Please help my sick arowana
- Thread starter hangu
- Start date
to MFK, Hangu!I have been reading this thread so far. It is very interesting to know about your father's concept towards the lives of your fish. It seems that we really do not have much choice if he is really this stubborn to live with his philosophy towards the fish as a whole.
Considering some points have been covered, I will answer some of your questions in post #7. In regards to the test kit, you need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, high pH (if the first pH kit shows the pH is off the chart), KH and GH. The first three are extremely necessary and should be monitored tremendously. Since your tank is horribly overstocked, I wold not be surprised if ammonia and nitrite are on high levels. Both substances are extremely toxic to the fish. A healthy environment should have zero ammonia and nitrite with nitrate no more than 40 ppm.
For better understanding of nitrogen cycle process, please click the link below. Just for reference, Aquariacentral.com is our sister site and also specializes in general fish husbandry.
Freshwater cycling
In order or you to be aware of how toxic the ammonia can be especially when your pH is on the alkaline side (more than 7) as shown by the pH test kit chart, here's a table for you to run the possible toxic levels of ammonia influenced by temperature and pH themselves.
Ammonia Toxicity Chart
Now, let's focus on our silver arowana's issues. Your arowana is suffering from mixed infections of finrot and possible external parasites. Unless you have a microscope near you to do skin and gill scrape to find out the possible flukes, ich, saprolegnia and bacterial infections, all we can do is assume here what exactly is happening with that fish in particular. Your best bet for that fish is to get him a tank for himself. A 10g is not going to help much as it is too cramped thus stressful for the fish. Is it possible for you to get a rubbermaid tub that is at least 30 gallons? The only disadvantage of this is unlike the tank, we cannot monitor the arowana effectively on sideview as the tub limits us to topview. Get him his own heater if your room temperature falls below 76 degrees Fahrenheit. I recommend the Visitherm Stealth or Eheim whichever brand you can easily have access into.
For now, stick to daily water changes until the fins heal. In the meantime, obtain some praziquantel labeled as Droncit (available in veterinary clinics) or Prazipro (petstores). Praziquantel can eliminate possible flukes that may be responsible for the scratching. Please note that scratching is not associated to ich alone. Flukes, external parasites, flagellates and many other pathogens are also responsible for that. If nothing else works, give it a few more days with more water changes and resort to antibiotics by using Maracyn and Maracyn 2 for possible bacterial infections but overall, I am suspecting flukes and poor water quality are the primary causes of your arowana's issues.
Once the arowana recovers completely, please be advised to either get a 150g temporarily (and you will end up upgrading again once the silver arowanas grow even bigger), an indoor pond or rehome them to someone who has adequate housing for silver arowanas. If possible, you can give them away to someone also a member of this forum. Make a thread about it in Marketplace forum once you decide to part with your arowana.
Check the Craiglist for tank deals. A lot of tanks come by in there as cheaply as possible. If in doubt with its warranty and pricing, please post your queries in Setup and Filtration forum so others will answer immediately for your convenience.
Since you have an opportunity to get a 150g and still keep the 30g, keep the oscar (if you really want to keep him) and put him in the 150g. A 55g is far too narrow for the oscar. You can keep the blood parrots there as well. Isolate the pearl gourami and koi angelfish in the 30g. As for your 10g, it can serve as a good quarantine/hospital tank if the need arises. Just keep it barebottom only with a small heater and a sponge filter.
Just as a reminder, when you clean your filter media, use old tank water only. Do not use detergents or hot water as you risk cleaning the beneficial bacteria responsible for keeping your ammonia and nitrite at optimum levels. Please do not replace the old media with new ones completely unless the old media is already completely worn out for use. All you need is sponges (not ones for kitchen use) and filter floss. If you have an activated carbon, reserve that for removal of odor due to ammonia and sulfur, and other chemicals. Carbon is also used to remove the medicines after treatment course is completed.
Hope this helps.
Lupes
Thank you everyone for all your help and encouragement.
I don't think I can raise a 150g aquarium until I settle down permanently somewhere. I'm going to give away the fish that won't fit in the 30 gallon tank and just keep the angel fish and gourami. I was really hoping to keep one Parrot, I like how they look but they'll outgrow this 30g tank in no time.
Giving the fish to people on the MFK forum is a great idea. If any of you guys or gals PERSONALLY know of a really good owner in the NYC area who's willing to pick them up, please pass the word on. I want to move them as soon as possible before my dad gets back. That's 3 parrots, 1 healthy arow, 1 sick arow and 1 oscar. I'll make a post in the right forum soon along with better photos. It's extremely important to me to know that they'll go to someone who actually knows what they're doing and has the adequate knowledge and equipment/environment to house these fish. These fish deserve a good home after what they've been through. I'll just have to weather the **** storm when my dad gets back, the fish will be happier at least.
I doubt anyone wants to pick up a sick Arow so I'm going to try my best to nurse it back to health for now. Thank you so much Lupin for the detailed instructions on treating my Arow, that was tremendously helpful. I'm going to hit up the pet store tomorrow morning for the meds listed and let you know how the treatment goes. I can't stand watching an animal scratch at an itch until the skin comes off, that's probably one of the worse tortures I can think of.
I've got a LOT of learning to do so I will hit up this forum often with a lot of asinine questions. Please bear with me. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate your generosity, I really wasn't expecting this when I came here.
I don't think I can raise a 150g aquarium until I settle down permanently somewhere. I'm going to give away the fish that won't fit in the 30 gallon tank and just keep the angel fish and gourami. I was really hoping to keep one Parrot, I like how they look but they'll outgrow this 30g tank in no time.
Giving the fish to people on the MFK forum is a great idea. If any of you guys or gals PERSONALLY know of a really good owner in the NYC area who's willing to pick them up, please pass the word on. I want to move them as soon as possible before my dad gets back. That's 3 parrots, 1 healthy arow, 1 sick arow and 1 oscar. I'll make a post in the right forum soon along with better photos. It's extremely important to me to know that they'll go to someone who actually knows what they're doing and has the adequate knowledge and equipment/environment to house these fish. These fish deserve a good home after what they've been through. I'll just have to weather the **** storm when my dad gets back, the fish will be happier at least.
I doubt anyone wants to pick up a sick Arow so I'm going to try my best to nurse it back to health for now. Thank you so much Lupin for the detailed instructions on treating my Arow, that was tremendously helpful. I'm going to hit up the pet store tomorrow morning for the meds listed and let you know how the treatment goes. I can't stand watching an animal scratch at an itch until the skin comes off, that's probably one of the worse tortures I can think of.
I've got a LOT of learning to do so I will hit up this forum often with a lot of asinine questions. Please bear with me. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate your generosity, I really wasn't expecting this when I came here.
hangu;3377690; said:
this is a great idea. post something in the classifieds area, people will see it more in that section.
nursing the aro back to health is really cool.
as far as dumb questions go, i dont really think there are dumb questions... if the asker doewsnt know soemthing, they ask the question... then they never have to ask it again! were all happy to answer any of your questions
great thread! unfortunately, there are alot of ppl out there that share the same sentiment as your dad towards fish-its upsetting.
Lupin and the others gave you great advice! post the oscar and others on this site to get rid of, and use craigslist to post them there if thats okay.. and nurse the little aro back to health and get a happy home for it...
maybe as you learn, your dad will eventually see throughout the years that you are a great fishkeeper and want to follow your advice.. but if he doesnt, dont take it personally.. some people just lack the compassion it takes to care for their fish..
Lupin and the others gave you great advice! post the oscar and others on this site to get rid of, and use craigslist to post them there if thats okay.. and nurse the little aro back to health and get a happy home for it...
maybe as you learn, your dad will eventually see throughout the years that you are a great fishkeeper and want to follow your advice.. but if he doesnt, dont take it personally.. some people just lack the compassion it takes to care for their fish..
Test results:
Ammonia: ~.3
GH: 100
KH: 0
pH: 6
NO2: .3
NO3: 140
NO3 and GH are off the charts. I'm going to hit up the pet store later to get the necessary supplies to balance those out. Any recommendations on which specific products to get?
The closest product they had for the sick Arowana was the API General Cure which contains 250mg of Metronidazole and 75mg of Praziquantel per packet. I'll need two packets for the course of treatment. The sick Arow looks sluggish and stays near the bottom of the tank most of the time. He's still not eating, is there anything I can try to tempt him to eat?
Thanks again for the advice everyone, sorry to keep this short but I've a TON of work today...
Ammonia: ~.3
GH: 100
KH: 0
pH: 6
NO2: .3
NO3: 140
NO3 and GH are off the charts. I'm going to hit up the pet store later to get the necessary supplies to balance those out. Any recommendations on which specific products to get?
The closest product they had for the sick Arowana was the API General Cure which contains 250mg of Metronidazole and 75mg of Praziquantel per packet. I'll need two packets for the course of treatment. The sick Arow looks sluggish and stays near the bottom of the tank most of the time. He's still not eating, is there anything I can try to tempt him to eat?
Thanks again for the advice everyone, sorry to keep this short but I've a TON of work today...
hangu;3379564; said:
Ammonia looks a bit high... probly due to all the fish that keep dying and the fact that the tank wasnt cycled in the first place (just a guess but im guessing your dad didnt have the mind to cycle the tank)
garlic is an appetite stimulant which he should eat. the garlic, if fed each day along with regular foods will also keep the ich from attaching to the aro.
i use kick ich as my ich medication, and its worked wonders for me. u just have to follow the instructions very carefully on it.
Try using frozen bloodworms to feed the arowana. This might perk him a bit but really, your first step is plenty of water changes. Clean water is one of the few that perks the fish a bit as they become more comfortable with their environment. Then, after a large water change, you can try bloodworms. If it doesn't work, add garlic on its food to help stimulate its appetite.
Your pH is very acidic but this is quite self-explanatory since both your KH and GH are also very low or in other words, soft. It can slow down nitrogen cycle process as some of the ammonia is converted to ammonium and cannot be converted by bacteria into nitrite and then nitrate.
What are the hardness levels and pH of your tapwater. Assuming your tapwater is also soft, then you need crushed corals to help increase the hardness levels thus buffering everything. Your other options are crushed oyster shells, marble chips, aragonite substrate or calcium pills such as Caltrate for calcium carbonate to increase both the pH and hardness levels.
Your pH is very acidic but this is quite self-explanatory since both your KH and GH are also very low or in other words, soft. It can slow down nitrogen cycle process as some of the ammonia is converted to ammonium and cannot be converted by bacteria into nitrite and then nitrate.
What are the hardness levels and pH of your tapwater. Assuming your tapwater is also soft, then you need crushed corals to help increase the hardness levels thus buffering everything. Your other options are crushed oyster shells, marble chips, aragonite substrate or calcium pills such as Caltrate for calcium carbonate to increase both the pH and hardness levels.
