my sad little fishie - situation getting desperate!

[shayfish]

The same rummynose as this thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=88362 is doing very very badly. I keep expecting to find him dead every morning. I am really worried about this little guy!
The other day, it seemed like he got startled and swam straight into a large rock at top speed. I thought he'd killed himself, so I rolled the rock off (he rammed at the crease between two big rocks face first) and he swam away. Last night, I noticed him stuffed in between 2 rocks again, and I decided that if he was there dying I should just leave him be and take him out in the morning, but in the morning he was swimming around. Earlier today, another fish nipped at his tail a tiny bit and he swam for a second and it amost seemed like he got disoriented, then swam into a plant and just laid there.

Right now he is sort of fluttering around the same spot at the bottom of the tank and I watched him very closely during feeding time and it didn't look like he ate a thing. His mouth is flapping open all the time and he seems pretty scared.

Is this from the Ich? All the ich spots are gone now and no other fish are showing any signs of sickness. Water temps are still ar treatment level since I raised it quite slowly, I only hit the high 80s 2 days ago.

I am feeling really bad for this fish! Is there anything I can do?

 

[Zagz]

Any chance you can QT him? Have you added any extra aeration? Is there hidin places for him?

 

[shayfish]

I don't have anywhere to QT him unfortunately. My rena 200 air pump is going full blast and there are pleanty of hiding spots.

 

[An t-iasg]

I would also QT him if you can. Some of the symptoms you list in the other thread - listless behavior, erratic swimming, and going in spirals indicate internal parasites. Some of my fish acted like this before they died but not for as long as your poor fish.

You could try Prazipro medicine. I've seen it online at DrsFosterSmith. Jungle also has an antiparasite food you could try, or Internal Parasite Guard that you can add to the water. I've seen some anti-parasite flakes by Tetra online.

My fish wouldn't eat the Jungle antiparasite food. (The pellets are kind of hard - you may want to soak them a little bit before feeding). I had some metronidazole powder and I took a little bit of tank water (a tablespoon or so) and mixed a bit of the powder in. I put some freeze-dried bloodworms in to soak for about 10 minutes. My fish did eat the medicated bloodworms. Hopefully some of these meds will help your fish.

 

[shayfish]

Again, I really have nowhere to QT him. I can't seem to find any of those mentioned medicines, but I will check another lfs, or just start calling around tomorrow. Will any kind of antiparasite medicine do?

I am kind of wondering if maybe this fish should be put down, as it seems to be getting slowly worse. Right now he seems to have trouble remaining up right so he's sort of floating over onto his side sometimes, and is getting pretty twitchey. I really want him to make it through this, but it seems as if his suffering is increasing and I feel just horrible about it.

 

[An t-iasg]

Sorry to hear that he's not getting better The Seachem brand has good medicines. I use their metronidazole. DrsFosterSmith online has a good supply of different meds, but you may not be able to wait for an online order. The Jungle medicated food should be easy to find. They used to have a product called Pepso food for parasites, but I haven't seen it in awhile. I think they replaced it with the product that is just called antiparasite food. Another brand of parasite med that I used a few years ago is called Clout. These are the main brands that I've heard of and used myself, but at this point I think any brand you can find will be fine.

 

[Zagz]

Also sorry to hear he isn't doing better. Most lfs's will sell Jungle's parasite meds. For a QT you can take a clean rubbermaid container, a filter and heater and put the fish in there. Emergency QT setup. Here is a link to FW QT basics. Good luck.

 

[shayfish]

I am just about to leave my house to go on a lfs tour of the city to find some good medicine for my little guy. I haven't really seen him eat in a while so I wonder if antiparasite food will be of much help.

I don't even have another filter and heater to give him. I had a cute little packaged 5 gal with everything but it ended up at work...

I guess I am a little confused... is this a result of the ich? Or is this a different parasite altogether.

Thanks for the replies and I'll keep you posted on his progress.


EDIT: The only thing I could find that didn't have copper in it or some kind of warning about invertibrates was Mardel Maracide for Ick, Velvet and other external parasites. Active ingredients are Malachite Green and Chitosan. I am just in the middle of my weekly PWC and then I will try this stuff and hope for the best!!

 

[shayfish]

Edit:
Nevermind. Little guy packed it in and went to fishey heaven. That was awful

Should I finish off the medicine treatment? And should I start the 2 weeks now for easing down the temperature for the ich? No other fish are showing any signs of illness.

 

[Zagz]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. You tried your best. I wouldn't continue the meds but would keep the heat up for the 2 weeks and then slowly lower it.

 

[shayfish]

That was seriously the worst fishy death I've ever experienced. I actually saw the moment he stopped breathing

Thanks so much for your advice.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm so sorry You gave it quite an effort. I wouldn't continue the malachite green medicine. Do a few water changes and run some carbon for 24 hours to get it out. Then as Zagz suggesteed, keep the heat up for two weeks. When treating ich, it's a good idea to keep the heat elevated for two weeks after you see the last spot to make sure it's gone. Lower the heat slowly - I would say about one degree every 12 hours.

 

[shayfish]

I don't know what it means, run some carbon (?) I will do extra pwcs this week and wait 2 more weeks to start easing down the temperature. Once again, my eyes are playing tricks on me, where I think I see an ich spot on one of the other rummynoses, but then I can't see it again. They are kind of "reflective" I guess! I am just really glad that this medicine didn't hurt my invertibrates.

 

[An t-iasg]

What kind of filter do you have? If you have a canister or an HOB filter, do you have an extra filter bag to put some carbon in? If not, use a pair of new, unwashed pantyhose. I bought a "generic" pack of knee-high hose to have some emergency media bags or intake covers if needed.

Fill the filter bag/pantyhose with carbon and place somewhere in your filter. The combination of a few water changes and running the carbon in your filter for 24 hours should remove most of the color. The malachite green may have stained your silicone in the corners of the tank. This will go away, or at least fade somewhat, with time. Don't try to scrub the silicone. You don't want to dislodge it and cause a possible leak.

Throw the used carbon away. It's not good for anything anymore. If you do leave it in the filter, it can become a place for the good bacteria to grow, but I would remove it after 24 or maybe 48 hours. There are better biological media choices for the filter.

You can find carbon at any lfs. Here's a quick link to show you what carbon is:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3599&N=2004+113805

Good luck, and sorry again about your fish.

 

[shayfish]

Thanks again.

My filter is a rena xp3. So if I just change the carbon pack in that it should be okay? The medicine didn't actually change the colour of my water. I can't find it now but somewhere in the medicine package it basically said something to the effect of the medicine magically being transported directly to the fish's skin and won't change the water colour. Ooo... magic. 8O

 

[An t-iasg]

I haven't seen the "new" Mardel Maracide. They do have an antibiotic liquid med that says the same thing - little biospheres or something bind directly to the skin.

Changing the carbon pack is fine. After a week or so the carbon is "exhausted" and doesn't work anymore, except possibly as a biological media, but I wouldn't keep it just for that. I have read, though, about some people who removed large amounts of carbon at once and they did have a small ammonia spike. If it's just a normal amount, like the carbon pack that came with the filter, don't worry about removing it. If it's a large amount, maybe remove it in stages and replace it with other biological media.