new!

[jmoots]

Me and my husband started a freshwater tank about 9 months ago. We thought it would be a fun hobby we could both do together! Although we do love it, its a lot more than we thought! I'm here to learn more about how to keep our fish happy and healthy!

 

[Autumnsky]

Welcome!

Tell about your tank, size, lights, filter, stock, what you like and don't...

Do you do partial water changes (PWC)? Have a test kit and test water parameters, if so what are they?

 

[Fish_R_Fantastic]

Welcome to AA and welcome to the hobby! This is a great place to find what I call "fish friends" and advice.

 

[jmoots]

Thanks! We have a 20 gal tank. We have been having an issue with fin rot. We just finished medicating with furan-2 after weekly water changes did not work and we lost sevarl fish over the last 4 months! We have a great aquarium store here who has been a great help! We currently have a red fin shark, 2 rosy barbs, 2 black tetras and an algae eater.

 

[tonedogz]

welcome hope you enjoy your stay with us

 

[Andrew McFadden]

to AA! We hope you enjoy

 

[dwayne.aycock]

Increase your water changes and remove carbon when treating with medications. Raise the tank temp to 80 degrees and consider putting the fish in a salted container for about 30 minutes and return to the tank. Fin rot is problematic but easy to treat. Medications can be harmful to your BB so watch out for ammonia spikes. How old is your filter carbon...it is only good for 3-4 weeks. After that it starts to leach toxins back into your tank, which could be the source of your fin rot.
Good Luck....Dwayne

 

[jmoots]

How long after the treatment should we wait to put the filter back in and how often should we be doing water changes? We lost another one of our fish last night and its been more than a week since we did the treatment. Any ideas on what we should do?

 

[dwayne.aycock]

With smaller tanks, the water changes are a lot more often. Daily water changes are recommended of at least 10-20%. Be sure to use aquarium salt and NOT table salt. Follow dosing directions on the box. About 30 minutes 3 times per week should be effective. DO NOT OVERDOSE ON SALT. Your fish are dying more than likely from ammonia poisoning. Water changes will remedy the situation. Do not skimp on water changes. They are the key to keeping everything alive.
Good Luck.....Dwayne

 

[jmoots]

Thank you. Our water tests are fine. We have had some issues with finrot though

 

[dwayne.aycock]

You can treat fin rot with metronitrazole. It is found in many fish biological medical treatments, or it can be found in some foods. If you google metronitrazole and aquarium fish, you should be able to find some foods that contain it. Again, average water test kits do not test for total dissolved solids (TDS) which is a measure solids suspended in the water column. Think of walking in short pants and a shirt while someone blows sand at you at 80mph. The air would be the water, and he sand would be TDS. Over time this will cause injury and disease. The solution would be air (water) changes and a reduction in sand (TDS). Fin rot may be a resukt of high TDS. Water changes never hurt. Good Luck...Dwayne

 

[dwayne.aycock]

Additionally, your fish losses are more than likely a result of ammonia poisoning rather that fin rot. How severe is the fin rot? Ammonia burns the fish's gills, and they slowly suffocate to death. Look to see if they are gasping at the water surface.....if so, it is a good indicator of an ammonia problem. By the way...you don't have a water softener do you? D