Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 I have had 4 fish ( 2 Commons , 2 Comets ) die in the past week and after reading just about this entire forum ( and it is an incredible resource, THANK YOU ) I have narrowed it down to to Flukes The fish are flashing and gills are swollen open I have a fan tail and a common in a 10 gal filtered tank with plenty of airation and some silk plants the tank in in the second week of cycling ( didn't know about cycling until my 7 year old came home with 4 commons from the local fair )so i know im behind the 8-ball to start with. Well it's 11pm here and the last 2 fish are very stressed and the common ( Cosmo ) is very ill and the fantail ( Fantasy ) is flashing and rubbing the air hose. now i know about a salt dip and plan on doing 1 before bed but here is my problem no where is open for me to get meds to treat until morning and i do not have another tank to move them into!! can i give a saltdip for tonight and place them back into tank for tonight ( yes i know the fluke will still be there and re-infest, but I'm just trying to buy some time before i can get the meds in the AM or should i just hope for the best tonight ( Cosmo dosen't look like he will make it, if I do nothing!! ) I have already added 10 tsp salt ( not table ) to the filter to start disolving into the tank plus i have an oxgyen tank avil. to me ( I'm a Firefighter/Paramedic ) an was wondering if increasing the O2 content of the water will help i realise they are having trouble with their gas exchange due to the flukes and that it is a mechanical issue and not a chemical reactiion issue ( can't use the O2 that is there just can't get it in and around. sorry if this dragged on but i just need to do something. Thank you in advance Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Gold Ryu Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 Bump, sorry i can't help you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member coyote ugly Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 I am so sorry to hear of your losses Hang in there....I'm sure someone will come along and help you with this.In the meantime,if you could answer the questions on top of this page as much as you can,would be a great.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 ammo is high used an ammo block ph is 7.8 whisper filter new charchol today 2 fish as mentioned temp 75F do not have tap water readings no nitrite or nitrates gave common a saltdip and he seems a little better hope he makes it through the night fantail did not like the dip at all and now is hiding from me gonna add O2 and try boosting tank O2 up a little hope it works fantasy not lookin to good now flashing all over the place wish me luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member qtmonki01 Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 *falls into this post* Ok your ammonia my dear...you should be at 0. Not high, but at zero. So first off--Lets get your water clear. Second off--After fixing your water, add all natural sea salt or acquiruim salt to a .03%. 1teaspoon per gallon of water for 3 days. Third off--Get paul or a couple of the other pros over to this post. They will know what medication ya should feed. I would say a medicated food. You need it for the flashing and the flukes. Maybe prazi? Paul or Laura, what ya think? But don't listen to me for this third step--listen the the pros! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 thanks i know ammo is high and i have been doing everything i can think of to fix it water changes adding ammo carb to filter adding cycle to try and kick start the cycle i think it's just new tank syndrome and the bacteria havn't grown yet and i have salted the tank just trying to get them through the night till i can get the meds in the morning and go from there thanks for your quick reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member coyote ugly Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 My thoughts and prayers are with you and your fish....Good luck and keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member JenW Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 Hi Rob, as soon as you can, try to get your hands on some prazi - it kills all flukes. As it's gill flukes, these may be a little harder to treat. The only success I had was by salt dipping the fish first as it removed most of the slime coat, then put them in the tank with fluke meds.... The gills are an extremely hard area to treat as the slime coat tends to protect any parasite that may be inhabiting the gills.... which is why the salt dip seemed to help us. Also, are you able to get your hands on some medicated food? Hopefully this helps and my fingers are crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member qtmonki01 Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 During the water changes are you also vacuuming the gravel? With what I am reading, it says that ammonia is also a by-product of fish waste. Their poo goes to the bottom, so it would be in the gravel as well. New systems generally require about a month to have the bacteria build up to break down ammonia. What colour is your water? In newTank Syndrome it turns a smoky white colour. Hm, good name "cloudy." Reminds me of clouds. Sorry, back to the book. What are all the fish's symptoms? Reddening of fins or gills? Gasping? Not eating? Clamped fins? Spotts growing on them? Swollen anything? Dull eyes? Blood anywhere? Etc. From what you are saying, I want to say its more than the New Tank Syndrome. Paul or Laura will be great at this when they read this message. I do know you need to treat the flashing. Usually with medicated food. But I don't know any names of the medicated foods. Oh, for flukes you can also go to your vet and they can give you medicine. Just remembered that. Some vets do have fish specialists. If in the city, more than likely you got one. For me, I have to go to the city lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 well made it through the night ok both are looking better this AM after the saltdip i need to do another 1 later after i get the meds and treat the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member qtmonki01 Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 Oops didn't seen Jen jump in. She knows her stuff too. Sorry Jen. I'm glad they are looking better. But you are looking at poisoning if you don't fix your water somehow. Maybe test your tap water and tell us the results of the tap water. And get some prazi like Jen said. Jen wasn't there a article somewhere on prazi telling you how to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 well Cosmo didn't make it he died this afternoon yes i do my water changes by vacuming the gravel i have done so many water changes i lost count and have only had the tank up for 2 weeks lfs didn't have prizi they only have some tabs you drop into tank and it kills a broad spectrum of parisites Fantasy didn't tolerate the salt dip at all she went belly up almost immeaditly and just about stopped breathing so out she went and back into tank she went shes still flashing a little but she seems to be going the the bubbles from the med then shaking so maybe it shaking them off did a 30% water change an hour before the meds put in and tested ammo-5.0 ( yes it's high but it is also down from before ) nitrites - 0 nitrates - 10 water hardness - 110 alk - 180 ph - 7.8 just about same as tap , but tap has no ammo going to do another water change in morning and reapply meds monday will do another water change and replace ammo carb to filter media hopfully we will be able to get Fantasy a friend next month don't think her and the betta would make very good tank mates ... lol i know they can not be put together. ha a boy and a girl in the same tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member qtmonki01 Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 Awww *hugs* I am sorry. But you still need to treat tank cuz of the other fish dear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member JenW Posted September 3, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2005 Hi Rob - I'm so sorry you lost Cosmo As you're showing a high level of ammonia - adding meds, while necessary, may do more damage than good (as qt stated). The reason for this is that parasites will have already weakened their immunity which is exactly what water high in toxins will do. If they're to fight this, then they'll need the most optimal conditions you can give. So without a doubt, the second week of cycling is a horrid time for a fish to become ill so as a suggestion, are you able to pick up some Pirme? (or Amquel)? They are ammonia detoxifiers as they convert ammonia into a non-toxic form that your filter then takes out. Then you can medicate without fear the water quality will further compromise your fishes recovery. What are the meds you got for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D3ADEYES Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 i have been using amquel all along so i'm not sure how accurate my ammo readings are the may be bound with high readings i'm cleaning tank everyday and still have the high readings and just don't know what to do i try and follow the general guidelines everyone seems to. i guess i'll just keep going doing the best i can and thank you everyone for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member qtmonki01 Posted September 4, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2005 Test your tap water and post the params here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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