Dead Harlequins :(

[lairewen]

Yesterday I added three harlequins and a siamese fighting fish to my tank of 12 neons. A few hours later I had an outbreak of whitespot. I've just added whitespot treatment to the tank and when I put the lid back on I noticed that two of the harlequins were dead. What worries me is that they were very discoloured - almost 'faded'. I have no idea if that was because I didn't notice they'd died for a couple of hours or some other reason. They'd shown no signs of whitespot - it was confined to the neons, at least that's what I thought. Help please?

Edited to add: The last of the three is now starting to look bad too... it's swimming on its side near the top of the tank.
Edit two: It's dead. Inside of 30 minutes. *Sigh*

 

[*Fishkies*]

How did you go about acclimating the "new" fish?
How long has your tank been setup?

What are you using to treat whitespot currently or are you not treating?

 

[lairewen]

Hi,

I floated the unopened bag in the tank for about 20 mins, then added a little tank water to the bag every 10 mins for about half an hour.

My tank has been set up about five to six weeks, I don't have my own testing strips yet, but I always get a water test at the shop before I buy any new fish.

I'm using Tetra contraspot to treat the tank... before adding it I did a 20% water change, as suggested on the instructions. When I first noticed the outbreak I was advised to raise the temp to 30 and increase areation, which I did last night.

 

[LauraFrog]

As far as I know, a whitespot outbreak can't start within hours of adding fish. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the whitespot must have been introduced some other way, and not on the new fish.
What is the betta doing? Is it okay?

I acclimate new fish exactly the same way and I've never had a problem before.
Water stats?

 

[lairewen]

It seems to be OK.. it's not the most active, but it's swimming around... the last harlequin is now amost dead though. I'm wondering if the medication disagreed with them. It went downhill in half an hour.

I don't have any test strips yet... I'm hoping to pick some up tomorrow.

 

[*Fishkies*]

If you go to buy a testing kit, try to get a liquid test kit, as you get more tests out of them and their more accurate!

What did the pet store say about your water stats when they tested it, when you had gotten your fish?

 

[rust81]

How long were the fish out of the tank for? By this i mean from when the LFS bagged them up til you were able to get back home and float the bag in the tank??? It has been pretty cold this weekend and i wouldnt be surprised if the temperature of the water in the bag dropped a few degrees. A drop of 2-3 degrees can be enough to kill fish - hence they went so quickly

 

[lairewen]

Thanks... they were only in transit for about 30 mins. I think something went wrong with the whitespot treatment... all I have left now is my siamese fighting fish and one lone neon.

 

[shang hi]

to add new fish i always, float the bag for 20 mins then add about 50ml of water to the bag and leave it for 15 mins, then add 50ml every 5 mins for up to 3 hours depending on the fish. the better accumuilised to the water the fish are the better off they will do.

 

[lairewen]

I do the same - they seemed fine at first and my neons had been in there for about three weeks. I'm just hoping my siamese fighter survives now.

 

[shang hi]

did you add the water from the bag with the fish in? if so, and if enough free swiming whitespot got into the tank that could of been the cause...

 

[lairewen]

Yeah, I did... damn, I never thought of that.

 

[shang hi]

well that could of caused it, i NEVER add the water from the bag, net them out after they have goton used to your water (as best as you can tell they are happy in the water). always cheak the display tank to see if all the fish are healthy, none dead in the tank and that all the fish are healthy and active. Note: if the tanks share a filtration system (ask if you dont know) cheak the multiple tanks before purchesing. its bestt to querentine new fish for atlease a week before adding to the main tank, that way you can keep and eye on them and if they do get ill none of you livestock in the main tank will be effected.

anyway have a happy christmass and a new year full of good health and opituinitys
shang hi

 

[lairewen]

Sorry to revive this but...

I have two fish left, one neon and the siamese fighting fish. The whitespot has returned on the neon and the fighter is very, very lethargic. I was thinking of adding maybe 3mls of treatment, rather than the instructed 12... what do you think? I've already raised the temp from 24 to 26.

 

[vinylman]

Whenever you treat fish with medication, ALWAYS follow the instructions to the letter; even if the fish looks cured before the course is finished, you must finish the course and give the correct dose. Unfortunately, many things can stress fish and leave them open to Whitespot. How long has your tank been set up?. Did you cycle before adding the first fish? The more info, the better. Even if it's too late for the fish you have left (and I really hope it isn't), it will be invaluable for the future.