please help me with the tank

O

Olga

Medium Fish
#1
Oct 28, 2005
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#1
Hi,
about a month ago I noticed that the fins of my Raphael catfish are cut, like with the scisars. I removed carbon filter and started to use Melafix. It got better, but a little hole is still remaining. I do water changes every day -10%, every second day - 25% and once a week - 40-50%. There are no nitrites/amonia, nitares are very low (i have lots of plants). The aquarium is more than 2 year old. What can do to make it better...? :eek:

Thank you
 

Breeze7050

Breeze7050

Large Fish
#5
Nov 14, 2006
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Fishers, IN
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#5
What other fish are in the tank? And why are you doing so many water changes? Do you have a testing kit? What are your water parameters?
When did you stop treating him? How long did you treat him for??
Just some extra info for us to help you, thanks!
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#6
Aug 10, 2006
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Michigan
#6
You are doing too many water changes for an established tank. Does the hole in his fin look infected? Possibly fin rot? Can you get a picture? Sometimes fins never heal all the way up again once they have a severe rip, so if everything else is fine, he may be stuck with it. Unless it is infected or bothering him, he should be fine.
 

O

Olga

Medium Fish
#7
Oct 28, 2005
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#7
I added melafix for a week at first (added dose daily), then did 25% water changes. It looked ok, so I added carbon back and stopped treating. in few days it came back (fins were cut again more badly). I removed carbon and started to add melafix again. I read that frequent water changes might help. I am treating for the second time for about 10 days.
No other fish is affected and the one that is looks healthy (I did not notice any changes in behavior since it happened, just its fins were badly cut).
There are 2 pictus catfish and 3 rainbow in the tank. They all about 2-3".

I have a test kit, the water parameters are 0 nitrites/ammonia, nitrates are less than 5

The hole looks like somebody used Paper Punch - Hole, the same as it was when it is started
 

Last edited:
MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#8
Aug 10, 2006
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#8
Carbon really isn't necessary in a tank unless you are trying to remove medication. When using melafix, you shouldn't do water changes for the whole 7 day treatment period.

I'm confused about this injury, you're saying it was "ripped" and that it looks like "a paper punch hole." If it is a recurring injury, that means he is either cutting it on something within the tank or that another fish is picking on him.
 

O

Olga

Medium Fish
#9
Oct 28, 2005
82
0
0
#9
sorry for the confusion...
at first it was like a small little hole in the middle of the right fin, then it started to look like somebody took scissors and connected that hole (on the right fin) with the edges, and cut the left fin radial from the edge to the body in several places. Then, after a week, all cuts grown back (with little lighter color than it used to be). later, when I added carbon and several more days left, I noticed both fins cut radial again (no holes) from the edge to the side of the body. Now, all cuts are grown back again, but there is a small hole remaining on the left fin. :eek:

Those holes, that what I can not understand...if it is injures itself (or it is picked by other fsh), why it is in the middle...?
 

Last edited:
Jake

Jake

Large Fish
#11
Feb 15, 2007
105
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Dartmouth, Nova Scotia , Canada
#11
That many water changes allows the fish to get NO, adaptation to the water conditions therefore stressing out the fish, I do 40%-50% water change every Sunday, and clean the gravel. The fish are happy my pH is perfect, and my nitrates are a little high which will balance out.
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#13
Aug 10, 2006
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#13
IMO, daily water changes are stressful to the fish and can throw a tanks cycle off whack, especially if it is a new tank. Also, if this is a planted tank, the water changes can uproot the plants and not give them a chance to spread their roots. If the tank is not being fertilized, there also will not be any nitrates for the plants to "eat."

Yes, if this is a newly set up tank, to keep ammonia and nitrites down you should be doing daily water changes. However, if this tank has been set up for two years as Olga says, daily water changes are a bit much. I think fish tanks should be able to be enjoyed without daily labor involved, but hey, that's just me.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#14
Jul 13, 2005
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Western NC
#14
MissFishy said:
IMO, daily water changes are stressful to the fish and can throw a tanks cycle off whack, especially if it is a new tank. Also, if this is a planted tank, the water changes can uproot the plants and not give them a chance to spread their roots. If the tank is not being fertilized, there also will not be any nitrates for the plants to "eat."

I think fish tanks should be able to be enjoyed without daily labor involved, but hey, that's just me.
Click to expand...
Small daily water changes would require less 'adaptation' than larger, more frequent ones, and there's no reason it should cause a problem for the tank's nitrogen cycle if the water is dechlorinated, at least that I can see. Some people with major MTS have built trickle-type wc systems, where water is constantly running in and out.

A wc can be done very gently; uprooting is not a given, not by any stretch of the imagination. There are preparations to add for the plants which contain nitrates, and if I were doing daily wc's I would be thinking about overstocking the tank a bit, to tell the truth, just because I could get away with it.

If you don't mind the wc's, the daily labor isn't an issue. As a matter of fact, I can imagine that you could keep some sensitive fish like discus much more easily with a schedule of this sort, and their beauty would be a good payoff for the daily chore.

I personally don't do daily wc's, but I really can't see the harm in it.:)
 

tom91970

tom91970

Superstar Fish
#16
Jan 2, 2007
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Tejas
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#16
I don't see any problem with small water changes if done gently (which you would need to do with a lot of plants, I assume)...but talk about a lot of work! I'd just do 50% every week, or every other week, depending on how many fish are in the tank.
 

Purple

Purple

Superstar Fish
#17
Oct 31, 2003
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#17
Had a Pl*co with a hole in his fin once - so yeah - it happens.

Chances are he's just caught it on something in the tank - this can also happen when they're trying to get into tight spaces to get at food. You'd be surprised at how a seemingly innocent looking ornament of bit of wood can do this - especially with cats.

Carry on the treatment as you are doing now, and providing the spines of the fin are not damaged, it'll grow back quickly. Watch out for fin rot in the damaged area, and try and remove or modify anything that he could be catching it on in the tank. (Fin nipping doesn't create holes, so it's gotta be an inanimate object).
 

O

Olga

Medium Fish
#18
Oct 28, 2005
82
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#18
ok :)
i will keep adding melafix for a week without water changes and take off the piece of driftwood that might be sharp for fins.

Thank you very much for replies!
 

O

Olga

Medium Fish
#19
Oct 28, 2005
82
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#19
it came back...agin, fin rot i mean. it was about 10 days since i added carbon filter and stoped adding Melafix (I treated for 8 days and it was gone exept hole in the middle of fin). I am confused. If there is a problem with water, how to elluminate it (I do water changes every 4th day). If it was not enough time for cure, is it better to start using melafix again or try something new...
 

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