I'm a little afraid some of my fish have a problem. I posted a thread a while back about some red spots on my platy, and now his gills are pretty red. A few of the other fish have reddish gills now, and I just caught the original red one scraping on a rock. I've googled and some sites said to treat for parasites, some said to treat for bacteria. I was planning on doing a broad treatment for that would either kill both, or one for bacteria and one for parasites. Any suggestions on what the best medicines are?
Best Broad Treatment
- Thread starter ryanoh
- Start date
I tested for nitrates yesterday before and after my water change, and they were at 0 both times. It started with just one fish, and I thought that might just be his coloring, but now lots of other fish are starting to develop the same red gills.
I'll do a another water test and post all the parameters when I get home.
I'll do a another water test and post all the parameters when I get home.
Okay, here's what I've compiled from two different test kits:
Nitrates: 0-5.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0-0.5 ppm
Hardness (GH): about 100
Alkalinity (KH): 280-300 (listed as slightly high)
pH: about 7.5, it wasn't very clear on either test strip. Could this indicate some sort of water problem?
Really the only fish that are showing any signs of sickness are the platy, and other than the one the scraped the rock, they haven't been acting abnormally. A few of them have redness in the gills, and some are showing redness in their dorsal and tail fins.
Thoughts?
Oh, also, I changed my substrate from gravel to sand about a week ago. I just stirred up the sandbed yesterday to avoid anaerobic buildup, so that shouldn't be it, plus one of the fish was showing the same redness before I changed substrates.
Nitrates: 0-5.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0-0.5 ppm
Hardness (GH): about 100
Alkalinity (KH): 280-300 (listed as slightly high)
pH: about 7.5, it wasn't very clear on either test strip. Could this indicate some sort of water problem?
Really the only fish that are showing any signs of sickness are the platy, and other than the one the scraped the rock, they haven't been acting abnormally. A few of them have redness in the gills, and some are showing redness in their dorsal and tail fins.
Thoughts?
Oh, also, I changed my substrate from gravel to sand about a week ago. I just stirred up the sandbed yesterday to avoid anaerobic buildup, so that shouldn't be it, plus one of the fish was showing the same redness before I changed substrates.
Last edited:
Sounds like your tank is going through a mini cycle because it lost all the bacteria in the gravel that was helping maintain the cycle. I didn't see an ammonia reading....
I would be willing to bet that your fish have ammonia poisoning based on what you've said. I would do 50% water changes every other day with Prime until your tank pulls through this mini cycle.
I would be willing to bet that your fish have ammonia poisoning based on what you've said. I would do 50% water changes every other day with Prime until your tank pulls through this mini cycle.
+1 Bass
I agree about the ammonia possibility and doing half water changes.
I had this experience myself when I needed to transfer my loaches from my 36 to the 10, except the ten still had two hours til it was ready for fish so I put them in my 2.5, just hoping they'd be okay for an hour, but it was like insta-red gills and was a result of ammonia poisoning, they're alive and well in the 10 gallon thankfully.
I agree about the ammonia possibility and doing half water changes.
I had this experience myself when I needed to transfer my loaches from my 36 to the 10, except the ten still had two hours til it was ready for fish so I put them in my 2.5, just hoping they'd be okay for an hour, but it was like insta-red gills and was a result of ammonia poisoning, they're alive and well in the 10 gallon thankfully.
I bought Prime and added a dose today right after changing the water. I have test strips that I got when my old tank was given to me, and since then I've bought a nitrate test kit. Today at the fish store (which just opened last week and I'm super excited!) I priced a master test kit, and it was more than I could afford right now. An amonia test is the next thing I plan on getting, but since that's the general consensus about what's going on I should be okay if I treat for amonia even before testing for it, right? I should be able to get the amonia tester in a bout a week or two.
For now, I'd do 50% water changes daily, treating with Prime. See if that might actually help all the fish. A bit of aquarium salt would be okay - if you are going through a mini-cycle and have some nitrites going on, the salt will help to prevent brown blood disease. Use in moderation - your corys should be okay.
You can use Prime to detox both ammonia and nitrite, but be sure to have lots of aeration (either airstones with an air pump, or lower the water slightly if you have a waterfall-type filter so more splashing happens).
I find that Seachem's Ammonia Alert Disks work well and helps monitor ammonia levels 24/7. Where I live, they cost about $6.00 US, and last over a year, and well worth the peace of mind knowing that you have no spike in ammonia. If you use Prime to detoxify the ammonia, the disk knows the ammonia is now in a detoxified form and it doesn't register it after a few hours. Several elementary schools near me use them now (I donated them, Seachem should pay me as a sales rep, HAHA!!) and have had no loss of fish due to the children overfeeding (as they always seem to do). When they see the color change on the disk, they do a water change with Prime, good gravel vac, and things are back to normal.
I find that Seachem's Ammonia Alert Disks work well and helps monitor ammonia levels 24/7. Where I live, they cost about $6.00 US, and last over a year, and well worth the peace of mind knowing that you have no spike in ammonia. If you use Prime to detoxify the ammonia, the disk knows the ammonia is now in a detoxified form and it doesn't register it after a few hours. Several elementary schools near me use them now (I donated them, Seachem should pay me as a sales rep, HAHA!!) and have had no loss of fish due to the children overfeeding (as they always seem to do). When they see the color change on the disk, they do a water change with Prime, good gravel vac, and things are back to normal.
I've been cranking up my heater slowly all day, and the water's at 82 right now. I did some research on salt and scaleless fish, and rather than one tsp per gallon they recommend 1 tsp per 5 gallons, which is what I did and they seem to be doing fine. I've also been treating with Prime, and will be doing 25% water changes daily for the next week or so.
One fish has ich pretty bad, and a few others have it a little. I'll post in a few days and update everyone about what's going on.
Also, as far as aeration, I have a waterfall type HOB filter that's rated for 20 more gallons than my tank is, and two bubble-rods that span the whole 36 inches of the back wall of the tank. Hopefully that's enough aeration, which I also read is something important in fighting ich.
One fish has ich pretty bad, and a few others have it a little. I'll post in a few days and update everyone about what's going on.
Also, as far as aeration, I have a waterfall type HOB filter that's rated for 20 more gallons than my tank is, and two bubble-rods that span the whole 36 inches of the back wall of the tank. Hopefully that's enough aeration, which I also read is something important in fighting ich.
Last edited:
You can also lower your water level an inch or so, so the waterfall creates more splash to increase aeration. Just keep in mind that the total volume of water is decreased, so alter the level of salt if you choose to keep using it. You can do more than 25% water changes too. Water changes and dosing with Prime will do a world of wonders for most tank problems . . . .