Thank you so much! The mucus on the filter is his poop stuck to it, I’ve been using a net to scoop it out whenever I see it. He’s been pooping that clear nasty stuff since he stopped eating. I will definitely be vigilant with water changes and vacuuming!
PLEASE HELP!
- Thread starter MrsBoring
- Start date
Hello; Let me add a thought in the event your efforts sadly fail. The tank may be infested or infected and a complete clean up possibly should be considered. Not a desired outcome but a consideration if the worst happens.
I have nothing to add about the treatment of the fish other than perhaps using a smaller "hospital" tank. I sometimes do this reasons. One is the cost of medications can be reduced in a smaller volume of water. Water changes and such can be simpler.
Another is sometimes it is only a problem isolated to a single fish.
Another is a fish with a problem can be picked on if left in a community tank.
I have nothing to add about the treatment of the fish other than perhaps using a smaller "hospital" tank. I sometimes do this reasons. One is the cost of medications can be reduced in a smaller volume of water. Water changes and such can be simpler.
Another is sometimes it is only a problem isolated to a single fish.
Another is a fish with a problem can be picked on if left in a community tank.
Thank you for the advice. Are you saying that if Spike ends up dying that I should thoroughly clean the tank and start fresh before replacing him? He is the only fish in this 65 gallon tank, which is why I left him in there for treatment. I will be using the CLEAR as soon as it arrives.
In your post you post nitrate reading as listed as "unknown".
In any already cycled tank, 0 for ammonia and 0 for nitrite would be expected.
But you do not list nitrate, and nitrate is a very important factor in determining long term health or chronic non-health of any already cycled tank.
In most aquarium literature both ammonia and nitrite are listed as acutely toxic, and nitrate is listed as "less" toxic.
Less toxic, does not mean "non"-toxic, and most of the time when a fish gets sick without coming into contact with other fish, the cause of that condition has to do with water quality, or the lack there-of which causes stress, and reduced immune function.
Hello; I have been following the thread. It is my take there is a parasite which may be at least part of the problem but it is not clear if this is the known problem for sure. There may be some other pathogen involved.
I just went back to see the test results for the water but they are not posted so with only WC every two weeks the issue may be water quality or perhaps what is sometimes called "old tank" syndrome. Maybe not but without some numbers my guess is this is a possibility. 40% WC every two weeks is not necessarily the cause of the problem but is at least suspicious. In a large planted tank with light feeding and good attention to the filters that is a not so bad routine. However if there is some overfeeding or the filter media is never changed there can be build up of stuff in the water.
There is also evaporation to be considered. WC ought to be at a greater volume than evaporation. If ten gallons evaporate during the two weeks and the tank level is topped up then the WC is not in effect 40%. During evaporation anything dissolved in the water remains and will build up over time. I look at it this way. If my tank is down two inches between WC I will try to take it down around eight inches to try to dillute the mineral and other such build up. I am off topic.
But yes it may be worth considering to disinfect the tank and all equipment if the fish does pass.
Hello; As is usual duanes gets to the point where as I ramble a bit.
There may be a good case for upping the frequency and volume of the WC right away. May be too late for the fish but should not hurt. One caution tho. Do not jump to a 90% WC the first day. There can be a shock to such a sudden change. Do the 40% each day for a couple of days then up the volume. maybe do this while waiting for the meds to arrive???
it is unknown because that is a test I don’t have. This is an already cycled tank, and I suppose I should add that I do feed him live in addition to his pellets. He has feeder fish (minnows, comets, etc.) and he also gets mealworms, crickets. When he first became sick I thought he had gotten a parasite from the live feedings? That’s why I treated for parasites.
One thing I can add which I take as “learning from Duanes” is cleaning detritus out of the filter. This includes thorough rinsing of bio media with dechloronized water.
I pump out my sumps weekly, clean sponges monthly and clean Sump as described above about every 2 months.
This is a distinct possibility, and would have been a good thing to stress right away, in the first post, letting those who answer become aware of this potentially dangerous feeding practice.
Disease is usually not related to meal rworms or terrestrial insects, but minnows or goldfish (unless you breed them yourself under high quality conditions) are especially prone to carrying parasites that can easily infect, and commonly kill your fish.
But nitrate, as far as being an integral part of a testing regime should still be considered.
Once a tank is cycled there is little need for regular ammonia or nitrite testing (as long as conditions are stable)
but nitrate and pH are some of the most important indicators of how a system is doing long term.
It's like testing drinking water for E.coli, E. coli are indicators of unsafe conditions for human health.
In the aquarium, nitrate is an similar indicator of unsafe conditions if too high for fish health.
Or having a radically fluctuating pH between water changes can be looked at in the same way.
I will obtain that test. I apologize for not adding the live feeding regimen in with the original post. I do breed the mealworms and the crickets for other animals that I keep, but the minnows and goldfish were purchased from a pet store. I won't ever be doing that again.
