Bottom sitting Ranchu

[Eddie 48]

Ok.  

I found some duckweed locally.  I can't get it until sunday.  The person I am getting it from says it is mixed in with salvinia.  Will that be ok?  I'm not up on water plants and want to separate the two plants.  Are they hard to tell apart?

[jmetzger72 6,976]

Update. The floaty ranchu is fine when I fast him but even feeding him peas gets him floaty for a few hours. ARGH! Not as much yawning on the 4th day of kana and metro. My black ranchu still bottom sits at night.

Also looks like a mini cycle. So I dose safe until tomorrow's water change.

Ed

<')))><

Peas aren't always the best solution.  They make some fish gassy.  Have you tried frozen bloodworms?

 

Good news about the yawning.  Keep going with the meds per our plan.

 

Keep testing the water daily.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Jared

[Eddie 48]

Thanks Jared. I will feed them frozen blood worms tonight. I didn't know that about peas. Appreciate the help from everyone.

Ed

<')))><

[jmetzger72 6,976]

Thanks Jared. I will feed them frozen blood worms tonight. I didn't know that about peas. Appreciate the help from everyone.

Ed

<')))><

Frozen bloodworms have some laxative benefits.  I never give peas to my fish and none of them are floaty.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Jared

[Eddie 48]

Ok. Since I'm picking up duckweed, I'll finish the treatment and feed duckweed as well. Fingers crossed it clears up whatever is bugging my fish. I caught 3 of them bottom sitting at the same time earlier today.

Ed

<')))><

[koko 14,367]

Ok.  

I found some duckweed locally.  I can't get it until sunday.  The person I am getting it from says it is mixed in with salvinia.  Will that be ok?  I'm not up on water plants and want to separate the two plants.  Are they hard to tell apart?

 

salvinia

 

 

 

DuckWeed

[Eddie 48]

Awesome. Thx Koko!

[jmetzger72 6,976]

If that duckweed has been exposed to other fish or has been grown outside, please don't feed it while we are treating.  I don't want to introduce pathogens.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Jared

[koko 14,367]

If that duckweed has been exposed to other fish or has been grown outside, please don't feed it while we are treating.  I don't want to introduce pathogens.

[Eddie 48]

Ok. Should I just quarantine the duckweed and use it after the treatment? Is there a way to clean it?

[LisaCGold 1,691]

You could QT the duckweed for 5 days or more. Periodically refresh it with tank water. Without a host any parasites that may harm your fish should die. Jared may want you to QT for a longer period.

Edited May 21, 2016 by LisaCGold

[mjfromga 1,785]

Just a note, I found that peas didn't help my fish when she ate rocks and had swim bladder issues, but green beans did.

[Eddie 48]

Awesome.

 

Thanks Lisa.  I'll do that.

 

MJ.  I do notice them get lethargic and not happy on peas.

 

They perked up after I fed them bloodworms.

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Hope your Ranchu feels better.

[Eddie 48]

Thanks Dawn. Worried about them all. They just don't look themselves. Not active at all.

[mjfromga 1,785]

I hope they feel better. I have a new skinny girl and I'm hoping bloodworms will help chunk her up. When fed sparingly, they're supposed to be good for fish, especially young fish.

[Eddie 48]

Thanks MJ

[Eddie 48]

Another update.

 

I am on the 5th dose of Kana ( last one) and 4th metro.  Had them on 2 days of Hex which was metro medicated NLS food prior to the dosing of metro into the water.

 

The little ranchu still bottom sits through out the day.  Now the big ranchu which was my strongest swimmer is floaty.

The thai oranda still sits nose down occasionally as well.  Maybe she is egg bound???

 

I had fasted them for 2 days and peas for 2 days.

Also I have been feeding them bloodworms and NLS gel food exclusively since the peas.

I used to also feed them NLS thera a+ as well prior to the floaty problems.

 

My big ranchu tends to get bad after a meal of anything.  Peas or gel food.

 

 

[jmetzger72 6,976]

Okay, we should have seen some improvement by now if these antibiotics were going to work.  Go ahead and finish the Kanaplex and Metro as planned.  I think we should give the fish a break from meds and try something else.  Once the antibiotics are done, do a big water change and let's try adding Epsom Salt at 1/2 Teaspoon per 10 gallons of water.  I think we should also try an elimination diet to determine which foods are the most/least problematic.  Would you be willing to only feed them one small meal a day for a while?

[Eddie 48]

Sounds good Jared.

I normally don't feed them much anyways.  

I normally feed them 20 -25 NLS Thera A+ pellets total so 4 pellets each roughly.

Or a cm cube of NLS gel food.

 

They don't normally get more than one meal a day.  I heard less is more.

 

Once a week they get blood worms or brine shrimp in the evening.

 

Also I feed them peas once a week and that is one of the once a day feedings.

 

I thinking that's why the big guy started getting floaty on HEX as I was feeding twice a day as directed in the instructions on the bottle.

 

Now he floats at the top of the tank right side up with his back touching the surface.  He also has to swim pretty hard to stay under and floats right up after relaxing.  He is also surface gulping a lot now. 

 

No more signs of yawing though. 

 

Oh and the ammonia is back to zero.  I also cleaned the canister filter the day before the water change.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Eddie

[jmetzger72 6,976]

Sounds good Jared.

I normally don't feed them much anyways.  

I normally feed them 20 -25 NLS Thera A+ pellets total so 4 pellets each roughly.

Or a cm cube of NLS gel food.

 

They don't normally get more than one meal a day.  I heard less is more.

 

Once a week they get blood worms or brine shrimp in the evening.

 

Also I feed them peas once a week and that is one of the once a day feedings.

 

I thinking that's why the big guy started getting floaty on HEX as I was feeding twice a day as directed in the instructions on the bottle.

 

Now he floats at the top of the tank right side up with his back touching the surface.  He also has to swim pretty hard to stay under and floats right up after relaxing.  He is also surface gulping a lot now. 

 

No more signs of yawing though. 

 

Oh and the ammonia is back to zero.  I also cleaned the canister filter the day before the water change.

Great, I'm glad to hear that the yawning has stopped and that the cycle is stable again.  We may have knocked out a bacterial gill infection.  The fish may just need a few days to recover as antibiotics can upset their systems a bit.  

[Eddie 48]

Ok sounds good.

 

Any suggestions for feeding schedule?

For food I have:

NLS algae gel

NLS Thera A+

Hikari Lionhead (haven't fed this in a few months, heard it causes floatiness)

Frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp

 

Maybe stay on the gel for now?

 

I picked up duckweed and it is in quarantine for now.

Should be ready for next Sunday after a week quarantine.

 

Also after the remaining 4 days of is done, I'll turn my UV light back on and re-add my Seachem purigen.

 

Will the epsom be bad for the plecos?  I know it is in lower doses than even the 1% start of salting with aquarium salt. 

 

I got this quote from you Jared.    

Should I follow this after the metro is done?

 

"1/4 Teaspoon of Epsom Salt per 10 gallons of water.  Use until the constipation subsides or up to 8 days."

[jmetzger72 6,976]

In all my years of keeping goldfish, I've never had a fish that was floaty on Hikari Lionhead.  I'm not saying it's impossible, but I think it's a myth.  Any food can make a particularly sensitive fish floaty.  

 

The process of an elimination diet is to only feed only one food for a week or so and record the results.  Let's start with one "small", morning meal of the Hikari Lionhead.  Spread it all over the tank, not in one spot.  Make them hunt for it.

 

Make sure the expiration dates are good on all the foods.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Jared

[jmetzger72 6,976]

I don't think that concentration of Epsom Salt will harm the Plecos.  It's not the same as salt.  Do the 1/2 teaspoon per 10 gallons.  I recommend more now than I did before 

Edited May 24, 2016 by Jared

[Eddie 48]

I really appreciate all the help Jared and koko's members. Such an awesome site.

I'll report back.