I sometimes wonder why I even like fish! They can be SO frustrating!
Yesterday one of my girls (the 'girls' are a pair of dwarf honey gouramis, btw) had a 'mark' on her side that I thought looked like just a simple injury, from swimming into the rock or something. My boyfriend, however, pointed out that it was probably another one of those 'flesh eating diseases' that they keep getting, because this is how it always started off - either that, or I have the world's clumsiest gouramis. This is the freakin THIRD time this has happened to my fish!!! It starts off looking like an injury, or a scrape. Then, a day or two later, it looks like it's bleeding, and the fish barely uses it's fin on that side of the body - then, it starts growing wispy white fungus. This morning it had progressed into the second stage - it looks a little bloody. When it first shows up, I throw a little aquarium salt in the water with a water change. Supposedly Gouramis like a little salt in their water, so it's not a big deal, but I really wish it would help whatever the dang problem is! I then progress to using MarOxy to get rid of the fungus. The first fish this happened to died - not from that though - and the second time it happened to one of the ones I have now, though I can't tell them apart so I don't know if it's the same fish or what. I'm at my wits end with this. Why does it keep happening? My water parameters are as close to perfect as I can get - excepting my pH of 8, which I'm told isn't all that bad as long as it doesn't fluctuate.
Sigh. That was more of a rant than anything else. My boyfriend always thinks it's ridiculous when I go on about the fish and then head to the store to buy $10 meds and $30 test kits for $3.88 fish. I have to come where everyone knows my name... no wait, where people can actually sympathize, and maybe even offer advice... or failing that, a good strong virtual drink.
Yesterday one of my girls (the 'girls' are a pair of dwarf honey gouramis, btw) had a 'mark' on her side that I thought looked like just a simple injury, from swimming into the rock or something. My boyfriend, however, pointed out that it was probably another one of those 'flesh eating diseases' that they keep getting, because this is how it always started off - either that, or I have the world's clumsiest gouramis. This is the freakin THIRD time this has happened to my fish!!! It starts off looking like an injury, or a scrape. Then, a day or two later, it looks like it's bleeding, and the fish barely uses it's fin on that side of the body - then, it starts growing wispy white fungus. This morning it had progressed into the second stage - it looks a little bloody. When it first shows up, I throw a little aquarium salt in the water with a water change. Supposedly Gouramis like a little salt in their water, so it's not a big deal, but I really wish it would help whatever the dang problem is! I then progress to using MarOxy to get rid of the fungus. The first fish this happened to died - not from that though - and the second time it happened to one of the ones I have now, though I can't tell them apart so I don't know if it's the same fish or what. I'm at my wits end with this. Why does it keep happening? My water parameters are as close to perfect as I can get - excepting my pH of 8, which I'm told isn't all that bad as long as it doesn't fluctuate.
Sigh. That was more of a rant than anything else. My boyfriend always thinks it's ridiculous when I go on about the fish and then head to the store to buy $10 meds and $30 test kits for $3.88 fish. I have to come where everyone knows my name... no wait, where people can actually sympathize, and maybe even offer advice... or failing that, a good strong virtual drink.
