platies, the last three did not have the same white stuff on them, I
did a little less than 50% water change, and added two teaspoons of salt,
with the conditioner and cycle, do you think it is Velvet? or Ick?
< The new fish probably introduced a new parasite to the tank. This is why
we recommend quarantining all new fish. The white fuzzy stuff is a fungus
that only attacks dead or dying tissue and not a problem for healthy fish.>
It is happening so quickly, the other fish seem fine, but so did the ones
that are dead now? I realize it is a disease, or fungal infection,
what would you suggest I be doing to treat the tank, if anything right now?
Thank you for your time and your thoughts, Charlie
<Before blindly treating the tank we need to identify the problem. Look at
the rest of the living fish very closely for signs of disease. Clamped fins,
white spots, sunken bellies are all signs that something is going on.
Digital photos os sick fish also help with the diagnoses. If photos are not
possible than a detailed description of what you are seeing will
help.-Chuck>
Mysterious Fish Deaths 8/31/06
Hi Crew. I'm really hoping you might help me solve a problem. I have a 500
ltr system which appears to running smoothly. All centralized. Filtration
seems to be fine. The nitrites and ammonia levels read 0 ppm and nitrates are
low at maybe 10-20ppm. However I seem to be losing the odd fish for no apparent
reason. There seem to be no tell tale signs.. One min. they are fine.. then one
is dead. The only thing I can think of short of some
weird disease is that in the top tanks there seems to be microbubbles.
Not in all of them only the ones where the tap does not agitate the water, i.e.
where the water flows smoothly out of the tap. This changes
each day, might be one tap one day and another the next. I just wondered whether
these microbubbles could be the cause of death? I.e. them getting stuck in the
gills of the fish or something. One that died did have a few bubbles on his face
that came off when he was alive after I moved
him with a net, he didn't seem ill at that point.. was happy as any of the
others. Some of the fish are opening and closing their mouths a fair
amount.. but not what I could really call gasping at all and certainly not at
the surface etc. Any suggestions or advice? I seem to be losing one fish a day/
two days and that's not good I think. Although this may be because of stress
after they came in. I had a shipment of a lot of fish but the water has checked
out fine so I don't think it is an overload problem. Is it common place to lose
a certain percentage of fish whenever you have a bath in? Thanks Rob
< New fish that have been transported a great distance usually are exposed to
high ammonia levels. This ammonia fries the gills and fins of the fish. The
damaged gills are no longer able to absorb the same amount of oxygen as normal
gills and the fish always struggle to get their breath. Another problem could be
gill flukes. Isolate a tank with the problem and treat with Fluke-Tabs, then see
if they get better. Ich or ich type of parasites could also be involved.
Sometimes you can't see them but they attack the gills and cause problems. Clout
would take care of both the flukes and the ich. It is worth a try. In the future
I would recommend that you quarantine any new fish and correct any disease
problems before you place them in an established system.-Chuck>
Fish Flashing and Stringy Feces in Some Tanks at LFS - Is this Common for
LFS's or Should I Buy Elsewhere? 8/2/06
Hi Crew,
<Cindy>
I have been fish keeping African Cichlids a little over 3 years now. I've
grown from one 50 g. tank to a total of 6 tanks. I get my livestock from a
local high end independent retailer. As my hobby has grown, I find myself
spending more and more time at my LFS buying supplies. I'm there once or
twice a week. I enjoy looking at the fish and visiting with the fish guys
while I'm there. Every time I've been there, over the past 6 months, I've
noticed problems in a few of their fish tanks. I'll see several tanks that
have fish flashing, maybe a tank with fish rocking, and I always see a few
fish here and there with stringy feces more than triple their size that
won't seem to detach. Is this common of all fish stores?
<Way too common, yes... There are myriad, continuous health issues in retail
and wholesale settings in the aquatic livestock business... too much "mixed"
life that goes un-rested, un-quarantine, untreated and mis-treated...>
Am I just becoming more aware, or should I be looking for another store for
future livestock?
<I strongly encourage you to "shop around", to take on all aspects of
providing preventative measures wherever you purchase new livestock>
I see this store occasionally take back large fish that have outgrown
someone's tank and immediately after temperature acclimation, release them
into tanks with breeder livestock. I realize they only have a limited
number of backroom quarantine tanks, but I would expect fish coming from
someone's unknown tank conditions to be quarantined before introduction to
other livestock purchased from distributors.
<This source of trouble pales in comparison with the weekly coming and going
of shipped wild and distant-cultured stocks... there are seasonal and
permanent pandemics that one can identify in our interest...>
I heard it can even be dangerous for a LFS to mix livestock from multiple
distributors.
<Yes>
The fish from one distributor have been exposed to and built immunity to
certain bacteria while the fish from the other distributor have been exposed
to different bacteria.
<One way of viewing, stating this... it's more "their" systems that have
expressed immunity if you will... akin to "A boy in a bubble"... Realize
that almost to a one, more than 100% of all the stock goes through any given
wholesaler/jobber/distributor's systems weekly...>
When you combine the fish, and the bacteria they carry, you risk illness
as they cross contaminate each other with bacteria
they have no built in resistance to.
<Nor much chance/opportunity to develop/acquire such>
What should someone look for when selecting a good LFS to purchase their
livestock?
Cindy
<The bazillion dollar question. Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
and the linked files above... Much to state here, and thank you for this
prompting. Bob Fenner>
Several diseases??? I'm clueless!! 7/26/06
Hi, my name is Kathryn and I live in Texas. I recently began keeping
fish and thought I had done pretty well on researching species and diseases
and water treatments and so forth, but apparently not! This may be hard
for me to explain but I will try to keep it short.
I have a 72 gallon bowfront aquarium that has been in use since May 20ish.
Livestock is:
5 gold Gouramis
4 blue Gouramis
5 zebra danios
3 Kribensis cichlids
3 Dalmatian mollies
4 sunburst? mollies
6 gold barbs
6 cherry barbs
1 pictus catfish
2 albino Corys
1 dojo loach
1 flying fox
1 spotted catfish
6 small guppies
1 male Betta
I know this is a lot of fish, but they are all young and still fairly
small, the largest being a gold Gourami at 3 1/2 in., as they grow I will
move some to another tank accordingly.
I have an undergravel filter set on low and a Emperor bio-wheel for
filtration, and have always kept the water treated with stress coat and
aquarium salt (1 tbs. per 5 gal.) About a month ago I successfully treated
a severe ich outbreak by slowly raising the salt levels over a period of
three days and maintaining that for a little over a week. Since then I have
continued to keep a bit more salt than recommended in the tank. (about an
extra 1/2 cup for the entire tank).
Well now it seems I have a few problems....
<Mmm, yes... the salt... will not "treat" indefinitely... has its own
drawbacks>
I noticed that both the loach and fox began glancing rather severely
a couple weeks ago. a few other fish have glanced slightly, but not much.
Now several of my other fish, the Dalmatians and the pictus
<This catfish is quite sensitive to most dye and metal medications>
and a couple Gourami have bulging eyes. Then the loach
<Ditto>
and fox pretty much slowed down on the glancing after a filter change, but
my fox has what appear to be nicks or tiny wounds on his back, about 3 or 4
of them. (possibly bites????,
<Possibly>
maybe bacteria?)
<Doubtful, but possible>
and when he rests his dorsal fin stays clamped. And just a few days ago I
noticed the loach has what appears to be a brown mole on his
underside, about an inch past his mouth on his stomach. also little brown
spots on his body, but I don't know if those were already there or not.
Could any of this be salt burn?
<Of a sort, yes... osmotic stress...>
I bought some tetracycline but am hesitating to use it since I don't know
for sure what is best for my fish!!!!
<Is not>
All fish are eating and breathing normally.
PLEASE HELP I'M SO LOST!!!!
I appreciate your time and patience so much!!!
Kathryn G.
<"When, where in doubt; water changes"... Please read here re FW Ich:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
the linked files above, and elsewhere on WWM re salt use... You have a mix
of organisms that are not entirely "very" compatible in terms of temperament
and water quality type... Much to relate re... You would do well to read up
re each of the listed (and future purchases) requirements, compatibility.
Bob Fenner>
Re: Several diseases??? I'm clueless!! 7/27/06
I just wanted to thank you for the quick response! I am very relieved
that it does not appear to be any illness I was unaware of. I will lower the
salt levels
<Good>
and bump up my water change from 10% weekly to 20% and see what happens.
<Even better>
I'm very glad I checked with you before ignorantly dumping medications into
my aquarium.
<I as well>
This web site has been a great help to me as a beginner in fish
keeping (occasionally it is a bit hard to navigate, the archives can be
daunting)
<And will become more so with time... I'm a feared... Perhaps the intuitive
software that's a-coming will make all this less so... Do wish I could do
something akin to a/the "Vulcan mind-meld" with folks... in time...>
but the most informative I have found so far.
<Ahhh!>
Thank you again for your time and for providing a link to make my search much
easier.
Kathryn G.
<We become one my friend. Thank you. BobF>
Is it velvet? stress? or something else? 7/14/06
Hello,
<Hi there>
I will make this brief as I know you are all busy. I apologize if this
is covered somewhere but I have read all morning and I'm still not sure what to
do!
<Oooh, I can't wait, literally, for the vocal interface twixt these devices...
To heck with keyboards... and much more intuitive "search tools"... can you?>
Set up is 29g freshwater
whisper 30 power filter
temp usually 78 to 80F (82F now)
salted minimally (about 2 tablespoons)
<? For what reason, purpose?>
running with fish for 8 weeks
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate barely 20
GH 150
KH 120
pH 7.8
1 female rainbow platy, 2 (1M 1F) pot bellied
mollies, 2 Cory cats, 3 white skirt tetras
<These last don't "like" salts>
3 weeks ago we lost a female platy to dropsy.
<Symptom... what cause?>
That was when I added the salt and started presoaking the food.
<Ahh, I see>
I have never added anything except that salt and Cycle
<Not a big fan of this Hagen product... almost never functional>
to my tank. The tank has been cleaned and had 40%
<Mmm, too much/%... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwh2ochgs.htm
"and the linked files above".>
water changes weekly since the cycle completed...last time was yesterday.
Finally to my problem. My platy is glancing on the
substrate and plants and this morning I noticed her rubbing against the mollies
as well. I can't see anything on her but she does have a slight gold cast. I
noticed that weeks ago and thought it was just her coloring. She is mostly white
with black fins and tail and a small amount of red orange on her tail. The white
part of her body shows blue green iridescence in the light and has a yellow cast
otherwise. My point being that I can't tell if she has this "dusting of gold"
that indicates velvet. She defiantly
<And definitely?>
has no white spots and she is eating and acting normally other than the glancing
and I've noticed that she has spent a little more time than usual very near the
top of the tank just hanging out, not gasping or anything. The tetras are fairly
new and frisky and I thought she may have just been a little stressed by them...
though it seems they were trying to school with her more than harm her. They
really only nip each other. Also she dropped some fry about 2 weeks ago. I found
9 so far, 8 are in a small plastic breeder that floats in the tank and the
other I found yesterday when cleaning and couldn't catch the little bugger!
There could be more I seem to find some every time I vac. I'm not sure how many
she had we were away when she had them. Interestingly, the 2 I found yesterday
that have been in the tank are almost twice the size of the ones in the breeder
tank...which brings me to the second part of my problem. I set up a tank
yesterday for the fry. A 6g Eclipse carbon pad, bio wheel, etc. I figured I'd
put the fry in it when it was finished cycling and later use it for a QT /
hospital tank. I added Cycle,
<Sub BioSpira for this... trust me>
a silk plant, a small cave, and a few handfuls of substrate from my main tank to
get it started.
<Oooh, good move>
When I noticed the platy glancing last night I raised the temp in the small tank
to 84F and figured I'd watch her for more symptoms thinking, I could always put
her in the new tank if things got bad for her. It is not ideal I know, but at
least I could protect the other fish and the fry. I'm sorry I'm not keeping to
my promise of being brief. I will conclude.
<Let's wrap this sucker up!>
This morning, when I noticed her rubbing against the mollies
I got nervous and salted the small tank excessively ( 2 tablespoons) and put her
in it. I am monitoring her closely as well as the water chemistry( right now it
is the same as the large tank). She seems very relaxed now, swimming regularly
and checking everything out. Also she has not glanced once since she was put
into this tank!!! So, what is the problem?
<Mmm... very likely "environmental stress"... too much change... too often...>
With no other symptoms I don't want to medicate and wouldn't anyway until I know
for sure what the deal is. Could it be velvet?
<Could, but highly unlikely... This protozoan really "whacks 'em" if present...
all would be dead within a few hours to days>
Is the goldish yellow cast normal for her coloring or is that velvet?
<Much more likely the former>
Could she just be recovering from the stress of birthing or the tetras?
<Yep>
Does glancing always mean a problem?
<Nope. Some is "natural"... to be expected... akin to our scratching...>
She has been in the small tank for about 6 hours and has eaten and is acting
normally now... no clamped fins, no rapid breathing. I first noticed the
glancing right after the water change could that be what caused it?
<Oh yes!>
My inclination is to keep her in the small tank and watch her to see if anything
develops but I am very concerned that it is not cycled.
<Mmm, the moved gravel should "do it"... along with careful, low feeding>
I don't want the stress of bad water chemistry to make her sicker, but I also
don't want to risk losing all of my fish. She is a beautiful fish and one of my
first, losing her would be awful but to lose her and all her fry much worse.
The only other thing is that I noticed some small white buggy
things swimming near the bottom of the small tank.
<Don't worry re these either>
They are the size of a pin head. I noticed them because this tank is mostly bare
and I was looking so hard at my platy they caught my eye. They could be in the
large tank too but would be much harder to see on the substrate. I read
somewhere that they are copepods (sorry not sure of that spelling) and actually
good for the tank as they eat brown algae and fish like to eat them. They sure
make good fry food anyway. So, maybe they are not what I think they are and
worthy of note.
<Are worthwhile to mention, and no problem>
My longwinded brief problem may be nothing more than me being paranoid, but I
just would rather be safe than sorry. Thank you in advance for any help/ info
you can give,
Heidi
<Bob Fenner>
Re: High Mortality Rate, FW, poss. Hexamita/Octomita - 07/03/04
Thank you for responding so quickly. The treatment we used contained was
Parasite Clear Tank Buddies which includes the following ingredients:
Praziquantel; N-[[(N-Chlorophenyl) amino] carbon 1]-2,6-difluorobenzamide;
Metronidazole; acriflavine.
<Correct>
Is Metronidazole different from Metronidazole/Flagyl?
<Mmm, no. This is the same compound... two different names>
Could part of our high death rate being caused by not changing the carbon
filter enough?
<Not really likely... perhaps a small contributing factor>
We change it about every 2-3 months. However, our water quality always
seems to be good.
- Molly
<How to state this... There are many such qualities for which there are no
tests, little practically known... re their effects alone, in synergism with
other factors... Bob Fenner>
Bending fish 6/29/06
Dear Crew
What causes spinal bending in fish (lordosis)? I have rainbow trout in a
large outdoor pond and they can have bends like boomerangs.
Thanks
Jon
<Such bending can be a result of poor nutrition, infectious disease (e.g.
Myxosoma... "Whirling"...), even stray electricity in the water... Other
lesser "causes" include aspects of water quality, genetic anomalies. If you
intend to consume these fishes, or enter into this body of water, I would
have this investigated. Bob Fenner>
Exploding fish.... News at Eleven! 6/26/06
<<Tom here.>>
I'm fairly new to fishkeeping and sadly not doing well. So far, two of my fish
have died of, well, they exploded. Just without warning. I have no idea what's
going on or whether it's my fault...
<<Hmmm... (Not going to touch this one! Oh, I would but, then I'd get fired...)
Tom> :)>>
Anchorworm? Reading? Incompatible FW mix, poor advice 6/24/06
Please help!
I recently purchased 3 young red balloon platys from the local petshop (I also
bought 3 black mollies and 3 cardinal tetras and have them all together in the
same 10g tank).
<... these three types/species of fishes "like" very different water quality...
they're therefore not (very) compatible>
When I put them into my quarantine tank I noticed that two seemed healthy and
one had a whitish worm-like growth protruding from the underside of its fin. All
3 ate well and appeared happy but then 1 died 2 days later.
The fish with the protrusion is still alive but today seems sluggish.
I asked the petstore about it and they told me that it was common and to pull
it out with tweezers.
<?! common?>
This is a small fish and I am unsure how to proceed.
<This will/would likely kill the fish>
Do you recommend the same thing? Should I separate this fish from the others?
Will my tank need any special treatment?
Thank-you
Renay
<... Please go to our homepage:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
See the Google search tool/tray at the top left?
Put in the term "Anchorworm", and read...
And put in the common name of these fishes and read. Bob Fenner>
Dead Three-spot Gourami (Bob Fenner) Hey, I'm still alive!
5/28/06
Thank you for the quick response, Mr. Fenner!
<Welcome>
From what I understand then, instead of trying to 'treat' my fish that look
sick, I should first make sure I know what's wrong with them? Because that's
excellent advice and I feel like an idiot!
<Not an idiotic statement at all... Au contraire! Yes to the very important
steps of careful observation and patience>
I do have another question though: If I had left him alone to adjust, would it
have been likely he would have survived?
<Not able to state/guess... many such problems do resolve themselves on their
own. It is my estimation that much more livestock is "bumped off" than dies, by
"mis-medication", treatments by well-meaning aquarists, than by "natural
causes". Bob Fenner>
Boatloads of problems, trying to cope! Guppy disease/s, Neon Bloating,
Imported fishes and Flagyl - 05/22/2006
Hello,
<Hi there>
Wonderful site you have here. Thank you for the resource. I have combed it
thoroughly over the last little while and have had some successful results with
other problems, but now I am facing a few fish troubles I can't resolve and
desperately need some help.
Unfortunately, this may be a big one as I have two tanks; one 96 Litre and one
54 Litre tank. Both are planted. The relevant parameters for both tanks are:
96L:
pH 7.5
NitrItes: 0 ppm
NitrAtes: 12 ppm
KH: 6 dH
GH: 9 dH
Temp: 24 C
54L:
pH 7.5
NitrItes: 0.3 ppm
NitrAtes: 12 ppm
KH: 6 dH
GH 10 dH
temperature: 26 C
<No ammonia in either/both I take it>
I'll discuss the large tank first.
In the 96L tank I keep guppies, platys, Corys and apple snails (Pomacea
bridgesi). I have noticed that the guppies have started flashing. It is more
than the "once per second" rule. This has continued for about a week now. I
have not treated with malachite green (snails in the tank) nor have I added
aquarium salt. I have been observing the behaviour, as I mentioned, for about a
week. As of yet, I have seen no sign of ich, velvet or any visible "hangers-on"
parasites.
<Might be environmental...>
First question: I am wondering what the flashing could be about? I think the
water parameters are quite alright and I have no visible evidence of parasites.
<For what you list test wise and can see, yes>
Consequently I am baffled. Also, if needed, could I add aquarium salt to the
tank even though it contains snails and Corys? If so, at what concentration?
<Mmm, not much salt... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/saltusefaqs.htm>
Second issue: I purchased 3 brilliant yellow guppies to attempt to "rescue" them
as they were a little under the weather at the fish shop.
Guppy #1 swims in one position at the top of the tank and exhibits white stringy
faeces. Fins are not really clamped per-se, but maybe a little. He will swim
for hours in the same position at the top of the water, other than that, there
is no visible sign of problems with him. Abdomen does not look particularly
bloated. He will not take food. Wondering if this is simple constipation or
something more sinister in the works?
<Is possible there is a problem here... perhaps protozoal... that might call for
a one-time treatment with Flagyl/Metronidazole...>
Guppy #2 has improved over the last day. He has what looks like a tiny red
blood blister on his tail. There is also a split in his tailfin. He is now
swimming with the other guppies in the tank and eating a little bit. He also
had what looked like an abrasion on his head. I treated him with Sera Baktopur
for this (30 minute dip upon arrival and a couple of successive 30 min
dips). Should I be doing something further for this guy?
<Not at this juncture. More such exposure may be more harm than beneficial>
Guppy #3 I am the most concerned about. He has what looks like blood under his
scales near his head. He hangs out on the bottom of the tank quite a lot - he
actually "rests" on the bottom. Occasionally he will swim up near the top of
the surface and stay there for 20 min.s or so. Will not take food. In all
cases, he looks like he is gasping, not super-heavy gasping, but I can tell this
is what he is doing through comparison with other fish. I think over the last
24 hours the red spot has decreased in size (hard to tell exactly), but he still
maintains the laying on the bottom posture. Wondering if this is hemorrhagic
septicemia? If so, what do you advise treatment with? I am in Switzerland, so
if you can suggest a Sera brand product that would be great (seems to be all
they have here), otherwise I will need a chemical name.
<How to make this known... Poecilia raised in the orient (where the majority
originate now-a-years, are often plagued with such complaints... Quarantine,
some prophylactic measures are absolutely required... and should be S.O.P. by
the trade/wholesaler-importers... but are rarely done... There are seasonal huge
guppy die-offs on import, distribution... in the Spring, Fall...>
On to the 54 litre tank.
In this tank, I keep a Betta, 11 neon tetras (the Betta does not bother or
interact with them), 2 cherry barbs, two albino Corys, a small Pleco (was
labeled "silure bleu" in the store)
<Unfamiliar with this>
and two freshwater shrimps. The problem in this tank is with the tetras. When
I feed them flake (Tetra brand) their abdomen bloats up considerably. Three
tetras in particular develop swimming troubles. They angle downwards about 50
degrees and swim towards the bottom.
<Do switch to non-dried food for a few weeks...>
They seem to "float up" and repeat this type of bobbing behaviour. It is clear
that the fish have buoyancy problems.
<A bit more than this...>
After about 4-5 hours the bloating goes down and they return to normal. This
has been going on for about 5 days now. Feedings are done more than once per
day and in very tiny quantities. They may get some excess bloodworms that the
Betta does not consume, but I am careful about over-feeding. NitrItes are
elevated in this tank because initially I thought the tetras may have had an
internal infection and treated the tank with Baktopur.
<See below>
I suspect it impacted the biological filter resulting in the nitrIte rise.
<You are correct here>
I am doing water changes to keep these down and have added a product called
"Nitrivec". The best I can seem to do at this point (70-75% water change) is to
get them to 0.3 ppm.
My question would thus be: what is going on with the tetras?
Could this be a food issue or is it an internal anatomy problem?
<Both>
They were having this problem before the elevated nitrIte levels, so it is
seemingly unrelated to that.
A whole host of problems, I know. If you can shed some light on even a few of
them I would be most grateful!
Regards to the entire WWM crew and thanks in advance for any help!
<Am wanting to relate sufficient information to assist you here in aiding your
livestock. Both systems do likely have a protozoal complaint. I would read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/metranidazole.htm
and utilize this powerful compound in these fishes foods... and be very careful
re quarantining all new livestock to avoid re-infestation. Bob Fenner>
Re: Boatloads of problems continue... FW dis. 5/28/06
Hi Bob,
<John>
I have the 96L and 54L tanks with the guppy and tetra problems.
I treated the tetras with Flagyl for two doses and I believe there has been some
improvement. I have not witnessed the severe bloating accompanied by swimming
difficulty. Perhaps I have a handle on this problem now.
<I hope so>
Unfortunately, I have a nitrIte problem in this tank now. I have been doing
consistent (twice daily) 50% water changes and I can't seem to get them down.
<The very large changes are highly likely forestalling the establishment of
cycling... I'd reduce feeding extremely, use BioSpira, other means of urging
this along>
Tank temperature is 78F and I vacuum the substrate and add some concoction of
"helpful bacteria" daily, but the nitrItes won't seem to
disappear.
<Most such concoctions are farces... ineffectual>
This has been going on for a little over a week now. I guess patience is all
I can resort to at this point?
<Mmm, not just this>
I am getting a little concerned because there is a Betta in the tank and his
fins are starting to get a little ragged.
<Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above>
The 96L guppy tank is still having troubles. I have just lost a guppy today and
there is another one with a very swollen abdomen. I will give you a description
about the guppy I lost as I believe that there is a common disease that is
killing my stock, but I cannot seem to identify it. Water parameters are:
Temperature: 24 C
pH: 7.5
KH: 6
GH: 9
NitrIte: 0 ppm
NitrAte: 12 ppm
Tank is planted and well aerated.
(Can't test for ammonia, presumed 0 given other parameters)
It starts out that the abdomen of the fish gets gradually swollen. Either
preceding or accompanying this are stringy, white faeces (I did try Flagyl on
this group of guppies, but either the sick fish were too advanced in their
condition for it to be helpful or it is not working). Following the initial
bloating, somewhere up to 5-7 days elapse before the condition gets even
worse. The scales on the belly start to raise (dropsy, I presume).
<Mmm, yes... but from what cause?>
Then the fish will hang out at the surface a lot, sometimes surface
breathing. Following this period they move away from the surface and begin to
hide in plants. They will not take food. Soon after - maybe 1 to 2 days later
- I observe them having swimming difficulties. For example, they move about
with their head pointed to the top of the tank and their tail to the bottom of
the tank. Movement is carried out using the front fins more than the tail at
this point. Not long after, it becomes clear that the fish is very sick. Death
usually results with much hemorrhaging, "raw spots" on the skin/scales and tail
rot; evidenced by red/disintegrating areas on the tail fin. I have tried
treating with acriflavine, but to no avail. At this point I think treatment is
a futile exercise because the condition is too advanced and/or secondary to what
is really going on with the fish.
<You are wise here. Do read a bit re the use of Neomycin (sulfate)... or, if you
can secure this there, Chloromycetin/Chloramphenicol....>
This tank also has the flashing problem I talked about before. Is there any
possibility that the flashing and the subsequent conditions are related?
<Yes, though not necessarily... sigh...>
Still no sign of ick, anchor worms, velvet, or any visible type of parasite. I
am getting concerned that this may pass to all the fish in the tank and it will
be a total massacre. I am also noticing that some of my otherwise normal fish
are starting to display "odd behaviour". Nothing concrete, just small things
that give pause for concern...swimming patterns, subtle behaviours, increased
hiding, etc...
<Could be resultant from "medicine/treatment" exposure alone...>
Anything, even the smallest suggestion for preventative treatment/some course of
action, would be most welcome at this point.
Thanks.
<Do read re the antibiotics mentioned above... this last livebearer trouble
smacks of "Columnaris"... we can chat this up, or it is likely more
advantageous/timely for you to search WWM, the Net re. Bob Fenner>
Re: Boatloads of problems continue... 5/29/06
Hi Bob,
<<Tom with you this time, John. I'll try to give the Boss a well-deserved break.
:)>>
Thanks for the reply. My thinking was along the same lines. I don't want to
bother you with unnecessary questions, but I had suspected columnaris
myself. However, doesn't columnaris present with either "cottony-like" growths
and/or pale areas on the fish?
<<This is typical and, usually, the "easy" way to identify the disease.>>
I had inspected the guppies that I lost quite carefully for signs of this and
did not notice any symptoms of this sort. Nothing around the mouth, no white
lesions or pale areas on the dorsal area.
<<Okay.>>
That being said - the rest of the symptoms seem to be consistent with columnaris
- many fish affected, difficulty with successful treatment, fin
damage, etc...
<<Also consistent with Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis). In
fact, Columnaris is often suspected when NTD is the actual culprit. Might
explain much here.>>
Can columnaris present like this (i.e.: the absence of the white lesions)?
<<John, each fish can display a little differently. For example, a strong,
healthy fish contracting this may display all of the "classic" signs while
fighting the disease while a weaker one may succumb before all signs develop.>>
I will look into your suggestions regarding medications and more
information. Thanks.
<<Please defer to Bob's advice here, John. I'm only throwing my "two-cents
worth" in to offer a possible alternative for the problems you're
experiencing.>>
Currently the remaining fish in the tank look healthy. I will continue to
observe over the next few days and see what happens.
<<Sadly, there's no known cure for NTD and, just as sadly, it's not restricted
to its 'namesake' fish. Don't like to bet against myself but, in this case, I
hope I'm very wrong. ;) Best of luck. Tom>>
<Tom's answers and follow-ups are so good I'm thinking of changing my name! RMF>
Re: Boatloads of problems continue... 5/31/06
Hi Tom -
<<Hello, John.>>
Thanks for the follow up.
<<Glad to help.>>
Tonight I have another problem starting with a guppy from the same tank. I
am beginning to fear the onset of an epidemic and/or total massacre of my
stock. Water parameters are unchanged since last time:
pH: 7.5
NitrItes: 0 ppm
NitrAtes: 12 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm (cannot test, chemicals are prohibited here, but presumed 0)
<<I "presume" you're right but let's leave this one on the "back burner".>>
Temp 24 C
KH: 6
GH: 9
No big fluctuations in temp. or pH. Nothing new added to the tank.
<<Sounds good.>>
I have had one guppy that has had an enlarged abdomen for about a week now.
It has neither gotten larger nor smaller so I had presumed it natural. He
has had stringy white stool so I have treated with Flagyl twice (to make
sure the food was eaten) and fed skinless peas.
<<The order of this should be reversed, John. Clear the tract first and,
then, treat with the medication. Let's continue...>>
No change in abdomen size, but possible normal stool (hard to tell
sometimes).
<<Indeed...from personal experience. :)>>
He is active and taking food. Looks healthy, swims normally and with the
group. However, just tonight I noticed his tail fin has red edges and is no
longer a straight line. That is in small localized areas some of the fin
edge has been destroyed. This has occurred in the last 24 hours. I have
now quarantined him and am treating with acriflavine (all I have at the
moment to combat fin rot).
<<May be secondary, John. Can also be associated with Ammonia burning;
that "back burner" issue. Can't discount too much here. Not likely,
however.>>
I am concerned, however, because these signs are consistent with what I
observed in the fatal conditions of the three previous guppies I have
lost. This fish does seem somewhat "robust" but in the past that was
irrelevant.
<<Okay.>>
Out of the (now five total) fish affected by this, three have died, one
small yellow fish has seemingly survived (fins healing, more active,
eating...) and now this fish is the latest to develop this insidious
condition. I am working on the assumption that he has contracted (or
incubated) what the other fish had.
<<A fair assumption...>>
Understand your concern re: NTD, but I think this is quite rare so I will
discount this at the moment. I hope we are both wrong on this count!
<<Ditto. Don Quixote and windmills. Unfortunately, a hopeless effort with
NTD.>>
Will continue to observe this fish and see how he progresses. I am sure you
will be hearing from me!
<<Look forward to it with, hopefully, good news.>>
Thanks for all the advice along the way here. The going has been a bit
rough...
<<Indeed. One thought and, admittedly, overly simplistic but, have you
considered adding aquarium salt as a therapeutic/preventive measure? Not the
usual "Guppy treatment" for what you describe but I'd rather not over-think
the problem, either. Good luck. Tom>>
Re: Boatloads of problems continue... 6/1/06
Hi Tom -
<<How goes it, John?>>
The time difference makes this convenient! Just as you answer I am home to
respond...
<<Timing is everything!>>
The update on the 96L (25 gallon) tank:
Tank parameters identical to yesterday. I am pretty sure there is no
ammonia in this tank. It has been established for quite some time. Water is
crystal clear (some yellowing from driftwood), and water parameters have not
deviated from those I quoted in over a month now. There have been no
temperature shocks or pH changes. I did add some plants, but rinsed
thoroughly with tap water. The plants were from a local fish shop that
keeps plants in a separate system from their fish stock, so I think
cross-contamination may not be an issue here. I had sick fish before the
plant addition.
<<Wise decision on the plants.>>
Anyways, the latest on the fish:
The guppy with the bacterial infection of the fin is worsening. Medication
(acriflavine/methylene blue combination) has seemed to slow this up a little
but has failed to stop it completely. Curiously, the fish is acting quite
normally, active and taking food.
<<I find this "curious" as well.>>
Have observed normal stool, but his abdomen is still swollen. Has been
treated with Flagyl (twice) and boiled peas. The tail is in not so good
shape, however. I must admit I am getting a little discouraged with all
this - seems like a bit of a mystery disease. Not to mention it's not so
pleasant to lose fish every few days or to wake up to a new tragedy in
progress in the tank!
<<Wish I could say I haven't been there, John. We all have, though.>>
The yellow guppy that I had assumed survived successfully is starting to
look a little bit rough. It almost appears like he is "wasting" slowly.
Scales are protruding slightly and not just localized to the abdomen - I can
observe this all the way to the tail fin. I would not say this is dropsy -
if anything, he looks a little too thin and there is certainly no abdominal
swelling. It's a little hard to tell if it's occurring on his head because
there is constant movement, but I don't think it is. He is quite active and
eating, but like I said - looks less than healthy. It could be that he is
also exhibiting the small startings of some tail fin rot. (Sigh...)
<<Research 'Camallanus', John. Not a "given" certainly but...>>
On a positive note, all the other fish still seem quite fine. I have four
platys, a few other guppies, three Corys, two freshwater shrimp and 3 apple
snails (Pomacea bridgesi). I have put about 1 teaspoon aquarium salt per 5
gallons (25 gallon tank) as I have the shrimp, snails and Corys in there and
they are sensitive to it but at this level they seem to tolerate it.
<<Haven't met a fish yet that won't tolerate this level.>>
Should I be restricting food?
<<Under different circumstances, I'd recommend this but I don't see the need
here.>>
Should I raise the temp (currently 24C)?
<<Wouldn't be a bad idea to raise to 26C. A higher metabolic rate wouldn't
do any harm and could prove beneficial for the fish.>>
Not sure what else to do at the moment.
<<The "upshot" here is that you may be dealing with pets that are
'susceptible'.
You've other Guppies that are, seemingly, unaffected nor are the other fish
that share the tank. There's a "pattern" but not one that can be nailed
down. One's bloated, one's 'wasting' and neither behaves in a "stressed"
manner, i.e. not feeding, not schooling, not hiding. <<Conventional
medications aren't completely effective. We're missing something here.>>
I'm hoping to (somehow) get a handle on this soon so my tank isn't wiped
out.
<<I don't think this will happen, for what it's worth. Seems isolated.>>
I have had some of these fish for quite some time and am fond of them and
their individual personalities.
<<We all understand...>>
My only consolation is my 54 L tank that seems to be doing well!
<<For this, I'm glad, John.>>
Thanks again!
<<You're welcome and, please, keep us posted. Tom>>
Starting over... Spring time imported troubles... again. FW -
05/22/2006
Hi crew,
<Dave>
Over the past few months I've been losing fish, one by one, to some
mysterious ailment. This is a small 12g freshwater tank with immaculate
water conditions. Based on the symptoms -- general distress (fast
respiration, eventual loss of appetite) with no visible symptoms other than
intermittent stringy white poops, and a few secondary bacterial infections
like mouth fungus that appear after the fish has already been sick for a
while -- I am suspecting some sort of internal parasite.
<You are very likely correct here... "Tis the season"... We're receiving
more and more "related" complaints... Parasitic... imported from the Far
East... principally infesting Gouramis, guppies, angels (if folks are
foolish enough to still import them from there), and small characoids fishes
that are bred/originate from there>
I've treated repeatedly with Metronidazole and Praziquantel, to no
avail. I'm going to try Levamisole next.
<Worth a try... Are you sure the above were administered properly?>
If the Levamisole doesn't work, I'm thinking of just euthanizing my
remaining livestock and nuking the tank. This is a small tank, I've already
lost half the tank to attrition, and the remaining livestock are inexpensive
and easy to find. Unfortunately, the same isn't true of my plants.
<Am almost inclined to agree...>
Is there a way I can completely and positively sterilize the tank--
including all parasites and any potential hosts, i.e. snails-- while not
harming the plants?
<... no, or at least not as far as I'm aware>
Perhaps some concentration of bleach, potassium permanganate, etc that
won't harm the plants overly much but will kill everything else?
Thanks,
-Dave
<Again, worth trying these, perhaps alum (Aluminum sulfate) as well... Sorry
to realize your worries... I share them. Bob Fenner>
Re: Starting over... Spring time imported troubles... again. -
05/22/2006
Hi Bob,
<Dave>
I Googled for aluminum sulfate but couldn't find any info on what the correct
dosage should be... were you suggesting this for treating livestock or as a
"flora-safe" method for "sterilizing" the tank?
<Is an old-timey remedy for helping avoid transmission of snail eggs on/with
plants>
Any idea what the dosage would be for either?
<Think/recall this is rather safe... maybe a level teaspoon per gallon of soak
water... immersion for ten/fifteen minutes. Am out, away from reference
materials. I suspect "the krib.com" will have more re>
Re/ the nuclear option, after I wrote the email below I realized simply leaving
the tank fish-less for a few weeks should eliminate pretty much all parasitic
worms-- snails being only an intermediate host-- am I right?
<Most likely so, yes>
And would the same be true for protozoan parasites?
<Again, there is a diminishing risk with time going by...>
One of my LFS's recommended quinine, which I'm trying now while my vet tries to
procure some Levamisole. Levamisole is apparently not easy to find in the US,
esp. in injectable form (which I'm figuring will be a lot easier to meter than
powder, for a small tank).
<Yes>
I'll let you know what works, if anything...
Thanks,
-Dave
<Thank you. Bob Fenner>
Scratching Fish 4/30/06
Hello, I have a problem. I have noticed that my fish have been scratching
against the rocks. Now, I know what your thinking ick or velvet or a parasite
right? Wrong their is no way that could be right because I have treated for
every thing and this scratching has been going on for a month and a half so they
would probably be dead by now. Any ways I have tested my water and every thing
is perfect. The only thing that is funny is that I have a very light, white film
covering my tank, but the only way I can see it is if I look at it at a angle.
Do you know why my fish are scratching and could it be from this weird film? Pls
help because this makes me very angry.
< The term "perfect" really means nothing to me. The ammonia and nitrites should
be zero and the nitrates should be under 25 ppm. The pH should be around 7
depending on the fish that you have. The water temp should be around 78 F
depending on the species. The white film may be a mineral leaching from on of
the rocks and also irritating the slime coat on the fish. The rocks should be
very hard. No sedimentary rocks like sandstone, siltstone, mudstone or
conglomerate should be used. Check out the rocks, this could be the
problem.-Chuck>
SW, FW? wasting syndrome 4/25/06
Hi, I keep getting fishes with a sort of "wasting syndrome" that is
seemingly incurable. What is it and is there any remedy for it?
<Depends on cause/s>
I know it is hard to say what that means, but I guess I'd characterize it as the
following: No appetite, closed fins, lying on the bottom, etc. It seems to be
one fish at a time in the colony gets it, slowly wastes away and dies, then
another one gets it awhile later and repeats the same cycle. Is it possibly
related to stress?
<Yes, probably at least a large factor>
The reason I ask is that sometimes there is a bully fish in the aquarium colony
that sort of "beats up on" certain ones. The latest one is one of the beat-up
females. Also, is it related to the mycoplasma marinara
<With what type noodles/pasta? Oh marina...>
disease I've heard about that is associated with scoliosis? Thanks!
Leslie Wilson
<...? What? More info. please... like, what species you're dealing with, water
quality, history of your set-ups... Try putting the terms "Wasting" in the WWM
Google search tool, reading the cached versions (to show the term). Bob Fenner>
Fish With A Scab, No Details - 04/23/2006
Hey Sabrina,
<That's me!>
One of our fish: Goushie has what looks like a black scab on his side. But it
looks like it is protruding from the skin outward leaving a bump around
it. Kinda like when you scratch open a big mosquito bite and then it scabs
over.
<Nice description, but what kind of fish is Goushie? How big's the tank? What
else lives with him? How long have you had him? What are your water parameters
(ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - your local fish store can test your water for
these if you don't have test kits)?>
Any suggestions?
<I'd be glad to try to give you some suggestions if I knew more about the animal
and the system.... Forgive me if we've corresponded before and I've forgotten;
I fear my memory is poor to begin with....>
Hope you had a nice weekend.
<I did, actually, thanks! I hope you did too.>
Thanks, -Shawn
<Wishing you well, Sabrina>
Preventive measures for new freshwater fish? - 04/22/2006
Hi,
<<Hi, Jon. Tom>>
I've seen articles that suggest preventive measures that can be used
with newly acquired saltwater fish to prevent transferring disease and
parasites to the main tank (such as freshwater/chemical dips) but I
haven't seen any suggestions for freshwater fish except to quarantine
the fish in a separate tank and waiting to see if they become ill. Are
there any preventive treatments that I should be using for my freshwater
fish?
<<Good question, Jon. Understand that many (most) SW varieties are
captured in the wild while many FW fish are farm-bred, depending, of
course, on the type of fish that we're talking about. (Not trying to
"waffle" on you but it's the nature of the hobby. :)) Farm-bred fish
(from reputable breeders) are less likely to carry the types of
parasitic/bacterial infections that might be introduced into your
aquarium from a 'natural' habitat. Additionally, breeders who routinely
ship "sick" fish don't stay in business for long so it's incumbent upon
them to maintain healthy stock.
The best preventive treatment, in my opinion, is to quarantine all fish
- SW and FW, alike - in the same conditions that you will have in the
display tank. Now, this will require research on the part of the
aquarist. You've done yours so I don't have to tell you that introducing
Goldfish, for example, into a QT set up with Cichlid-type water
parameters will lead to problems. Nothing, however, that I've ever come
across regarding FW fish has conclusively shown a "preventive measure"
that completely ensures a disease-free animal.
The "upshot" here, Jon, is that quarantine for a good, two-week period
for your FW fish, with close observation, is the best route to take.
(Note that even the preventive measures you noted with SW fish don't
relieve us of the responsibility to quarantine.)>>
Thanks,
Jon
<<Any time. Tom>>
Ill Tidings, Irritation or Ich? - 04/16/2006
Hi, Thanks for all your help in the past.
<Glad we could be of service.>
Now I have a new problem. My fish seem to be scratching against the rocks, and
the only problem is they have no visible signs of being ill.
<Scratching is a sign of being ill. Just gotta find out why.>
They still eat and everything, they just swim funny and scrape against rocks. I
have normal aquarium gravel, but I did get a big rock from outside, could that
be a problem?
<It could indeed. I would remove it to be on the safe side, for now, and do a
large water change.>
I also have some plants. What do you think the problem is? I don't know if this
helps but the fish are neon tetras and 3 Dwarf Platys.
<It is possible that there is a toxin of some sort in the water irritating the
fish, or it could be a simple water quality problem. Do a large water change
and test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite must be ZERO,
nitrate less than 20ppm - if any of these are out of whack, do water changes to
fix it. Another possibility is ich. Please watch closely, VERY closely, for
small white dots on the fish, and read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
. Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Question / Tropical Fish / Barbs ... comp., and FW dis. - 04/05/2006
Hi there
I have recently started a Tropical tank, it has been running for approx. 8 weeks
now, and have a problem with my fish, and the local guys are not able to assist
me with information. I have 5 Tiger Barbs, 5 Rosy Barbs, had 2 catfish
<What kind? Some are large and carnivorous, others, like Corydoras cats, are
quite small and great with tetras.>
and had 7 Cardinals (only 3 remain) in a 2ft tank. I have narrowed the problem
to either the Tiger or Rosy Barbs killing off and eating the cardinals and the
catfish, but I do not know who the culprit is.
<Actually, cardinals are very, very delicate. Nearly all or all are still wild
caught (though many neons, closely related, are bred en masse). It's entirely
possible that the cardinals are dying prior to their consumption....>
They would have been in the tank for 2 weeks this coming Sat, 8 April. The
cardinals have reduced one at a time. Only on one occasion have we been able to
net out a carcass, all other times, there has been no sign of a dead
Cardinal. With your knowledge, please advise what I should do. I will isolate
the Cardinals tonight and the fish shop have said they will take the fish back,
either the Tiger or the Rosy Barbs depending on what I decide.
<Though tiger barbs can get a little boisterous and aggressive, I really tend to
think that there's something else amiss, here - even just the act of removing a
cardinal or neon from the water can cause extreme stress in these delicate
fish. If the water parameters are not utterly ideal (0 ammonia and nitrite,
extremely low nitrate, soft, acidic water) they may not work out in this
system.>
Which of these 2 are the more likely to predate on the Cardinals,
<Typically, neither.>
and the Catfish,
<"Catfish" is a little too general. You're talking half inch dwarf cories on up
to 200lb Pangasiids - MAJOR variation among species, here....>
and can I put in a Plecostomus in with these fish - he is about 7cm long.
<Not a common Plec, not in a 2' tank. You might get by with a Bushynose
Ancistrus.>
If I keep the Tigers and the Rosies, what would be a good companion for them?
<Other similar sized, similar attitude tetras, barbs or danios would do great.>
I look forward to your response. Thank you, -Penny Ludgrove
<Wishing you well, - Sabrina>
Quarantining 1-2 danios/tetras in a 3 gallon tank? Also, restocking
question 3/30/06
Hi!
<Hello>
First of all, thank you for your wonderful site. < And thank you for the
kind words> I'm only a novice at this hobby (just over a year now), and your
extensive FAQs have been enormously helpful. <Always great to hear>
I'd like to ask your advice about restocking after some recent fish deaths
in my 15 gallon heated, planted FW tank (tank is about ten months old, with
ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20 ppm, pH 7.5, temperature 26 C <All good>-
quite heavily planted with low-light plants in sand and on bogwood; no added
CO2). It's currently stoked with four danios (two zebra, two leopard), three
black neon tetras and one Otocinclus. I've read that schooling fish are
happier with at least six of each species - I've been trying to maintain a
school of six danios, but have been having problems with sequential fish
deaths (I'll describe the full history of the tank after posing my
question!).
From what I've read, I should really keep six black neon tetras and six
danios (and Oto would probably like a friend too), but I'm worried about
over-stocking the tank. Should I leave the stocking levels as is? I do a 25%
- 30% water changes once a week, which keeps ammonia and nitrites to 0 and
nitrates at around 20ppm. If I do get some more danios, do you think it
would be better to stick to the same subtype (two more leopards or zebras,
rather than pearls or white)? <First, given your disciplined water changes
and attention to detail, I wouldn't be concerned that what you've described
would pose an undue load on the tank. You've plenty of experience now to
notice when things aren't "right". What I would suggest, however, is that
you wait until you're comfortable that the tank is stable, health-wise. Even
quarantine - which you address below - isn't foolproof though it is
absolutely necessary>
I'm also worried, given the sequential danio deaths, that I may have some
sort of infection in the tank which is knocking them out one by one. Should
I treat the tank with Interpet No 9 (only antibiotic I can get here in the
UK), even if none of the current fish are looking unwell? I don't want to
crash the filter! <Don't treat for anything that you can't positively ID>
I've come to the conclusion that a large proportion of my problems could
have been avoided by using a quarantine tank, <Oh, yes> so I've been reading
up about them. However, the tanks described seem to be 15 gallons - the size
of my main tank! <Doesn't really matter here, Helen. The intent of using a
15-gallon tank as an example is really twofold. One, a smaller tank is
easier to keep an eye on and, cheaper to treat, if necessary. Two, it's used
to illustrate to folks with larger aquariums (50+ gallon range) that they
don't need an equally large tank just for quarantine> I have an old 3 gallon
tank which I could outfit with a small pump and 25W heater (too powerful?)
<Shouldn't be>, but I don't have the space to keep it running empty all the
time. <Quarantine tanks are almost always broken down when not in use> If I
fill the quarantine tank with water from the main tank <Actually about 80%
from the main and 20% fresh, dechlorinated water is good>, and add some
gravel and half the filter media from the main tank, would this be
sufficient to "insta-cycle" it? <A couple of days should do it> (could I
also do this to press it into service as a hospital tank in an emergency?)
<Certainly> I'm worried about crashing the main tank by replacing half its
filter media, though. <Don't be. It's the prescribed method when a filter
replacement is warranted> Is a tank this small ok for keeping a couple of
danios or black neon tetras in for a few weeks? <Yes, just not at the same
time. If something goes awry you'd have no way of knowing who did what to
whom> Since they are active schooling fish, and I'm only adding one or two
at a time, I'm concerned that the 1-2 fish in the tiny quarantine tank are
going to become stressed and unwell. <There will be some stress, naturally.
However, schooling fish "school" for security from predators. Yours will
likely discover rather quickly that there aren't any. In fact,
interestingly, many folks are disappointed to find that their "schooling"
fish fall out of the habit once they become acclimated to their new, secure
homes. I mention this for your benefit as well as for those who may run
across this on the site. Folks at the LFS may not be pleased with me but
these fish don't need to be kept in "herds" unless you just happen to want
lots of them>
Here's the history of the main tank - as you'll see, problems mainly seem to
have arisen after introducing new fish, unsurprisingly:
Initially: Six danios (one pearl, one white, two zebra, two leopard). Pearl
danio is "top fish".
Two months: Pearl danio dies (scales appear dry and cracked, loses all
colouration). Replaced with new white danio. Older white danio becomes "top
fish".
Four months: Added two black neon tetras, three cardinal tetras.
Five months: Massive ich outbreak among the tetras (danios appear
unaffected, still showing active normal behaviour). Treat tank for ich.
Ammonia spike (up to 1.2) <Wow>, battled by 30% water changes every other
day. Cardinal tetras die off one by one (lose colouration, plus skin so red
and raw they look as though someone has pinched the skin off their tails).
After research, decide pH doesn't suit cardinals, don't replace. Water
parameters back to normal (0 nitrites and ammonia, nitrates 20ppm).
Seven months: Dominant white danio abruptly stops eating. Over the course of
a week, wastes away to nearly a skeleton; "pinecone" scales in the last few
days. Water parameters still normal. Two weeks after this danio dies, one of
the black neon tetras develops pop-eye, and over the course of a week loses
swim control and has to be euthanized. Remaining white danio becomes "top
fish". Danios and remaining black neon show active normal behaviour.
Nine months: Black neon tetra appears withdrawn and shy. Decide he isn't
happy on his own, get two more black neon tetras plus two Otocinclus (now
that enough algae has developed to support them). One Oto dies within six
hours of purchase (appeared deformed - bent tail - and weak, which I didn't
notice in the Sunday crowds at LFS) <Not uncommon with Otos. Many (most?) of
these animals are harvested in the wild using cyanide. (No, I'm not making
that up.) Interesting topic of research if you're so inclined>. Ammonia
spike (to 0.6) and very minor ich outbreak (tetras only), treated with daily
25% water changes + medication for one week until water parameters are back
to normal. All fish appear active and content - black Neons now schooling
together in open water, Oto hoovering up algae, danios flaring and circling
each other (believe this is pre-mating behaviour?) <Sounds like it>
Ten months: Dominant white danio appears to suffer massive internal
bacterial infection, going from normal to a bloated pinecone in the space of
two days. <'Dropsy' undoubtedly> Buy Interpet No. 9 (only antibacterial
treatment available locally, here in the UK) on the third day, but upon
getting home discover danio is so far gone (no swim control, belly very red
and threatening to rupture through
the skin) that decide to euthanize (clove oil/alcohol method) <Excellent
option>. Remaining danios go through a couple of days of very aggressive
behaviour towards each other (flaring fins, chasing, etc.); now school
fairly closely with each other with minimum of chasing/nipping, no one fish
appearing dominant. Black neon tetras tend to hang out with danios,
following the school.
<My regards on a very well-documented "history". Hope others take note of
your example>
Thank you for any advice!
Helen
<I hope I've been of some help. Tom>
The Three Sets of Factors That Determine Livestock Health
3/24/06
Mr. Fenner,
You e-mailed me back the other day about my 75 gal tank. I am sure
you don't remember since you have probably thousands of
e-mails. However, you told me to wait, change water, and add some more
live rock. I am a woman and patients isn't always in our vocabulary
<Perhaps if you were a nurse?>
LOL So it is killing me. Nonetheless, I have one last question,
what makes the fish sink to the bottom of the tank
and hang out there until there death? Thank you
Shelly
<Mmm, can be a few things... none of them good. But an overall
weakened state due to unsuitable water quality, simple exhaustion due to
harassment, chasing... fatigue brought on by parasitism, infectious
agents/pathogens, low/no oxygen and/or too much CO2... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/mardisease.htm
Bob Fenner>
Office Tank Keeps Dying Off 3/14/06
I set up an Eclipse Explorer II at work, initially stocking with two small
fantail goldies. I was feeding twice daily every day with Wardley Essentials
Goldfish Premium Flakes plus a couple TetraFin Goldfish Crisps.
I was completely cleaning the aquarium once a month (changing 100% water,
rinsing pebbles, wiping down glass - I now do a 25% water change once a
month). They did so well over the next several months that I introduced a small
Black Moor and a mystery snail. My smallest fantail died within two weeks. A
water check at the pet store found high ammonia, and they instructed me to NOT
tear down so frequently, to do a 25% water change and go back to NovAqua Water
Conditioner, and to feed only once every other day.
Once my water tested OK, I added another small goldie. Again, that fish died
within two weeks. Another water check found high nitrate so I did another 25%
water change and decided I was overloading my small aquarium.
Two weeks later, my beautiful calico fantail died, followed shortly by my Black
Moor. A water test showed the water was OK. I bought a cheap feeder goldie to
add with the snail and both were dead within 6 days, and my last attempt with
another cheap feeder is looking dim. All I have in my tank is blue TopFin
Premium Quality Aquarium Gravel, a small plastic plant, and one live plant
(sorry, don't know what kind), and a lava rock. I had two sea shells but
recently removed them as instructed by the pet store folks. I absolutely ADORE
my aquarium but can't take much more death at my desk, and it bums out the whole
office. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated as I don't want
to give up! Should I completely tear down and start from scratch? If so, how
do I do it to avoid having this happen again? Thanks, Cate
< This is a little 2 gallon system with a pretty good filtration system. Feeders
are really poor choices for first time aquarists. Since they are very cheap
almost no money is spent on them to cure them of any diseases or parasites. So
they usually come in with everything under the sun and soon die. You are getting
some pretty good advice form your local store. Plan on doing 25% to 50% water
changes weekly. Vacum the gravel with a small gravel vac to remove any waste
accumulating in the gravel. Feed once a day and only enough food so that all of
it is gone in two minutes. A goldfish is really a poor long term choice, look at
getting three or four white cloud minnows instead.-Chuck>
Tank Massacre 3/10/06
First, the preliminaries:
Tank: 10g, glass, heated
Fish: 1 male black molly, two red wag platys, three platy fry, 1 CAE
<Keep your eye on this last>
ph: consistently 7.2, everything else was normal except for Nitrites, which
seem to be constantly present.
<Not good>
After watching the CAE chase another fish around and finding the fish dead
the next morning, have since given up on the CAE and, feeling a bit vengeful
over the murder, gave it to the neighbor's cat who was my new best friend for
all of five minutes.
<Mmmm, the Western ethic shines through>
So after buying a new platy from PetSmart to replace one that had
died, within two weeks everything in the tank was dead. The new platy was a
sunset fire and never took to the new tank. Always hiding in the back, never
eating, and being chased a little by the molly. He died quickly. After that,
I couldn't keep anything alive. The adult platys were the first to
go. Then two of the platy fry (the smaller, runty ones). Then the
Molly developed all sorts of horrible balance & fungal issues before he died
and finally, my last platy fry passed away. It was kind of horrific. His
insides seemed to have been suddenly pushed to his outsides and they were
white. Like his gut just exploded. Kind of gross. :P
Anyways, after all that drama, I have decided to get a new tank
(30g, heated, acrylic) and try again. Worrying about all kinds of disease I
won't be carrying anything over from the old tank (gravel and plastic plants
have me worried). Am I being paranoid???
<No... not>
I enjoyed my platys while they lasted and will probably get a few
of them. Have lost to many mollies due to overly-amorous males but I like the
looks of "upside-down catfish". Do they get along well with platys? Also -
would a plecostomus work well in this situation? I was thinking five platys,
five catfish, and a Pleco.
<Yes... this small Synodontis is compatible here, though appreciates more room>
One final question (sorry to ask so many but you're all so
darned helpful!) - should I bleach out the old tank, throw in
new gravel/filter/etc and make it the new isolation tank? And can
you recommend a feeding schedule for the platy/catfish/Pleco fish????
<If it were me, mine, I do think I would "nuke", bleach all out, but you can
keep the original gravel... just needs to run for several weeks before adding
livestock. You might consider quarantining new life... to avoid such wipe-outs.
Bob Fenner>
Jill, Aquarium enthusiast
Back To Square One - 03/09/2006
Please help me before I lose all my fish.
<Ohhhhh dear.>
I have a 2.5 gallon tank with a filter that I
<"I" is capitalized.... In future correspondences, please use proper
capitalization - we have to fix these errors; it takes time we don't have.>
use occasionally or not much b/c the current is too strong for my Betta.
<Okay.>
I had a male guppy, a female guppy, an Indian glassfish and 2 zebra danios in
there.
<In a 2.5 gallon tank?! Please tell me you're pulling my leg.... This tank is
too small for anything other than the Betta alone.>
The small danio lost all of his color (like that when I got him at PetSmart,
didn't notice until he was in the tank) so I took him back. Then the glass fish
started 'stretching' his mouth wide open, and wasn't eating. He died.
<He was gasping.... having trouble breathing, either due to lack of dissolved
oxygen (too many fish, no circulation) or toxic water quality (too many fish).
Then I got a snail (he never showed any signs of disease). Then the female
guppy started not swimming, so I quarantined her, she was eating good. Then the
male guppy started the 'stretching' thing the glassfish did,
<Desperately trying to breathe>
and was nipping at my Betta's tail so I put him in with the female. Then he
jumped out of that tank and died.
<Possible sign of toxic water conditions.>
The next morning my female guppy died. Now I have my Betta, one danio, and a
snail in the 2.5 gallon mini bow. I started noticing the danio pursing his mouth
sort of like the glassfish and guppy, and he comes up to the surface about once
a minute to 'breath' (I know he's not a labyrinth, but that is what it looks
like),
<He is doing this because there is more oxygen near the surface of the
water. He's having trouble breathing. The environment in the little tank has
become potentially toxic and perhaps seriously lacking in oxygen for the fish.>
and am worried I will lose the entire tank.
<Me too.>
What should I do?
<Firstly, immediately have your water tested for ammonia, nitrite, and
nitrate. Either get test kits (liquid reagent type, not dipstick-style strips)
or have your local fish store test your water for you. If ammonia and nitrite
are not ZERO, do water changes until they are. Nitrate should be less than
20ppm. When you do water changes, be sure to use a chlorine/chloramine
eliminator and match the temperature of the new water to the
aquarium. Secondly, remove the danio and keep only the Betta, or remove the
Betta and start using the filter, and limit yourself to two or three danios. In
either case, you can probably keep the snail.>
Did the first danio, or possibly the snail cause this?
<No. The water conditions or lack of oxygenation in the water are much more
likely. A 2.5 gallon tank simply cannot support so much life, especially life
that can only breathe underwater.>
I do a 25 percent water change every two days until a get a filter with a gentle
current, I'm worried about this, and can't find an answer anywhere. Please help
me. :) Holly
<I encourage you to start reading our Freshwater articles; there is a lot of
good information for you there: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsubwebindex.htm
. Wishing you well, -Sabrina
Scratching Fish 1/31/06
I have a 8" silver Arowana, a 4" red tiger Oscar, a 5" clown knife, and a 6"
pleco. All of the fish are in a 55 gallon for now until I get my 150 gallon
tank. My problem is that the Oscar suddenly has started lying on the bottom
breathing with his mouth always open and he refuses to surface to eat when not
more than a week ago he would fly right to the top center of the tank when it
was time to eat. I also noticed he has been trying to scratch his head on the
bottom and I have occasionally seen my Arowana do the same but he still eats
good. I previously had discus in this tank but I traded them because they were
just to much work, I have treated the tank before I got the Aro and osc with
Prazi pro for gill flukes for the discus. What do you suggest, the Oscar hasn't
eaten in days? I was also wondering if maybe another Oscar his size would cheer
him up? I once owned a huge pair that got along great. Mark
< Check the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites should be zero.
Nitrates should be under 25 ppm. A 50% water change while vacuuming the gravel
and cleaning the filter should help. If this does not perk him up then their may
be a disease problem. The lying on the bottom may indicate an internal bacterial
infection. Treat with Metronidazole as per the directions on the package. The
external parasites could be the start of ich/protozoa or a bacterial infection.
For the bacterial problems I would recommend Nitrofuranace. For ich, Rid-Ich by
Kordon.-Chuck>
Diagnosing fish diseases 1/20/06
Hello
Sir,
This is Anshul From Delhi (INDIA) i got your mail id on wetwebmedia.com
sir i have ish aquarium in my house but the problem is i can't diagnose my
fish that from which disease it is suffering from so could u send me the photos
of diseased fish with their names and treatments so that i can know
well my fishes well
i will be very grateful if send me
waiting for reply
your's friendly
Anshul
<Please peruse/use our site: WetWebMedia.com and send along your pix,
descriptions... of the afflicted fish/es, systems. Bob Fenner>
Stress Coat & Improving WWM 1/8/06
Hello once again! I recently was talking with someone who once owned a pet store
and I mentioned how expensive and sometimes distressing it has been
keeping the "small fish" tank at the restaurant stocked. Usually what happens is
that I buy app. 10-14 new small fish to replace ones that have died in the main
tank and quarantine them in my 10 gal. q-tank at home. Within a week about half
of these fish (although sometimes as much as 90% and (even more rare) as few
as 0) die of no visible cause.
<... not good>
By which I mean that they are swimming, breathing, and eating normally when I
check them and then 6-8 hours later when I
check them again someone's dead and stuck to the filter intake with no visible
parasites, fungi, or bacterial growths or signs of such. In other words, a dead
fish that looks just like a healthy live fish except for the stiffness and lack
of movement.
Now, this is something that I have always considered to be beyond my
control- I have done my part by providing a clean (and yes, I do know my H2O
parameters and yes they are all "ideal"), cycled tank with plenty of cover, and
regular feedings. I have always believed that these fish were dying from
stress due to how they were caught, shipped, unpacked, stored (overcrowded),
caught again, and finally released into my tank.
<For the most part, yes. Better to look elsewhere for better initially healthy
stock>
(I unfortunately must buy from Petco or PetSmart because I am unable to reach
any fish-only store on a regular
basis.) However, the gentleman I spoke with assured me that if I were to start
using Stress Coat (or similar product), my fish survival rate would greatly
increase.
<This is likely so>
Now I know that the stores always add a squirt to the bags before performing
their magic with the rubberband (why is it so necessary to put those on so
tight?
<Better too tight than loose>
I mean, one twist less and I could get the darn things off without scissors and
the fish would still be safe safe safe.), and I have always
considered that to be enough. In fact, I seem to recall reading somewhere on
this site that some of the slime coat "replacing" agents actually cause the fish
to
produce slime by irritating them with some toxin or other.
<Some do, yes... not ones from the "larger companies" though>
(Darned if I can find that info. again, though. I gave up after 20 something
pages mentioning
Stress Coat, 12 or so of StressCoat, and checking 50 or so topics out of 212 in
the Equipment and Dry Goods Forum. I also re-read a number of general articles
on set-up, stocking, and health and disease without coming across it. Perhaps I
hallucinated it.)
<Likely written by myself... in pieces on Acclimation, Shipping>
Inducing a slime coat by stressing the fish doesn't seem like a good idea to me,
so I have avoided all such products. So, will Stress
Coat (or some related product) actually cut back on my fish loss?
<Is worth trying. Will likely help here>
Or is this just product hype? Is there a consensus among those of you who answer
these questions?
<Mmm, don't know the others here well enough to state>
Unrelated to my question, but with direct bearing on my search for an
answer, it seems to me that your wonderful, magnificent site may be on the
verge of containing too much redundant information! I love this site and am
deeply, deeply indebted to all the information provided on it. I mention this
because it seems that the ever-increasing bulk of information on here may
eventually get in the way of your primary goal (which I believe is to help those
in the
hobby/passion as well as those entering it to better care for their charges
through the dissemination of useful information.) Now, I realize I may be
stating the obvious to you, and if you are tearing at your hair, muttering 'tell
me something I don't know,' I apologize! But here are my ideas to help deal
with this problem. a) dump some of the old stuff. Since there is likely nothing
new under the sun, even in fish keeping, and despite your best efforts people
keep asking the same questions, only a certain amount of redundancy is
necessary. I do believe some redundancy IS necessary- for people to learn and
really
absorb new information correctly, they need to see it given a number of times,
preferably in different ways or used in different situations. b) Rather than
posting all questions in the FAQs (if that is what you do), try to weigh whether
that question has been answered enough times before posting a reply- still
reply if you want to, of course! Just don't add the information AGAIN to the
site if it's there 20 times or so. c) Take a good look at the FAQs- do they
imply that certain information is missing from your general articles?
<Good points... mainly this "editing" has not been done for a lack of time
available... Am not willing to give up other "things" including pet-fish
writing, travel, photography, "the business of life"... and work pretty much to
exhaustion daily as my routine already... Would you like to give this some of
your time? Will gladly replace parts of WWM you are willing to winnow>
Most people are likely to read your articles before asking a question,
especially with the gentle prompting the site gives when one clicks "ask the WWM
crew a
question". I know this is time-consuming, but perhaps one or two people who
currently answer questions could instead be dedicated to that task?
<A few folks have written "new article content" and this an ongoing goal of our
on-line 'zine (Conscientious Aquarist). I have placed several hundred of my
articles and book segments, some 14k images... takes time my friend>
Those are just my thoughts. I hope I have not come across as lecturing or
something equally horrible. I only wanted to mention this because I think
it might help keep the site manageable for those of you who work on it and for
those of us who turn to it when in need. Thank you for your time!
<Your comments and suggestions are well-regarded... am thankful for such
careful, useful input... At the end of the day, my only excuse/explanation is
that of the handful of hours I am willing to "put into" our collective effort
here, that I endeavor to do the most important (respond to and place FAQs), and
spare some ten percent or so of resource for such "strategic" work. What we have
currently is a reflection of doing so for years. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Sincerely,
Sarah Orris
New Fish Creates New Problems 1/4/06
Hi! Thanks for sharing your (immense!) knowledge with the rest of us. Your
website is, truly, amazing.
< Thanks for your kind words.>
I have a 46-gallon tank, overstocked thanks to an acquaintance who moved and
decided she did not want her fish anymore (the employee at my LFS said they
would all be fine together; I have now learned the hard way not to rely solely
on such advice). Taking her 13 fish (1 angel, 3 serpae tetras, 2 black tetras,
two (albino) black tetras, 3 giant danios (!!) and two rainbowfish, put immense
stress on my already tight set-up (1 red tail shark, 2 Corydoras catfish, 2
glass catfish, 3 tiger barbs, 3 green tiger barbs, 3 golden barbs, 2 angel fish,
3 diamond tetras, 3 serpae tetras, 3 black phantom tetras = 25 fish -- also
recommended by my LFS). I ended up buying a 10-gal tank for my kitchen, so that
I could divide the fish, and this helped for a few days until I notice
that the fish in both tanks were not adjusting well to their new tank mates --
the barbs became very aggressive and picked on everybody, one of the angelfish's
fins was very badly torn, and my black phantom tetras seemed to be very afraid
of the new, bigger black tetras. Summing up: by saving the new fish from
being flushed down the toilet, I created havoc and ruined the good life my
original fish had had so far.
Now, to my question. Suddenly, the tiger barbs and the green barbs had what
looked like rotting fins, breathed rapidly and did not eat. The ammonia level
in the water was at 0.25, the nitrates were at 20 (some of my friend's fish ate
all the plants I had in the tank). I did a 30% water change. Two days
later, the tigers developed Popeye. I moved them to the 10 gallon tank and
treated them with Maracyn-Two. They died the following day. Now, all the fish
in
the big tank are doing horribly. Most of them have protruding scales; they are
not hungry; some seem to be desperate for oxygen as they float at the
surface; some are hiding; some have Popeye; some have died (the two glass
catfish, one of the rainbowfish, one red serpae tetra) and the angel fish, which
had so
far done great and were the only ones hungry and perky, are showing sign of
stress by hiding and not eating.
This is the fourth day since I began treating the tank with Maracyn-Two. I am
at the verge to tears while I send you this e-mail., as I am afraid that I
will lose all of these fish and feel very sorry and guilty about making them
suffer so much. Right now, the readings are:
nitrites: 0.25
nitrates: 5.0
pH: 6.0 (normally is 7, it has been going down fast)
ammonia: 2.0
The water is, obviously, in very poor condition. I have done partial (25%)
water changes for four days in a row until yesterday, when I realized that the
Maracyn-Two instructions say that the water should be changed once the treatment
is completed (which would be tomorrow, on the fifth day).
I hope that you'll get this on time to tell me what to do to save my fish.
Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Mercedes Dollard
< Wow, what a story! Sound like your tank is crashing. When you added the new
fish you added an element of stress. The fish were weakened from the stress and
got sick. As a result you treated the tank with an antibiotic. While it didn't
cure the parasites (wrong medication), it did manage to kill off the good
bacteria that break down the waste and excess food from very toxic ammonia and
nitrites to less toxic nitrates. Now that you know what happened we need to look
at how to fix it. Start by doing a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean
the filter. Do not feed the fish for a few days. Add Bio-Spira by Marineland to
replenish the good bacteria. Check the levels again. Do 50% water changes every
day until the tank is stable. Ammonia and nitrites should be zero and nitrates
should be under 20 ppm. Pull out bodies quickly as found. Treat with
Metronidazole if Popeye and dropsy still exist with any of the remaining fish.
Fish that do not eat should be discarded as they are probably too far gone to
recover. You may end up with less fish that you originally had in your tank
alone.-Chuck>
Frustrated... FW losses, no info. 01/01/2006
Happy new year crew,
I have multiple tanks.. since this summer i
<I>
am having trouble keeping things like fling fox, Chinese algae eaters, some
barbs, tricolor sharks....they seem to shock out w/in a day or 2 and die...
<Frightening>
sometimes right in front of me. Is there some property, or parameter, metal or
any thing you can think of that these species would share a common sensitivity
to?
<Good idea, poor spelling... Could be simple "non-cycled" system effect... Need
information re history, make-up of your system/s... What do you do to pre-treat
system water? What for biological filtration? Have you read on WWM re? Bob
Fenner>
Sudden Death of Fish, Heating Issues
I have a 10 gallon tank, heated. I did a partial water test today and
here's the results:
pH - 7.2, Ammonia - 0, Nitrites - 0, Nitrates - 40 - 80ppm (too high but since
I just did a water change (25%) last week - should I do another one?
<Yes... I would do "serial" water changes (once a week here) of about 25% every
week until your nitrate reads below 20 ppm., and look into means to restrict its
accumulation. These are gone over on WWM>
Will all these changes stress out my fish?)
<Possibly... an issue of balance, choice... of which is more stressful>
Tankmates are: 1 male black molly, 1 "rotund" sunset fire platy
(she's figured out to hang out underneath the fry net during their
feeding times and to eat the fry food as it sinks), 3 SF platy fry, and a GAE.
<Mmm, a CAE?>
This morning I noticed my tank was down to 77º (I always keep it at 80). I
fiddled with the heater some and before long it was up to 79 again (whew - no
broken heater). Anyways - I lost a SF platy (the "skinny one") today. It was
just lying in the bottom of the tank. No injuries or anything that I could
see. I'm guessing the temperature change is what did it in.
<Maybe a minor contributing "cause", but not the sole contributor here>
The heater I have is a fairly cheap one from Wal-Mart. Could you recommend a
more reliable brand?
<Look to Ebo-Jager, the Aquarium Systems products lines...>
I prefer the internal/submersible ones as they fit inside a decorative "log"
that also holds the filter.
<Me too>
Also - my GAE has begun chasing the remaining fish around.
<Ahhh... time to remove, trade this animal in>
The GAE is constantly scouring the tank (day or night) but if the other fish
swim too close he'll chase them. I've read on your site that he may grow up
large enough to do them harm.
<Yes>
I feed him algae pellets every now and again but the other fish eat them first
so I don't know how much good that does. He's not very big (1.5" or so) and
he seems to be keeping the tank fairly clean - how much should I feed him?
<You can try bits of blanched terrestrial vegetables... which won't foul the
water... but, as stated, I would remove this animal>
Finally - last question (sorry to pester but you guys are so darned helpful!)
my littlest platy fry is acting weird. She sits on the bottom of the fry tank
(mesh) and barely moves. If I jiggle the net a bit she'll wriggle around but
I'm thinking she may have a swim-bladder issue as she really can't seem to get
off the bottom of the tank. Please advise.
Thanks so much for any/all help - you guys rule!!! :D
~~ Jill ~~
<Likely environmental and/or genetic influences at play here. I would not
act/treat the system overtly. Bob Fenner>
Small Tank, Big Problems 12/15/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
My young son has 7 gallon glass tank with 50 watt heater, Whisper filter with
carbon and a fancy in the tank aerator. We usually have a centerpiece (ship,
castle, coral) and 1-2 larger plastic plants and a couple smaller. About an
inch of gravel in bottom. The occupants are a zebra danio, black phantom tetra,
red phantom tetra, glow eye tetra, a gourami, à Cory and a tiny algae eater.
<That's a lot of fish for such a small tank. If you are trying to follow
the 1"/gallon rule (used only for small fish), then you have to account for
their adult size. In that case you have well over 10" of fish, depending on
what species your gourami is & the "algae eater" (if it's a pleco, they can grow
over 18"). Also, most of your fish are schooling fish (tetras, danios) & you
only have 1 of each species.>
We have lost some fish over a period of time (3 platys, a bloodfin) and had to
return an aggressive molly.
<They can be pretty mean!.>
The fish we presently have seem to get along pretty good although tend to hide
most of the time with the exception of the
danio.
<Probably because they are uncomfortable not being able to school.>
The Cory recently developed some white growth on his side and then a large
bubble appeared on his forehead and burst. He started moving around crazily and
we find him in strange places such as top of the heater or alongside it.
<Sounds like bacterial infection, due to poor water quality. Cories are usually
fairly hardy.>
The water temp is about 80. At first I thought it was outgassing from too much
aeration, but then I noticed one of his eyes bulging and his sides seemed
protruding. The conclusion with the local Petco was dropsy and we have been
treating it for a couple days now. He seems to be improving.
<That's good.>
I removed the aerator from the tank when we thought of the outgassing and I
wanted to clean it as it was pretty algae caked.
<Probably not necessary to remove, but if your filter has good water flow, the
extra bubbles aren't really needed.>
I now notice the tank rapidly increasing in algae on all the plants and there
are some dark black spots growing on the glass.
<Could be from overfeeding & not enough water changes.>
I clearly have a sick tank. I know I should be changing 20% of the water weekly
but its probably been more like every 2-3 weeks.
<Aha! I was right! 50% weekly water changes are what I do to maintain a healthy
tank. Especially one that is overcrowded. Be sure to clean the gravel too.>
I was going to put the aerator back in but then I noticed an article/discussion
on your site about sponge filters. Since it appears that carbon is only
effective for a short time, what do you
think of my using a correct sized sponge filter for bio and aeration reasons
along with the whisper filter for particulate and carbon filtering?
<Carbon isn't needed. I only use it on freshwater tanks to remove medications I
may have used in a hospital tank. I love Aquaclear filters. They have a sponge
(for mechanical filtration) & BioMax ceramic rings (for biological filtration) &
I like to put about 1" filter floss in between (for polishing the water crystal
clear).>
I do not have a test kit (a problem I plan on changing today) but I clearly need
to get more in tune with the water issues and change the 20% weekly.
<Great! Test for ammonia & nitrItes (should be 0 at all times), nitrAtes (should
be <20) & pH (should be around neutral, 7.2 or close to what your tapwater is).>
Finally, I bought a Hydor Ekip 250 awhile back liking the all in one idea. But
it was a bit noisy for my son¹s bedroom. So I kept using the whisper. What do
you think of this filter design? Is the sponge my best bet for the bio reasons?
<I am not familiar with this system (although just looked it up on the net). It
looks as effective as most other filters, for a small tank. Be sure to leave
your existing filter on your tank for at least a month after you buy a new one,
so the bacteria have time to establish in the new one.>
Thanks much for your timely reply. His fish need you!
<Good luck & remember--water changes, water changes, water changes! ~PP>
James
Multiple Deaths 12/12/05
Hello, I think I exhausted the articles and have a couple possibilities to
address in my tank. But, I don't know where to start. I don't want to shock the
system with trying too many things at once, but I need to do something quick,
cause fish are dying!
Maybe best if I explain the problem. About 9 months ago, my girlfriend and I
graduated from a Betta in a 2.5 gallon to more exciting endeavors. Namely, we
got a 70 gal tank. It was originally set up for saltwater, but we're using it
for freshwater as we're not knowledgeable enough to do saltwater yet (and don't
know if we want to either). We started with a red-tailed barb, 3 Bala sharks
(med), some snails. Along the way we added an eel, small catfish, large cichlid,
2 small pleco, a couple clown loaches, and a couple clown knifes. (sounds like a
lot I know, but several died and were replaced, so not all at once!) We are
using a 3 stage 'AquaClear' filter charcoal/foam/bio pellet), and feed flake,
occasionally veggie pellet thing, and occasional frozen brine square. About 3
months ago we had an emergency. The original 3 bala's and 2 Plecostomus' were
dead. Not only dead, but were encased in a fungus like sarcophagus about 1/4
inch thick, and I noticed the cichlid (an a couple others) had a cloudy covering
on his eyes (all of this occurred in about 16-20 hours). I immediately set up 3
emergency tanks and separated fish out according to their appearance of health.
I then spent several hours draining the main tank, and doing a major cleaning
job. After a couple days of allowing things to stabilize, I put the healthiest
fish back and monitored closely, then followed suit slowly with the other fish.
I'm a novice and didn't have maintenance equipment like water test kit, etc. We
progressed fine for a few months though, and had no more fatalities. About 3
weeks ago we added the 2 clown loaches and a couple new bala's. Then
one week ago we added the 2 clown knifes. Yesterday I noticed the fungus-like
cloud developing over a few fish eyes. I knew what happened last time, so I
started the emergency again. Within a couple hours I lost both clown loaches,
then today lost another 2 bala's and the kicker, our beloved Unagi (the eel)!
I need some help in where to start. Here's what I think I figured out I
need to start with:
1. Monitor pH, nitrate/nitrite, ammonia; and possibly treat to correct
2. Add 6-7 tsp. Epsom salt
3. Treat for Oodinium/Velvet
I don't want to do all these at once though. Or should I? Were to start?
Thanks in advance!!!!
Nathan
<Always start any treatment by checking the water quality. Do water changes to
correct, no treatments. Use a gravel vac to get out as much organic matter as
possible. Ammonia and nitrite should be at zero, nitrate below 20ppm. pH should
be kept the same as your tap. Always let the fish adapt to your local water
conditions. Second, add the salt. Then see if the fish look better before you
try any med. They will only kill off the good bacteria that control water
quality. Velvet usually looks like a gold sheen on the fish, I do not think they
are infected. If the fungus is happening after death, it's a normal process. If
prior, I'd think columnaris, maybe. Oxytetracycline in food is my first choice,
but not until you get the tank's water in line. I really think this is a water
quality problem. The cloudy eyes seem to confirm this. BTW, you really should
return the Clown Knifes. This is a giant fish, over 3 feet at maturity. Unless
you plan a tank of a few thousand gallons they really should not be bought. Don>
Bacterial sickness? 11/2/05
Hello I am running a 230 gallon fresh water planted aquarium. the
aquarium is medium to heavily stocked with a wide range of species from a
few families, tetras, barbs, rasboras, rainbows, gouramis, catfish, loaches,
and well as a couple of shrimp species, red claw and marsh. The tank is also
well filtered to go along with the stocking, a wet dry system, a Filstar
xp3, a Fluval 403, and Eheim 2222, and an Aquamedic nitrate reactor. The
tank is running at 26-28 degrees Celsius, no ammonia or nitrites, nitrates
on last check around 20ppm or less, pH 7.6, phosphates are a bit high. water
is moderately hard GH~120mg/L, KH~70mg/L.
I have had a few outbreaks of what I believe is a bacterial illness, and
currently have isolated a few fish that have symptoms. The problem typically
begins with a few dark spots on the fish, see pics of Colombian tetra and
Australian rainbow. |
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Over time these spots increase in size and color is lost
from the area leaving a grayish black discoloration with a decrease in the
slime coat. I have taken scrapings and viewed fish under a scope post mortem
and noticed a degradation of the scales and what appeared to be inflammation
around freshly infected scales.
The problem progresses in different species at different rates. For instance
in rainbows from first signs to death it is typically less then 36 hours,
while in the case of the Colombian tetra I have had one not show further
symptoms for over a week. As the infection proceeds there is a loss in
swimming ability and equilibrium control. In some cases I have seen damage
to the internal structure of the gills as well.
I have tried isolation with a few medications so far, CopperSafe,
Maracyn-two, salts, potassium permanganate tank treatment and individual
baths.
I have looked around a fair bit but have not found something to match the
symptoms or progression. I am wondering if there is one thing causing this
or if there could be a trigger that is initiating and opportunistic ailments
then take over. Is there something that would work better for treatment?
<Mmm, possibly the isolation, quarantine of new fish livestock for a month
or two before introduction. I suspect the larger part of root cause/s here
is ongoing stress, not pathogenic directly>
So far survival is near zero, I have had one ID shark recover after
appearing to have early stages.
Thanks
Gerad
<Am not a fan of wet-dries in such systems either... but as stated, likely
the initial state of health is what is principally at fault here... Please
read:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
and the Related FAQs linked above re. Bob Fenner> |
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