Med. Resistant Illness Killing Off Apistogrammas.

[Tolak]

Per National Fish Pharmacy;

Use 1/4 teaspoon to 2 ounces of water, Place in a spray bottle, Weigh out 100 grams of fish food (frozen or pellets) and place on a sheet of aluminum foil.. Spray the food with the entire contents of the spray bottle. Let air dry. Use a fan in necessary to expedite the drying process. Do not use any heat element to dry the food as it will destroy the medication . If using frozen food, thaw it out and pour the medication into the food and mix well. Return to the freezer. After frozen, feed to the fish for 4 - 5 days.

I imagine you could half the dosage using half the amount of food, and so on.

 

[FishFanatic04]

I did already actually with 50grams of frozen food and 25 grams of pellets for bottom feeders. I am worried about the cory and the apisto. They are the only two fish that aren't eating.

I treated the tank water with the Praziquantel. I guess that will have to help them if they won't eat.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Should I raise the temperature? I haven't yet.

 

[FishFanatic04]

I think the apisto's stomach has a sheen to it. My conclusion is that it ate some bloodworm. I watched for awhile and I am pretty sure it sniffed through some sand as well. It has lost so much weight, but unlike the others that died, it was not hiding and sticking it's nose in the bottom or top corners. I am determined to save it. Hopefully it will eat again tomorrow

 

[snazy]

The medications they gave you are no good against ich. As for the temerature, generally it's good raising it if fish are suffering from paracites but if you suspect a secondary bacterial infection then don't.

I don't think prazuguantel is good against hexamita but it treats other parasitic stuff and with combination with the paracide-x it should take care of a lot of possibilities.
You may as well dose your other tanks with the praziquantel if the other fish are showing signs of parasitic infections as it doesn't need carbon to be removed and is harmless to fish or biological filter. Keep giving the apisto the medicated paracide-x food as well. This one should take care of flagellites like hexamita too.

It takes a while to recover from hexamita or parasitic infections. Patience I remember my fish were looking desperately thin and ugly for weeks after they stopped pooping white but they did recover eventually.

 

[FishFanatic04]

The apisto is not eating.

 

[Tolak]

After a phone chat with National Fish Pharm the combination of Paranox & Paracide-X has been more effective than metro lately, as they are seeing problems with medication resistance with metro. Prazi is more suited for external parasites.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Thank you. I called them but I didn't ask the right question's. I used garlic with the food and saw him eat some brine shrimp today...then later I saw him sift some sand. They told me to use the prazuguantel and after that treatment to use the paracide-x, but he would have died by then from not eating. He is literally bones. Going off the timeline of the other deaths, he had maybe 2 days left. I am feeding him the medicated food with the treated water. I hope it will be ok.

 

[FishFanatic04]

 

[FishFanatic04]

.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Ignore the above empty post. I had a nice little rant on a very bad day which made me feel better. Then I deleted it, there was some choice words that I learned from my soldier husband.



I need some suggestions again if you don't mind. I called the fish pharmacy today to order something for fin rot, when the cories are finally better from whatever they have, I will need to treat their fins. While I had them on the line I asked some questions on what I should be doing. The cories are NOT better. At all. The platies are starting to flash on leaves more often and the cories are swimming more erratically.

That is...the 4 cories that still eat. The other two are either swimming listlessly, dead center in the tank, or laying with noses in a corner.

It is day 8 of treatment and I was hoping that I would have some progress by now. I guess the only good thing is that no more fish have died, but I don't think that will be that case for much longer. I also asked if I should try the Metronidazole and she said no.

Please, do you have any ideas? I am really at the end of my rope here.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Cories are all acting very oddly, fast erratic swimming. What the heck can I do at this point? Its been 12 days of treatment and they are not getting better. Instead they are worse.


My platies are also acting oddly, darting around sometimes and flashing off of things. I'm getting very upset here.

The 4 larger cories are still eating, but it's not in their normal enthusiastic way. It's slower and takes them a long time to break up the medicated wafer, when normally it would be scattered over the tank in less then 5 mins. If they stop eating I won't be able to save them.

I am taking out the other two and euthanizing them today. Neither have eaten anything since way before I started treating and they are so thin, and don't move at all anymore other then weak breathing.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Well. I get why no one is giving this thread any attention. It's boring because it wasn't my fault that the fish are sick? Or there's nothing I can be scolded for like bad water quality, etc?

I'm sorry for being petulant, but seriously, people with ill fish all over the forum are receiving responses and support. Is it just me? I don't know a single person who has fisk tanks in real life, and this is my only resource. What the hell am I supposed to do? Should I just quit? I've been crying everyday over the waste of money and sick, suffering fish that I can't help.

Maybe I'll toss them all out in the front yard to flop around to a slow, agonizing, dry death. Then take a #%^$@$^% baseball bat to the tanks.

 

[Tolak]

I'd go with metro in the food, and copper in the water if they are eating. Obviously the other meds aren't working, after this amount of time you need to move on to something else. If she says no metro but can't suggest an alternative, (trying to be nice here) then perhaps her ideas on this have been exhausted. I usually deal with Brian, unfortunately he's off due to a bit of surgery.

I've had corys act like that before, mostly fry, ended up being velvet, which will often attack the gills without showing up on the body. Mardell Coppersafe is usually easily available, but you have to make sure your water has a gH higher than 50ppm. It will take out inverts such as snails & shrimp, and needs to be used in a tank with as little algae as possible. It can be used in the water, with metro on the food. I'd try this approach next, give it 7 days.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Ok. Thank you. Sorry for being childish. I had ordered quinine sulfate and had thought about treating with it, but I can get coppersafe today. I won't be able to get the metro today unless a chain store has it locally, which I doubt. I have put a couple hundred bucks into healing these fish at this point and I'm at the end of my budget. Shipping would put me over.

Ill continue with the medicated food I already made until i can order some.
Hopefully in a week or so. Thank you for the new plan of action. Im not as hopeless now.