(****I put a summary at the bottom, if you don't have time to read the whole post!****)
Hello everyone- I hope I can get some good advice here- my heart is racing and I'm in a bit of a panic mode. This is long, for which I apologize, but I want to get all the relevant info in, so hopefully someone can help me!
I'm new to this whole fishkeeping thing, but I'm diligent, and have done tons of online research... but I've been unable to find information on how to deal with this.
I have a 5 gallon planted tank, with an aquaclear mini filter. It's been cycled for 3 weeks (fishless cycling method) and since it's been cycled I've added 5 dwarf sunset platies. (3, and then two weeks later when i saw that the levels were all good and holding, I added two more- all 5 are female). Water changes (I use Prime and a bit of salt) are once or twice a week- no more than 6 days between them, usually just 4. Levels have consistently been ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrAte generally 5 or 10, once 15. (I measure almost every day, and before and after every water change- hey, I'm still new, and i'm obsessive.)
So on Monday I noticed one of the fish was flashing a bit against a plant, so I did a 2 gal water change (the previous had been 3 gal on Thursday) and was keeping a close eye on them. I thought she maybe had gill flukes.
I had the intake end of the filter covered with a stocking b/c I bought it used and it didn't have the extension. The stocking got really gunked up, and the filter was straining, and the fish all looked good, and I read that healthy fish won't get sucked up by a filter... so I took it off, and on Tuesday on my way home from work bought some Jungle Parasite clear to treat the gill flukes.
when I got home... two fish had gotten sucked up into the filter!! I rescued them, and one of them was pretty beat up- scraped looking. The other seemed ok. I put the stocking back on, but cut a small hole in it about the size of this 'o' (because the tank water was awfully cloudy since I'd dumped the dirty filter water with fish in there). They hid for a while, but then (within 12 hours or so) started acting pretty normally, although the more beat-up one was hanging out at the top of the tank a little more than previously. Not gasping, just hanging out there. Overall looking ok. I added the correct dosage of the Jungle Parasite clear, and nobody was flashing any more...
... and then today (Wednesday) another one got sucked up! THROUGH the teeny hole in the stocking! She's beat up, also. I feel terrible!!!
So now nobody is flashing (I guess they have bigger problems! ) But I'd like to treat with some kind of antibacterial to prevent possible infection... and I don't know if I should continue the Jungle parasite treatment or not.
On hand (between what I had and my panicked trip to the pet store) I have: maracyn I and II, CopperSafe, Triple Sulfa, and some antibacterial food. Oh, and I bought a new filter JUST FOR THE EXTENSION... so nobody else will get sucked up.
Help us, please!!
Okay, I just re-read and thought I should try to summarize:
5 gallon cycled tank
5 dwarf platies (all female)
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
3 fish sucked into filter, 2 pretty beat up and scraped looking.
Question 1) How to treat to prevent infection?
Question 2) Continue with Jungle Parasite clear or no??
Thank you in advance, everyone. i've already learned so much on this forum without ever posting...
What to do???
Hello everyone- I hope I can get some good advice here- my heart is racing and I'm in a bit of a panic mode. This is long, for which I apologize, but I want to get all the relevant info in, so hopefully someone can help me!
I'm new to this whole fishkeeping thing, but I'm diligent, and have done tons of online research... but I've been unable to find information on how to deal with this.
I have a 5 gallon planted tank, with an aquaclear mini filter. It's been cycled for 3 weeks (fishless cycling method) and since it's been cycled I've added 5 dwarf sunset platies. (3, and then two weeks later when i saw that the levels were all good and holding, I added two more- all 5 are female). Water changes (I use Prime and a bit of salt) are once or twice a week- no more than 6 days between them, usually just 4. Levels have consistently been ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrAte generally 5 or 10, once 15. (I measure almost every day, and before and after every water change- hey, I'm still new, and i'm obsessive.)
So on Monday I noticed one of the fish was flashing a bit against a plant, so I did a 2 gal water change (the previous had been 3 gal on Thursday) and was keeping a close eye on them. I thought she maybe had gill flukes.
I had the intake end of the filter covered with a stocking b/c I bought it used and it didn't have the extension. The stocking got really gunked up, and the filter was straining, and the fish all looked good, and I read that healthy fish won't get sucked up by a filter... so I took it off, and on Tuesday on my way home from work bought some Jungle Parasite clear to treat the gill flukes.
when I got home... two fish had gotten sucked up into the filter!! I rescued them, and one of them was pretty beat up- scraped looking. The other seemed ok. I put the stocking back on, but cut a small hole in it about the size of this 'o' (because the tank water was awfully cloudy since I'd dumped the dirty filter water with fish in there). They hid for a while, but then (within 12 hours or so) started acting pretty normally, although the more beat-up one was hanging out at the top of the tank a little more than previously. Not gasping, just hanging out there. Overall looking ok. I added the correct dosage of the Jungle Parasite clear, and nobody was flashing any more...
... and then today (Wednesday) another one got sucked up! THROUGH the teeny hole in the stocking! She's beat up, also. I feel terrible!!!
So now nobody is flashing (I guess they have bigger problems! ) But I'd like to treat with some kind of antibacterial to prevent possible infection... and I don't know if I should continue the Jungle parasite treatment or not.
On hand (between what I had and my panicked trip to the pet store) I have: maracyn I and II, CopperSafe, Triple Sulfa, and some antibacterial food. Oh, and I bought a new filter JUST FOR THE EXTENSION... so nobody else will get sucked up.
Help us, please!!
Okay, I just re-read and thought I should try to summarize:
5 gallon cycled tank
5 dwarf platies (all female)
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
3 fish sucked into filter, 2 pretty beat up and scraped looking.
Question 1) How to treat to prevent infection?
Question 2) Continue with Jungle Parasite clear or no??
Thank you in advance, everyone. i've already learned so much on this forum without ever posting...
What to do???