fish are dying

[trofius]

Hi all

well am getting a bit concerned at the sudden fish death and its starting to get expensive so any ideas.

The fish that have died so far are 2 leptos mon and wed and this morning a Regani

At first I though it was the heat all tanks are at about 30 deg

Then i thought that they were being killed by someone else in there.

Then thought that the water was stuffed.

Now i am thinking there may be an intestinal parisite that has raised its head in the not so perfect conditions, and if so what would be an appropriate treatment.

if it is a parisite I have for this reason been reluctant to move any fish to other tanks for fear of infection

In the tank 6x18x18 there is a few fish, now there is

10 leptos,

7 foai magara,

3 regani,

1 cylindricus,

7 pulchers,

most of these fish are juvinile <5cm and from the list there is a bit of money in there so wanna fix this now!

Everyone seeems to get along ok, only minor territory issues but heaps of hiidy holes for all that want them. there is a huge filter on this tank as well (50L canister), ammonia, and nitrates = 0 the ph was a bit low yesterday (7.8) but fixed that up (8.4) and did a 1/4 water change all was well for the rest of the day, all fish appeared fine good colour normal activities etc.

The reason i suspect a parisite, is that the regani that i found this mornng at 6am, gut was all mushy and liquidy should still be firm i would think. what would be th ebest treatment..

Any info or advive would be more than appreciated..

[wazza]

Trofius,

Thats alot of information you included there . Your amonia and nitrate levels are ok and the ph is ok also. It could well be a parasite but when you say that the gut was mushy how long had it been in the tank dead?

You could also try one of the many books on fish diseases to try to single the problem out.

wazza

[wazza]

Trofius,

Thats alot of information you included there . Your amonia and nitrate levels are ok and the ph is ok also. It could well be a parasite but when you say that the gut was mushy how long had it been in the tank dead?

You could also try one of the many books on fish diseases to try to single the problem out.

Maybe a little salt in the tank may help medicate.

wazza

[trofius]

Thanks wazza the regani was only dead for about4-6 hours usually an overnight death is still firmish, he wa mush,

i now have the return from the canister running through 5 meters of hose in a broccoli box full of ice water temp is dropping slowly.

my magara are now kinda breathing heavy

I have added some tetracycline tablets to see if that helps but the extra airstones are making it froth up a bit is this normal..?..

my other tanks are ok all the fish are doing fine at the moment , and they are also at 30 deg

a book i saw said it may be worms?? but am thinking it is striking too quick..

[Callatya]

Are you sure you cant see anything on the bodies of the fish? no tiny white spot? anything along those lines? That can come on fast (especially with changes in temp) and can cause gasping if it gets to the gills.

TC is a real PITA in a tank. If you want to get the best out of it, you might find predissolving it helps, as does turning off your tank light during treatment. A few documents have said that light will dramatically ffect its activity.

You might also find it kills a good deal of your biofiltration, so be prepared to add a booster after you get this under control

If you want, the best way to deliver TC is orally. Coat some pellets in egg white, them roll them in TC powder. The fish should take that no questions asked. If not, add crushed bloodworms to the TC powder. This will have a far greater effect than adding to the water. I have used this successfully on bettas, and i have known it to be used on a good number of cichlids with great success.

That being said, i'm not 100% sold that TC is the drug for you.

You are probably right in thinking that it seems fast for internal parasites. To me, it does sound parasitical, but i'm not sure as to specifics. Stress (like sudden hot weather or icing a tank) will often give parasites that little leg up they need to get a good hold. Are you in an area where the temp has flown all over the place?

Also, have you added any new fish to that tank that arent from your system?

Please have a really good look at the fish under tank lights and see if there are any external signs. Pay particular attention to the area surrounding the gills and the anus.

Keep a close eye on your biofilter while using TC. Keep in mind it does colour the water slightly and might throw your readings off a little.

If you think its internal parasites, try to get a med that has levimasole and praziquantel in it. that should cover most bases.

If it turns out to be external, consider Protozin. I quite like this med, and so far have had good success with it, but really, there are a lot on the market, so choose the one you are most comfy with.

HTH, Calla