Meds

[klc]

Can anyone recommend a good internet site for referencing fish ailments and medications (preferably available in Canada). It does not have to be specific to plecos. I've gotten some good info from Plecofanatics on plecs. I see that most fish groups, ie: discus, oscars etc have their own forums as well. I'm having a bit of a problem in the 90 gal community tank and need to get it resolved before I lose more fish (no plecos).

[Linda]

http://mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/Tropical-Fish-Medications.asp?L+scstore+rbfm6400ffb451b4+1175528 843

this is a canadian site, i think out of hamilton? anyhow have a look through all the medications and if you need to you can call them. they are very knowledgable. what is going on in your tank? maybe some one can help

[klc]

In the past week, I've lost three thread fin tetras, a cardinal tetra, a flying fox, probably will lose a rummy nose later today, and have a discus that is acting wonky (it may just be stress - he's being picked on). The discus and rummy are now in a quarantine tank at 85 degrees. Medicated the QT this morning with a broadband med (name escapes me but will post it tonight). Two of the thread fins just disappeared one day - no trace ever found. The flying fox started swimming in a head up vertical configuration with the body being kind of rigid. The discus is also a bit rigid and breathing quickly. It was eating well on Saturday but now is listless. The rummy nose was fine yesterday but this morning has a large pale patch on each side and is swimming erratically. A 20% water change was done last night. Water conditions are ph - 7.2, NH3 - 0, gh - 140 ppm, kh - 50 ppm. Up until the past week, this tank has been stable with no problems. Filtration is by a Eheim 2028 and a large sponge filter with powerhead. The tank is planted. It is primarily stocked with discus and plecos. All my pleco buddies seem fine but most will be moved out when the new pleco tank is ready. Any ideas?

[Linda]

do you have well water? i had a fungus problem in a fry tank when one of the storms hit and we had problems with our well. if it is a white patch on the side this sounds like a fungus but i am absolutely no expert. my fish had white on their tails and i treated with jungle bacterial/fungus stuff and it has worked great. white stuff is usually fungus and red splotches are usually bacterial from what i have read. if the tank has had no problems this far and nothing has changed, i would try to find some discus breeders and see what they say as i know they are difficult to treat and i misdiagnosis could wipe out the whole tank which we want to avoid! my fish were first generation african mbuna's so they are fairly hardy and they handled the treatment better than i thought they would. good luck though!

[klc]

Its Mississauga water out of beautiful Lake Ontario. I've tried looking for advice on some of the discus forums but they are HUGE! and international. I'm trying to find something home grown. I'll try that Hamilton number. Thanks.

[Bwhiskered]

When losing fish the first question is, did you add any new fish in the last week or two. If you did you have what we call the new fish syndrome. The new fish are often fine but the healthy ones that we have had for quite sometime strart to die one or two at a time with no visable sign of disease. Melafix or Quick Cure usually puts an end to the deaths. Spring and Fall is often bad because of the lake turning over and runoff.

Tell me if I'm wrong but my guess is that you added the thread fins from Big Al's in the last 2 weeks without giving them a 3 week quarantine.

[klc]

You're right. I believe we got them about two weeks ago and they were not quarantined. Both died a week ago. A flying fox died on Saturday and I lost my largest rummy nose this afternoon. Now a discus is headstanding in the QT. I'm not sure if it is a swim bladder infection caused by parasites or by a blockage in the sphincter. This morning, I treated the QT with Aquari-sol but I think I'm using the wrong meds. I'll may try a water change and epsom salts tomorrow. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[CanadaPleco]

Melafix or Quick Cure usually puts an end to the deaths. Spring and Fall is often bad because of the lake turning over and runoff.

give one of those a try.....

[klc]

I'm dosing with epsom salts tonight and will try melafix tomorrow. The discus was head standing last night so may have a swim bladder infection. Thanks for the input folks. I'll keep you posted.

[Bwhiskered]

I don't like Aquarasol with plecos as it contains copper. I would use half strength Quick Cure as you would use on tetras. It cleared up my same problem last week. Although I know better I bought some tetras from the same store and put then into a tank of swordtails. A week later the swords started to die a few a day young and old with no external signs of disease. The tetras are doing fine and the problem has cleared.

[Zebrapl3co]

I've had the same problem 2 years ago. I think it's some kind of bacteria disease.

[klc]

I dosed the QT with epsom salts yesterday and with melafix this morning. So far, the discus is still with me but is breathing rather quickly. He (she?) is a bit pale but hopefully will pull through. I've had no further deaths in the 90 gal tank but am wondering, should I dose this tank with melafix as well, as a precaution? Advice is as always, much appreciated.

[carkichi]

Hello

Just found out last week from some of the LFS that they are forced to pull off some of the fish medications off their shelves. Quick Cure was one of them. The reason I was provided was like any meidcation it requires a prescription from doctors or vet. It only affects Canada. Can anyone confirm my findings? A simple out break of ick may not have an easy cure anymore.::eek: : If this is true, it may have serious implication to our hobby.

Carkichi

[Zebrapl3co]

Not really, it actually benefit more because most people treat their ick the natural way. That's raising your temp to 30C, add an airstone and add 1 tablespoon of salt/5 gallons.

[klc]

Well, my turquoise discus survived the drugs and quarantine. My thanks to Bwhiskered for your timely advice. He's back in with his buddies and is bossing them all around - a reborn fish and he looks like a million bucks.

[CanadaPleco]

Great news!

[Nabeel]

Hi, This post is very informative, however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,

Pakistan Property (http://www.zameen.com) | Wholesale Suppliers (http://www.dailytrader.com)
Wholesale Canadian Directory (http://www.wholesale-canada.com) | All UK Wholesalers (http://www.uk-wholesaler.co.uk)