Help one dat died and I'm worried about the other 2

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Kobi9019

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2007
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I had my dats for exactly a week and today the most stable dat, of course:irked: , died. It looked like it had a little white thing by his vent area so I'm guessing parasite. My water has been at 84 with salt added. Does that do anything to prevent parasites from spreading to the other two? I'm about to do a 50% water change to the tank also. I read that I shouldn't use any medications when they're this small ~1", but I have pimafix, Melafix, and jungle labs parasite clear tablet. Could I use any of those or would it likely kill the other two? I just hope the others don't die too:(
 
I would try some medicated food. I have always liked New Lifes thera, I am not sure if it will help but it couldn't hurt for sure.

I would be cautious when treating such small fish as well.

Are they eating and behaving normally?

I would also be careful on the size of your water changes you might shock the fish

First step of action should be to test your water parameters. Ammonia ,nitrite, nitrate and maybe even PH.

Good luck and post your test results when you get them done
 
had the same problem. parasite didnt spread, but i seperated him from the rest of the dats before he died. just to be on the safe side i added half dose of melafix and pimafix. the rest of the dats seem fine.

if you use melafix and pimafix... use at your own risk. i knew the risk i was taking, but i have 17 other dats that i did not want to die because of that parasite.
 
sry last night I went to a family party and didn't get back to late. The two dats are eating fine, but one is kind of I can't really explain it. It's like he's hyper or something at the top of the water especially when he sees me. is that normal? I tested the water: PH: 6.8, Ammonia:4.0:eek: :( Nitrite: 1.0:( and Nitrates .30. So I guess I should have checked it sooner. I have been feeding them alot about 5 or 6 small meals a day to try and bulk them up:D . So I will watch those two things next time ALOT more carefully. As to the water I took out the carbon catridge on my penguin 150 and put in a media bag filled with the marineland diamond blend mix. I also did about a 60% water change and acclimated them by floating for 15 mins. Then added a 4-6 oz cup of new water in bag. 10 mins later I added another, then 15 mins later then 15 mins later I emptied out half the water in the bag and added 2 cups of new water, and thats where I'm at now with them in my tank. I will have to try and get some of that medicated food, but I don't think I will risk the melafix/pimafix. Thanks for your help
 
such a big water change. what kind of vitamins did you get? also what kind of feeders are you feeding them? also water parameters might be effecting the way your dats are.
 
well after observing them more I noticed they were scratching themselves on the decor and gravel so I added a jungle lab tablet at about 9:00 and so far so good. The water params are still good ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 PH 6.6-6.8. I feed them the mini krill from tetra tech as the staple. I've only had them a week so I'm working on getting some blackworms and maybe some feeders to use every once in a while. I'm not sure on the brand of vitamins but will post it later this morning. Hopefully the jungle labs tablets will work
 
scratching is normal for dats. but then again some people can argue that scratching is because of low water quality. so i would say occasional back scratches are ok, who doesnt like to get their backs scratched?
 
No its not like that. Some times when I walk by the tank he will repeatedly rub against the gravel, decor, heater, filter and he's constantly darting about. I looked it up and those are some signs of parasites:( :eek: . I just did about a 30% water change and added another tablet and w/ the water change I added the salt, some amquel+, then the Novaqua, and some vitamins so hopefully all that will help.
 
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