Adding a new fish

[SLACKER 268]

Hello,
This is my first time on here so please do not get mad if this question has already been asked. Okay so I have 2 albino cory catfish in my 25 gallon aquarium, unfortunately they got sick and have the red gill disease, (that is my fault and I feel horrible) but i am currently on the 2nd day of treatment, I would like to get 1 or 2 more fish to add to my aquarium. I was wondering if I should wait until the treatment is over, before adding a new fish? I would really like to know because I want them to have new friends but I don't want to get the new fish hurt because it would be taking medicine for no reason. Any help would be very nice .
Thank you

 

[bud29]

Hello,
This is my first time on here so please do not get mad if this question has already been asked. Okay so I have 2 albino cory catfish in my 25 gallon aquarium, unfortunately they got sick and have the red gill disease, (that is my fault and I feel horrible) but i am currently on the 2nd day of treatment, I would like to get 1 or 2 more fish to add to my aquarium. I was wondering if I should wait until the treatment is over, before adding a new fish? I would really like to know because I want them to have new friends but I don't want to get the new fish hurt because it would be taking medicine for no reason. Any help would be very nice .
Thank you

Welcome to the forum! Do you know what caused the red gills? Usually red gills can be caused by a number of things such as high ammonia, chlorine, etc. Whether or not you can add more fish likely depends on the cause of the problem.

 

[SLACKER 268]

Thank You, Yes I do know that it was ammonia because I went to pet smart and they tested my water, I did fix the problem though and now my ammonia went down and is at a stable 0, but i just did not want to hurt the new fish with some medicine he/she does not need.

 

[henningc]

Slacker,

I'm not sure what disease your speaking of, but I am sure I've had fish over 30 years. If your tank is new, not cycled for at least three weeks it sounds like an ammonia spike. If you don't have a test kit get one ASAP, if you do check ammonia and nitrates. That is the likely culprit here. If the readings are fine on top, take a piece of airline tube long enough to reach the bottom and take a bottom sample. If you find the readings too high do a 50% particial and get an old fashioned corner filter and fill it with carbon. It will clear the issue but only so long.

If it is not the above, it sounds like gill flukes and a parisitic medication is advisable. If that is the case, make sure you're not running carbon in the filters or you might as well not use te meds.

As for other fish, I would wait until these guys clear up. If it is ammonia or nitrates, more fish will make the problem worse. When you do add more fish add two-three at a time. Give the tank time to settle in.

If you still have problems p.m. me or email at craigstropicals@yahoo.com

 

[bud29]

Thank You, Yes I do know that it was ammonia because I went to pet smart and they tested my water, I did fix the problem though and now my ammonia went down and is at a stable 0, but i just did not want to hurt the new fish with some medicine he/she does not need.

As long as you can keep all your parameters in check, you should be able to add more fish. Has the tank been cycled?

 

[SLACKER 268]

Yes it has.

 

[bud29]

Yes it has.

That is good. Do you have a test kit of your own? I highly recommend the API FW master test kit. It is easier to test at home instead of having to always take samples to the store. This way you can really make sure your parameters are stable before adding more fish. These kits usually are around $30 in-store, however you can get them on amazon for a bit over $20.

 

[SLACKER 268]

Okay yes I was planning on buying but I was not sure which one to buy , thank you very much I will go buy one, thank you for the help.