So for the past few months I have been fighting this plague that has all but wiped out my 40B community tank, these are the fish that I started with! I have tried all the meds and done the water changes and reduced feeding and kept the lights off except a few hours a day and still my fish are dying and I am ready to tear down my tank and say to H*** with it. I have been following all the posts about illnesses and I know guppies and neon tetras are cheap but I have had all these fish together since I got my first tank in April. Adding insult to injury my black angel has HITH ( :evil: ) and I have finally gotten that under control and I moved him and his mate to their private 29 gallon suite. I am just venting because tonight when I went to feed my community fish my Pleco was dead. I thought things were getting better. The few fish I have left were eating and acting mostly normal. Sadly I am beginning to think that this is a lost cause and I am fighting the inevitable. :suspect: Anyways I just needed to let that all out.
So tired of the plague!!!
- Thread starter czeiszler
- Start date
Sorry to hear. I went through a very similar thing that I too had called "the plague". $100+ in meds and I can tell I am still dealing with it. I lost almost my entire tank of fish. The only survivors were three silver dollars which I believe are carriers and have infected the new fish I now have. I am going to try seachems kanaplex in the water and in the food to see if I can clear this up. No visible issues showing on the fish but they all start with a not eating thing and slowly waste away. Some that were lost did show issues that were all internal bacterial issues so thats what I am going to try to fix.
I totally feel for you, since my loss was with fish that got me back into the hobby after being away for over 20 years. I lost fish over three years old and I did not realize I was so attached to them. And the feeling of giving up was strong especially because I am dealing with 210 gallons and the constant water changes, meds and loss of one fish after the other was starting to wear on me. Hang in there!
During this whole thing I started up my 29g with a convict and a few bristlenose plecos and had no issues with that tank at all. Then again none of the equipment used in the large tank came in contact with the little one.
I totally feel for you, since my loss was with fish that got me back into the hobby after being away for over 20 years. I lost fish over three years old and I did not realize I was so attached to them. And the feeling of giving up was strong especially because I am dealing with 210 gallons and the constant water changes, meds and loss of one fish after the other was starting to wear on me. Hang in there!
During this whole thing I started up my 29g with a convict and a few bristlenose plecos and had no issues with that tank at all. Then again none of the equipment used in the large tank came in contact with the little one.
I bought some of this a while back, and has worked great on my Festae fry for internal parasites. Dont know why I didnt remember this.
Each link is just a different page to the same website.
http://www.angelsplus.com/FlakeMedicated.htm
http://www.angelsplus.com/MedsParasite.htm
Each link is just a different page to the same website.
http://www.angelsplus.com/FlakeMedicated.htm
http://www.angelsplus.com/MedsParasite.htm
@DMD: I saw your post about your fish sorry for your loss. I actually think my guppies somehow contracted Fish TB which is a wasting disease with no true signs of illness til its too late and interestingly it had no known cure. The website said to humanely put down the fish. I just can't bring myself to wipe out the tank as long as their is some hope. Anyways I hate that most everyone I know who is not into fish can't understand why losing fish is so difficult. Its like losing a dog or cat. Anyways I am going to keep trying and play the waiting game.
@madness: I bought medicated food from my LFS but it was not specifically targeted to one disease. Will have to do some research and put in an order. Thanks for the suggestion.
@madness: I bought medicated food from my LFS but it was not specifically targeted to one disease. Will have to do some research and put in an order. Thanks for the suggestion.
Interesting info out there on fish TB. Some of the symptoms sound like what my fish may have had also.
http://www.petbrags.com/profiles/blogs/fish-tuberculosis-if-you-keep
The suggested treatment in that article was what I am going to do with the kanaplex. I find it hard to believe that bleach would not kill the bacteria, but thats what the article claimed. They said to use Calcium Hypochlorite from pool supply places. When I looked up the info on it it seemed to be a powered version of bleach or basically just Chlorine. So doing partial water changes without adding treatment may be a good thing.
My fish all seemed to show different symptoms. One appeared to have a small wound that got fuzzy and then went away, another looked to have mouth fungus, still another heavy breathing like it had gill flukes. One of the silver dollar survivors developed pop eye another just died. Even the pleco stopped eating, it had a sunken belly when I had scooped it out.
The one common symptom was that they stopped eating and became reclusive. Right now two of the fish in the tank are showing these symptoms. The bourcourti and now the zonatus just started. My kanaplex comes in next week so I will see if this tackles the problem.
http://www.petbrags.com/profiles/blogs/fish-tuberculosis-if-you-keep
The suggested treatment in that article was what I am going to do with the kanaplex. I find it hard to believe that bleach would not kill the bacteria, but thats what the article claimed. They said to use Calcium Hypochlorite from pool supply places. When I looked up the info on it it seemed to be a powered version of bleach or basically just Chlorine. So doing partial water changes without adding treatment may be a good thing.
My fish all seemed to show different symptoms. One appeared to have a small wound that got fuzzy and then went away, another looked to have mouth fungus, still another heavy breathing like it had gill flukes. One of the silver dollar survivors developed pop eye another just died. Even the pleco stopped eating, it had a sunken belly when I had scooped it out.
The one common symptom was that they stopped eating and became reclusive. Right now two of the fish in the tank are showing these symptoms. The bourcourti and now the zonatus just started. My kanaplex comes in next week so I will see if this tackles the problem.
Had to add this article which was an excellent source of information.
http://www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html
http://www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html
Thats some great info My source was the guppy website and it seems their information was missing some facts. I will be looking into treating with Kanaplex. Thanks DMD. Also remember that Fish TB is pathogenic to Humans and if you have a cut or abrasion on your hands or arms not to stick them in the tank. I have been very cautious with my tank since I began to suspect Fish TB.
The problems in my fish are internal and bacterial in nature, may not be TB but I really never treated the issue just the symptoms. I should have hit the fish with a different set of meds from the get go. I should have done the kanaplex or erythromycin, hopefully I have enough time to help the bocourti and zo and prevent the others from getting sick.
: Anthraxx, Yes I read alot! Could not find any pop up books on fish disease. If they did make one the pop eye page would look pretty cool. :tongue:
: Anthraxx, Yes I read alot! Could not find any pop up books on fish disease. If they did make one the pop eye page would look pretty cool. :tongue:So I haven't updated this thread in awhile and I find it interesting that I have treated my fish for every disease combo and spent quite a bit on medicine and herbal remedies and I am still having to quarentine my entire 40B because I am still noticing death. If I could convince my husband to put down all the fish I would so I could bleach the entire darn tank and start over. As it is I am at a stalemate with the tank where it just can't move forward at all.
Sorry to hear.
I think I may be done with the junk in my tank. I lost so many fish. After my original fish passed I still had 3 silver dollars left. So not a 100% loss but still very bad.
I was sure I was done and added 6 small cichlids to grow out. One by one they succumbed to the same things as my others. I too treated with just about everything. I ended up removing all my gravel and baked it to kill all the bad stuff and treating the fish again (In bare tank) with parasite meds and antibiotics for about a month. I put the tank back together added a couple of fish and so far no problems.
I had to make some hard decisions during the treatment process and put some of the fish down before the disease progressed to a point of no return. Sounds like your at that time now. Its a hard thing to do but it has to be done.
I think I may be done with the junk in my tank. I lost so many fish. After my original fish passed I still had 3 silver dollars left. So not a 100% loss but still very bad.
I was sure I was done and added 6 small cichlids to grow out. One by one they succumbed to the same things as my others. I too treated with just about everything. I ended up removing all my gravel and baked it to kill all the bad stuff and treating the fish again (In bare tank) with parasite meds and antibiotics for about a month. I put the tank back together added a couple of fish and so far no problems.
I had to make some hard decisions during the treatment process and put some of the fish down before the disease progressed to a point of no return. Sounds like your at that time now. Its a hard thing to do but it has to be done.
Good point madness.
In my case the fish went on a hunger strike and no matter what they would not eat. Once these symptoms started it was over. The fish could go up to a month without food but it would just drag out the inevitable. So If after about 10 days of treatment I could not get the fish to eat, I put them down. This progressed through all 6 new cichlids.
czeiszler, what symptoms are the fish showing? Maybe the cost might motivate your hubbie to help... I know I had spent over $100+ in meds and never fixed the problem fish.
In my case the fish went on a hunger strike and no matter what they would not eat. Once these symptoms started it was over. The fish could go up to a month without food but it would just drag out the inevitable. So If after about 10 days of treatment I could not get the fish to eat, I put them down. This progressed through all 6 new cichlids.
czeiszler, what symptoms are the fish showing? Maybe the cost might motivate your hubbie to help... I know I had spent over $100+ in meds and never fixed the problem fish.
You are very right madness I do need to list symptoms.
The first we noticed had a white fuzz growing on one so we treated for fungus and then our frog died all of a sudden, after that we have noticed the guppies wasting away even though they eat and recently the one that died the spine had bent up. They sit at the surface all day breathing heavy and we have seen ich, tail and fin rot, dropsy(scales protruding), listlisness, seizures, and its only the guppies not the tetras. We have googled every fish ailment and I am at a loss. Most of the symptoms have been ongoing. They also lose their color.
We have also turned up the heater and removed all the decorations and plants and we have added salt and we have done 2 rounds of marycyn and maracyn 2, ich attack, couple others I can't remember, antibacterial food. So many meds it crazy. We do water changes 25% every 2 days and a 50% every other weekend. We gravel vac every week. We also run two HOB filters and we change them once a month, on a rotating pattern.
There are probably more symptoms but I can't remember them right now.
My husband knows they are slowly dying(only 3 left) but he doen't want to kill them. He is very stubborn. But I love him in spite of that.
The first we noticed had a white fuzz growing on one so we treated for fungus and then our frog died all of a sudden, after that we have noticed the guppies wasting away even though they eat and recently the one that died the spine had bent up. They sit at the surface all day breathing heavy and we have seen ich, tail and fin rot, dropsy(scales protruding), listlisness, seizures, and its only the guppies not the tetras. We have googled every fish ailment and I am at a loss. Most of the symptoms have been ongoing. They also lose their color.
We have also turned up the heater and removed all the decorations and plants and we have added salt and we have done 2 rounds of marycyn and maracyn 2, ich attack, couple others I can't remember, antibacterial food. So many meds it crazy. We do water changes 25% every 2 days and a 50% every other weekend. We gravel vac every week. We also run two HOB filters and we change them once a month, on a rotating pattern.
There are probably more symptoms but I can't remember them right now.
My husband knows they are slowly dying(only 3 left) but he doen't want to kill them. He is very stubborn. But I love him in spite of that.
TMP Sulfa (Trimethoprim and Sulfathiazole Sodium)
USE: Treatment of bacterial infections, both gram-positive and gram-negative. The combination retards resistant strains from developing. It exerts its anti-microbial effect by blocking 2 consecutive steps in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins essential to many bacteria.
DOSAGE: 1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment. 1/4 pound (treats approx. 980 gal.)
Check out National Pharmaceuticals
USE: Treatment of bacterial infections, both gram-positive and gram-negative. The combination retards resistant strains from developing. It exerts its anti-microbial effect by blocking 2 consecutive steps in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins essential to many bacteria.
DOSAGE: 1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment. 1/4 pound (treats approx. 980 gal.)
Check out National Pharmaceuticals
czeiszler if you have a bacteria called columnaris in your tank, it thrives in warmer temps, and can not multiply and attack in temps below 75. Maybe to be on the safe side, lowering your temp could help along with the meds.
Also, I have mentioned this many times to several people. You should never refill your tanks at water changes with warm water straight out of the tap. Your hot water tanks are full of harmful metals that will weaken your fishes immune system. Your fish may look good, but may still have a weak immune system. Its like people that always catch colds and flus. They may look very healthy, but arent. These people dont need a flu shot, what they need is to lead a healthier life so that their immune system is strong and these cold and flu bugs dont affect them. Same goes with your fish.
Always use cold water, never out of the hot water tank. And NO, Prime does not work on removing these metals. It says it does, but it does very little. If you wish to continue to use warm water, than first put it into a bucket and use a heater to warm it. But your fish are perfectly fine with a rush of cold water, and a slight drop in temp. It simulates their natural lakes when the rains come and the seasons change.
I have done loads of research on the warm water topic, and it all points to the same thing. Dont use it. I had a professional come out over a year ago and we went through and tested all of my water and at every stage of it. Using Prime, rid metals, or ultimate, etc.......
Also, I have mentioned this many times to several people. You should never refill your tanks at water changes with warm water straight out of the tap. Your hot water tanks are full of harmful metals that will weaken your fishes immune system. Your fish may look good, but may still have a weak immune system. Its like people that always catch colds and flus. They may look very healthy, but arent. These people dont need a flu shot, what they need is to lead a healthier life so that their immune system is strong and these cold and flu bugs dont affect them. Same goes with your fish.
Always use cold water, never out of the hot water tank. And NO, Prime does not work on removing these metals. It says it does, but it does very little. If you wish to continue to use warm water, than first put it into a bucket and use a heater to warm it. But your fish are perfectly fine with a rush of cold water, and a slight drop in temp. It simulates their natural lakes when the rains come and the seasons change.
I have done loads of research on the warm water topic, and it all points to the same thing. Dont use it. I had a professional come out over a year ago and we went through and tested all of my water and at every stage of it. Using Prime, rid metals, or ultimate, etc.......