James_in_MN
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I'm about to go on vacation for a bit. Unfortunately, I'm running into a couple of problems with my 20g beforehand.
Yesterday, I noticed one of my five banded barbs swimming wobbly, listing to one side, and seeming to have swim bladder issues in general. One suggestion I was given was peas, which I gave them all yesterday. I have to hope that solved his problems, because my hospital tank was recently used and is in the process of getting sterilized.
Today, while scrutinizing my five banded barbs to find my odd swimmer, I noticed one of them was flashing against decorations in the tank. I know that's one of the signs of ick, which is troubling.
Today I bought two natural remedies for fish diseases, Pimafix and Melafix; one is an antifungal, and the other is an antibacterial. I'm pretty sure I saw someone suggest Melafix for ich treatment, which was anther reason I snagged it at the store.
My problem is, not only am I not 100% sure that it's ich (haven't noticed white spots), but I'll be gone for a while, which doesn't allow me to use this for the amount of time it suggests. I also don't have the time necessary to safely raise the temp high enough to help kill the ich, assuming it is ich.
Should I just bite the bullet and wait to do anything until I return? I'd like to avoid coming home to a tank full of dead fish, if possible.
Yesterday, I noticed one of my five banded barbs swimming wobbly, listing to one side, and seeming to have swim bladder issues in general. One suggestion I was given was peas, which I gave them all yesterday. I have to hope that solved his problems, because my hospital tank was recently used and is in the process of getting sterilized.
Today, while scrutinizing my five banded barbs to find my odd swimmer, I noticed one of them was flashing against decorations in the tank. I know that's one of the signs of ick, which is troubling.
Today I bought two natural remedies for fish diseases, Pimafix and Melafix; one is an antifungal, and the other is an antibacterial. I'm pretty sure I saw someone suggest Melafix for ich treatment, which was anther reason I snagged it at the store.
My problem is, not only am I not 100% sure that it's ich (haven't noticed white spots), but I'll be gone for a while, which doesn't allow me to use this for the amount of time it suggests. I also don't have the time necessary to safely raise the temp high enough to help kill the ich, assuming it is ich.
Should I just bite the bullet and wait to do anything until I return? I'd like to avoid coming home to a tank full of dead fish, if possible.