No carbon, fx5 loaded with bio max andscrubbies in the other trays. A fluval 405 stuffed with same media. Two of the largest air driven sponges i could find. These run on a battery backup with the heaters to keep my tank liveable in case of power loss. Gives me about 45 mins with the large pump and the heaters. If it looks like a long outage i can run the sponge filters by themselves for close to two hours. I am the mechanical part of my filtration.
His vent seems the same. Not at its worse but still not perfect. I dosed the 3rd dose last night. I also added a lil extra in there this time. I dosed for a 200 gallon tank on the final dose. He is such a strong fish, I dont doubt he can withstand all of these problems. Its a testament to Brets selection process and his relationship with the strongest farms across the pond. This guys potential is insane and I want it to be reached. Sometimes he looks like bluexb bc he has such a strong blue base.
The aro yawns a lil more than he use to. He doesnt flutter his fins as much but still will sometimes. His posture is strong, and his fins are fully extended most of the time. he is a excellent stingray herder. He likes the stingrays to be on one side of the tank at night and quickly herds them over when the lights are off.
My plan is to think about a 4th dose of med. Not sure what will make my mind up, I dont want to use antibiotics again so Id like to make sure its a complete treatment. Im not sure if there was a bacterial problem but now i can almost rule it out. The male ray has recovered from his wound 100 percent.
The treatment that helped the most i belive was the epsom soaked food. Maybe didnt help the aro the most. But the rays insides seem alot healthier. All poops are tight lil full corkscrews now. No sloppy poops in the tank. I would invite other members to try this method with their rays that have eating or appetite issues. Really cleaned em out!
I bought a 24w uv sterilizer to put on the tank when the treatments are over. Prolly not strong enough for pathogen control, or a long enough exposure time. But at least it will do something positive? After these meds i will consider a parasite treatment if the aro continues to rub his "neck" a few times a day. But i plan on giving him a few weeks of good wcs and good food first. Hopefully this cures all. I tried tilipa today he refused it haha worm junkie. I will starve him off the worms soon when i feel he is healthy. He ate a pellet as well today so thats something. Just gotta get him hungry enough and he has shown a abililty to eat anything.