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fish disease question

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marcy
Post subject: fish disease question
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 9:07 pm
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We have an issue in our 16 gallon tank. We have had to Euthanize 2 fish thus far and no luck in treatment.

We have 5 Tetra's and 1 Gourami that have sections of skin turning white / gray. We also had 1 Gourami that had Dropsey and had no luck treating him.

We have done 5 day treatment of Maceryn two and prior to that added Aquarium salt and upped the tempature. We have done multiple water changes. The tetras seem to look better but then we notcied a spot around the gills of the other Gourami (we are trying to get pictures). It's not ick, these are large sections of skin turning and its not puffy. We also have 2 Plecos with no signs, Im thinking about getting another tank to put thse in so they don't get anything, but they have been with the others I think long enough they should have it or not going to get it.

I know its hard to diagnose these things but reading it sounds like it could be Columnaris. But we don't see "cottony strings" which one of the diseases indicated as a sign.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Marcy


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Admin
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 12:14 am
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I would try copper sulphate first
(we use Aquarisol, but coppersafe or other brands would do the same thing)

this is to ensure that you don't have a parasite
that is salt resistant, perhaps costia

first:
change 90% of the water
then filter the tank with fresh carbon
for 12 hours
(the carbon should remove the Maracyn Two)

next:
throw the carbon away
(leaving only the foam in the filter)

then:
add the aquarisol or other copper product according to directions on the bottle
------------------------------------
if the fish don't look better after about 3 days

first:
change 90% of the water (again)

next:
put a copper removing product such as poly-filter or cupri-sorb
in the filter for 12 hours

then:
use tetracycline
or erythromycin (which is Maracyn, NOT Maracyn Two)
or other anti-biotic
---------------------------------------
Copper cannot be used at the same time as anti-biotics

Carbon will remove anti-biotics
but
Carbon will NOT remove copper
-----------------------------------------
I'm assuming you have a parasite such as Costia
which copper would kill
------------------------------------------
Maracyn Two is an anti-biotic that kills some rare bacterias...

tetracycline or erythromycin are anti-biotics that kill common bacterias
-------------------------------------------
any medicine should be given at least 3 days to work
before an estimate can be made
as to whether it is helping or not
-------------------------------------------
if you want
you can bring a live, sick fish to the store
and we can hypothosize better
(we can't usually tell anything from a dead fish)
--------------------------------------------
it would be best to isolate the sick fish in their own tank
in any case

in cases of parasites the whole tank should be treated
(parasites are water born)

in cases of bacterias, many are not water born

you might also have both...
which is why I want to treat for parasites first
---------------------------------------------
frustrating, I know

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marcy
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 7:22 pm
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Thanks for the detailed information.

We have moved the obviously sick fish to a sick tank and are treating that with the Coppersafe and will see what we have in 3 days. Should the white/gray disappear or will it just not grow?

In our 16 gallon tank (that we treated with Maceryn 2) we have done a 90% change, replaced the filter and added Aquarium salt. we have 2 Plecos in there that currently show no signs of issue. Should we leave them as is or should they also be treated since they were with the infected fish for a a week or more?

Thanks,
Marcy


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Admin
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 7:25 pm
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if they look good just leave as is for now,
just observe all closely

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marcy
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:46 am
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Well things seem to be better using the copper. it's been a few days and the sick tank fish are looking better. We lost one tetra. The gouromi looks better and the tetras look better. one tetra had a large spot on the back and its getting smaller. guppy not sure about he zips around but then we will find him hovering on the bottom.

the 16 gallon tank with the 2 plecos we had done a 90% change and a new filter. Niether of them have any signs of anything at this point.

The 5gallon sick tank still has the coppersafe in it, is that ok its been like 5 days? The fish are still healing. should we do a partial water change or leave it as is?

How long should we leave these fish in the sick tank?

Thanks...


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Admin
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 11:58 am
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sure
do a partial water change
always a good idea

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Admin
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:02 pm
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I'd go at least 10 days with the coppersafe

some parasites have eggs that the copper won't kill
so you have to wait til the parasite eggs become adults
(that's why the heat helps, it speeds up the life cycle of the parasites)

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