Protozin

[CathyG]

A little background first. My tank is established, and there had been no new additions for a month or so prior to the problem. I test my water weekly, and perform water changes bi-weekly. About a week ago I noticed a marginal Ammonia reading (0.25) and immediately performed a water change. The next day I tested again to find 0 Ammonia, but a 0.25 Nitrite. Again I changed the water. The following day both read 0, but I was baffled as to why the rise, since my maintenance had not changed, and no new additions etc.

At about the same time, I had noticed (but not really consciously registered a possible link) that my Eheim 2213 would occasionally make a noise (previosuly silent) I assumed it was trapped air and after tilting the cannister, it would stop (this happened a couple to three times)

Within a week of the Ammonia/Nitrite show, I found one of my clown loach, and four of my cardinals had Ich *sigh* So I started treatment. There had previously been no indications, no skin rubbing etc. Overnight, they developed whitespot.

I followed the instructions, but only half dosed (since I have clown and khuli loach in the tank) My Cardinals recovered fantastically, no other fish caught it, but one of my three clown loach still has Ich. I had weaned the temperature up to 82, and performed a 30% water change and sand vac daily before each new dose (to catch the free swimming parasites).

On day three, I noticed my filter was particularly noisy, and on draining some of the tank water found out it had failed - so it is possibly the inefficiency of a dying filter caused the Ammonia/Nitrite readings, and thus the whitespot...

I am yet to administer the Day 6 dose (done days 1, 2 and 3, and one loach still has whitespot)

I had read somewhere that you could fully dose your tank (even with scaleless fish in it) if you lived in a hard water area, and had a higher PH. I have a PH of 7.4 and a GH of 300 mg/l. I was unsure so rang up Waterlife who confirmed you could up the dose with these parameters, but he recommended if improvement was being seen at half dose, then to stick to the half dose. Then he said I should wait 48 hours after the day 6 dose before starting treatment again.

All fish are lively, feeding well etc (even the still infected clown) Yet today my Betta died unexpectedly No signs of whitespot, was eating fine this afternoon, etc. Maybe unconnected, but still...

Now to my questions:

Do I follow the Protozin instructions to the book, or can I up the treatment period?
Are Bettas (or any other fish) particularly sensitive to Protozin?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, and for any suggestions

PS re the filter, I found out that a tiny limescale build up within the impellor chamber had caused wear. Now I know to descale my filter every couple of months It is up and working fine again now. We live and learn...

 

[Wishful]

Hi CathyG

We had a recent problem with our three clown loaches and white spot - sadly we lost them all

I contacted Waterlife too and upped the dose due to our pH, we also did two treatments on their instructions as quoted below:

"You can do a water change on day 8 ( about 10 to 20%) you can also start the treatment again on this day if necessary."

They also advised in a subsequent email that if you find that they get a secondary fin rot that you should use their Myxazin, but that has to be used after a certain period when the Protozin is finished.

I don't know whether Bettas are more prone to white spot or not.

HTH

Wishful

 

[CathyG]

Hi Wishful! Thank you for taking the time to read and respond!

I carried out the Day 6 dose yesterday, and there is a marked improvement (though the next couple of days will tell if it has cleared altogether)

Never-the-less, I will leave the 48 hour gap and treat again, as per the instructions, just to be sure. Once I have completed the next med cycle, I will lower the temperature.

Just a side note: I did a bit of a search on this site yesterday, and found that there is an opinion that Melafix can upset some Betta. I had used Melafix for a few days to help repair the Cardinals fins after the Ich (fully repaired now) but maybe this was what killed my Betta? *sigh*

Anyways, thanks again!

 

[LIVEBait]

PS re the filter, I found out that a tiny limescale build up within the impellor chamber had caused wear. Now I know to descale my filter every couple of months It is up and working fine again now. We live and learn...

Side Note:
I own a Eheim 2215 which has been up and running for about 6 months. Just recently I noticed my filter making a similar noise as if there was trapped air. It would happen occasionally...I say roughly 3-4 times an hour. Upon inspection, I noticed the output of water from the spraybar was less than normal.

I broke down the filter, rinsed the media, and cleaned the propellor assembly (that part really need cleaning...alot of built up crud). Started her back up, but still noticed the output of water from the spraybar hadnt changed. A few people told me on another forum I needed to clean the hosing. After completing the task, my filter had regained the lost output. The intake hosing that was siphoning water out of the tank was severly blocked.

From what I've been told...when the input/output is reduced it puts alot of stress on the motor. Not to mention less water/oxygen to feed the nitrifying bacteria.