Ok to treat entire tank?

[Nopsia]

I have a 55 gallon up and running for about 2-3 weeks now with 11 africans.. it all started with my only peacock getting a bloated stomach and pooping thin transparent white feces. She is now being treated on day 3 in a 20 gallon with maracyn 2.. Now about 3/4 other fish are now pooping SUPER thin hair like feces with no color and im assuming they are now infecting with whatever parasite is going around as they dont look bloated. One also looks like she is pregnant with swollen tube or is just bloated herself.

Would it be safe and smart to treat the entire 55 gallon for this suspected parasite? all i have is another 20 which is in the middle of treating the peacock.

Thanks for any help

 

[Andrew McFadden]

What are you feeding and how much and how often? Do you use salts?

 

[Nopsia]

I feed tetra cichlid flakes 2 times a day along with some new life spectrum pellets..and recently got spirulina a week ago which gave to them like 3 times so far. They only eat for about 2 minutes maybe a hair longer.. But recently, i have been feeding them less since the first fish came up bloated. Its just weird to see these hair like feces now starting to show in the others as if its passed along.

 

[Nopsia]

Never used salts, before adding some epsom salts today.. i do have african cichlid sand tho

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Never used salts, before adding some epsom salts today.. i do have african cichlid sand tho

The epson salt will help and I keep it in mine all the time.

 

[Nopsia]

Ok thats good to know, ill start using it when changing water.. I just wish i knew more about this clear string feces and if the whole tank is infected and should be treated?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

If it is bloat epson salt is used as one of the cures because it works as a laxative. Check this out http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

 

[Nopsia]

I honestly think its a parasite. I kinda tried stocking my tank fast for aggression issues and felt i would be fine as long as i did good amount of pwc. The place where i got most my fish had like 30+ cichlids pretty overstocked warehouse environment recycling all waters on floor. A pretty smart device but dunno if its smart for diseases. I think it would be the best idea to treat the entire tank since now it seems half are showing thin clear feces, and the epsom salt doesnt start working soon. Id hate to lose any fish as i get attached to my pets..

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Agreed you can use both at the same time

 

[HUKIT]

Treating Bloat and internal parasites with Epsom salts is utterly worthless, the only way it would be even close to effective was if the fish ingests the salts directly into the digestive track. The food would need to be soaked in 5% Epsom salt solution then fed, but with most fish that are infected with Bloat the problem lies in the fact that they are not eating rendering that treatment worthless.

I'd start treatment with Clout immediately, follow directions and perform 3 full doses with 25% water changes inbetween. If you can't find Clout by Mardel then go get API's General Cure which contains Praziquental and Metrozoildale which is the next best method for this illness.

Treat the entire tank since the parasite can be transfered by mouthing infected feces, this can wipe out a tank without treatment and will NOT go away without medication.

 

[Nopsia]

Ok thanks for the input guys! its really appreciated, i will get some clout tonight and if not i will get the api general cure and treat the tank tonight. When you say 3 full doses, you mean do the procedure's with clout three times in a row? or all at once? just clarifying

 

[HUKIT]

Make sure there is no carbon in your filters as this will remove the meds.

Day 1 50% water change and full dose
Day 2 25% water change followed by full dose.
Day 3 25% water change followed by full dose.
Day 5 50-60% water changes to remove medication(carbon can also be used after).

This schedule will be the same for either medication, with Clout you may notice some flashing and this will pass when the treatment is over.

***During each water change vacuum the substrate to remove any infected feces***

Don't feed the entire tank during treatment as this will potentially irritate the digestive track. After treatment is over the start to feed.

I would also recommend a higher quality of food, these fish have a long digestive track to extract nutrients from the food and those that lack high quality easily digested proteins will lead to digestive issues.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I just noticed I put the wrong link up but it looks to be all covered here anyways.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/malawi_bloat.php

 

[Dreamingdragon]

You can use praziquantel aqua meds. For bloat. You can get it at a watergarden for koi. I payed 40$ for it but never had bloat sinds I have these meds. For 2 years now. Awesome meds no water change need. Works great.

 

[Dreamingdragon]

If you think you have bloat treat the hole tank. Just to be sure of it

 

[Nopsia]

So i went to both petco and petsmart and couldnt find clout believe it or not, So i got the Api General Cure powder.. It states on the box "treats parasitic fish disease" and swollen abdomen and wasting disease is one of the things it claims to eliminate. I vacuumed most of the feces from the ground, removed 2 carbon filters, did %40-50 pwc, then did full dose of the "general cure" powder..
The directions on box state: Repeat first dose after 48 hours. wait another 48 hours then change 25% of water then add back carbon filter then your done. My question is do you recommend i stick with your directions or go with directions on box? i have enough dose to finish off one more day but buying more if needed should not be a problem.. so just making sure..

Thanks again

 

[HUKIT]

General Cure is expensive compared to Clout, one bottle of Clout is $18 and treats 1000 gallons where as a $16 box of General Cure treats 100 gallons.

I'd go ahead and follow their directions treating every 2 days, but still perform at least 3 full doses with a 25% water change in-between.

The other medication that works pretty well is Tetras Parasite Guard, this is Jungles old Parasite Clear and is much more economical at $4 a box which treats 80 gallons. I still prefer General Cure over this but if the cost gets out of hand this would be the the third best option.

 

[Nopsia]

Alright thanks for all the info.. I will stick with the general cure through the process.. stuff smelled super strong like baby powder or something in that sort. I guess my last question would be.. I have my peacock being treated on day 4 with maracyn 2 in a 20 gallon tank and she is still pooping white strings.. should i finish out this medication for this fish, or would it be better to out it back with the others mid way through her treatment. Im thinking it may not be good for her health going through both meds but she hasnt had that solid poop ive been waiting for and i dont know how much time is left. She wants to eat tho and swallows the food. I give few flakes of spirulina daily

 

[HUKIT]

Maracyn 2 will have no impact on internal parasites, I'd remove the fish and place it back into the display tank and treat with the rest.

If all the fish are eating then treatment is easier, soak the food in General Cure and feed this mixture exclusively for a 10 days. If the fish are not eating then the water treatment must be used.

I always have medicated flakes with metrozoidale on hand as part of my medicine cabinet. The flakes are hands down the best way to treat a sick fish if they are actually eating.

Fish Antibiotic Medication

 

[Nopsia]

The maracyn 2 was pointed out by a petsmart employee. figures.. I will put the peacock back then so she gets properly treated. It seems that all the the fish are eating fine. Since i already started day one of a full water treatment, should i just stick to finishing out the water treatment? or stop treating the water, and start treating the food? maybe both?