Help. Severums keeping to top of the tank, turning grey

[michelle767]

Hi, all. I have a 125g stocked with 3 severums (all between 5-7"), 6 Geo Tapajos (about 4"), 3 clown loaches (about 3-4"), 2 plecos, and 4 new Hoplarchus Psittacus (1"), which I'm growing out to choose one to keep. I have 2 Aquaclear 500's and 1 Eheim Ecco running on the tank, all have been running for ages.

I got the Psittacus last week and did a water change right before I put them in. Everything had been going great, but the night before last I noticed my severums acting a little weird. The two rotkeils were fully striped (usually a sign of stress in grown severums) and all three were hanging near the top. I meant to do a water change yesterday, but didn't have the chance. Now today I noticed the two rotkeils are kind of greyish and all three sevs', rotkeils and gold, fins look a little weird on the ends, not frayed yet, but likely on the way. BUT all the other fish, incl. the psittacus which are supposedly very sensitive, are doing just fine. Great, really. I'm going to do a water change tomorrow and add some salt and melafix, but should I add anything else? Is this fin rot? Should I add fin rot medication? Or will salt, melafix, and maybe a raised temp be enough? I want to avoid overstressing the other fish since none of them are sick.

(Just want to add that I would normally be rushing to do water changes, but I'm pregnant right now and have to wait until I can get someone to help me - which should be tomorrow morning.)

It's been a long time since I've had to deal with illness in the tank. I appreciate any help people can offer.

 

[michelle767]

Well, I did several water changes that didn't help. I finally broke down and bought some Maracyn, but I think it's too late. Looks like I'm losing my gold severum for sure. This sucks. I get four new fish, but in the process lose my favorite. At least it didn't wipe out my tank. Only my severums were affected.

It's definitely fin and tail rot. Any last minute suggestions?

 

[_Jessica_]

Have you tested your water? I strongly feel that a lot of illness is directly related to water quality, especially fin rot. Any other symptoms? The water changes should help, hopefully the maracyn will too.

I wonder if there is any chance the sevs are being picked on?

 

[floridagar]

and do you have pics that would help alott!! dont do alot of water changes at one time otherwise you spike the water on them with all the chlorination and you should only do a 25-50% Max water change on a tank. Anything over a 50 will cause a problem. Since all the good bacteria in the tank will now be eliminated and the fish wont breath normally and become stressed. Thats why its good to add prime or stress coat to the water before adding it to the tank. Also depending on your setup you shouldn't have to take the fish out of the tank they were in depends on what you were doing with the tank (moving rocks or messing with sand) Also when using certain medications for a certain fish i would try putting the fish in a quarantine tank and then adding the meds to the fish. cause in most cases if you have catfish or bottom dwellers the Medications tend to have alot stronger reactions to them. Also i might add are you sure none of the other fish bullied them by any chance?? I hope this helps Good luck

 

[michelle767]

Water quality is fine. The gold sev is floating sideways (I don't think he's going to make it through the day), the rotkeils aren't as bad, but still stressed. They're easily the biggest fish in the tank, aside from my L-114 pleco, so they weren't being picked on. All the other fish are fine - thriving, even. I don't get it.

Question about Maracyn: My LFS only had 1 box of Maracyn-2, so I bought it and some Maracyn-TC. I started with the Maracyn-2 last night. Is it safe to continue with the TC? I know Maracyn-2 is supposed to be safe for the biofilter, but what about the TC? Will the TC stress the other fish out?

So depressed about this. It seems like I always lose my favorite fish. Last year an L-14 died on me when one of my AC500's stopped working and I didn't notice for a few days, and several years ago, my first red-gold severum, who I grew out from a juvie to an adult and who was queen of the tank, died during a move from Ohio to PA. It makes me want to give up fishkeeping. Happy Thanksgiving to me. I know it's a bit ridiculous to get this upset over fish, but I'm going to be thinking about this all day, waiting for the gold to go.

 

[floridagar]

i would just stick to Maracyn-2 For the treatment cause the Maracyn-TC can discolor your water and make things worse. Stick to Maracyn-2. And dont worry dont give up it happens to the best of us. And we learn as we go, Sometimes the worst comes first then you can achieve success, Its all part of the hobby. We all mess up sometime in our fish keeping. Just keep at it plus you have this forum to answer any of your questions. I come here to learn more about the fish And ask questions to find answers its a fantastic forum always someone here to help.