illness prevention!!!

[abrahamavelar]

my fish seamed healthy but due to a cracked 20 gal and a cat i couldnt keep my other fish in the rubbermade container (cat ate some fish) so i put them in the 75 gal and even tho they r healthy can i add anything to prevent them from getting sick??? also im planning on doin a pwc 20-25% tomorrow i have everything pretty much ready i just realized that i dont have the dechlorine thingy(aquasafe) so i didnt doit today, i heard that salt will hurt my plants is that true??? i was looking at some api pima fix, mela fix just incase some fish get in some scraps with the other stablished fish, also im planning on getting some api freshwater test kit im pretty much out of all of them but nitrate and ammonia, please help me out!!!!


and yes the cat ate some fish and was trying to get more and i did acclimated them just the same way i used to do it when i had my reef tank

 

[ashleynicole]

The cat ate some fish, he he he, I have two cats so I totally get it. They are always on or around my aquarium...

Your thoughts are kind of scattered, so I am having a hard time figuring out what you need help with. Was the 75 gallon cycled? I don't understand by what you wan't to add to keep the fish healthy? I do know that salt is not supposed to be good for a planted tank. I don't think you should add any medications to prevent illness, as this could lead to resistant organisms and mess with your biological filter. I am not sure how much of an impact melafix and primafix have on the bio filter.

You definitely need some sort of dechlorinating agent if you use tapwater. If you have well water then you probably don't need it. I like Prime the best. A little pricey but you only need drops per gallon, so totally worth it.

 

[abrahamavelar]

yes my 75 gal tank has been cycled for along time it was a ciclid tank n i got bored so i sold them all and i had with them a pleco a rainbow shark and a pictus cat so what i did i removed some of the rocks (most of them) did a 50-75% water change and i let the tank for a few days checking the water parameters.

and then i added 8 tiger barbs and plants

and i didnt put the water in the tank and the water comes through my R.O.D.I. system but i still use the dechlorinator thing just incase

my filter has been runing for a year atleast with the cichlids

i just added about 12 fish this is the pic of my tank, i just dont want to get ich or whatever ive been there and lost lots of fish and thats how i lost my reef tank too!!!!

sorry for the confusion just too many things running through my mind at the same time!!!!

and yes that cat got me mad that tub used to be my hospital tank before and he never even bug them but now he just sits for hours staring at my tank and i guess he just got hungry and wanted some fish for lunch

 

[GEOlson]

I think if I was concerned about fish being stressed and becoming ill I would add some stress coat or something similar. But someone with more experience could probably answer better than I can.

 

[abrahamavelar]

oh ok thanks tho!!! ill keep that in mind =)

 

[ashleynicole]

We always worry about ich, but I think you just need to test your water parameters daily and be prepared to do large water changes if you notice any ammonia or nitrite spikes. Seachim Prime is a good water conditioner because it can be used to temporarily neutralize ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in an emergency. If your really concerned, just keep a close eye if you notice any signs of ich you can always raise the temperatures, I think the key number is 86 degree's to kill ich. I remember in the past doing heat/salt treatments with temps at 82 degrees F, but I never have had to deal with ich in a planted tank.

 

[ashleynicole]

bear in mind that if you use prime to neutralize any ammonia or nitrites you still have to do water changes.

 

[abrahamavelar]

oh ok and if i do raise my temp to 86 it has to be done in stages right??? not all at once

and also my gouramis have never fought before they were in a 20 long and now it looks like sometimes not always they both nip at each other not bad enough that will need to be rehome but some scales are missing in one like i mean they are always together and happy but then they nip and then act like nothin happened ive been watchinthem for like 4 hours now and they seem fine except the scales missing what can i do about it???

should i put them in 2 separate bowls like betta fish for a day or 2???

 

[GEOlson]

For missing scales I would definately add a slime coat med like stress coat or novaqua so they don't get infected. Someone else will have to answer about whether they should be moved, I've not had any experience with fish nipping at each other and I don't know if Gouramis are different than other types of tetras that might be nippy in small numbers. I've got Dwarf Honey Gouramis but they've never nipped anyone. But I don't know what moving them for a couple days would do besides stress that fish and when it gets moved back to the main tank it will probably start up again.

 

[abrahamavelar]

oh ok those gouramis i have are 3 dot ones i think they r midget ones tho i had them for awhile an they are about 2 inches long...

also im forsure getting some meds for them tomorrow for sure i just dont want to loose any fish its been a slow and costly hobby since the reef tank that is the reason i got the tropical community tank now

 

[ashleynicole]

personally I have never used any products like 'stress coat' or anything that states it helps promote the slime coat on the fish. Sometimes all those additives can cause more problems than naught. I believe that frequent water changes and water testing are the best way to keep your fish healthy. If there are no signs of ich, there is no reason to raise the temperatures, because elevated temperatures can decrease the amount of oxygen in the water and cause MORE stress. If you absolutely had to raise temps to treat ich ( I don't see any other reason you would need to), then you would need to make sure you increase the oxygenation in the tank.

Why don't you just try monitoring the tank daily, testing water parameters daily, and observing your fish closely? If your cat was into your fish, that could be the reason for the missing scales. Poor water quality could contribute to a secondary infection, but if you keep the water clean and healthy, then it should heal without any issues.

 

[abrahamavelar]

ok im going to monitor the tank for a few days and ill be posting the parameters tomorrow as soon as i get the results from before the water change and after the water change.

he was fine before i put them in the tank i inspected each fish before adding it to the tank also ive notice that he is been getting inside the rainbow shark's cave and its been getting cased so that might of been one of the reasons why,

 

[ashleynicole]

he was fine before i put them in the tank i inspected each fish before adding it to the tank also ive notice that he is been getting inside the rainbow shark's cave and its been getting cased so that might of been one of the reasons why,

um, yep that would account for the missing scales. Rainbow sharks are very protective of their caves and gourami's can also be aggresive.

 

[abrahamavelar]

yeah the day i added him when i had cichlids he was the king of the tank my full grown mbuna used to fear him but ne never messed with the pictus cat

 

[abrahamavelar]

ammonia = 0
nitrite = somewhere inbetween 0 and 0.25
nitrate = im not sure
ph = not sure either im posting some pics of the test results of before the water test

first pic is of nitrite second of nitrate and 3rd of ph

 

[LyndaB]

I wish you had pointed me to this duplicate thread when I was trying to gather more info from you in the other one. Dayum, I hate dupes.

I'll read through this and see if you're all set or still looking for help.....

Edited to add: You've been receiving excellent advice here. It sounds like you're just freaking out a little due to having had a bad experience previously.

Remember that any time you add fish to a tank, or change decor, the fish feel the need to re-establish their hierarchy. You're going to see fussing between them. This is normal.

I would soak their food in Garlic Guard and Vita-Chem to help maintain a healthy immune system.

 

[ashleynicole]

looks like the nitItes are zero. The nitrAtes look a little high though, I would do some daily water changes of at least 30% for a while to get those levels down. I don't worry too much about PH.

 

[abrahamavelar]

im confused on the test results im not sure what numbers are in those 3