So about a week ago my tank developed a horrible fungus that nearly killed my entire tank....thank God my water seems to be recovering as he is definately my favorite! Unfortunately he hasn't started eating yet and I'm really getting worried about him, the fish use to eat at least 10 fish every third day and now he could care less, there literally a dozen minows swimming around with him and he doesn't even notice ...anybody have any ideas on what I could use to make him notice I'm really getting worried!!
Well, Sat I got really worried because the tank had taken another turn for the worse...see Mon I had taken water samples to Petco and showed their fish guy pics of what was going on cause we don't have a real fish expert local and they said the water is great you just have a fungus and sold me 63 bucks worth of meds!! So I did the meds as directed and thought we were through the worst of it but Sat morning everybody looked like he'll so I took another water sample to a real fish store about an hour north of me and he said the water was toxic the amonia was off the charts and the fungus looking stuff was actually their slime coat burning off!! I've kept this tank successfully for 8 years but only got the water cow 6 months ago and it was my first carnivorous fish...guess I'll be making that hour drive to the experts weekly cause he said the strip tests at Petco are horribly inacurate...this is Cowboy, trying to help his eel friend feel better
Buy an API master test kit. Around30 bucks. You can test for everything yourself. Before WC. After WC. You can dial in your frequency and volume to maintain a healthy system.
Adding the larger predator and feeding live foods probably caused the spike. You may need to add another filter and/or bio media to handle the increased bioload.
How big is the tank? Filtration? Water change regimen?
Good luck nice fish!
Adding the larger predator and feeding live foods probably caused the spike. You may need to add another filter and/or bio media to handle the increased bioload.
How big is the tank? Filtration? Water change regimen?
Good luck nice fish!
The tank hes in right now is 55 gallon, he was just a little guy when I got him so when I saw how quickly he was growing I got a 100 gallon tank that is almost ready for him to go in...the 55 has a cascade cartridge filter 1100 I think, I bought it forever ago cause it was suppose to be the best thing ever for undrilled tanks and it claims to service up to 100 gallon, it has three trays that right now have the white cotton filler media and the carbon infused pads in each tray. I normally do a water change every four weeks and change out the filter media at the same time, but I'm thinking with this guy maybe I should have been doing WC every week and only swapping the filter media every fourth week...the 100 gallon that hes about to go into luckily is drilled so the sump filtration should be able to handle him better! Thanks btw, I was wondering if I could get a professional kit for my house, that'll make life a whole lot easier!! So do you know of any treats they just can't get enough of? He use to go crazy for anything he could fit in his mouth but because he isn't feeling good he hasn't eaten in almost a week and a half! Hopefully he'll snap out of it when he feels better...
Sounds like a good plan. Keep changing water. Ammonia it's the ultimate fish killer.
They generally like anything they can ambush. Don't worry too much about not eating. I've had a peacock bass go 4 months without foods and a datnoid quit eating for just as long. Main concern is water quality. Once that's corrected and the ammonia burns heal it will start feeding again.
With the test kit. Make sure you shake the hell out of the nitrate bottles before you use them. Otherwise that test isn't very accurate.
They generally like anything they can ambush. Don't worry too much about not eating. I've had a peacock bass go 4 months without foods and a datnoid quit eating for just as long. Main concern is water quality. Once that's corrected and the ammonia burns heal it will start feeding again.
With the test kit. Make sure you shake the hell out of the nitrate bottles before you use them. Otherwise that test isn't very accurate.
That good to know! I hated thinking he was in there starving to death on top of everything else...I got the test kit tonight and things are still not ideal but getting better, so I did a 25% WC which I l.an to do everyday until things get better...how do you feel about ammo lock? The API test said to use it but it's also their product which they want to sell more of soooooooo. Hey thankyou, not sure if I said that yet but I really appreciate all your input and advice!!
I think you need to add another filter or more biological media. Keep up on the water changes to keep ammonia at 0 and nitrite at 0. You might need to step the volume up to 40-60% match temperatures and do the changes somewhat slowly.
I prefer Seachem prime or safe. It binds ammonia into a non toxic form. It will still test on your kit as present but it's made into non toxic form and the biological filter will still consume it into nitrite.
Get that ammonia down to 0 and keep it there with water changes until you set up another filter.
You are welcome bro. Anything for the fishes
I prefer Seachem prime or safe. It binds ammonia into a non toxic form. It will still test on your kit as present but it's made into non toxic form and the biological filter will still consume it into nitrite.
Get that ammonia down to 0 and keep it there with water changes until you set up another filter.
You are welcome bro. Anything for the fishes
No doubt my friend! I'm gonna head to the fish store tonight to get another filter, and I figured I'd take a water sample with me just to make sure I'm reading mine right, they have theirs setup under a specific light and I don't know what spectrum it is soooo,, but yeah I'll definitely keep up the WC changes and the primer, good to know about it binding the ammonia, that's weird, I'm not much of a chemist if you haven't figured that out already! They seem to be getting back to active so I'm taking that as a very good sign! I'll keep you posted
So I got the water test last night and they said the levels are looking alot better but I still don't have enough good bacteria so until the new filter gets built up she gave me a bottle of bacteria to help complete the cycle cheater style...thing is Cowboy is just hanging at the bottom and his breathing is not what it should be, I tried to upload a video but for some reason it keeps failing, the lady at the LFS said he looks like he's in shock and should start to feel better as the levels get back to normal, thing is I have a separate tank where a blue Crayfish lives thats only 15 gallons but its water is great and I'm really tempted to put Cowboy in there til his tank is healthy again but if hes already in shock I don't want to make it worse b throwing him in a completely new environment...I don't know what to do. If he can just hold on a little while longer I think he'll be fine!
