bugmanavery
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2021
- Messages
- 1
Hello! Hope everyone is well. First time poster, so I'm sorry if I mess something up!
About two months ago, I got some dwarf crayfish to add to my 50 gallon tank (with about 40 guppies and some snails). Everything was pretty great for the first week or so, and then I had to go back to school for a couple weeks. (My dad was taking care of it during this time-- he has quite a bit of aquarium experience himself.) At some point after I left, quite a few of my guppies started dying. My dad also noticed some substantial fin rot on the fish, so he started using plant-friendly fin rot treatment. By the time I got back home, the crayfish were gone and most of my guppies had died, with under 10 remaining. On close inspection, many of the surviving fish had bends in their spines (compared to some of the poor fish you can see online, the bent spin isn't very extreme; it's definitely noticeable, but not severe enough to hamper their movement.)
I moved them into a smaller "quarantine" aquarium, and completely gutted the normal tank. I scrubbed it down and replaced everything, including the substrate. During this time, I discovered the main tank's water heater had been set way too high, around 85-90 degrees.
I think I must have bumped it during a water change I did before I left.
I purchased some Melafix for bacterial infections, and I've been dosing that in the quarantine tank for a little bit over a month now. A couple died after being in the quarantine tank, but that stopped about a week into treating them. They now seem significantly more active then they were when I first got back, and it even looks like their fins have grown back substantially.
My question is-- when do I consider putting them back into the original tank? The bent spines is apparently a symptom of TB, which is apparently nearly impossible to treat... At what point can I assume they have gotten over whatever it was, if at all? (In the intervening time, I've added some new plants and shrimp to the 50 gallon, so if they are potentially still contagious I don't want to put the shrimp at risk.)
About two months ago, I got some dwarf crayfish to add to my 50 gallon tank (with about 40 guppies and some snails). Everything was pretty great for the first week or so, and then I had to go back to school for a couple weeks. (My dad was taking care of it during this time-- he has quite a bit of aquarium experience himself.) At some point after I left, quite a few of my guppies started dying. My dad also noticed some substantial fin rot on the fish, so he started using plant-friendly fin rot treatment. By the time I got back home, the crayfish were gone and most of my guppies had died, with under 10 remaining. On close inspection, many of the surviving fish had bends in their spines (compared to some of the poor fish you can see online, the bent spin isn't very extreme; it's definitely noticeable, but not severe enough to hamper their movement.)
I moved them into a smaller "quarantine" aquarium, and completely gutted the normal tank. I scrubbed it down and replaced everything, including the substrate. During this time, I discovered the main tank's water heater had been set way too high, around 85-90 degrees.
I think I must have bumped it during a water change I did before I left.I purchased some Melafix for bacterial infections, and I've been dosing that in the quarantine tank for a little bit over a month now. A couple died after being in the quarantine tank, but that stopped about a week into treating them. They now seem significantly more active then they were when I first got back, and it even looks like their fins have grown back substantially.
My question is-- when do I consider putting them back into the original tank? The bent spines is apparently a symptom of TB, which is apparently nearly impossible to treat... At what point can I assume they have gotten over whatever it was, if at all? (In the intervening time, I've added some new plants and shrimp to the 50 gallon, so if they are potentially still contagious I don't want to put the shrimp at risk.)
