I Made A Fatal Error...back For Some Stocking Advice!

[Lazerus]

Oh...that’s a good idea!! Like stick the two filters side by side?

I'll do that straight away.

(Its not going to make the water current too strong though, will it? I'll have a look and see.)

Anyway, I won't medicate till I get advice on the dosage in relation to the otos....I just have a feeling that they have to be taken into consideration...I can't find the post on it now though! Doh! I'll keep looking.

By the way, I forgot to mention...the three quarantined fish are dead. Two died yesterday evening, and I woke up to the last one dead

So the quarantine tank is now empty. Should I throw all the gravel out or does the nasty killing bacteria die with the fish?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

so sorry to hear that mate, i'm gutted for you honestly

right, the what will now be a q tank, sling the gravel (you don't use it in a q tank, leave them bare bottomed as it's easier to keep clean) and wash everything in a weak bleach solution. get the cheap thin household bleach, it's usually asda smartprice or the equivalent range. mix up a 20 parts water and part bleach solution and scrub everything in it, then rinse the living daylights out of it all, get a new sponge for the filter and then pop it on the main tank, then when you need to set up the q tank you just fill it with water, then move the filter over and plug the heater in, instant cycled tank

generally the anti bac meds are ok for scaleless fish such as catfish and cories (not sure if ottos actually fall into this group or not). it's white spot meds and anything with salt in that you've got to watch.

 

[Lazerus]

Hi again....

Well, I chucked that gravel, the quarantine tank is now empty, cleaned out and ready for its next use.

My new filter which is a really small and neat little filter called a “Magic-Jet 200” by a Chinese company called “Resun” is in the main tank working in unison with my current Fluval 1+....

Actually, functionally I think this filter is much better....it has a carbon cartridge chamber, plus an optional aeration attachment that can create lots of bubbles...which is good, because I’ll need that now that I just medicated the tank with Interpet No. 9.

Out of curiosity how long will the new Magic-Jet filter media take match the maturity of my current filter media? Days or weeks? I imagine it takes a few weeks.

Anyway, one last question….I put the dosage of Interpet No.9 into my tank and about 10mins later I realised I still had a carbon filter in…so I took the carbon filter out as soon I realised it….

So now I’m wondering has this totally messed up my dosage? Should I re-dose again or will it be okay?

 

[Lazerus]

Delighted to say, I still have seven fish this morning.....all are looking lively and healthy....lets hope it lasts.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah it takes around 2-4 weeks for the new filter to colonise with bacteria.

ummmmm could have done, the way i'd see it is this, each filter you have will tell you how many litres per hour it pumps out, you work this out against the volume of your tank and you'll see that the filters turn over all the water in the tank 3/4 times an hour, something around that.

From that you can see that if the filter turns over 6 times an hour, then it turns over all the water in the tank once every 10 minutes. I wouldn't imagine all the meds would be removed by the carbon in passing through it once, however a reasonable amount of it would be.

So do some sums like that and then make an educated guess as to weather the dose will be messed up or not.

If you do suspect it's messed up then do a series of large water changes so that you have removed all the meds, then start over again.

 

[Lazerus]

Thank Miss Wiggle....I wonder could I do a big water change, then put a carbon filter back in again leave it run for an hour or two so that would insure that the meds were gone....then do a water change again just to be absolutely sure.

Then re-dose?

So happy these guys are alive this morning....you wouldn't believe my relief!!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes that would work, is it new carbon or had it already been used?

 

[Lazerus]

Hi again...well the carbon filter that was in the cartridge last night, was only in my Fluval 1+ about 24hrs. I was thinking it would remove the nasty bacteria (I've since been told that carbon filters wouldn't really do that, they only remove medicines or tannins etc! )

So...that filter was the one I forgot to take out last night. The new Magic-Jet filter didn't have any carbon in it, as I didn't bother putting it in, so it just had a new filter sponge.

I was going to put the half used carbon filter back into the Fluval 1+ again as I thought it might still be effective?

But I do have new carbon filters so I can put a new one in which is probably a better idea, just to be sure!.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes put a new one in, i've heard varying reports as to how long carbon is actually effective for ranging between 3 hrs and 3 days, so to be on the safe side just stick a new one in.

 

[rabbut]

Carbon IME takes a few passes to remove meds. I don't think 10 minuites would remove the dose unless you had a rediculess 80+ times and hour turn-over

Med mixing is fairly complex, but I will go though it for you, using your scenario as an example

The interpet med needs to be dosed on days one and four. The Myxazin needs to be dosed on days one to five. On days two, three and five, you will use Myxazin alone as per instructions, but on days one and four, you will use a mix of both. Work out a single dose of each med that you plan to use for your tank, and double it in this case as you will mix up two doses of the mix. Add the double dose of both in Interpet and Myxazn meds to a container, and stir well. Now add the single dose of Myxazin and the interpet med together, and this is the ammount of the mix you add to your tank on days one and four only Waterchange and re-assess the situation on day seven, when both meds have ran their course.

A few words of caution though;

Tripple check all maths used. An error will caurse issues.

Research the two meds thourughly before mixing, checking what they are based on, and how they react with each other when placed together.

Watch the fish closely for an hour after dosing with the mix. Any gasping at the surface, or anyting else that indicates signs of additional stress should warrent an immediate 75% emergency water change and the placement of carbon in the filters to remove the combo

Mixing some meds together can let off gases or compounds that are toxic to humans, fish or both. This is why you need to research, and why you are wise to mix the meds outdoors, where these compounds can gas off without caursing too much harm.

Med mixing is risky, even with experience, so only do it where absolutely nessisary.

A dose of the interpet number 9 will be fine to clear it at this point. Mixing meds should not be required after all

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Lazerus]

Thanks Rabbut!!!

Well, It seems the dose of Interpet No.9 did the trick all right...I still have my 5 Cardinals and 2 Otos...they are lively, feeding, and showing no signs of distress.

Looks like the tank is out of trouble for the time being....I've to give the 2nd dose tomorrow to complete the dosage.

Only a new problem has arisen, actually, the same reason why I went out to buy more Cardinals in the first place...

I have four original Cardinals left and one new Cardinal that survived that mystery illness the other day....and this new fish is attacking my other four, including my big fella 'Lazerus', who was the original bully.

Gah, looks like I'm back to square one....I'll have to buy more cardinals!!!

Here we go again. At least I have my quarantine tank now though.

To be honest I'd love to get something else at this point. Cardinals are too senstive, and I'm not expeirence enough.

 

[Lazerus]

Hi all....

I haven't been posting in ages!! Hi to everyone!!!

So, after the terrible incident of the contaminated fish being added to my healthy tank, I haven't done anything with my tank in two months.

I have only three remaining healthy cardinals (they happen to be three of my originals bought 6 months ago) and I still have my two Otos....they are doing great. They are in my tank 3 months approx now.

I'd like to add some more fish to the tank again now...I believe my existing fish are ready for some new tank mates especially the cardinals since they are shoaling fish.

I'll be using my quarantine tank this time though to introduce the new fish (lesson learnt….Big time!!! )

I've been cycling an extra filter in my tank for over two months, along side my permanent filter in preparation for this.

I'm just really anxious to add more Cardinals again...I know they need to be in a shoal of at least 6 though. I really love them. But I’m cautious.

So my to my question, if I bottle out of buying more Cardinals on the day, can I add three more similar sized fish to the tank that the Cardinals might shoal with?

Would the Cardinals be stressed out with three other fish of a different species? Would I be causing more upset in the tank if I did this?

Any recommendations of fish that Cardinals may shoal with?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well hello Lazerus! Good to hear from you and nice to know things have settled down now.

I would try to go for the Cardinals again, remember if you don't fancy the look of the specimins in the shop on this visit you don't have to buy anything now, just keep popping back until you find some that you are happy with and then get them.

The best alternative would be neons, they're so similar that they happily school together.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I agree, can't put it any better than MW! My son has a nice group of 7 neons now and its nice to see them shoal.

Always nice to hear from a familiar member who's been through here and has now had a tank running well.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Lazerus]

Hi all,

Well, I went and got myself four rummy-nose tetras yesterday...I know, I know, you said get more cardinals or neons, but these guys just called out to me!!

And they are so vibrant and healthy! They are full of energy...making my current cardinals look very bland indeed!!

The other problem of course is that I can't get my hands on any healthy cardinals...one of my regular shops actually said they won't get any more in because the death rate from them is too high. So thats that. I'd have to travel futher a field to get more...and then there's the risk of the journey home.

I read before buying that cardinals & rummy noses compliment each other....so I'm looking forward to adding them to the tank to see how they get on.

They are in my quarantine tank now, but are doing great.....how long do I leave them in there....a week? two weeks?