Goodbye bowfront/Chunk's sick

[DMD123]

Re: Goodbye bowfront...

The pox would be great since it clears itself up over time on its own. Seems to mostly affect koi, carp and goldfish and will many times occur with cold weather and go away with warm weather. Looked into it, but little info on it with cichlids.

 

[Betty]

Re: Goodbye bowfront...

The hydrogen peroxide bath sounds scary. :shock: Did she do okay in that? (Or is Chunk a he?)

Have you gotten the copper safe yet? I would be a little concerned about trying too many medications. Are you able to run the medications through their full course?

Don't know if you've seen this or if it helps in your situation, but there's some interesting info. www.merckmanuals.com

Your fish just can't get the easy to diagnose and treat conditions, can they?!

 

[DMD123]

Re: Goodbye bowfront...

I think of Chunk as a 'she'. The Peroxide bath is at a safe dosage, about 50ppm for 30 minutes. Death can occur if you do 300ppm for an hour but at the dose I did it is safe. Thanks for the link, been reading up a lot on different ailments. And yep I hardly ever have fish issues but when they hit, they are doozy's.

 

[lloyd378]

Re: Goodbye bowfront...

I think you need to rename this topic...,.


Also, I agree with betty and worry about some side effects of using all of these different medicines......

If I was stuck is this crappy position of probably do daily wc for a week then hopefully the coppersafe would be there and I'd start all over with the medication cycle... It's obvisouly easier for me to say that given that it's not my fish and I don't have the investment into it like you do.....I'm also a stout believer in fresh clean water will cure everything ( with the occasional medicines of the water isn't cutting it).

Also, when you leave on vacation, If you need someone to watch over her, let me know. I have an open tank rigjt now

 

[DMD123]

Re: Goodbye bowfront...

Thanks for the offer Lloyd but I will treat with coppersafe and then we have someone house-sitting while we are gone. As to side effects thats why I feel leaving it alone while I am gone will allow for things to settle and I can tackle it again when back.

As to the Peroxide treatment, it looks like it helped. The bumps dont look so angry today. I am going to treat every two days with this bath.

 

[lloyd378]

Sounds like you've got a handle on it! Good deal.

 

[DMD123]

Update: Chunk sits in another Peroxide bath as I write and so far the Parasite Guard and baths have proved to show the most benefit with no flare ups coming back. I think I may have been dealing with a parasite/infection and the antibiotics would start to heal up the fish but would not completely heal due to the parasite. Just a theory at this point. So today ends the Tetra Parasite guard treatment and I have my final game plan in effect.

Peroxide bath daily till I leave on vacation Saturday
Force feed medicine/food mix today and Wednesday for a full treatment of antibiotics (3x total)
Triple Sulfa till I leave on Saturday to help with any external infection
Coppersafe dose to the tank while I am gone

Thankfully I have a house sitter who has experience with fish who will keep in contact while I am away and I can trust her If I feel some additional treatment is required while I am gone. If it has flared back up while I am gone I do have some other ideas and a different round of meds.

 

[DMD123]

Update: Chunk still shows some or the white little pimples with just a few that look like they have a white head on them. The Peroxide baths seem to be the most effective treatment so far. As of now the fish is only in clean water with no meds. I decided not to force feed any meds since I really think this junk is somewhat antibiotic resistant. So Chunk is progressing well but not 100% done with it.

 

[Betty]

Good update. I hope she's all better before you leave.

I have never heard of the peroxide bath -- I hope I never need it, but I'll try to remember that in case I ever have a problem like this.

 

[DMD123]

Thanks Betty. I was dropping so much money in meds and not seeing any improvement so when I was reading up on the peroxide baths I thought it was worth a try since it was something I already had. It sounds extreme but the fish has shown no distress and seems to be getting better.

 

[MattArmstrong]

DMD, what concentration are you using in your baths and how long are you keeping Chunk in there?

I've seen videos of people squirting hydrogen peroxide directly on algae in a planted tank. Submerge a squirt bottle and have at it. No harm to fish. I recently took a piece of driftwood out of my tank, squirted it with H2O2, let it sit, and then put it back. The driftwood fizzed a bit in the tank, but the fish didn't care. The algae is dead, plants survived.

Fishermen use H2O2 to super-saturate the water of their "livewells", presumably to keep their catch alive so it is fresh at the end of the day. This guy explains the chemical process, why it is safe, and recommends 1 oz per 3 gallons of water:

[youtube]j8K0AjcFqK0[/youtube]

I wonder if fish collectors use the same trick...

 

[DMD123]

I based my dose off the link I posted. I am doing 2 teaspoons per gallon of water and leaving the fish in for one hour.

The recommended dose is 50ppm on the safe side or you could go a bit stronger at 75ppm. Studies done showed 300ppm and an hour in that concentration could kill a fish.

 

[DMD123]

Back from vacation and getting back to an Oscar that looks even worse.

Whatever started just took off while I was gone with the stuff covering the fish all over its body and on fins. I am going to try a few more rounds of meds. I have starting with triple sulfa and paraguard which seemed the most effective of all the previous treatments along with the peroxide baths.

I pretty much decided that if it does not clear up with the meds I have left, I am giving the fish away to someone who was willing to take a whack at it. I have way too much money into this fish at this point and could have bought another 75g tank with how much Ive spent.

I have about another months worth of meds to be able to try....

 

[anthony]

That's sucks ! At this point you have given that fish something for every disease/infection know in the fish keeping hobby. I think it's smart not to invest any more money, can't cure everything.

 

[Anonymous]

What the heck is up with this fish?! -

Sorry DMD123,
It seems sometimes I run into that one fish. The fish that fades away no matter what I do. I also have plants that do the same (Ugly comparison but it's aquatic related). Sometimes fish are diseased , or abnormal in some way and we don't even know it. He may have some sort of immune system issue (birth defects) that you'll never be able to do anything about.

I don't have any real solution for you. Just wanted to pop in and show support. This isn't that average little tetra that just dies but a larger full on Pet. Again, sorry DMD123.

Without reading the 4 pages in the thread do you think this fish might be sincitive to nitrates?

 

[DMD123]

This one is really tough because of the high quantity of water changes this fish gets, I doubt any issues in regard water quality. Also looking at the fact the tankmates, a L114 pleco and three Australian rainbows show no issues really makes me scratch my head. They are just fine, so whatever is going on is likely not a transmitted issue. And the fact two other tanks in the house have no issues also makes me scratch my head. lol

Have went the route of fungal, bacterial and parasite and results varied with the triple sulfa having the best impact but then stopping working after 6 days of treatment. The fish eats normally, does not flash or rub up against anything and shows zero distress. Just covered in what looks like little pimples.

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

Dmd pm me and I'll get you in touch with a guy who can maybe help

 

[bassetman]

Luck with it D.Can you post a current pic?

 

[Betty]

I'm glad it doesn't seem to be suffering at all. Wish I could help, but I have no ideas.

Did you try that Coppersafe before you left?

 

[DMD123]

I'm glad it doesn't seem to be suffering at all. Wish I could help, but I have no ideas.

Did you try that Coppersafe before you left?

Thanks Betty, yep copper safe was in the water for the time I was away.

I started the peroxide baths again but am thinking to try a Methylene blue bath since it is supposed to work well with triple sulfa treatments. This is one thing I have not tried yet.