Ok so recently i have had 1 guppie die along with 1 balloon mollie i noticed that the balloon mollie had a lump on one of its fins.So i am treating the tank with some external parisite medicine that treas ich velvet and other external parasites.Ever since the first balloon mollie died ive noticed my baby guppies nibbling the top of my other balloon mollies head.is this something i should worry about? what should i do? i currently have kilifish hatching and growing in a seperate tank how long should i wait before i put them into the main tank that im treating with medicine
need help with mollies and guppies
- Thread starter vic021
- Start date
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Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
There are many reasons why fish die, parasites are just one. Before going any further, tell us about your system:
How many gallons?
How long has it been up and running?
How did you cycle the system? (fishless, seeding, etc)
What kind of filtration do you use?
How often do you perform partial water changes (PWCs), and how much do you do?
What do you treat the water with during PWCs?
What are your water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte)
Have you tried adding aquarium salt and raising the temp (holistic approach)?
This will help us pinpoint the issue.
How many gallons?
How long has it been up and running?
How did you cycle the system? (fishless, seeding, etc)
What kind of filtration do you use?
How often do you perform partial water changes (PWCs), and how much do you do?
What do you treat the water with during PWCs?
What are your water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte)
Have you tried adding aquarium salt and raising the temp (holistic approach)?
This will help us pinpoint the issue.
How many gallons?40
How long has it been up and running?about a year and a half
How often do you perform partial water changes (PWCs), and how much do you do? i do a 5-10 gallon water change every other week and every other month i do a 50/50 water change
What do you treat the water with during PWCs?AquaSafe water conditioner
What are your water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte)after both fish died i took water sample to local fish store for a test and everything came out fine but the ammonia was a little high but he said with all the plants i have in tank it will came back down to normal levels real fast
Have you tried adding aquarium salt and raising the temp (holistic approach)?
yes i have tried both
How long has it been up and running?about a year and a half
How often do you perform partial water changes (PWCs), and how much do you do? i do a 5-10 gallon water change every other week and every other month i do a 50/50 water change
What do you treat the water with during PWCs?AquaSafe water conditioner
What are your water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte)after both fish died i took water sample to local fish store for a test and everything came out fine but the ammonia was a little high but he said with all the plants i have in tank it will came back down to normal levels real fast
Have you tried adding aquarium salt and raising the temp (holistic approach)?
yes i have tried both
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hmm...what did you treat the tank with?
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Unless I'm grossly mistaken, Mardel Coppersafe will kill off all your beneficial bacteria, which explains your ammonia bloom. It also can harm live plants. You will have to re-establish your biological colony from scratch most likely. This is why it's a good idea to medicate your fish in a hospital tank.
But to answer your original question, I would think that you would first want to make sure the treatment is complete, then run a lot of activated carbon to remove the copper, and do lots of PWCs to knock it all down. Once you're satisfied the infection is gone and the copper is gone, then re-seed your bacterial colony from the filter in the killifish tank, give it a couple weeks testing daily for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (if there's no nitrite present, that is - it throws off the nitrate test), ensure your tank has re-established (you may want to wait the full 6 weeks if you're not sure), then transfer the killifish.
But to answer your original question, I would think that you would first want to make sure the treatment is complete, then run a lot of activated carbon to remove the copper, and do lots of PWCs to knock it all down. Once you're satisfied the infection is gone and the copper is gone, then re-seed your bacterial colony from the filter in the killifish tank, give it a couple weeks testing daily for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (if there's no nitrite present, that is - it throws off the nitrate test), ensure your tank has re-established (you may want to wait the full 6 weeks if you're not sure), then transfer the killifish.
ok thanks and i the man at the local fish store said since i removed my filter cartridge that when i put it back in (as long as i keep it in water) it will still have all the beneficial bacteria and as for the plants i took those out before treating the tank only left in about 10 little moss balls that split from my bigger moss ball.What about the fact that the baby guppies nibble on the Mollie should i do something about that?
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Maybe get a tank divider? Pretty difficult with baby gups. They might be picking at parasites. I don't know.
Also with the cartridge, the BB will suffer if they don't have anything to "eat". Maybe sprinkle some fish food in the container if it in and give it an airstone or something...or a couple drops of ammonia (make sure it has no surfactants)
Also with the cartridge, the BB will suffer if they don't have anything to "eat". Maybe sprinkle some fish food in the container if it in and give it an airstone or something...or a couple drops of ammonia (make sure it has no surfactants)
