hey all, I have a 5 or six in jar in a 55 gal and he was doing great but this past week he has been developing a white coat transparent coat over his eyes it seems like he can see cause hes bumping into the walls constantly. he has also stopped eating pellets for the past week, which was what he was raised on (hikari). I did a 20% water change and the water quality appears to be clean so im wondering if there is anything else I can do.. he seems hungry and now his mouth is staying open slightly. any thoughts or comments??
HELP with Jardini!
- Thread starter graffito
- Start date
What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? Cloudy eye and loss of appetite are usually caused by poor water quality. If you don't test, you should.
There is no remedy for poor water quality other than fixing water quality! Go ahead and do a really big water change. It shouldn't hurt the fish as long as you at least match temperature and dechlorinate. And start testing. If you test right after the water change, it won't tell you anything. So test daily and watch to see if ammonia or nitrite levels rise above 0, and nitrates are above 20. If so, that's the problem.
No, I don't know of any at-home nitrate tests... I know how to make a compass from a needle and magnet and cork LOL but no nitrate tests up my sleeve.
Nitrate is removed by water changes. That's the only way to remove them. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Just in case, here's an awesome link --
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
Nitrate is removed by water changes. That's the only way to remove them. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Just in case, here's an awesome link --
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
Salt's really not going to do anything here, IMO. And now, several people will come after me and say, "Add Salt!" I think salt is useful in SOME applications; however, these are far fewer than the ones it's actually prescribed for. From Lupin's sticky on salt: ( http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226328 )
"How useful is salt used in aquariums and ponds?
From the number of aquarium hobbyists and pondkeepers who use salt one would have to assume that it is one of the best, if not the best, treatment to use for all kinds of known and unknown diseases. The reality is quite different.
It is quite possible that the unwarranted reliance upon salt treatments has resulted in more fish losses than the diseases themselves. This is because there is a common misunderstanding among aquarists and pondkeepers that salt is a good disinfectant, antibacterial, antifungal and/or antiprotozoal drug. At the concentrations commonly used in aquariums and ponds it is none of these things. As a reliable disease treatment and/or preventative salt is essentially useless."
Getting water quality back to optimal is going to be your best bet for "treating" this guy. After it's there, you'll need to keep it there with a good understanding of the nitrogen cycle. It's really that simple.
"How useful is salt used in aquariums and ponds?
From the number of aquarium hobbyists and pondkeepers who use salt one would have to assume that it is one of the best, if not the best, treatment to use for all kinds of known and unknown diseases. The reality is quite different.
It is quite possible that the unwarranted reliance upon salt treatments has resulted in more fish losses than the diseases themselves. This is because there is a common misunderstanding among aquarists and pondkeepers that salt is a good disinfectant, antibacterial, antifungal and/or antiprotozoal drug. At the concentrations commonly used in aquariums and ponds it is none of these things. As a reliable disease treatment and/or preventative salt is essentially useless."
Getting water quality back to optimal is going to be your best bet for "treating" this guy. After it's there, you'll need to keep it there with a good understanding of the nitrogen cycle. It's really that simple.