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PLEASE help me out here. I lost a clown loach yesterday, but I was expecting it. His death was similar to another clown loach a couple months ago. BUT, I most certainly was NOT expecting to lose a Diamond Tetra and Rubber Plec (I have had them for almost 6 months) today. I have been monitoring my fish so very closely the last few weeks because of my 5 unexpected Panda Cory fry and two Platy fry. Other than the clown loach, nothing unusual. Now, two dead today and I noticed a Zebra looks like she has a red gash or slash on her side. My question is this: IS MARACYN-2 SAFE FOR MY BOTTOM FEEDERS AND FRY?? THAT INCLUDES THREE CLOWN LOACHES, TWO PLECS, 7 PANDA CORYS, 5 PANDA FRY AND 2 PLATY FRY.............HELP!!!

ALSO, my ammonia and nitrates are perfect!! PH is high, 8.0+, but has been since day one. Water temp is set at 79/80.

..OH NO!!..we have problems and not even sure where to start..you have lost alot of fish in the last few months something crashed somewhere(water condition) or introducing new fish to the tank,without quarantine,they brought infection with them.
Thats a big tank to medicate,trust me!! especially Maracyn 2.
clown loaches,panda cories are not good with meds. more so the fry.
you say your tests are perfect..what are the numbers exactly?
Have you in the last while before any fish took signs illness done anything to your filter system? new sponge?,do you rinse your sponge out alot(some do)your carbon how old is it?
Im not sure what to say other than its your call to medicate.I have the Maracyn 2 brochure here in front of me,it says nothing on clowns,cories sensitive fish in general on treatment effects.I dont think the fry would survive thoughtout the med..I used it for my convict(fungus)and he did well.

Ask your LFS about it unless someone else can reply soon.
You see before using such a product you realy want to be sure (close to it)on what it is your treating.
Can you tell me what these fish looked like before they died and the one thats ill now.

Maracyn 2 is effective against gram-neg bacteria.Internal diseases are more difficult to detect than external ones.symptoms- clamped fins,listlessness,not eating,unusual behavior can be caused by internal infection so marcyn 2 could* work.
What appears to be the same disease on a different fish,or on the same fish on two different days,may not be the same affliction.Antiboitics can be effective against one and not the other.
Write back with the info I asked for pls and we will see what we can do..
I hope I helped a bit

Sue

I am at work, this will be quick. My ammonia and nitrite were at zero (or whatever the number is for the palest shade on the test kit card). I previously said "nitrate" I do not have nitrate test for some reason. The kit has everything else. I plan to purchase one right away as this may be the key??

The clown loach was obviously sick. What gets me is the Diamond Tetra, and Spot (my Rubber plec), both of whom I have had for months looked perfectly normal before passing. The tetra didn't even look dead at first. The plec, however, almost looked "moldy" - whitish, when I found it. He could only have been dead a few hours.

I did buy some platys about a month-6weeks ago that did not survive. They were probably sick when I bought them.

My PH is high. Approx 8.4. Could this be causing the trouble? It always has been high though, and no prolbems as serious as this. Would adding a PH reducer shock the fish or cause them upset?

I did 40% water change and gravel vac less than two weeks ago. I changed carbon and ammonia insert at the same time. I usually do 20-40% change and gravel vac every 10-14 days.

What is up with this anyway??? I am just sick about it. Oh, and like I said, now I have a Zebra that looks like she has a red gash on her side - she is swollen also.

Help! Thanks for your advises.

Now i have noticed that all my fish are staying the bottom half of the tank.. what is going on?!?! Except for the Zebra, they all look healthy. I am going to do a water change tonight even though I just did one last week.

I had the same problem a while back. My 29g is heavily planted and the plants absorb 90% of the nitrates. I decided to skip out on a waterchange once. Some of the plants died (I had taken a light off of the tank) and fallen apart and stuck to the filter. Ammonia levels rose slightly from the rotting plant matter, but the rest of the plants kept the ammonia levels down quite a bit. My nitrates got too high (I'd lost my nitrAte test kit and couldn't test), and I lost an oto and a swardie in 2 days. I did a waterchange after the swardie died and none of the fish have died since. I cleaned out all of the decaying plant matter...that helped....

Try a big waterchange...maybe 40%-50%...that will probably help

I did buy some platys about a month-6weeks ago that did not survive. They were probably sick when I bought them

..yes,they could have been sick(even one)you dont quarantine do you?
you have to medicate! sounds like most, all maybe will die..and not nessesary from the same illness.you must move the zebra form the tank now! she wont make it..put those babies in a hospital tank(no meds)hope they will do ok..cause I dont think they would survive the med in the main tank.
Maracyn 2..read directions carefully.dont overdose,and be prepared for the cost involved here.
could it be possible you forgot to add declorinater during a W/C ? Any sprays,room deodorizers,pufumes..etc..get near the tank at some time(way back).
If you have been doing a regular schedual on vacs and water changes the last number of months then I cant see your NitrAtes being out. partial water changes is an effective way to control high concentrates of NitrAte.Only one thing comes to mind...your replacement water does it have high levels of NitrAtes to begin with?..have you ever done tests..are you using a different water source that you did months ago when everything was fine?
if that Pleco was only there a few hrs like you said then it sounds like he died form some sort of fungus..

get back to me..

Sue

my PH is high in my cichlid tank 8.0, but I dont have the variety you do in your tank.. fish will adapt to a high PH, but monitored if adding more fish every so often cause it could go up with the increase of ammonia.

I hope Garyroland is here somewhere he could help..
Im not sure what else to do here?

Sue

It sounds like a Nitrite problem, have you teasted for that yet? This happened to me about 2 months ago. It causes the fish to lose there red blood cells, therfore they cant take in the suffucent amount of oxergen, and then dying slowly one by one. Its very sad when you dont catch it. But the best thing you cant do is do a 10% water change every day, and make sure that your conditioner removes nitrites. Also, check your tap for nitrites. Did you recently change your Water Conditioner? (Thats what happended to me)Or did you remove an air stone?

-topher

Nitrites are ZERO. Ammonia -ZERO. I am baffled. Now, I did a 40% water change last night, scraped algae (not a lot to be scraped) rinsed ALL filter media w/freshwater(have never rinsed the sponge in anything but aquarium water, but decided to try last night)..........except the Zebra w/dropsy they all look very happy and healthy - flitting around the tank like they haven;t in quite some time. I added a lot of CYCLE and AQUAPLUS water conditioner. I am honestly wondering if I am totally at fault w/overfeeding. I cut my feedings down to once a day, but read on here last night that fish stomach is only the size of it's eye!! Is that true?: If so, I have way overdone it and probably caused these problems myself for which I am very guilty-feeling. ...........I just always worry my bottom feeders won't get enough

..Over feeding will cause some problems especially if that rotting food at the bottom is not removed. your bottom feeders wont get to it all and it will go deep into the gravel this would cause high ammonia etc..etc..
Did you remove the Zebra from the tank?..if it is dropsy, he probably will not make it and I suggest you end it for him..or you can try a hospital tank with stong med and hope but...

sorry for all your losses,it is hard (I know) but we do what we can within reason..

Sue

Whoah. . . everybody slow down a minute.

All I heard here was that you had 2 deaths in a short period of time and now a "zebra" with what looks like sores and/or dropsy. What are we medicating for?

Maracyn 2 (or any other additive)is NOT a quick fix for what sounds to me like a water quality issue. It's a specific antibiotic for gram-negative pathogens. If you want to destroy your nitrifying bacterial colonies, causing the tank to cycle all over again, stressing and possibly even killing your fish, use the maracyn. If not, take a closer look at what's going on.

The Maracyn 2 MIGHT help the zebra with dropsy in quarantine (QUARANTINE) but the chances of success are very low.

You said you were probably overfeeding. Usually, if you think you are, you are so I would say you need to correct that. Also, 40% water changes are pretty drastic considering the fish you have in the tank. Take it down to about 10% a week. That combined with proper feeding and vacuuming the substrate should prevent any nitrate issues.

OK, now you also have quite a few bottom feeders and you mentioned that you overfeed to be sure they get enough. Sounds like flake to me. Get some sinking pellets or something similar for those bottom feeders and go easy on the flake. Spirulina tabs are excellent. They're inexpensive, nutritious and most fish love them. Your cories would also appreciate something meatier that sinks. Frozen foods are always a great choice and you WILL notice a difference in the health of your fish.

My opinion: this doesn't sound like a specific disease or infection but rather a water quality problem. Don't medicate unless you know what you're treating for.

I've never noticed maracyn of any kind to affect the biofilter, but I agree that adding some maracyn of any kind just to add it might not be the best idea until we handle the root of the problem.

Firstly, do you have a quarantine or hospital tank?
All new fish should go through a quarantine process in which they are put in a seperate tank and monitored for any obvious problems. This should last for weeks, until you're dead sure there is no evidence of any problems / signs of disease, parasites, etc. A hospital tank should be used for treating fish you already have that have non-contagious problems- with contagious problems the whole tank should be treated.

Secondly, how do you acclimate new fish? Floating the bag is good for acclimating the fish to your tanks temperature, but it's a good idea to open the bag and add a small amount of tank water to it. I use the tank lid to hold the open end of the bag above the water line while I'm doing that. A little bit of tank water numerous times until the bag is full and is approximately 1/2 to 2/3 tank water. At the beginning, pour some of the lfs water out into a bucket or something if it's more than half full, so you have room to end up with 1/2 to 2/3 tank water in the bag. I usually take 3-4 hours to acclimate fish into my tanks, which is probably overdoing it, but I don't get ich or mystery ailments in newer fish either (knock on wood). I do this when I move them in between tanks at home also, but if the water parameters are similar I don't take quite as long.

Get a nitrate kit..the AP master test kit doesn't come with one and I've always though that was ridiculous. Normally, water change amounts are dictated by nitrate concentrations in a healthy tank. Some people can do as little as 10% weekly while some have to do 30% or more...it depends on the bioload of the tank ( kind of fish, etc ) , the filtration, etc. In a healthy, cycled tank one of the reasons for doing water changes is to get rid of excess nitrates, so it's good to have a test for it so you can be sure your water changing schedule is keeping up with the demands of the tank.

My opinion: this doesn't sound like a specific disease or infection but rather a water quality problem. Don't medicate unless you know what you're treating for.

I'm inclined to agree with that, pending more specific information.

..first we have gone throught the water quality and still finding not to much to go on..

Like I mentioned already here if Dropsy has attacked the Zebra,well by the time you notice it and decide it is,the fish is more than likely a gonner,but did mention it was up to her to medicate.Dropsy is a killer and about the hardest to try and cure*

It was not mention to medicate right away with Maracyn 2,I had suggested to first wait to see if we come up with anything concerning the water quality. Meds are a last resort( I know this)

note this is a continuing post she has had more than 2 deaths..

what appears to be the same disease on a fish, or on the same fish on two different days,may not be the same affliction.Antibiotics can be affective on one and not the other.

take a closer look at what's going on.

we have been doing what we can, it has been suggested just recently here to medicate,we cant find much with the water..all though I wonder, but its already told of the cost and the outcome on medicating..

sue..

This is going to be short - I am going on vacation (BAD timing). The Zebra still hanging in there. No other fish deaths. I have way cut back on the feeding - only light feeding once a day. Seems top be helping. My biggest problem with all of this: the Diamond Tetra and Rubber Plec were PERFECTLY FINE just hours before their deaths. What is up with that? The other diamonds are still BEAUTIFUL. I just don't understand.

I've never noticed maracyn of any kind to affect the biofilter, but I agree that adding some maracyn of any kind just to add it might not be the best idea until we handle the root of the problem.

- Maracyn 1 and 2 are both antibiotics that will obliterate your nitrifying bacteria. That's the problem with anitbiotics, they just aren't selective.

I agree with jake on the Nitrate test. . . sounds like the overfeeding on that tank has probably caused the nitrate to rise much higher than you want it, which will cause stress on the fish and leave them more e to infection. Just because your Ammonia and Nitrite is zero ppm it doesn't mean you have good water. Usually sudden, unexplained deaths can be traced to some problem. Most of the time it's contamination or shock of some sort.

I also can't stress enough. If you have a lot of bottom feeders, they need their own food. Don't force them to scrounge up the leftovers of your other fish. Get something that sinks and make sure they're eating it. Most flakes are garbage, to be honest. I will only use a few very specific types and only when it's all I have.

So really it's pretty easy:

1. Get better food and a nitrate test from the LFS.
2. TEST your water and start maintaining the tank better.
3. Find out if any chemicals, etc. might have contaminated the tank or if you changed anything right before the deaths.
4. Go easy on the food. If they can't eat what you're dropping in there within the first few minutes you're overfeeding.

Simple.