Fast replies please if possible?

[TankGirl]

Okay. Several things. You do need media in your filter. As mentioned above, the only thing that needs to be removed is carbon. I don't know the exact configuration of your media but if your sponge is just a sponge, with nothing packed inside it, then put it back - you need it! The sponge itself is not going to interfere with the fin rot treatment, but experiencing a cycle is going to make everything worse. It is only chemical filtration, in the form of zeolite pellets or charcoal, that will absorb the medication and remove it from the tank. If your filter does not contain charcoal then you do not need to do anything to your filter at all - I promise!

Also, I can't tell how large this filter is by the photo but I suspect you are underfiltered for the size of the tank and the bioload. I know your tank falls within the recommended tank size for this filter, but I personally do not pay a bit of attention to those recommendations, as they are almost always impractical. A small internal filter on a 20gallon tank is not going to do the trick, IMO, and this may be a contributing factor to what is causing fin rot for your betta.

 

[Satsumas]

My sponge has a white plastic part inside does this need to be removed before i put the sponhe back in then?

Thankyou.

 

[Satsumas]

What if i were to take the plastic part out of my sponge and put the sponge back in?

 

[rich311k]

The plastic part is just a frame.

 

[TankGirl]

Right - if it is just a frame and not some sort of basket that you can fill with something, then leave that in there.

 

[Satsumas]

Right, the foam or sponge is back in and has been for about 2 hours now.

The fish arent moving about as quickly as normal. Danios & Tetra's are in tight schools, Pleco is strangely sitting in a rare spot and has been there for 2 straight hours, betta has lots of O2 bubbles on his body and he's just floating and occaisionally swimming for short periods and my 2 loach have sat in the same spot for as long as the pleco has. Which is very rare.

Does anyone know why this slow, lathargic behavior is happening?

They dont seem happy. I was thinking about doing a pwc but i dont want to take any of the medication out.

Thanks alot for the help btw much appriciated.

 

[TankGirl]

Do you have any test kits? Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

What medication are you using?

In any case, if my fish were beahving this way and the only changes have been (1) disturbing the filter and (2) adding new medication, I'd go ahead and do a PWC. Removing some of the medication may not be such a bad thing, since you may be having a cycle on your hands. The PWC's you will need to do in the case of a cycle may clear up the fin rot without medication anyway, so I do not see how it could hurt.

 

[Satsumas]

Yeah i think im gonna do a pwc now.

I only have a ph test kit. last time it was at 8.0

Im using Interpet medication. Fungus & Finrot.

Some people have said betta's are quite quick recoverers, especially regarding there tails.

 

[Satsumas]

Should i put the filter back in as it normally should be?

I dont want to add any medication because i might only take out half of it during my pwc. So i wont add any.

 

[TankGirl]

I have cured finrot on some angels with PWC's alone, so it is worth a try.

You are going to need to test for at least ammonia and nitrIte, and if you can't get a test see if you can take some sample water in to the LFS and have them test it for you -many will do it for free. If both of them are not completely and totally ZERO, then you have a cycle going on (beneficial bacteria have died in the tank/filter) and you'll need to do very small PWC's of about 10% every day until there is not a trace of ammonia or nitrIte. Often the LFS will tell you the results are "fine" but you need to know exact numbers, if you take a sample in.

If you are not having a cycle then the fish may not be responding well to the medication and I'd discontinue it.

Keep your filter with the sponge in, as normal.

 

[Acer]

you should try turning up your temp to about 81 for about a week, that helped my angels pull through the same thing..

 

[TankGirl]

Higher temps can help sometimes, but keep in mind that bacteria thrive in higher temps, so if there is any component of bacterial issues with the fin rot it will not help, and higher temps will make nitrite poisoning worse due to the lower O2 levels as the temperature rises, since O2 is much harder for the fish to get from the water in the presence of nitrite. Salt and increased aeration will ease the difficulty caused if there is nitrite present.

 

[honmol]

The Problem With Ottos Is That Fishstores Get Them But Don't Know Much About Them So They Put Them In A Tank And Sometimes Don't Feed Them Because They Think That They'll Eat The Algae And That'll Be Enough. With Plenty Of Food And Stable Water Conditions Ottos Should Be Fine (Make Sure That All Future Tankmates (Both for your current fish and the ottos) are rid of disease

 

[Satsumas]

I'll pop into the lfs and see if they have any ammonia and nitrate test kits.

I really want that Phython gravel vac thing but i cant find anywhere that sells it!

 

[rubysoho]

I found mine at walmart

 

[Satsumas]

ARGH!!! i forgot to get a test kit! I'll have to get one tomorow.

Well if there were Walmarts in England i'd go and buy one.
What i find strange is there are no companies based in England that sell them or have a website where i can order one from!

Well i just done another water change and they seem to have responded positively, when i got in my betta was sitting on the bottom and hardly moving.
He's alright now though swimming about like he did when he was healthy.
I think i'll do these every other day but i really need that Phython gravel vac! that would help level of ammonia drop (even though i dont know what it is)

 

[rubysoho]

doh! sorry, I completely didn't even check your signature to see your location.

 

[TankGirl]

A Python uses the same valve you can get to drain a waterbed, so if you can find one of those you can make your own for a LOT cheaper than buying a Python. Also, I think Lee makes a similar product now.

I agree with your PWC idea, as if there is ammonia or nitrite (we are making huge assumptions here, lol) it will help but if you do not have ammonia or nitrite it will not hurt anything.

 

[Satsumas]

lol. s'alright. I think im the only english person on here! which dosent help when discussing meds, shops, prices etc.. darn it!

 

[TankGirl]

You are definitely not the only one! Here is the UK/Ireland forum: http://aquariumadvice.com/viewforum.php?f=29