Help!

[coldcazzie]

K, I went to lfs today to collect the zebra loaches they've been holding for me.

Came home, gently put contents of bag in a small bucket, set up a slow siphon using air line with a knot in it, wrapped bucket in a blanket in an effort to keep the heat better, and came back not long afterwards to find contents of said bucket all over my living room floor, siphon still going, and only 3 fish left ... curtesy of one of my cats who had managed to escape where I had locked him.

So the fish went back in the bucket with a jug full of my tank water, and the siphon, the cat went out the window (along with part of my hand) and now I'm wondering what to do...

I left the siphon going while I cleaned up and did dinner, mostly to keep temp up and any waste diluted. They're obviously in 100% tank water because all the shop water is in the carpet, so acclimating them slowly is out the window... none of them appear to be bleeding and they are all fairly active - 2 slightly more so, and I think the one that is moving less is the one that the cat was about to eat when I walked back in the room. They are all pooing, but I don't know if that's a good sign or not...

Do I leave them in the bucket for a bit longer to keep an eye on them or shall I put them straight in the tank and just hope for the best? What do I do?

 

[coldcazzie]

Ok, I decided to put them in my quarantine tank which I've been fishless cycling, and was nearly finished. So my QT has been completely emptied/cleaned, filled with tank water from my Rio (seens as thats what the loaches were in) and now has the 3 loaches zipping about in it.

Have covered with a black towel to try to keep stress down...

I have a bottle of Tetra General Tonic - should I dose the QT with this? It says it's for finrot, fungus, pop eye etc... none of which they havem but would it be worth it as a precaution? I have nothing else med wise...

Btw, mods, if this would be better in emergencies section feel free to move it!

 

[Darkerwhite2]

IMHO i wouldn't start a medication on the QT yet. Might be good precautionary measure but i think the fish will be better off without it. For now at least. If something else comes up then start a dose. It sounds like your keeping a good eye on these loaches now so you should be able to catch anything in its early stages.

My 2 pieces, Good luck. Hope the cats okay.

 

[coldcazzie]

Thanks, I appreciate it just don't want them to die. Am still thinking about the whole thing.

 

[Darkerwhite2]

Ya it can be tough, i remember when my angel fish jumped while i was trying to net her. Scared the crap out of me. And finding shrimp skeletons behind my tank sucked.

Stick in there!!

 

[star4]

Hi I had a bag split when I came through the door the other week and my cories ended up going straight into the tank. Wilder posted this info for me. hope it helps.

All I can do is leave a artcle to ph shock.
What was the temp of the tank.
How long was the journey.
Watch out for signs of whitespot, swim bladder and columnaris. if there was a big difference in temp.
Corys are not prone to whitespot though.

pH Shock

As its name suggests this condition occurs when a fish is introduced to quickly into a new environment which has a very different pH from the one it came from, when the pH is adjusted to quickly and the fish have little or no time to adjust themselves, or when the pH is to far outside the fishes normal range.

It is very important that any change in water chemistry is made slowly and fish should never be exposed to changes of pH greater than 0.5 of one unit on the pH scale in either direction.

Avoidance is by far the best solution because in most cases the symptoms don't appear until the second or third day by which time the damage has been done and the fish will probably die.

A fish suffering from this condition will show all the typical signs of shock -

Lying on the bottom and paying little or no attention to its surroundings and ignoring potential threats.
It may even lay on its side or go upside down completely.
There could be other signs to, related to Acidosis and Alkalosis
Excessive mucus production.
Rapid breathing.
Swollen abdomen. (Alkalosis only).
If the condition is allowed to go on for one or two days then the chances of a successful remedy are greatly reduced because a lot of damage will have taken place. If the symptoms are spotted early enough there are a couple of things that will help.

Begin to return the pH to the original pH in steps of 0.4 of one unit on the pH scale and allow 3 hrs in between the adjustments. Make these adjustments until the pH is returned to a safe and satisfactory level.
Treat the tank with a broad spectrum anti-Bacteria/Fungus compound to prevent secondary infections of the Skin and Gills.
Prevention is easy. A successful treatment isn't!
PH SHOCK LINK
http/groups.msn.com/FishHealth/phshock.msnw



My cories were fine

 

[coldcazzie]

I had actually tested the pH of the lfs water before all this happened, just out of curiosity, and it was 6.6 so only just above the 6.4 of my tank, so hopefully there will be no shock to their system on that front. But thanks for the link

They were all 3 still zipping about the QT this morning so will hold off on any meds unless I start seeing signs of infection. Also went back to the lfs and bought 3 more (also got a tiny one for free!) so there's now 7 in there, and they've had a bit of a w/c due to drip acclimation of the second lot, which I'm sure can only help. Have also raised the temp slightly in the tank so hopefully they'll be dandy.