Help, Tank full of sick fish!

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
Well i just got back from newcastle, and the fish are all ok, well.. the ones who were still alive when i left. Im about to transfer the yoyo loach and the BN back to their tank as they seem to be doing ok after 3 days in a bucket by themselves with a little salt, a heater and an air stone. The two rosy barbs who were floating around the surface didnt make it, and 5 harlequin rasboras and 3 odessa barbs also didnt make it. Thanks for all your help and hopefully the survivors will be ok =)
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
8,786
2
36
hopefully the others will be ok, i would lay off the bloodworms though, bad news for filtration esp if accidental overfeeding.
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
Hey everyone so two weeks on from my first post the surving fish are all still alive. However the male BN affected by whatever it was he had in the first place once again bloated and i thought that i would post some pics this time to see what everyone thought, and in case anyone has a similar problem in the future. I have read that once symptoms of these kind of diseases appear that already internal damage has taken place and the fish often do not recover from these conditions. He has been bloated on and off for the last two weeks but still seems fine, although this is the worst since i first posted. Particularly his right side seems to have a lump there. He has also had clear poo with what looks like air bubbles in it. Im preparing the Qtank now but hopefully it wont be needed.




 
Last edited:

bre

Member
Apr 21, 2009
2,571
1
36
Newcastle, Australia
avitrol plus may be the best bet as it would cover most parasites

The list for Aus meds is here, scroll down past the US meds

http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243
Yep give Avitrol Plus a try. Try and get the tablets (they are stronger and much cheaper than the liquid one). 1 tablet per 10litres of tank water. Dissolve before adding to the tank. If you get the liquid it's 1ml per 5 litres. You can get from most pet and produce supplies. Aquariums don't usually stock it as it is a bird wormer. And as I've found usually the shops will only carry one or the other, so ringing around first may help.
For more info on treating with it read this
It will give you all the info you need about treating with Avitrol.

Any questions just ask
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
hey guys just got back from the lfs and they didnt have any avitrol plus but he gave me one that he said was exactly the same. seems o have all the same chemicals. i also noiced some kind of parasite/worm on my other BN so i grabbed some "Aquarium Science Anti-parasite Tablets" while i was there. After i got home i read that he Trichlorfon in the tablets "may adversely effect plecostomus, bristlenose catfish and metyniss". IS anyone familiar with this medicine and used it on BN, and also would it be bad to use the wormer and the tablet at the same time?
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
at the moment, algae wafers, iv been a bit slack on the zuchinni. and i give flake to the other fish in the tank.
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
8,786
2
36
I would start feeding some veggies, omnivore plecs are notorious for bloating when fed too much protein foods.

Also if there is a warning about using the tabs on the plecs then i wouldn't use it. People will say yeah i used it, my fish are fine but not all damage caused is apparent straight away and effects of meds can show one, two, three years later imo.

What does the parasite thing you saw look like?
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
well i grabbed some zuchinni and peas id cooked with dinner and will give them shortly. right in front of the top fin (where the dorsal fin would be on a dolphin.. sorry for lack of terminology) i noticed a red mark and on closer inspection noticed a translucent white worm type object coming from the red patch. it is about 3-4mm long. i tried to get a pic but couldnt get a clear one, ill try again tomorrow so i can post one.
 

Rabbit

Retired Staff
Apr 21, 2009
1,921
0
36
Auckland, NZ
You sound just like your cousin lol, have any species of crayfish been put in the tank?
I would get the peas and zuchinni in asap and stand clear of any high proteins for next 4-5 days.
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
haha well im going to take that as a compliment, not sure whether it is though [:p]!! well acually i added a few glass shrimp recently, if they are classed as crayfish then yes. whys that rabbit?
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
8,786
2
36
well i grabbed some zuchinni and peas id cooked with dinner and will give them shortly. right in front of the top fin (where the dorsal fin would be on a dolphin.. sorry for lack of terminology) i noticed a red mark and on closer inspection noticed a translucent white worm type object coming from the red patch. it is about 3-4mm long. i tried to get a pic but couldnt get a clear one, ill try again tomorrow so i can post one.
okie doke, ill have a think what it could be
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
it actually looks a bit like a bone coming out, at the same angle as the front of the fin. at first i thought she'd been attacked and it was the front bone of the fin but its definately not
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
i bought them from a petshop, but i cant remember whether the lady said they were from local breeders or not :S
 

Rabbit

Retired Staff
Apr 21, 2009
1,921
0
36
Auckland, NZ
It possibly an external fluke, growing to around 3-4mm in length. I had an order come through once before of shrimp that had contracted the parasites (the wild populations carry a very extensive list of parasites, infections etc).
The fluke generally wont kill its host (crayfish) i wouldnt imagin it would kill a bristlenose but the secondary infections and the stress would eventually. If you can get a photo it will help in giving you a positive id.
Follow this to find treatments,
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74
Otherwise contact Bre she's good with this side of things lol.
 

Colsha

Member
Nov 6, 2009
28
0
1
Sydney
alright here is two pics, its hard to see it but it may help. i tried to lift it up of his skin to make it a bit more visible, and it wasnt soft like a worm would be, it was hard like a small fish bone. BN dont have a (poisonous) barb there do they like some other fish?