URGENT help with my dat needed

[andysmith]

i hope somebody can help
i recently lost a a large dat and motoro i checked my water and my PH had dropped so we thought that is what caused the deaths i added some coral gravel to the filter and that has corrected it.
but for a few days one of my smaller dats has had some red patches on him they are between its gills and fins an then today i have checked it and there is something white that is sticking out from it and the area is red.
it is trying to take food but keeps spitting it out it looks like it is having trouble eating it.
my water ifnow fine apart from the nitrate is a bit high but the kit i have is for salt water so not sure if that makes a diffrence.
all the other fish are fine i have 2marble motoros and other dats in there and they are all happy and eating ok.

any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated

thanks
Andy

 

[krichardson]

Sounds like gill parasites,does it appear to be breathing more heavily than normal,what kind of dat and how long have you had it?

 

[andysmith]

its breathing is not that bad but it does not look in the best condition it still swims in the open and comes to see me.
i beleive it to be a widebar but cant tell as it never colours up and has allways been dark it is about 5 to 6 inches i got it about 5 to 6 months ago and its never had any problems before but as i said i did lose another dat that was about 10 inches it started off lying on its side and just wouldnt move for days and then finally just gave up.

 

[krichardson]

I would get it to a smaller tank and treat it for parasites as the symptoms seem to lead to that...Tell me,why do you think that it is a Widebar?At five or six inches it's unlikely that it is a Widebar but my guess is that it is a NTT or thinbar dat....Are the bars thin and is there much space between them?...Post a picture.

 

[andysmith]

looking at it i think you might be right i would say it is probably a ntt i never used to see it until recently as they have a few hiding spots but now it stays out all the time.
unfortunatly i dont have a spare tank as i am growing some dats and loaches in my 4ft.
can i treat it in my large tank and whats the best thing to use as i have rays in there?

thanks for your help

 

[krichardson]

I suspected that it was a thinbar from the beginning because they are the dats that seem to come down with these types of problems more than the others.....You could treat it in the tank that you have it in but you will have to use more of the medication because of the larger tank but the rays could be a problem.I don't know much about them and they may not be able to tolerate the treatment.

 

[krichardson]

thanks for your help

Glad to be able to help and I hope that you can save it....I don't know which brands are available where you are but I keep Coppersafe and Aquarasol on hand.

 

[andysmith]

i have read of a few treatments but they all seem american but i am in the uk.
if the worse comes to it i have a 4ft in the shed but it does have a crack but i guess i could patch itor i could steal me dads tank but its not that big but would do to heal it.
what sort of meds should i use if i can get it on its own?

 

[nicknwillys]

I currently had the same problem.....I thought it was parasites...but it tuned out that my nitrates were too high and this was causing the problem and now the nitrates are 20ppm and everything is good. I lost 2 ntt dats one was 10'' and the other was 6''. More water changes should solve the problem. If you think its parasites get some prazipro...it is very safe!

Daniel

 

[krichardson]

i have read of a few treatments but they all seem american but i am in the uk.
if the worse comes to it i have a 4ft in the shed but it does have a crack but i guess i could patch itor i could steal me dads tank but its not that big but would do to heal it.
what sort of meds should i use if i can get it on its own?

Something around a ten gallon tank size should suffice,the smaller the tank,the less meds used....