URGENT!! med issue and dead fish

[trailmule]

I just lost my green female betta, and she was not showing signs of any illness. The purple one was the issue. It must have happened in the last hour and the white betta was biting at her body. I am sure the cramped quaters did not help. I am on the 4th day of dosing meds,...

Can I put everyone back in the main tank sooner? or should I wait another two days, finish the meds, then put them back? The QT is 2 gallons and now contains 2 female bettas, 4 male guppies, some gravel from the main tank, a sponge insert from the main filter and a sponge filter. The ammonia is about .25-.5 ppm, nothing higher than has ever been in the main tank.

This sucks. The purple one is better tonight, and ate with everyone tonight.

What should I do?

Can I replace the dead green betta, as I know they do better in trios....?

Thanks

 

[punkrockfish]

why were all these fish in QT? and 2g is way too tight for all those fish. female bettas can be aggressive too, and the cramped quarters probably didn't help. i wouldn't add any new fish until your original fish are back in the main tank and healthy.

 

[trailmule]

I lost a female betta to possibly dropsy, the purple one was beginning to show symptoms of the same thing. I did not want to expose the corys, ottos or shrimp to the meds....

The 2 gal is only thing I had. What I supposed to do? Medicate them one at a time?

 

[Lone Wolff]

Not sure if a fish tank divider for your QT would do any good. 2g maybe too small of a tank to use a divider. just a thought. I'm thinking about making one out of some spare plexiglass I have in the garage. My convicts can get quite nippy in close quarters and I want to be prepared if I ever need to put them in the QT.

 

[brian1973]

just throwing this out there since you are getting an ammonia reading
Ammonia Poisoning
Fish Disease - Ammonia Poisoning

 

[trailmule]

Nevermind. I double checked and it turns out that it was the sick purple one that died. I believe the bite marks were opportunistic...

Now I feel better. Another day and a half and everyone can go back in the main tank

 

[MissFishy]

FYI, usually if some fish are sick in the main tank, all the fish in the main tank have been exposed and are at risk for getting sick as well, so seperating out fish to treat them is usually uneffective since you aren't killing the source of the problem. What illness exactly were you treating these fish for? Bettas are sensitive to meds so they should be used with caution around them. I would NOT add any more fish until you decide to get rid of some of your current stock, your 10g is already overstocked as is.

 

[trailmule]

What would you recommend getting rid of?

 

[MissFishy]

I would pick either the guppies or the bettas to RETURN to the store, not "get rid of." You can usually get store credit for them. You never answered what exactly you're trying to treat for?

 

[MissFishy]

I just read in your other thread that it appears you're trying to treat for dropsy. It doesn't sound like your fish had dropsy. Dropsy I've seen develops slowly, over a week or so and the scales will be protruding in their "pinecone" pattern for at least a day or more before the fish passes away. It is unmistakable. So if your fish passed away overnight, it was not dropsy. Dropsy is also generally untreatable but not contagious to your other fish. It is a swim bladder problem, not a disease per se. I hate to ask the general question, but is this tank cycled and what are the water parameters?

 

[littleman2001]

You should have treated the whole tank. most meds arent harmful to your fish