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Sick Phantom - 10/21/2006 Hello, <Hi, Camille. First, I apologize for the delay of this reply. It was not easily accessible by our mail system, unfortunately.> I have a sick Black Phantom tetra and I'm not sure how to help her. She has a rapid respiration rate, and is having difficulty keeping herself upright; she tends to flop over on to her side, or her head points down towards the gravel and her tail points up towards the water surface. She's still eating, and I don't see other visible signs of disease (no discolorations, bumps, fungus, parasites, ragged fins, etc'¦). She displayed similar symptoms a few months ago and I was not sure what to do for her, so I moved her to a quarantine tank with a little aquarium salt added, <This was an excellent move - though I would have used Epsom salt (Magnesium Sulfate) instead or in addition to the aquarium salt.> included a little bit of Aquari-sol (although I admittedly had no idea if this was the best idea or not'¦), <I would not have recommended this.> and fed her sparingly for a week. Her condition improved greatly and I put her back in the main tank. <Great!> A few weeks ago, I noticed she was starting to list to the side a bit again. Her condition has gradually worsened, and I now have her back in the quarantine tank. I have not started any kind of treatment yet, and would surely welcome some good, expert advice! <I'd add Epsom salt (Magnesium Sulfate) at a rate of 1-2 tablespoons per ten gallons. Aquarium salt certainly won't hurt, and may help. I'd recommend strongly that you look very closely for any other symptoms - gray/filmy skin, any other abnormalities.... And perhaps also try giving her some foods of high roughage content - shelled peas or adult brine shrimp, perhaps. These along with the Epsom salt will help to pass any gut blockage that may be affecting her swimming. Withhold all other foods for a time.> My main tank is 55 gallons, planted with low-light plants (no CO2 added). The tank has been set up for about one year. Water conditions have been stable for a long time: pH 7.3 Nitrate 20 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Temp 80 I do a 10 to 15% water change every one to two weeks. I use AquaSafe to remove Chlorine/Chloramines. I add Seachem's Flourish once a week and Excel 2 or 3 times weekly for the plants. <Sounds great, though you may want to do larger water changes; the Nitrate's just at the edge of "okay".> Tank inhabitants: 4 Black Phantom tetras (2 males, 2 females) 5 Pristella tetras 6 Neon tetras 6 Panda Corys 3 Otocinclus All other fish seem to be fine. What course of action would you recommend I follow to help my tetra? <Just as above.> Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time. Best regards, Camille <All the best to you, -Sabrina>
Blue Neon Tetras : Old or ill? -
05/09/06 Hi, <<Hello, Francesca. Tom with you.>> I am a
first time poster on this site - you seem a lot less smug than other
sites and I would appreciate help rather than finger
pointing! <<I lost whatever "smugness" I
may have had years ago. :) As for "finger pointing",
let's see what you have to tell us.>> I have a 95 litre tank
which happily (usually) houses 8 blue Neons and cardinals, 3 black
tetras, 3 glass catfish, 3 swordtails, 2 small albino Corys, 1 golden
sucking loach (who knows his place and is not a bully), 1 upside down
catfish, 1 fat apple snail and two small but adult silver sharks who we
inherited with the tank. Some were residents of the tank
when we took it on (the bigger ones) and others have been added over
the course of about a year. We are expecting a new tank,
about double the capacity, very soon, since we are aware that the
silvers require more space really. <<Excellent. If you could
"lock down" the specific species of "shark" that
your "Silvers" are, we could add a little more detail. For
example, what are known as Silver-tip Sharks (among other names)
require vastly different water conditions than the other fish in your
current tank need. Might be a problem down the road...>> They
have all been cohabiting merrily for a number of months
now. They get about 15 to 20 per cent of their water changed
on a weekly basis, are regularly dosed with salts and their new water
is dechlorinated at every change. The PH remains at roughly
7, the ammonia level as of last night was 0.25ppm, the nitrite level
was negligible and the nitrate level (whilst higher than I would like
it) was at an apparently safe 35ppm. <<Okay. Ammonia levels and
nitrite levels above "0" are not good. (I'll get to this
later since it has a direct bearing on your question.) Nitrate levels
are "safe" up to 40 ppm for "some" fish. Others
can't tolerate these levels over a sustained period. Cichlids, for
instance, require low levels of nitrates as some diseases attributable
to nitrates are known.>> The problem is this. Three of
the blue tetras seem to be unwell. They are showing
black discolouration on random areas of their bodies, although this
does not appear to be fungus or algae, but rather a genuine change in
colour. They do not seem to be wasting away or becoming
thinner, but instead seem to be kind of lumpy, again in random areas.
<<Black discoloration can be a sign of chemical burning, i.e.
from ammonia/nitrite exposure, that is actually in the process of
healing. Usually, this will occur around the gill plates. The change in
normal coloration can be expected when a fish is stressed.>> With
the exception of one they are schooling, swimming and feeding as
normal, but one is showing possible swim bladder issues. He
is twirling and swimming on his side, and avoiding the company of the
others. <<Again, this can be due to stress and toxic
poisoning. Some fish are more "susceptible" than
others.>> I have looked at a number of sites with partial
descriptions of these symptoms, but nothing complete. They
are showing some symptoms of Neon Tetra Disease, but lack the
significant seeming white discolouration. <<I would
discount this. From personal experience, your fish would be dying/dead
right now. Trust me.>> I do not know how old they were when we
bought them, but they were fully grown. They were brought
from an aquarist shop specifically chosen because they seemed to care
about the welfare of their livestock over that of their profit, but I
did not ask their age at the time of purchase. <<No worries.
I'm glad you found someone to trust.>> Are my fish ill?
<<In part, I would say that they are.>> If so, is there
anything I can do to help them? <<Easiest treatment in the world.
Water changes. Get the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels down. Start with
a 50% water change (40 litres). Also, check your filtration. Don't
believe that a filter rated for 90-100 litres will actually do the job.
Oversize it, as you should with your new tank.>> Are they just
old? <<Perhaps, but there are still things you can/must
do.>> They are small, so I suppose they have a limited number of
heartbeats like the rest of us! <<That's why I don't
exercise, Francesca. I don't want to use up the heartbeats I have
left! :)>> Please help me as I really do not like seeing my boys
ill, Francesca <<Hopefully, I have helped. Best of luck.
Tom>> Non-cottony mouth fungus on blue tetra? Also,
black neon with balance problem - 5/5/2006 Hi crew!
<<Hi, Helen.>> (Before I begin, the tank details:
15-gallons (12" * 12" * 24"), quite densely planted, no
CO2, nearly a year old, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, nitrates usually under 5
ppm (and always under 10 ppm), temperature 27 C, pH 6.5 (tap water used
for water changes has pH of 7.5), 20% water changes once per week.
Stocked with 3 Danios, 3 black neon tetras, 2 silvertip tetras, 2 blue
tetras, 1 Otocinclus. Fed once per day, alternately with flake and
tetra granules, with bloodworms or daphnia once per week.) <<All
sounds excellent, Helen. Great job on the care and feeding.>> I
have two new blue tetras who've been in my 15-gallon planted tank
for about a month now (they went through two weeks of quarantine first,
following your excellent advice!). <<Our advice isn't worth
much without folks like you who make the effort to follow it.
:)>> One of them has settled in beautifully (chases around the
Danios, who are three times his size!), but the other one is far more
retiring - he seems to pick a spot away from the other fish and lurk in
it, changing his hideaway every week or so. In the past two weeks,
I've noticed that he's developed a light, dull patch just above
his mouth, on his "nose". I immediately thought "mouth
fungus!"... but the pictures I've found online show that the
symptom of this is a fluffy, cottony growth. His patch is
light-coloured, but flat and smooth. Could this be mouth fungus, or
something else? <<I would be thinking that this is more like a
"scuff" or abrasion. Enough to change the coloration but not
a physical trauma to be concerned about.>> I'm a little
concerned by his lethargy, but he doesn't gasp or hang at the
surface, and comes out from his hiding place in a great hurry whenever
food is introduced to the tank (he's eating very well). Apart from
the white patch, his general colouration is vibrant and shiny. I
can't pinpoint when the patch first appeared, but having been
watching it for 2 weeks it doesn't seem to have become bigger or
changed texture. <<I've mentioned this in other responses and
will again here. It's always a good sign when a fish feeds and
particularly good when its appetite is strong like your fish is
demonstrating. I would attribute the hiding and seeming lethargy to
"shyness" more than anything else. Personally, I've got
fish that all but jump into my hand when I feed them and others (same
species) that sort of lay back waiting for the food to come to them.
All are healthy but display different kinds of behavior.>> Do you
think it would be a good idea to put him back in the quarantine tank
for a course of antibacterial treatment? Unfortunately, I don't
have access to medicated food in the UK. <<I don't see any
need for this right now, Helen. In fact, I don't think it would be
a good idea from the standpoint of handling and trying to re-settle the
fish in a new environment so soon.>> Also, my oldest black neon
tetra (had him nearly as long as the tank, and he's now about
2" long) has always hung at a bit of an angle, but over the past
few months it has become more pronounced - he now hangs at a 45-degree
angle, nose-up, when stationary! When moving around, he can swim
normally. He's active and eats well, but I'm worried that when
stationary he does seem to have to work his fins quite hard to stay in
one place (he looks as if he'd tail-slide backwards and downwards
if he stopped beating his fins). No list in the horizontal plane,
though. I'm assuming that this is a swim-bladder problem, and what
I've read suggests that these are very difficult to treat. Would it
be worth trying him with a quick course of antibacterial medication
anyway? <<No. Never a good idea to treat for something that
can't be positively identified (or as close to it as humanly
possible). I've got one lone survivor out of 12 from a disastrous
bout of Neon Tetra Disease (had them all in quarantine, thank goodness,
and he spent an additional four or five weeks in "solitary"
afterward) who displays the same type of swimming behavior. Perfectly
normal otherwise but always seems a little "nose-up" when
stationary. I'm not concerned and I don't think you should be,
at this point, either.>> Thank you very much for your time, and
your excellent site! Helen <<I hope I've helped lessen your
concerns, Helen. You're doing a wonderful job.
Tom>> Neon Tetra help needed - 03/28/06 Hi. <Hello> I have 5 neon tetras, 3 Zebra Danios and now 3 Fancy Guppies (1 female and 2 male) with about 7 fry hiding (mom died)<Sorry to hear that>. When I bought my Tetras they were all fine until the next morning. 1 had lost its color from midway on back and was swimming funny (like it was drunk). It has now regained its coloring and swims better. However, it goes in fits of twirling about (fast circular movement; head down) and other times I can't tell which one it is in the school. What is wrong with it (maybe got injured on the way home)? I grew up (25 years) with Tetras (as well as the other types) and have never seen anything like this. Do I need to remove it from the tank or is it ok to leave it in there? Thank you, Karen in Georgia. <First, remove the Neon to another tank. What you describe, to a large degree, mimics "Neon Tetra Disease"; loss of coloration, erratic swimming behavior. I've not come across any information that describes the return of color to a fish once it's been infected, though, which makes me wonder, to be honest with you. There is a "false" version of the disease which is bacterial rather that Sporozoan in its cause but it would be virtually impossible, outside of a laboratory, for you (or I) to discern the difference. Since NTD is spread to other fish so quickly and with such fatal results, you should treat this as a "worst case" to protect your other pets. Unfortunately, there is no known treatment for NTD although some claims of success have been offered; none conclusively, I'm afraid. Maintain your water parameters in the main tank to protect against any spreading of whatever this may be. Best of luck to you, Karen. Tom> What are these things! FW Neons, Ich... 3/27/06 Dear WWM Crew, I have recently had all my neon tetras die. The first one to go (thing 1) had dropsy and was really sad because he had been a part of my aquarium for over a year. I went to the local aquarium to get two replacements to keep my second neon company. Within 2 days both of the new guys died. I tested my water and everything was fine. <Can't tell from here> The following day I bought another neon tetra and named in speckles (It had white dots sprinkled over its body and fins). <Perhaps if you named them after prophets...> This one soon died too, followed by my second neon tetra (thing 2). I noticed my other fish began having white dots as well. <Oops... likely not related... but Ich> (I have a flame tetra, two Gouramis, a Serpae tetra) Doing my research, I assumed Ich and began treating the tank with CopperSafe, as recommended by the aquarium store. <... I would NOT treat small characins/Tetras with Copper products... but half doses of Malachite Green, elevated temperature... posted on WWM> Paying closer attention to the tank, I can see many tiny white bugs moving on the glass and floating in the water that were not there before. <These also are very likely unrelated...> Can these white bugs be what is on my fish? Are they parasites hurting my fish? Thank you for your time, Jackie <The initial losses were probably due to simple differences in your store/sources water quality, acclimation and your system... the Ich was likely imported on some of the new fish... the bugs are likely living on the nutrients, food... You need to "step up" your maintenance, treat the Ich with something less toxic (likely clean the tank a bit first, or better, treat the fish elsewhere...), and not worry re the apparent "bugs". Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Pop Eye on Tetra 2/18/06 I have a 100 gallon tank with 2 magnum filters going on. One of my tetras has a bubbled eye. What do I do? I need help. I have put him by himself in a small tank 10 gallon with half water which is 5 gallon water & did put that tablet fungus clear tank buddies. Do I have to add Epsom salt with it.?. Kindly respond. thanks. Godfrey < Treat the tank with the sick tetra with Metronidazole. The original tank may have elevated nitrate readings and so check the levels. They should be under 25 ppm although some fish like them lower.-Chuck> Fading Serpae Tetra - 2/15/2006 I recently bought 2 Serpae Tetras about a week ago. They are in a 10 gallon tank with 2 fancy tail guppies. <Like different water...> All are doing fine, but noticed this morning one of the Tetras looks like it's fading. He's not the bright orange and black he was before. What do you think could be the problem? Thanking you in advance..... Jenny~ <The Tetras "like" soft, acidic, warm water (80's F.), the guppies, hard, alkaline, cooler water... Bob Fenner> Dying neon tetras 02-05-06 Help! two weeks ago I did a complete change out of my 10 gallon tank, saving off half the water and rinsing the new gravel and furnishings well and added a bubbler. <Better to limit such changes to one quarter if at all possible> The tank is inhabited by 5 neon tetras, 5 harlequins and 1 Pleco. <Too small a tank for the last> the water I added was conditioned by Aquafresh (or something like that) <At least they'll have minty breath> and the original water was replaced as well. for two weeks everything was fine, <Only apparently> but yesterday one of the Neons became bloated and started swimming sideways. I removed it from the tank and put it in another container and it was dead by morning. Today, I've noticed another neon started to exhibit the same symptoms. The harlequins seem to be just fine. I noticed a rust colored deposit building up on the new furnishings. what is this deposit and what is happening to my Neons? any advice you can give would be splendid! thanks, Chris <The Neons don't "like" your water... or this much change this fast... Perhaps your system is "re-cycling"... also much harder on small characins than minnows... See WWM, fishbase.org re their water preferences. Bob Fenner> My poor tetra... dropsy 1/17/06 Hello I have a question regarding my tetra. For the last 5 days or so my fish has been in the bottom corner of our 10 gal tank. It can swim for a second then falls right back to the bottom of the tank. I have two other tetras in the same tank and they are fine. I don't know what a pregnant tetra looks like but this one is very fat and the scales are sticking out, <... Ascites... in pet-fishing called dropsy, or a Dropsical condition... aptly called "pinecone disease" in Japanese> the side looks red. I have read about the different diseases and it seems like the fish might have a disease but the others ones don't. I had my water tested when I took it into the pet shop and it is OK so I am stumped. Would a fish not be able to swim if it had a disease and Say the fish is pregnant how long does it take to lay the eggs? <Depends on species... days to a few weeks> Should I take the fish out of the tank? IF so what is the best way? I am not to sure on fish stuff but I don't like to see fish suffer. <If you sense this fish should be sacrificed, placing it in a plastic bag with a little water and putting this in the freezer will painlessly euthanize it. Likely the "cause" of the dropsy here is not "catching"... Bob Fenner> Tetra Not His Old Self - 1/6/06 Hello again. Thanks for the information you sent me! I have one other question for you. I got a small fish from a friend last year and It looks a lot like a Tetra. The fish was wobbling while trying to swim so I place him in a hospital tank for about 5 days or so and treated him with Erythromycin 200mg and he is swimming a lot better and his breathing is good. My problem is when I placed him back in my regular tank he stays about 4 or 5 inches from the top of my 60 gal! Should I treat him with something else or any ideas you can come up with? Thanks again Ian < I am not a big fan of blindly treating fish. The sounds more like an accumulation problem and not really an illness. Reduce the lighting and see if he starts to mingle with the other fish after awhile. Give him a little time to get back in the pecking order.-Chuck> Rummy Nose Tetra with worm? 12/20/2005 I could sure use
some help! I have a rummy nose tetra that has a worm in his
front right fin and I have treated him with Fluke Tabs and Aquari Sol
(my tank had Ick) and the worm is still in the fin (must be
internal). Black Phantom Tetra, Webmail Issues - 12/19/2005 Hello crew,
<Hello, Camille!> I sent an email to you on December 1st
regarding my Black Phantom tetra that had not eaten much at all for a
few weeks (since being moved into a new tank). There was
apparently an issue with replying to my mail, but Don was kind enough
to track me down in the 911 forum where I had also posted a
message. <Our apologies - our Webmail system does
occasionally lose (don't know how) the "tray" for
responding to a message. I'm not sure what the
combination of settings is, but my laptop seems to be the only system
that doesn't lose this "tray".... So,
fortunately, I have the ability to reply to you.> At that time, the
fish was showing no outward signs of illness; his color was good, no
clamped fins or weird scale discolorations,
etc'¦. All water parameters were fine, and all
other fish in the tank were doing very well. He has continued to ignore
food. I did get him to take a few nibbles at some live brine
shrimp last week, but he certainly wasn't showing the same interest
as the rest of the fish. <Disturbing.> I generally
feed a combination of flake and frozen foods and I never see him show
interest in any of that (although he used to eat well in the old 20
gallon tank'¦). I added 2 additional Black Phantoms
to the tank yesterday hoping that more of his own kind would help him
feel more secure (bringing the number of Black Phantoms from 2 to 4 in
the tank). This morning, the fish in question is hanging out
at the top of the tank and seems to be breathing more rapidly than
normal. He may also have a light patch of scales under his
chin (in the gill area), but its been hard to get a real good look at
him; whenever I closely approach the tank he turns and swims away from
me, but I've caught several glimpses of what may be a light skin
patch'¦. All other fish in the tank continue to do
well; everyone eats and displays a normal activity
level. The Black Phantom is the only one at the top of the
tank with an increased respiration rate. <So
frustrating!! There really are quite a number of
possibilities at this point; I would be more likely to think he may
have an internal bacterial infection than anything....> Tank specs
are as follows: 55 gallon Live plants (Anubias, crypts, java fern,
Ludwigia) Eco-complete substrate No Co2 or fertilizers used
Inhabitants: 6 Neons 4 Black Phantoms 3 Pristellas 6 Panda Corys
miscellaneous snails that hitched in on the plants Water parameters as
of this morning: Temp 79 F Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5 ppm Hardness 5
deg KH, 10 deg GH pH 7.4 A small water change (~10%) was performed last
night. <All sounds great.... nothing at all that catches
my eye here.> Is there anything I can do for this fish? I
do have a quarantine tank I can move him to if needed.
<I would, most certainly - if not to help the sick fish, then to
protect your other livestock from contracting what he's got (if
anything). I would consider feeding him an antibacterial
flake food, but if he's not eating, this is obviously going to be
difficult at best. Food medicated with Oxytetracycline would
be my choice, if you can get him to eat anything.> Any suggestions
are greatly appreciated!! If this email can't be replied
to (which was the issue with my original query), can someone post a
reply in the 911 forum?? My post there is entitled
'Black Phantom tetra won't eat (a little long'¦)'
and was originally posted on December 2nd under the name
CMERRELL. Thanks for reading and I hope someone can
help. <I'll take a look there, as well, and see if
there's anything else that catches my eye.> I really hate to see
the little guy in distress! <I do very much
understand.... My sympathies to you, and to him - I hope he
can pull through for you.> Best regards, -Camille Merrell
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina> Upside down catfish and skinny tetras 09/13/2005
Hi everyone at WWM, <Hi, Cobina!> I am enjoying your site and I
have found some information that I found interesting and will hopefully
put to good use. <Ahh, glad to hear it.> I have a couple of
questions, but first I wanted to give you a quick rundown on the
occupants of my ten gallon tank. <Okay.> This is my first tank
and I have had it for less than a year. The tank came with one painted
tetra (pixie) and one upside-down catfish (Dixie, I know creative
huh?). So I got a couple more painted tetras and one more ud catfish
for company and tried to give them lots of hiding places (as the person
before had just a bare tank). <Some words of caution,
here.... "Painted" tetras are typically tetras
that have been artificially dyed; this process is quite stressful to
fish and can be quite harmful. I believe that fish that go
through the dyeing process usually are very susceptible to
disease. Please don't support this by purchasing any
more of these "damaged" fish; rather, give yours the best
care that you can to help them recover. With luck, they will
survive and eventually regain their natural state and
color. I would also like to caution you to the size of
upside-down catfish; please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mochokids.htm >
Recently (almost three months ago) I found a beautiful polka-dotted
loach, and a female Betta and added them to the tank. <Getting a bit
full, there.... Any plans for a larger
tank? Might start thinking about it if space and money
allow.> For a long time they seemed to get along very well. The
Betta seemed to almost become another member of the tetra family, as
she swam around with them often, and although the loach was kind of
pushy under the wood with the catfish, he didn't seem to nip at the
others (other than the first day when I assume it was him that ripped
the back fin of one of my tetras). <Actually, I would guess that
another tetra was responsible.... but it may have been the
loach. Many loaches (not all!) can get quite aggressive.>
Then a few weeks ago the water got cloudy shortly after a regular water
change and I couldn't get it unclouded. <Possibly a sign that
your tank just has too much fish/bioload for its capacity.> Then
when I realized that my daughter had inadvertently switched the washing
pail with the fish pail, I was absolutely mortified. <Yikes!> But
before I realized that my Betta had committed suicide and jumped out of
the tank while we were asleep and we didn't find her until the next
day (poor thing). Also during this time my loach was getting quite
aggressive and nipping at the other fish, and two of my tetras are
getting really skinny. <Possibly long-term results of being
dyed.... Also, I begin to suspect poor environmental
conditions.> I finally got the water in order and started giving my
bottom feeders sinking pellets so that the loach would hopefully stay
at the bottom and not bother the tetras. The catfish didn't seem to
be particularly interested in the pellets, as they would go right past
(or over) them while scouring the bottom of the tank. I
thought maybe the tetras were stressed and that's why they got
thin. But after reading your site, I am thinking that maybe they have
internal parasites. <A possibility, but in all honesty, I would look
to environmental causes first. Please be testing for
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.... Maintain ammonia and
nitrite at ZERO, and nitrate below 20ppm.> I am just beside myself
with guilt and worry. They don't seem to be getting any fatter
after having good water. If it is parasites, is there any kind of
treatment? I don't want to see them just wither away to nothing.
<First, test the water, and go from there.> Another thing I was
wondering is that Dixie (my first ud catfish) sometimes gets a big
belly when he/she eats a lot. But my goodness, his belly is at least
twice as large as I have ever seen it. It is even sticking out on the
sides. He seems to be quite happy though, as far as I can tell. Then I
thought maybe he's pregnant. Is this possible? I would love to have
baby catfish, but I don't know if they even breed in captivity, and
I am certain that I would have to maybe set them up in another tank so
the loach wouldn't get at the fry. <I rather doubt that it's
a pregnancy issue - but if it is, there will be a lot of research
you'll need to do prior to being capable of raising the
fry.... Figure out what species they are, and start
searching.> Or maybe he's just super fat because maybe he pigged
out on the pellets after I went to bed. <Entirely possible.> So
my questions are really: 1) Do you think that my tetras have internal
parasites, and if not what do you think it might be, and if you think
they are parasites how do I treat them. I don't have another tank
to put them in to make a sick tank. I have a one gallon tank that I
have a male Betta in, but it doesn't have any filter system of any
kind. What are your thoughts? <Currently, there are too many
possibilities to narrow down what might ail the tetras. It
may be completely outside of any ability to treat, if it is a health
issue related to the dyeing process.> and 2) Do you think my ud
catfish is pregnant, or just really fat from pigging out on pellets, or
worse I hope he isn't sick. <Hopefully not sick. Just
observe closely for a while, and by all means test your water!>
Anyway, I know it was a long explanation, but I wanted to make sure you
got all the pertinent information that you may need to assess my poor
fishes. <The more information, the better. Thank you for
being so thorough.> I really enjoyed your website, and was very
encouraged by the amount of information there. <I'm very glad to
hear this!> I really appreciate the fact that you accept questions
and that you take the time and effort to share your expertise with
other fish lovers like me who are sort of new to the game. <Thank
you very much for the kind words - and chin up, whatever the outcome
for the tetras, I am confidant that they are in good hands with your
compassionate outlook.> Thanks
again. Sincerely, -Cobina. <Wishing you
well, -Sabrina> Sick Von Rio tetras? 9/13/05 Howdy WWM Crew, I stumbled (serendipitously) onto your site when I was looking for aquarium plant advice. My 16 gallon bow front tank houses 8 Von Rio Tetras, a few live plants, and a small number of snails that slipped in with the plants. Together with weekly 20% water changes, filtration is performed by a Whisper 30 filter (I'm also thinking of adding some peat filtration.) The temperature is 80 F. The tetras eat well, aren't breathing hard, appear to swim normally, and have become much redder & more iridescent since I got them 2 months ago. However, the edge of the dorsal fin on all of my fishes is milky looking (not fuzzy or spotty and the fin is not jagged. The fishes came this way.) The milkiness doesn't appear to be spreading over the rest of their bodies, but I am very worried. Does this sound like a bacterial/fungal disease? <Mmm, no> Also, pictures of these fish on the web show 2 dark stripes on the body- mine don't :| . Thank you from a new fishkeeper, Anne <A geographical variation in this species... I would not be concerned re the lack of barring, the white on their dorsals. Bob Fenner> Pregnant neon 9/5/05 Hi, Please help-I think I've done something awful. I set up my new tank yesterday, but because the above neon seemed to be harassed by other fish I put the fish in the new tank. She seems very stressed, swimming in jerky movements, in circles. I have turned the light off . My predicament is: Should I put the fish back with the others or put another neon in for company? Please advise. <I would add another neon to this ones tank> Regards and thanks for your assistance Jacqui <Bob Fenner> Silver Dollars with Fin Damage 8/21/05 I asked for help a
while ago with my Silver Dollars looking extremely poorly. Ich causing
large sores on their sides, and fin rot, you suggested a Furan based
medicine and the continued use of Rid-Ich+. I'm now using
Furazone-green (contains: Methylene Blue: 2.5mg, Nitrofurazone
(Monofuracin): 122mg, and Furazolidone: 24.4 mg.) and I've doubled
the dosage to one capsule twice a day as directed on the package as
well as the Rid-Ich+. I've been treating one silver dollar in a ten
gallon tank setup with no substrate under my 90 gallon for 10 days now.
Figured this was a good location as this is a large, stressful fish and
its inside a cabinet. I've noticed the major loss of Ich, and the
slowly shrinking sores, but the fins, though no longer discolored, have
not seemed to have grown whatsoever. I was wondering what other
practices I could take to speed this process, perhaps lowering the ph
and adding softer water (distilled percentage)? <After the sores are
gone then the disease is practically cured. Now the fish needs to heal.
Sometimes the fins get fungused too. These fungused fins to not
regenerate. You will need to remove the fish from the water and clip
the fins back to past the damaged area. they will then regrow but not
as nice as if they were never damaged. Fins diseased back into the
caudal peduncle usually do not regenerate.> The ten gallon does have
a large filter, in fact its an old, fully cultured penguin 330
Bio-wheel, I shut this down for about 45 minutes every time I add
medicine. I'm only changing water when the fish seems to be
breathing harder than normal, should I be changing it more often? Any
specific help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!! < Check the
nitrates. The disease causing bacteria continue to thrive when
nitrogenous wastes are present.-Chuck> Paralyzed Tetra 8/11/05 Dear Crew,
<Stacy> The other day, I noticed that a tetra I've had with 3
others in a tank for over 2 years was lying on its side at the bottom
of the tank. I have no idea what caused this, and figured
old age was kicking in, and he would likely die soon. <Likely so>
The other fish are doing fine. Today, it is still on its
side on the bottom of the tank. It is breathing, it's
eyes are functioning and one side of its body is moving. But
that is all. It's as if it is paralyzed on one side.
<Happens> I have no idea what to do, and can't bear to let it
suffer this way. He's been this way for three days
now. What do I do? <It is likely not suffering, but if
the prospect of this bothers you, you might euthanize this fish... in a
bit of water, in a plastic bag... in the freezer> And
what is the most merciful way to put him out of his
misery? Or is there some way I can help him recover?
<Probably will not recover... but there is always a chance> Any
help you can offer is most appreciated... Stacy <Small tetras often
only live a few years... Bob Fenner> Fat Fish (tetras) Bob, The last several weeks I have had several of my various tetra fish look like they were going to explode... There stomachs more than double in size, they definitely are breathing hard and look like they are in agony. I have no idea what would be causing this, or what should I do to protect the rest of my tank. I have a 55 gal tank and so far have had 4 fish go through this. None are the same species but all have been Tetra's. Deb <There are some protozoan and worm diseases of Tetras that might account for this "bloated" appearance/difficulty, as well as diets of foods that are hard to digest (some dried, some fresh/frozen)... and a few chemical possibilities. Do you modify your water quality? Utilize live plants? Please specify which types of Tetras are affected and what other animals you have in your system (good clues). Bob Fenner> Tetras with sores Hi there, I have several black high skirt tetras of different ages. The problem is as they get older and larger, 2 of them developed a sore around their mouths. <Sores around the mouth are often times due to mouth fungus. Which is a treatable disease, I have found that medicines from the Mardel company have worked exceptionally well.> The largest one died and I am worried this will continue until I find the problem. They share the tank with red serapes and a 5-6 inch Pleco. <There doesn't seem to be any sort of tank mates that would be nipping or bothering the Black Skirts.> Any suggestions would be great. <Make sure that the filtration is good on your tank, keep up on the water changes. This will help keep the fish's immune system working well, and it will also offer a better environment so that fungus and bacteria won't be able to thrive. It's best for you to set up a quarantine tank, so in the case that your fish do come down with more sores around their mouth then you will be able to remove them from the tank and medicate them. Look at medicines like Maracyn, and even a broader based medicine like Maracide from Mardel for a good treatment for the problem.> Thanks, Belinda <Good Luck. -Magnus> Tetras lost to a new tank Gwen, Thanks for your fast reply - I appreciate your advice. Unfortunately, I think I will stay away from tetras because (maybe the water is too alkaline for them) I lost 3 different kinds of tetras when I started the tank 6 months ago. Another option might be some colorful guppies but I am concerned that they would need more salt in the water than I think some of the other fish would tolerate. Thanks again. Beth >>Hey Beth :D Don't be so hard on the tetras :) You may have lost them simply because it was a new tank set-up. Tetras are normally more resilient than most other species of fish, and are quite easy to keep. By the way, guppies do not need salt in the water. Most people think that salt prevents Ich, or fungus, or does some other magic thing, but the fact is that most freshwater fish do not need salt added on a regular basis. It CAN be used medicinally, to cure such diseases, but salt should only be added when you are treating something specific. My advice to you would be to re-think the tetras, like Pristellas, etc, and guppies :) Have fun! -Gwen Sick tetra? I have a red eye tetra that's ballooned up on the under side; is this a pregnancy or a bladder or swim bladder disease? <Hello...Jorie here. I really can't say what's going on without some more information. First off, how big is your tank, how many other fish are in it (and what type), and how long has it been setup and running for? Have you tested the water recently for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? If so, what are the readings? (Ideally, all should be at zero.) Also, what is your fish's behavior like to make you think it could be a swim bladder disorder?> It had no swim difficulties... <This likely rules out swim bladder disorder> and gills quickly <Do you mean rapid breathing? I'm not quite sure what you mean. If it is rapid breathing, do test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, as mentioned above, and do a water change to get those readings to zero if necessary.> What should I treat it with? <For now, I'd say nothing. Do a water change and please try to give me some more specific information about the tank, other fish, and the affected fish's behavior so that I can better help you.> Many thanks, <You are welcome. Good luck.> Characid Parasitology help sought Dear Sir, I feel most enthused in your marvelous efforts in elucidating parasites of Fish to the students all over the world. I have in my attachment an appeal onto where my research work lies. School of postgraduate Studies Faculty of Biological Sciences Department of Zoology University of Nigeria, Nsukka. 14- 05- 04. Dear Sir, I praise your academic prowess, especially, in the area of fisheries parasitology. May your efforts and strength never waver in your imbued march towards bettering nature. I am a postgraduate research student in the above department and University, working on the parasites of Characidae in the Anambra River Basin, Nigeria. The following are the objectives of this research work: à There is scanty relevant parasitological information on fisheries development and management in Nigeria. An informed reason to fill the gap. à Fish are the most readily available animal protein both in the hinterland areas and cosmopolitan areas of Nigeria. Our over 120 Million population is the largest consumer of fish in Africa. So, there is burning desire to ensure availability of fish in our meals thereby ridding them of these parasites. Sir, I am in great need of your assistance, which is inevitable to the accomplishment of this Research work. Such assistance is needed in the following areas: The latest scientific methods, materials on the parasitic investigations on Characidae. ü The parasites of the Characidae. The aforementioned are fulcrums that will pilot the research to a logical success. I would be grateful if my request is delivered. Thank you. Your sincerely, ECHI, PAUL CHINEDU [email protected] Thank you. <Paul, will post your request for others response. We don't "do" research per se (but relate others experiences), but am hopeful your message will be found. Have you contacted the Smithsonian asking for reference help? I would. Bob Fenner> Dull Neons... Hi there, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on my neon tetras. Today I noticed that they are looking very dull in colour and not swimming about as much as they usually do, also one of them is bloated. I thought this could be neon tetra disease, do you think this is the case? If so, should I carry out euthanasia? < If the disease is only affecting one fish then I would get rid of it. If it looks like it is going to spread to the other fish then I would treat with Nitrofuranace of Myacin. Make sure you follow the directions on the package.-Chuck> Thanks Fran Black Skirt Tetra Issue Hi. I'm new to having fish and
need help. I set up my tank at the beginning of October (30 gallon). I
have 3 Black Skirt Tetra, 3 Zebra Danios, and 1 algae eater (sorry I
don't know his real name - it starts with a P). <Pleco works>
Earlier today one of the tetra died. I had noticed some erratic
behavior and sluggish swimming over the last day or so. He
also looked as though he had bubbles on him. When I removed him from
the water the bubbles were white spots, particularly on his tail. The
other two tetras are now acting oddly, they are not schooling, both are
staying near the top, which is odd for them, they normally swim near
the bottom. What do I do? I did a water change about 2 weeks ago - the
fish had been overfed while we were out of town on vacation and the
tank was covered with algae. This is when I added my algae eater. All
has been well until the last 24 hours or so. HELP! Thank
you, Allison <The white spots are a pretty sure sign of Ich. Treat
with salt. Read here for it's proper use. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
You should also be doing more water changes. Use a gravel vac to remove
the old food and fish waste. This is very important when treating for
Ich. Don> Neon tetras that change colour... Hi. I have found your information about neon tetra very useful, but I am confused about "neon tetra disease". I first got a fish tank two years ago and have kept neon tetras in this time. It didn't take me long to notice that when they changed colour that this is bad, but the fish did not always die but change back and remain healthy. <Mmm, Neons do change color sometimes due to "mood", time of day, interactions with each other... not always indicative of disease> (I have had one particular neon tetra for 2 years now). Is this colour changing due to "neon tetra disease" or is it just stress or bad water? <This Sporozoan infection is almost always fatal, and quite distinctive (loss of blue coloring distally): http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/neondisease.htm I don't think your fish have this ailment> I really like my neon tetras and hope that there is something I can do about this phenomenon. Thanks Dani. <Read on. Bob Fenner> Dying neon tetras Hi
there, <Hi there...this is Jorie, and I'll try to help...>
Have just come across your site and trawled it for any similar problems
to mine, but couldn't spot anything, so I hope I'm not going to
waste your time, but here goes! <You certainly are not wasting
anyone's time - we are here to help you!> My fiancé
and I purchased a 13 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago and set it up as
follows: washed gravel in water till it ran clear, washed resin tank
ornaments in the same way. A couple of plastic plants, but mostly real
plants (some sword grass and sword plants, at least that's what
they said they were in the shop). We added the tap water and
treated it with AquaSafe to dechlorinate, etc. following the
instructions on the bottle. We added some AquaPlus water conditioner
and we also added a little plant food that said it was safe for other
tank inhabitants and followed the instructions in both cases
carefully. We have a mechanical, biological and chemical filter
that we checked was the right size for the tank, and a heater that
keeps the water at a constant 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The filter
also has an attachment that can further oxygenate the water (little
pipe attachment to pump out more bubbles). Also have a hood and
light for the tank. We cycled the tank for these weeks, and before we
put any fish in we checked the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels:
ammonia, nitrate, nitrate were 0 and pH at 7.5. We live in Glasgow in
Scotland and our water is quite soft. We also added some AquaPlus water
conditioner the morning before the fish went in, because it recommended
doing so for new fish. We bought six jumbo neon tetras yesterday
afternoon - floated the bag for half an hour to get the temperature
even for them, added some tank water gradually over another half an
hour and then released them. They looked pretty happy, we left the
light off to let them settle down and didn't feed them straight
away for the same reason, feeding them a tiny amount about 2 hours
later. Just before we went to bed we checked on them, and two seemed
listless and gasping a little, but still able to swim, not just
floating. This morning 2 were dead upside down on the tank bottom, and
this afternoon two more. We did another water check and the levels were
still fine. The poor guys looked physically ok when they died, apart
from being a little pale - you could still make out the bright colours
on their bodies. They didn't appear bloated with no cuts or gashes
and seemingly normal gills. No signs of fungus or spotting either. When
I was keeping an eye on the second two that died later, they seemed to
get listless and were floating about the main body of the tank rather
than swimming in the plants like the others. They also looked to be
gasping a little. I really don't want to be doing
something wrong and be unknowingly hurting the wee fellas. The last two
seem ok at the moment, although one swims about more than the
other. Do you think it could be something they had already from
the shop, or am I doing something terribly wrong? Do you think I need
to get them some medication, only I am reluctant to do so when they
don't look hurt or diseased and I might do more harm than good? Any
advise greatly appreciated, Charlotte <Charlotte, I'll be
honest, I'm a bit mystified myself as to what's going on! I
read your thorough narrative above, and very honestly, you did
absolutely everything I typically suggest to newcomers, from rinsing
the gravel, cycling the water, keeping the temp. constant, etc. The one
thing that I'd suggest you measure is the water's oxygen level;
you mention that you do have an air filter in the tank, but the gasping
behavior you've noticed makes me think perhaps they fish aren't
getting enough O2. Most major test kit brands have a conversion chart
to measure oxygen levels - I personally use the Tetra brand kit, but I
don't think it matters too much. Just stay away from the "dip
stick" type test kits, as they are pretty unreliable. Aside from
that, I'm thinking perhaps a toxin other than ammonia, nitrite or
nitrite has found its way into the water - I say this because of the
suddenness of the fishes' death. Can you think of *anything* (from
cleaning supplies to air fresheners, for example), that could possibly
be contaminating the water? I don't know if it will help, but you
could try additional water changes and perhaps looking into a
PolyFilter - filter media that removes lots of unwanted toxins, from
phosphates to ammonia. (That's a shot in the dark, though -
it's all I can think of!) You may be correct in thinking your fish
weren't altogether healthy when you purchased them. Any idea how
long they were living at the fish store? That's good question to
ask - the longer the better, but you won't always get that lucky. I
have never personally kept neon tetras, but from what I understand,
they can be fragile. You did well to slowly acclimate them when you
brought 'em home, and as I said above, did everything else
according to the "rules". With regards to medicating, I
don't think I'd go there, especially since you don't see
any observable signs of illness or lacerations. You may indeed do more
harm than good - I never recommend using meds just for the sake of it,
and it's always best to narrow down what's going on before
taking a "shot in the dark" approach to medicating fish. Do
check on the oxygen levels, and think about possible water
contaminants. In the meantime, keep those water levels pristine, and
hopefully the two survivors will be OK. I'll cross my fingers for
you! Good luck, Jorie> Deformed Black Tetra I have a black tetra who has black growths on it. It is several years old. Its stripes have faded some, but these growths have shown up around its body, some around one gill and around its mouth. The upper part of its mouth has receded somewhat (looks a little like cancer there.) It is still hanging with the school and does not seemed to have slowed down. Do you have any idea what this might be? Thanks for any help. Jeanne O'Keefe <Mmm, most likely simply the effects of "old age"... cumulative developmental genetic defects... Perhaps Lymphocystis... Nothing to do. Bob Fenner> Rummy Nosed Tetra Hi Crew - you've always been so helpful in the past - hoping you can do it again. I have a small school of Rummy Noses (7). I've just noticed that one of them looks like he/she has white masses under the skin of the abdomen. The others are all silver in the body - even transparent looking. This one looks like there's something white and opaque in the body. Could it be Neon Tetra Disease? Doesn't look lumpy or bloated. <Not likely NTD... perhaps another ailment> I'm going to move it to another tank that has some Cory Cats, Flying Foxes, Platies and Guppy. If it's Neon Tetra Disease, will it infect these other fish? Thanks so much! <NTD can be very "spreading", but I strongly doubt that this problem is at play here. I agree with your speedy isolation of the one individual. Let us hope the "white masses" are passing. Bob Fenner> Diamond Tetra Hey! Brody here again (a.k.a Frank Fish). I
have two diamond tetras in my 50 gal. tank. I noticed a bulge in the
abdomen of one of them about a week ago and I cannot figure out if it
is constipated, gravid, or really sick. <I hope the middle one> I
just checked my water parameters and they are fine (Ammonia 0; Nitrite
0; Nitrate 25ppm, pH 7.8, Hardness 160ppm). I have no idea how to sex
tetras so I cannot tell if it is gravid, or even if it is a female and
its partner is a male. I read on your site that brine shrimp helps with
constipation and I bought some O.S.I. Brine Shrimp flake food and all
my fish seem to love it. Think this could help? <Yes> Could it be
Malawi Bloat? <Doubtful... not common in S. American Characoids>
The tetra is eating well, swimming normally, behaving normally,
etc...Any suggestions? Thank you very much for your time. -Brody
<I'd keep mixing in (daily) some of the brine shrimp... maybe
try adding a bit more greenery to their food as well... and if the
swelling persists for more than a couple weeks, a teaspoon per ten
gallons of Epsom Salt added to their water. Bob Fenner> Cardinal problem Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 Hey there, I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something. I have had FW tanks for a long time but have not had any real luck with setting up a school of either Neons or cardinals. My current "failure" is a discus planted tank. It is a 46 gallon bowfront tank with 6 discus and 3 clown loaches. <Too crowded... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/discusfish.htm > The water conditions are NO3 is 20ppm, NO2 is 0, hardness is 120, alkalinity is close to 0 and pH of 6.4ish. Temp is 85F. The discus are doing fine and I do daily water changes of 5-10 gallons using RO water mixed with 1/2 gallon of regular non-RO water (for the plants). <Good practice!> Discus show no signs of stress and live normally. I brought home 11 cardinals about a week ago which I bought at a LFS. They all seemed fairly ok even though a lot of them had skinny stomachs (due to lack of food I'd guess). <Yes, common> I first placed them in a quarantine tank, losing about 4 in a few days. After 5 days, and the rest of the cardinals looking ok, I moved them to my discus tank hoping for some survival. few days later, I am looking at 3 fish left (which do eat) but are covered in Ich. <Yikes... should keep quarantined... for a few weeks> none of the other fish show any kind of Ich or other diseases. The temp is high (for discus) and I was thinking ICH wouldn't live, but these cardinals are covered. <Likely will die there> I am at a loss here. Please help if you can see what I am doing wrong. Thanks, DK (P.S. I'd even go to Neons if that meant they would live better, but I read somewhere that cardinals take the high temp better.) <This is correct... I would try again, with a new batch of Cardinals.... but quarantine them longer... slowly raise the water temperature (am sure the store did not have them in the 80's F) to the Discus water conditions, fatten them up first. Bob Fenner> Sick Tetras I have a question regarding my neon tetras. I
have a 25 gallon tank with a bio wheel and Eclipse filter. The ph is
constant at 7, the temperature is constant at 80 and I do regular water
changes (every 3-4 weeks as advised by our Aquarium store) and I treat
the water with a Sera product called Aquatan before I add new water. I
do not know the ammonia and nitrite amounts as I do not have a test kit
for these yet. Our tank has been set up for 18 months and we have
had no problems. We have 5 neon tetras, 5 lemon tetras, 2 Corydoras, 3
Otos, and 3 blue German rams that replaced 3 swordfish (the children
were upset about the whole eating of the young aspect). Today I notices
a problem with our Neons. They all seem to have ragged fins from a mild
to severe degree, most have some sort of dark greenish/blackish patches
on their sides, and one in particular is emaciated and a very dull
colour. This one also seems to have pop eye (one other looks like he is
developing it ) and at certain angles I can see a few white things
attached to his eyes and head (only this one seems to have the white
effect). Is this neon tetra disease? What else could it be? Will
it affect the other fish? How should I treat it? The other fish seem
fine although one or two of the lemon tetras seem to have a couple of
slight ragged/split spots on their fins that I had put down to age or
nipping by the male swordfish we had. Thank you for your time in
answering this question as my daughter is very upset and I want to make
sure I treat the tank expediently and appropriately. Lisa < Forget
testing for ammonia and nitrites and get a nitrate test kit. Changing
the water every three to four weeks may not be enough and may need to
changed more often. I would recommend a 30% water change while
vacuuming the gravel and then clean the filter. Now that the tank is
clean you should see some improvement. The tail/fin rot may need to be
treated if it gets worse with Nitrofurazone. The Popeye is an internal
bacterial infection that needs to be treated with Metronidazole. After
treating your bacteria that breaks down the fish waste may be gone so I
would add some Bio-Spira to recycle the tank.-Chuck> Tetra Too fat Hi, I have tried to find some info on the net regarding this but none of what I have found matches up. I have 6 x-ray tetras in a large community tank. They have been very happy for the last 3-4 months, only now one of them has got very fat all of a sudden and seems to me breathing a lot more rapidly than the others. It also is not really interested in food and just hangs around the bottom on her own. Is it likely to be pregnant or does it seem more like an internal parasite? If it is an internal parasite is it likely the other fish will get it too? I have had no more additions to the tank for almost a month so I don't know how it would have caught a parasite. It has been like this for a few days that I have noticed. Hope you can help! Thanks Clare < You tetra sounds like it has an internal bacterial infection called bloat or dropsy. It is usually caused by stress. Do a 30% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Then treat with Metronidazole.-chuck> Serpae Tetra shimmy while swimming 8/9/05 I have a ten gallon tank with 3 Serpae Tetras, 2 Platies, and 2 Otocinclus. My tank is 8 months old and I have not had any problems with it other than a rough start with cycling when I first set up the tank and a case of Ich (during that cycling period) that wiped out all the fish except one Tetra. It is that original Tetra that I am having a problem with. He seems to shimmy when he swims. I have read all of your postings on "Shimmy" but they all seem to indicate that the fish is standing still when he shimmies. <Usually, yes> My fish only shimmies when he is actually swimming. This started a couple weeks ago and at first I thought it was some kind of mating behavior but now he seems to be swimming slightly slanted to the side. He still has a healthy appetite and seems to be playful with the other fish. Any ideas? Is this something that I should treat. All the other fish seem fine. Even though this fish survived the start up cycle and the Ich could that have had any long term effects on him? Thank for all you do Tina <Thank you for writing, and so well, thoroughly. This one fish sounds like it is neurally damaged... perhaps from the cycling trouble, Ich-medicine exposure. It very likely does not have something that is catching. I would just keep it as you have been, and hope it straightens up. Bob Fenner> Pop Eye on a Silver Dollar 8/3/05 Hi, I am Janet. I have a 55 gal fresh with 10 white clouds, 4 black tetra, 2 spotted Cory cats, 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 blue magic dwarf Gourami (the other died in this heyday I have been having) , one goldfish, one black moor, 2 scissortail Rasbora and 2 six or seven year old Silver Dollars that were given to me by a friend when his wife died. They were her babies. Hi Oh Silver came down with Popeye then a god awful case of dropsy. I put in Melafix for the seven day prescribed and Hi Oh didn't really improve much. I changed out 25% of the tank, put in Stress Coat and Stress Zyme and some Methylene Blue. Hi Oh looked bad yet. I went searching on the internet and found your site with salt treatments for these diseases. I didn't have Aquarium Salts but another site said Kosher Salt would do too. So I mixed up the salt (one gal to 4 teasp Kosher salt) popped Hi in and watched him for distress. After 3 min.s (of the 5, unless distressed) I thought he looked like he wanted out. So I put him in the tank. Next morning HE LOST ALL THE POPEYE AND MOST OF THE SWELLING!! I did a test and found my nitrates were 160 so I did another water change out of nearly 50%. Put in Stress Coat and Stress Zyme and Meth blue. My test today shows PH 6.0, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and finally, Nitrate 0ppm. It seems Hi Oh is getting Popeye again and I think his pal, Long John Silver is too. Oh, I put in new carbon filters in case of something in the water affected the old new filters I had in. Hi looks great other then that. A very small swelling on his cap (above his eyes/face), looks somewhat silver in most places, eating, swimming all about and with his buddy. My question is should I start over and put the two in a hospital tank and treat with Melafix again or just do salt dips again? How many times can I salt dip a fish and at what frequency.... daily, every other day, ???? Salt seems to best work to bring down swelling. I have been fighting this for 3 weeks now and Hi is still here. He does sit stationary a bit crooked but he swims great. I think he can see yet out of his eyes. So far Long John is puffy in one eye. This whole mess started with fish from PetSmart and putting their water in my tank. I didn't know not too since I read to do it in a dumb book, only to find out NEVER put water in another tank. I have NEVER tested water before so that is all new to me too but I desperately want to save the boys. Please help me : ( < The high nitrates are stressing your silver dollars. Keeping them down to under 25 ppm will be very beneficial. I have found that salt dose reduce the swelling and some fish do recover enough to be cured from this internal bacterial infection but just don't seem to be cured. I would recommend Metronidazole to treat the infected fish in a hospital tank so it won't affect the good bacteria needed to break down the fish waste.-Chuck> Hatchet Fish Question 30 Jun 2005
Hi Mr. Fenner, <Patty> I was hoping you'd be able to help me
with this fish question. My hatchet fish is doing something
very strange. For the past few weeks, it has been swimming
vertically and looks almost like it's doing a River dance
jig. Do you know if it is suffering some kind of ailment?
<Possibly... damage to its gas bladder... from a parasite? Maybe
from too much dry food...> Once in a blue moon, it'll flop down
at the bottom of the tank. The first time, I thought it was
dead or dying and was about to scope him up when it flipped back up and
started doing it's jig again. It has been eating and
seems to be aware of it's surroundings. I personally
think it might have hit it's head trying to jump out of the tank or
something. <Another possibility, yes> Unfortunately, I think
it's freaked out the other two hatchets in the tank, who are
swimming normally. Appreciate any thoughts about this.
<You might want to add another specimen or two... these are social
animals. Keep your tank covered! Bob Fenner> Patty |
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