Not Too Worried..

[Lindsay793]

My fantail Cypress has his dorsal fin down. It has been like that a month or two, but I left him in the main tank. the reasons why are that my QT tank is currently uncycled and could cause more problems, he eats, swims, and does everything fine.

I did a 30& W/C yesterday, and again today. We went on vacation 6 days ago and I did a 30% then too. His colours are fine. Ammonia reads 0, Ph is 8 like it always has been, and my Nitrites and Nitrates are reading fine too. I don't know what's going on?! Help!

[Erinaceus]

Hi there,

Could you give some more information on the circumstances? There's a list on the top of this page, if you could answer those questions it will be easier to get a clear picture of what might be stressing your fantail.

[amynmitchell]

I assume this is unusual for him or you wouldn't be worried. But just to ask, did he used to regularly have his dorsal fin up? Also, is there any evidence of an injury at all.

[Lindsay793]

[*]Test Results for the Following:

[*]Ammonia Level- 0ppm

[*]Nitrite Level- need to retest at pet store, assumed it was ok.

[*]Nitrate level- need to retest at pet store, assumed it was ok.

[*]Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)- 8

[*]Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)- 8

[*]Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops Ammonia Strips & Drops, Ph strips

[*]Water temperature- 78 F

[*]Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running- 55 Gal, 5 months running

[*]What is the name and size of the filter(s)Penguin 350, 10 Gal filter

[*]How often do you change the water and how much- 30% every five days

[*]How many fish in the tank and their size- 4 fish, 2", 1", 1", 1"

[*]What kind of water additives or conditioners- Activated carbon count? 24/7 changed every three weeks.

[*]What do you feed your fish and how often- Flakes, 2x daily. Once a week peas.

[*]Any new fish added to the tank- Three weeks ago

[*]Any medications added to the tank- None

[*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus- Looks like some fin rot. Fins past month have not rotted anymore, neither look to be growing

[*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.- Clamped dorsal fin

Cypress is calico so I can not tell if there are ammonia burns but my ammonia is always under control so I would doubt that. No injuries that are apparent when I look closely. He used to keep it up all the time, like you see in my signature. Three months ago I started noticing he would have his dorsal down, so I did an early W/C all the time when I saw that. Then one/two weeks ago he started keeping it down all the time. No idea why!?

[Cynders]

Has he ever been treated for flukes? If not I would definitely get some prazi pro and treat all of your fish for flukes. Have you put him into quarantine?

Also you're a tad underfiltered so there may be some waste accumulating in there that could be bothering him. Your filter does about 350 gph and you need about 550 gph or more. I would also do a 50% water change or larger in the tank and if you have gravel I would give it a good vacuum. There could be nasties lurking around in there.

[Lindsay793]

Yea thanks. I have no gravel, I can look for Prazi Pro. Hopefully my LPS even has any!

HE was in QT he was first in the big tank and everyone else was in QT before the main tank. I'm looking to get another 10 Gal filter, or a 20 and get rid of the two 10 Gal filters.

See, I have no income, too young to get a job at my uncle's greenhouse. So I started Lindsay the Critter-Sitter because I love animals. So I babysit Reptiles, Rodents including Bunnies, and Terrestrial Turtles. I've had about 100 people view my ad, but with no replies So hopefully I will get some business soon, and I can look into helping the fish!

I did buy some Ghost Shrimp, too small still but maybe when their bigger they can help clean out the tank?!

[Cynders]

You can also look online at Drsfostersmith aquatics. They usually have prazipro and I think they ship to Canada.

I would be careful with the ghost shrimp so your goldies don't eat them.

[Lindsay793]

Th Ghost Shrimp are for now, growing in a 10 Gallon tank, alone.

Now I looked closely at Cypress today. (The sick one) and I noticed that to me, his slime coat seems really thick, like so much so that when he turns in the light, I see it, and not shimmering scales. Also he sits at the top at jets away when I leave, and always seems to be gasping. I hope this can shed some light on the problem.

+ when I went down my other three goldies were kinda just gasping in the middle of water while they swim around...

[Cynders]

If you can, get your pH tested for both your tap and tank with drops. Slime coat can be an indication of a low pH.

Do you have any bubblers going in the tank and a splash? Your said your water temperature is at 78. That's a bit high for the goldies and the warmer the water temperature, the less oxygen there is in the water.

[Lindsay793]

Ok, I have a heater but it hasn't been on. I'll make sure it's on and put a fan over the tank. I might be wrong with the reading though.

I just looked now, and it is in fact at 73/75 ish, not 78. Phew I read it wrong.

I will test the Ph but it is definetly not low. It's always been high around 8, 8.4!!

And the funny thing is, I was thinking that if it was flukes, everyone should have got the disease by now. But no one else has. Still just in case I'm going to put him in QT soon.

Unfortunaly I have no bubblers but I am looking online on Kijiji for some.

[Cynders]

Yes definitely get some extra bubblers.

The thing with flukes is not every fish may show signs until it's too late. I would definitely treat all of the fish for flukes just incase. would you be able to get a picture of the spot?

[Sakura]

Thickened slime coat can mean a parasitic infection. When a fish is attacked by parasites, the slime coat (a fish's protection) works double-time to try and protect the fish. I really think you need to get some Prazi and some aquarium salt ASAP. Treat all the fish, because even if they aren't showing symptoms they are most likely infected or at high risk also. What I would do is start with the Prazi. Dose the whole tank. All you have to do is add one dose every seven days and do a few treatments. The day before you add a new dose do your regular 50% water change. Then after you have done a few doses of Prazi I think you should do salt at .3% for a week. Between these two treatments you should get rid of any parasites that are bothering the fish.

Also did you ever get the reading for nitrite and nitrate?

[Cynders]

Like Sakura said a 7 day treatment is great. Here is the recommended treatment here on Kokos

Day 1 -- remove carbon, perform water change with vacuuming, and add Prazi to tank

Day 2 -- add Prazi

Day 3 -- do nothing

Day 4 -- do nothing

Day 5 -- do nothing

Day 6 -- add Prazi

Day 7 -- add Prazi

Day 8 -- normal partial water change with vacuuming

Day 14 - normal partial water change, then add prazi

Day 21 - normal partial water change, then add prazi

Day 28 - normal partial water change, then add prazi

Day 35 - normal partial water change, add carbon, treatment is complete

[Lindsay793]

Thanks so much guys! I am looking on line for PraziPro on sale and stuff, and hopefully I can get some shipped soon!

Yea, I was going to ask, Cypress seems to be the only one infected, but the others could just not be showing symptoms.

When I get the PraziPro I will definetly follow the day by day guideline, thanks so much guys!

[Cynders]

Yup that's usually what is the case, the others just aren;t showing symptoms yet, but flukes spread quite quickly. Hope you get your hands on some prazi (Definitely check online for good prices) And I hope they all feel better soon