About Ready To Throw In The Towel

[missgingersnap]

Actually, no. I'm not looking for people to fuss over me. I'm looking for support and advice. I'm genuinely upset about what's happening with my fish and sometimes you need to hear that other more experienced people have gone through the same things and have got through it. The only one wasting time is you. But thanks anyway.

 

[tenohfive]

Honeythorn...yes, I'm definitely going to wait until everything settles down before adding anything new.

Adandrews....wow! That's great advice! Thanks! (rolling eyes)

well thats all you want for people to fuss over you and say ohh please dont quit its great, if you are thinking about quitting there is no point in wasting peoples time, make the decision to quit or carry on.

good luck

Strikes me she's looking for reasons for why her tank has gone downhill - if she can't find one she'll quit, if someone on here can provide some answers and solution's she'll stay in the hobby. Thats the impression I got.

And if you're that bothered about timewasting, stop making pointless posts. Everyone else chooses to give their time, and are perfectly capable of working out whether or not to respond without your help thank you.

 

[AdAndrews]

i dont intend to argue, little point havning that title then isnt it luv.

 

[missgingersnap]

Whatever....quit posting then if you don't intend to argue. I'm here for advice...not whatever it is that you're doing.

 

[Amunet]

Just ignore them, someone is obviously having a bad day atm....
We all knew that the frustration of losing fish was just getting to you and you were hoping for answers.

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks tenohfive and amunet.
Everyone is looking pretty good today. All ick spots are gone except for my smaller angel. There are about 3 left. I should keep treating til they're all gone right? Then keep the temp up for a couple weeks? Also....after the ick treatment is finished what shoud I do about the angels ragged fins? Will they heal up on there own?

 

[greenscooby]

We're here to help, NEVER forget that, your bound to get the odd weird post!!!

Treat it with the contempt it deserves and listen to all the good advice.

We'll all get through this together and get you on the road to happy fishkeeping.

 

[Athena]

Hi - yes, finish the ich treatment as directed on the bottle - the treatment doesn't get rid of the white spots on the fish, they drop off the fish anyway as part of their life cycle - it's during that stage when they have fallen off the fish that the medications kill them off and prevent them from reinfesting other fish. So it's important to keep treating the tank for the complete course of treatment days.

For help with ragged fins Melafix is excellent if you can get hold of some of that either from your LFS or online. I have seen fins repair almost overnight when using it. Oh, and regular water changes helps in the healing process too.

Regards - Athena

 

[Underwurlde]

You appear to me to be a very concientious fish-keeper. And that is good and hence I'd say to you that your personality based on that is very well suited to fish keeping so don't 'quit' as some would have it.

It is clear that luck has not been on your side, and I would say that one makes their own luck, but that does not appear to be the case with you as you have done everything right: The generic advise on this forum is sound & is fantastic for the beginner.

It is also clear to me that your LFS that you got your stocking from may be having problems of their own & I think you've inhereted their problems when you purchased fish from them. I wonder if going back into their shop you'd see many of their tanks in quarantine? If so, perhaps a level-headed letter of complaint may not go amiss.

Installing a UV filter of some kind I think is good for any tank and will help guard against future infections. Also investing in a Quarantine tank may also be a good idea, however I do not practice what I preach here: I popped into my LFS today to fish-gaze and a lot of their fish appear to be getting white spot!... & guess who bought some fish from them last week!

It's worth to know that a tank cannot suddenly get ick unless it's been introduced somehow, in other words, YOU have not 'caused' your fish to get diseased & hence you are being unfair on yourself to assume blame for this - it must've come from your LFS.

Good luck curing your fish & don't get too down-hearted. Let's face it, this hobby for you is only going to get better!

Andy

PS... I'd leave keeping plants for now, get used to keeping fish first.

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks everyone. I do have melafix athena. I just wasn't sure if I could put that in there with the ick treatment. Should I wait until I finish with the ick meds? It's also a 48 gallon tank and my QT tank is only 5 gallons. Should I move the angel in there for fin repair or leave her in the big tank and dose melafix to the whole tank?
I got the quarentine tank recently but I guess not soon enough. Lesson learned there!
I'm not sure what a UV filter is. I'll have to read up on that. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

 

[Athena]

Melafix is ok to use on the whole tank - it's a natural product. Be careful not to over dose though. Sometimes I put half doses in if I notice any of the fish with little "nicks" on their fins (through mating or aggression) and it works a treat.

Oh, check the use by date on it too. I was very cross when I bought a bottle of it recently only to discover it had just 2 weeks left before the use by date! It's not exactly cheap either.

I would wait until you've finished the ich treatment, do your water change and gravel vac and then you can start the melafix. It shouldn't take long for the fins to repair. It will also help to repair that cut on your cory.

Don't worry - you're doing all the right things and you'll soon get over this bad experience and start enjoying your fish again. As with keeping any pets, there are always the lows along with the highs and it's just a case of being patient and doing what you can to get them through it. Can be stressful though!! But once you've gone through something like this, you will learn loads about fish illness and treatments - and if it happens again you will deal with it without panicking so much.

All the best - Athena

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks! I'll definitely use the melafix after. I never checked the date on it. I guess I should. I'm feeling a bit better about everything. Everyone left in my tank looks pretty good aside from the cut on the cory and the fins on the angel. The fins actually look a little better too. That angel still has 2 spots though. The ick med says to treat every 24 hours until all spots are gone. I'll do another treatment tonight and hopefully wake up in the morning with no spots. I notice my guppy still scratches himself on stuff but there is no visible ick left on him. Is it normal for them to flash even after the ick has fallen off?

 

[Athena]

Hi - not sure what treatment you are using but don't stop dosing from the day you see the spots gone. As explained in an earlier post of mine, when the spots erupt and the parasites fall out, they are still alive and start reproducing rapidly - and hence your fish can get reinfested with them. It's only when they are at that free-swimming stage that they can be killed off with ich treatment.

Are you sure the bottle doesn't say to give the tank another dose a couple of days after the last spots disappear, or something along those lines?

If you are still seeing fish flicking and scraping it could be that they have been reinfested again, in the early stages of it. By the time the spots are visible, the parasite is already in its adult stage. So a fish could have ich but you wouldn't know it until the ich is at adult stage.

What's the name of the Ich treatment you are using?

Athena

 

[missgingersnap]

Hi Athena
I've been treating with Jungle ick guard 2. It's made for scaleless fish. I have cories and a BN pleco as well. I've been dosing every 24 hours with a small water change and vacume hoping to pick up the spoors or whatever falls off the fish. I've also turned up the heat to around 86 and lowered the water level for extra aeration. I hope they didn't get reinfested. This stupid ick is hard to beat.

 

[bolivian_d]

Are you using dechlorinator with your water changes?

What sort of filter do you have, does it provide aeration?

Sorry if you've already answered these.