Queen of Thorns
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Last weekend I purchased the last Boesemani rainbowfish from my lfs. I put him in my 5 week old, planted, 29 gallon aquarium with a bulldog pleco (Jorge) and a one-eyed emerald cory (Bob). At the time, the aquarium parameters (per Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit) were:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 5 ppm
The rainbowfish appeared to have a cottony tuft on his lips. The next day, he developed a filmy, saddle-esque patch on his back. I printed out a few pictures of the fish that I had taken with my digital camera, went back to the lfs, and told the proprietor that I thought my new fish had columnaris. The store owner claimed that he had never heard of Flexibacter columnaris -- I guess he thought I was making it up...
I treated the whole tank with Maracyn and Maracyn-II for five days. My water became really cloudy and my nitrites went up to 0.5 ppm, so I ended up doing 25% partial water changes on the third and fifth days of treatment. On Day Five (prior to the partial water change), I noticed that the rainbowfish was staying very close to the surface of the water and appeared to be breathing rapidly. I checked the water parameters:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0.25 ppm
Nitrates: 20 ppm
Thirty minutes later, the rainbowfish was swimming around upside down. He died within an hour. I removed his poor little corpse, put activated carbon back in my filter (Aquaclear 70), and completed my partial water change.
It took four days for our water to clear. Our parameters are back to normal, and Bob and Jorge are still doing well. I am worried about one thing, however. Should I be hesitant to put Boesemani rainbowfish in a 29 gallon aquarium? My husband and I wanted to keep rainbowfish and rummynose (or firehead) tetras, but we are certainly open to suggestions if this arrangement is not a good idea. I have previously posted at the AquariaCentral forums, but this is my first foray to Aquarium Advice.
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 5 ppm
The rainbowfish appeared to have a cottony tuft on his lips. The next day, he developed a filmy, saddle-esque patch on his back. I printed out a few pictures of the fish that I had taken with my digital camera, went back to the lfs, and told the proprietor that I thought my new fish had columnaris. The store owner claimed that he had never heard of Flexibacter columnaris -- I guess he thought I was making it up...
I treated the whole tank with Maracyn and Maracyn-II for five days. My water became really cloudy and my nitrites went up to 0.5 ppm, so I ended up doing 25% partial water changes on the third and fifth days of treatment. On Day Five (prior to the partial water change), I noticed that the rainbowfish was staying very close to the surface of the water and appeared to be breathing rapidly. I checked the water parameters:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0.25 ppm
Nitrates: 20 ppm
Thirty minutes later, the rainbowfish was swimming around upside down. He died within an hour. I removed his poor little corpse, put activated carbon back in my filter (Aquaclear 70), and completed my partial water change.
It took four days for our water to clear. Our parameters are back to normal, and Bob and Jorge are still doing well. I am worried about one thing, however. Should I be hesitant to put Boesemani rainbowfish in a 29 gallon aquarium? My husband and I wanted to keep rainbowfish and rummynose (or firehead) tetras, but we are certainly open to suggestions if this arrangement is not a good idea. I have previously posted at the AquariaCentral forums, but this is my first foray to Aquarium Advice.
