Wish me luck !!!!

[joannde]

About a week ago I wrote about the rash of fish deaths I've had - there's no obvious cause and it could be either stress, choosing the "wrong fish" for my pH and temperatures, or a bacterial infection.

I went out and bought Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2 but hadn't used them yet. About 2 days after the purchase I noticed one of the fish scratching - ugh, ick again. Raised the temp to 88 (this is day 4). The scratching stopped the first day and the only white spot I saw (on his tail) was gone the second day.

Today is day 4 and he has a white "cloudiness" in the area where the ich spot was. There's a similar looking color change on his forehead. It doesn't look fuzzy, so I don't think its a fungus, but given my rash of bad luck who knows ! (pic attached).

I have 2 fry in the tank - one is about 1/4 inch, the other is a spec with fins but I don't think I have a choice anymore - I think I need to finally bite the bullet and use the antibiotics.

So --- wish me luck !!!!

 

[MattAquaBio]

Good luck Joannde! Hopefully it turns out for the best.

 

[joannde]

Thanks Matt - I really hoping that with the antibotics (both gram + and gram -) plus the ich treatment that there will be NO MORE NASTINESS in my tank ! I'd like to start ENJOYING my tank and its so hard when you feel like you're always checking for dead bodies

 

[MattAquaBio]

Yeah i know whatcha mean, i used ich medication in one tank and it killed my tetras and beta in the first day, it wasnt the ich, it was the medicine, so i wont ever use ich medicine agian lol.
i managed to cure it with just salt and temperature. Which by what i read is the best way to go. I"m pretty frustrated with my tanks right now to. Soon as i get one cured the other comes down with it. I only have 2 small plecos in my 55 gallon and i cant put more in until i'm sure the ick is gone so theres another two weeks atleast that i cant put fish in lol. Durnit....

 

[Devilishturtles]

Good luck joannde! I hope this works for you.

 

[plecoperson]

This sounds very familiar....I saw typical ich spots on a couple tetras; started heat treatment but before it was even up to 87 degrees the spots were gone. I completed another two weeks of high heat.

Couple weeks later, more spots on the tetras. Started the heat thing, but then noticed the same "cloudy" areas on the tetras as you see on your fish.

I moved 'em to a 2-gallon hospital tank and treated first w/Melafix. Then decided (after searching various sites and posting here) it was a parasite, and tried medicated food; they refused it and I treated the tank with "Clout". Then columnaris was suggested, so I used Maracyn II for 5 days. I lost two of the eight. The remaining six looked better, and I moved them into a sparkly-clean 5-gallon with snails in it for a week. Yesterday I put them back in the 55 and they look great.

In my case the water was testing perfectly (no ammonia or nitrites, nitrates 5, pH 7.8-ish as usual). The problem I think was that the water had too much bacteria in it w/my messy fish and heavy feeding. I was doing PWC every 3 days or so, which kept the parameters in line, I think. I upgraded the filter to an XP3 last weekend.

None of the other fish showed any signs of anything, and I'm thinking that the "ich" was really a first symptom of whatever it is they actually had and died from....I don't know what cured the six that lived, but I think it was probably the Maracyn II; I was going to add Maracyn I, but the shop was out of it, and then the fish started to improve. I hate using meds too, but I knew they would all die if I didn't.

Betcha your guys get better, too! Keep us posted. And I hear you about checking for bodies...not fun.

 

[joannde]

Pleco, thanks - I feel a little better now after hearing your experience

I was so afraid to check the tank this morning. I'm happy to report all fish are active and acounted for - including the two fry (even that little spec with fins !). Am =0, nitrites =0. So far so good.

The spot on the platy's forehead looks like its protruding today - as if the scale is lifted. Its really hard to tell since he won't stay still for me to inspect him !!! I feel good knowing that he has meds that will probably cure whatever it is.

 

[Zagz]

Good luck Joannde. Hopefully this will work for your tank. I know how frustrating when you have a rash of deaths that you just can't be sure of what caused it.

 

[joannde]

Two doses down, three to go - so far so good.

The spots still exist on the platy but the snails are alive (I was a bit concerned - both products siad they were safe for inverts but I couldn't get confirmation specific to snails), the two platy fry are still there (so cute !), and ammonia and nitrites are both reading 0 (I was concerned about my biofilter).

The water is a bit cloudy but I can deal with that. Unfortunately diatoms are unaffected by antibiotics (oh well, can't have everything, right ?)

 

[joannde]

Morning of day 4 - after 3 doses (4th dose will be tonight).

HOLY COW is the water cloudy - I can't even see the back wall !!! Nitrite spike of 1.0ppm ! 50% water change in progress (first use of my Python - yep, it sure beats buckets !). I used double the normal dose of Prime to detox at least some of the remaining nitrites.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to add more meds at 50% of the dose right now or wait until the regular time (24 hr intervals would be 8pm tonight). Since I don't want to risk overdose I'll just wait until tonight unless I hear otherwise from anyone here.

 

[Zagz]

I don't see a problem in either adding the meds now or at 8pm tonight. I usually do it when doing a water change when the times are so close. Hoping for you that this treatment works.

On a side note, isn't a python a great invention? LOL

 

[joannde]

LOVE the Python !!! I did a second water change before the dose tonight to get the nitrites down further (they were at .25ppm after the second change). That would have been something like 12 buckets of water - and it takes me A LONG TIME to haul all that water - I only weigh 105 lbs (I'm a 4 ft 10 pipsqueek LOL).

I have a feeling I"ll be in for 2 PWCs tomorrow also. So much for "will not affect the biological filter" !

The spots on the platy were gone tonight I can't wait for this (and the ich treatment) to be OVER ! My poor one remaining panda cory is going NUTS trying to find some friends - he just swims back and forth all dayy long, searching .... its very sad. He definitely needs some buddies.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Glad to hear all is well so far w/ the meds. Mardel really needs to take that "does not affect biofilter" label off their boxes. Its also been documented on here once or twice that I know of....of a stringy substance appearing all over things. This is from the maracyn is really isn't too much to worry about IF it happens (not common from what I've seen). I do believe it occurs in extrememly hard (or was it soft?) water. Just don't freak out if you see it.

I've still got my fingers crossed that this works for you and everything else that enters your tank lives long looooong lives.

 

[joannde]

Thanks Devilishturtles.

I guess the stringy stuff was from soft water. I pretty much have liquid rock and don't have that problem.

One thing to note is that the meds (don't know if it was the Maracyn 1 or Maracyn 2) caused a sort of water tension at the surface and the bubbles from the bubble wand just accumulate on the top - looks like I dumped a whole bottle of soap into the tank !

Its day 5 - last treatment is tonight Nitrites did not rise overnight (thankfully) and ammonia is still at 0. The plants and the snails are doing well also - no adverse effects on either from what I can tell.

Thanks for the good wishes on the future occupants - I have 6 male guppies in QT right now anxiously awaiting the day they can go into the tank. That will be on the 15th, when the ich treatment is over.

 

[plecoperson]

I'm so glad to hear they are improving (with the requisite water-quality drama, of course). Won't you be relieved when this is all over!! My sickies are doing fine still, everybody is in great health so far.

If only I could stop obsessing...I freaked at a growth on the side of one of a fish for a sec, then realized it was...A FIN. They normally have those, right? GEEZUS! See, it was a danio and those pectoral fins move really fast, so it's kind of a blur, so it looked like a fuzzy lump for a moment, so.....

I really need to just never look in the tank, and take some medication.....

 

[joannde]

Just an update so that anyone who does a search in the future knows what to expect

Yesterday was the end of the Maracyn 1 / Maracyn 2 treatment. Ammonia was 0.5ppm and nitrites were .25ppm, so its apparent that both types of bacteria needed for the nitrogen cycle were affected. Since there are only 7 small fish (approx 9" of fish in total) in the tank I'm assuming (right now) that I'm basically needing to recycle from scratch - UGH.

Over the next few days (and hopefully not weeks !) I'll be able to tell if this is just a mini-cycle or a full fledged recycle. I'll keep this post updated.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Should just be a small mini cycle. A simple water change might clear it up.

Good luck

 

[joannde]

I hope your right Devilishturtles. Ammonia was 1.0ppm this morning Nitrites were a small trace (less than .25 but higher than 0).
I just took the filter out of the betta tank and put it back into the large tank. I hope I didn't mess up since the filter originally went from the large tank into the betta tank .... if I moved the "problem suspected bacterial infection" back into the main tank I may have to hit my head against the wall a few hundred times ! LOL
Just did a 60% water change - its a snap with the Pyton - timing on that purchase was perfect !

 

[Zagz]

Glad to hear that things are getting better health wise. I would bet you will just have a mini cycle. I think a few water changes will clear things up. I never trust that meds will not harm the bacterial colonies. No matter what they claim. Unfortunately sometimes it is a necessary evil.

 

[joannde]

Update : another 50% PWC done this morning. Ammonia was 1ppm, nitrites were trace. Nitrates at 5ppm (same as my tap water - a result of all the water changes).
Can't wait for my biofilter back !!!