Mysterious losses?

[VirgoWolf]

Lately my black neons have been dropping like flies. I didn't think much about it since I have never had good luck with neons of any sort and they were the only ones being affected. Well yesterday I found a dead oto, and that I am not happy about. Now the remaining black neons (2) seem a little off behavior wise, but otherwise healthy. Every other fish in the tank appears healthy except for my GBR is a little dull and I have 1 female guppy and 1 glowlight tetra that are emensely fat, not sure if that's related, I thought the guppy was pregnant and the glowlight carrying eggs, but they have both been quite big for some time now and nothing is comming of it. Also the guppy's gravid spot is not black like it would be if it were eyes, it's a transparent orangie color.

I'm at a loss to what could be wrong, but if I lose another oto or my GBR or one of my plecs, I would be devistated. Any ideas?

 

[VirgoWolf]

OK, I have some Prazi-Pro, should I go ahead and dose that and hope it's an IP problem, or should I try for a better diagnosis?

 

[MrJG]

Looks like things have been fairly quiet around here with the server move. Sadly I'm so new to the hobby that I have nothing to offer in terms of suggestions. Good luck, I hope someone can help out.

 

[Lotus]

Well, it's hard to say what's going on, unfortunately. Definitely be very cautious about adding meds with a GBR in the tank, they don't tolerate meds well.

The active ingredient in Prazipro is generally gentle, but if possible (according to the directions), soak the fish food in it.

Have you checked your parameters?

 

[VirgoWolf]

Humm... I read my bottle of Prazi and it doesn't say anything about soaking the food. I assume this is a straight forward process, but is there any specifications I should follow on how long to soak or anything else?

Yeah, parims are as always.

 

[Lotus]

I couldn't find anything about using it as a food soak. I've used Gel-Tek to soak foods for IPs in, but not Prazipro. I guess you'll have to treat the water.

Are you getting any fish looking skinny or not eating? If not, I am beginning to doubt that it's an IP.

 

[VirgoWolf]

Well some of them are really fat, and they all seem to be eating somewhat, the GBR is not as eager about food as he normally is and I just noticed some clear gel like poo from him, but I see others with normal poo too. None of them look really skinny though.

 

[Lotus]

Well, if there's clear poop, then an IP treatment is a good idea.

Some kinds of internal parasites are like tapeworms in humans, and will grow inside the fish (yuck). Occasionally, if you kill that type of worm, it can kill the fish if it's too large to be passed in the poop. I hope this isn't the case with your fish, though, and sorry for the horror story.

 

[VirgoWolf]

Thanks, I'll dose the Prazi tomorrow morning and hope for the best.

 

[Jake]

Good Luck hopefully everything works out!

 

[Timbo]

Have you tested the water quality?
First step is usually to do a few 30% water changes.
Then a general med like liquisil or myxazin (spelling?).

Always assuming that there are no symptoms

 

[VirgoWolf]

Yeah, as I mentioned before, no water quality issues to point a finger at. Besides, this has been gradual over the last week or 2, not all looses around the same time. We removed all carbon from the filters and preformed a waterchange and dosed with Prazi Pro. Hoping for the best. I'll update if I see any improvements or any more deaths. So far it looks like I am going to lose the remaining 2 black neons and my dwarf molly, the GBR is in questionable shape, but the rest seem fine, other than a few who are overly fat. As long as I have some hope of keeping the GBR and my Plecs are OK, I can count my losses and be fine. The rest of the fish are just fish, but my GBR and my plecs I am definitly attached to.

 

[VirgoWolf]

Well looks like the 70gal has similar problems, I'm about 90% sure it's IP now. Stupid petco/petsmart fish! I quarentined for like 3 months and as soon as I put them in tanks with fish I care about, this happens. I'm done with chain store live stock.

On the plus side, since the meds, my GBR has gotten most of his color back, and no losses as of yet. Going to do the same treatment with the 70gal today and hope for the best, the Krib doesn't look so good though.

 

[GeraldTheMouse]

I only go to PetCo/Smart for equipment, nothing that lives, well, maybe plants. I can only wish you luck, as I have never had experience with IP.

 

[VirgoWolf]

I am usually the same, but I figured with excessive quarentine, we'd be OK, guess not. This was the first time I have really bought anything living from one of these chain stores, and it will be the last. The only chain store worth going to is Petland and that's only because the aquatics manager there pretty much runs that place by himself and actually knows his stuff and picks his stock out personally.