Hi, I'm a major newbie. I've been doing a lot of research but I have yet to find anything about re-cycling the tank after a fungus issue. I currently have a 20H with a tiger barb that has fungus on it's fins. I have yet to get Pimafix due to money issues. The tiger has had this condition for about 2 days now. I have to wait until Friday to be able to buy the Pimafix. Basically, I was wondering if anyone had any links or advice on what to do after you've had fungus in the tank. Thanks!
sick tiger barb
- Thread starter pauldhass
- Start date
The tank shouldn't need to recycle. You can either treat the entire tank for the fungus, or remove the barb into a smaller quarantine tank for the treatment. Unless the smaller tank has a filter+heater, you may be better treating the 20 gallon at large.
Scaleless fish such as corydoras and plecostamus may have trouble with the meds - make sure you read the back.
What fish do you have in the tank? How long has it been set up? What are your readings for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite?
Scaleless fish such as corydoras and plecostamus may have trouble with the meds - make sure you read the back.
What fish do you have in the tank? How long has it been set up? What are your readings for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite?
whats the temp on your tank? cold water can make it worse, darken the tank and add aquarium salt (super cheap just a couple dollars) to help ease the fish into feeling better
do a 50% water change while keeping the temp as constant as possible and continue to change the water daily 25%/day after that the water quality improvement may help the fish fight the fungus a little better
again aquarium salt is inexpensive 3.79 at petsmart and there is a 16oz at walmart for 1.79 follow directions for sick fish
do a 50% water change while keeping the temp as constant as possible and continue to change the water daily 25%/day after that the water quality improvement may help the fish fight the fungus a little better
again aquarium salt is inexpensive 3.79 at petsmart and there is a 16oz at walmart for 1.79 follow directions for sick fish
The only fish I have right now is the tiger barb. I've had the tank going for about 2 weeks now. Like I said, major newbie. I didn't even cycle the tank initially which is why I've been trying to "emergency cycle" it. I didn't initially buy the tests (I'll be getting those Friday) so I don't have those readings right now. I can take a sample to my LFS, but would be useless because I wouldn't be able to do anything about until Friday anyways. I'm currently doing 25-50% water changes every other day. The fungus has seemed to have subsided some but his fins are still "frayed". I'll be treating the whole tank. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the tank cycled as well. I do not have a quarantine tank available, but my wife and I saying that it should be bought on Friday as well.
well if you have 1 fish your tank is basically a quarentine tank now because you only have 1 fish.
you can't force cycle a tank, do you know the temp in there?
do 50% today right now, then do 25% in am and pm of every single day not every other day
the fungus may clear on it's own
test kits are important, if fungus is gone don't buy that, tank needs no chemicals at this point, what is the temp?
you can't force cycle a tank, do you know the temp in there?
do 50% today right now, then do 25% in am and pm of every single day not every other day
the fungus may clear on it's own
test kits are important, if fungus is gone don't buy that, tank needs no chemicals at this point, what is the temp?
Ok, after a very stressful day, I've finally been able to do my testing. My test results show .25ppm (ammonia), 0ppm (nitrite), and 0ppm (nitrate). Not exactly sure what I need to do in order to fix this. Remember I only have one fish, and he's sick. I treated the tank with Pimafix about 4 hours before testing. I don't think that would effect my results, but any advice here would be appreciated. Also, the instructions on the Pimafix said to do a 25% water change after 7 days of treatment. This leads me to question...should I continue my 25%am/pm water changes while treating? I was thinking it might effect the treatment, but major newbie here.
the ammonia is likely a contributor to his illness so yes keep changing the water.
It's just like a person when you are exposed to stressful and unhealthy conditions you are more likely to get sick as your body has a harder time fighting the yuckies.
do as suggested treat the whole tank then treat the incoming water as you refill the tank each day
buy some PRIME conditioner as it neutralizes ammonia to a degree.
It's just like a person when you are exposed to stressful and unhealthy conditions you are more likely to get sick as your body has a harder time fighting the yuckies.
do as suggested treat the whole tank then treat the incoming water as you refill the tank each day
buy some PRIME conditioner as it neutralizes ammonia to a degree.
I read about the PRIME conditioner before. I was referred to a brand called AmQuel Plus. This is what I've been using so far. I initially had a normal conditioner and then went with the AmQuel Plus. Before doing my morning water change, I ran the tests and my results were: ammonia .25, nitrite .25, nitrate 0ppm. My tiger barb is sticking around the top of the tank, going belly up for a second, then flipping back over but still at the top. I know this isn't normal behavior. Has anyone else experienced this before? Also, my wife wanted me to purchase this set of chemicals called Microbe-Lift. I did, but have yet to use them but everyone thinks that the guy, who said I should use it, is a jerk and a lousy specialist. Has anyone had any experience with that product? It contains three bottles: the aquatic stress relief, the "special blend" (which claims to contain a complete ecosystem in a bottle), and NITE-OUT II (used to rapidly reduce ammonia and nitrites). The NITE-OUT II says to use it until the ammonia reading is below .6ppm...which it already is. I'm not sure if I should start using it or not...HELP!!
Poor guy, Best thing you can do is learn from the experience, it's really easy for the balance of the tank to be upset and kill fish, as long as you've got the right know how you can keep the tank with low maintenance and great benefits, my tank, i've got loads of fish, they're all happy swimming around with clear water etc...
And all i have to do is change 25% of the water every week, and clean the filter every 2 or 3 weeks, (using water from the tank in a clean bucket of course)
You'll get there ,
And all i have to do is change 25% of the water every week, and clean the filter every 2 or 3 weeks, (using water from the tank in a clean bucket of course)
You'll get there ,
I definitely appreciate your guys' encouragement. After further research, I've noticed that my cycle will take EXTREMELY long the old fashioned way or even the "fishless" way due to me having plants. I didn't take this into consideration before and my tests have been consistently showing 0 nitrites after that one case where I showed .25ppm. I believe that this was a faulty test due to them no longer showing up for I ruined the cycle somehow. Anyways, knowing that I can do the fishless cycle easier, I'll be removing my plants in order to complete the cycle. After that, I'll be able to introduce my plants and new fish into the aquarium. Again thanks for all the advice and encouragement.