Mouth and Gill Yuckies

[Shaggy]

Here are my readings:
Ammonia: Somewhere between 0.5 and 3 (sorry the only kit at the store uses those readings) I'm gunna change the water after this post to try and lower it.
NitrAte: 0-0.5
NitrIte: 0.5
Total Hardness: 300 ppm
Total Alkalinity: 300 ppm
pH: 7.8-8.4

I have a 10 US GAL tank with these fish:
4 Tiger Barbs
2 Dwarf Blue Gouramis
2 Dwarf Flame Gouramis
3 Rosy Barbs
Also have 2 Hybrid Apongeton Bulbs in there, 1 is doing great the other just started to show sprouts.

Chemicals:
Dual Action Stress Zyme once a week
Jungle Start Right Water Treatment
About to add a dose of Jungle ACE (Ammonia Chloramine Eliminator)
Also about to add a dose of MelaFix

Here is my problem, I am new to the Fish world and knew nothing about cycling a tank. I remeber when I was like 8 all we did was bought fish, treated the water and threw them in and they did fine. Never had fish die on us. About 2 weeks ago my wife and 2 y/o daughter suckered me into buying an aquarium and some fish. We got the 4 Tigers and 4 Gouramis. A week later the Rosey Barbs. I have been keeping check ever since Day 3 of the Water Measurements b/c that is when I found out about everything w/ Cycling. I know that's probably all my tank is doing b/c I checked the readings every 2 days and this is the first time the readings have been NOT in the good zone. I have been adding some thing called Stress Zyme to help the"BioFilter" b/c it says it speeds it's developement, and it says it's good for new aquarium fish. Last Night I noticed a strange looking Dot like thing on 1 of my Rosey Barbs head. Today when I got home from work, his whole mouth is nasty white and appears to be sealed, but I did notice him eating some fish flakes earlier when I fed them. My wife said it looks like ICH but she isn't sure. I have noticed all 3 of the Rosey Barbs swimming w/ their mouths against the tank since we got them though. I found a post that said to raise the Temp to 80 which is where it is now. I'm about to add the MelaFix and ACE, so if anyone has any ideas about what to do or what this is PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

[Shaggy]

Well, I also forgot to say that the Rosey Barbs gills are staying open and they are starting to pale. Anyway, I just finished the water change and ended up adding all of the chemicals I own. I put the ACE, MelaFix, and Stress Zyme in and the fish are staying near the bottom all traumatized acting. It's their first water change Anyway, I haven't noticed any changes in any of the other fish, and the Rosey Barb is still as hyper as when I first got him. He just looks kinda like his face is rotting off. One good thing, I thought all my ghost shrimp had been eaten, but one crawled out of my fake coral reef when I was adding water. Anyway, I'll post tomorrow when I get more water readings. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Shaggy]

Ammonia: 3
Nitrate: 20
Nitrite: 1
pH has dropped to 7.4

The Rosey Barb died this morning, but one of my other Roseys has a weird looking white "smear" around his right eye and a Neon Blue Gourami has a strange white Bump on the top right of his upper lip. I am gunna continue treatment w/ MelaFix and see how it goes. Any help is Appreciated!

 

[Shaggy]

Another update, one of my Tiger Barbs has got the mouth inflammation now. I went to Pet Smart today (closest one is 1 1/2 hrs from here is why I haven't went sooner) and got three more things for them:
Cycle which is supposed to be, in basic terms, suspended bacteria in a bottle for the BioFilter,
Maracyn
CopperFree once a month
I have used all 3 by now. The reason I didn't notice the Tiger Barb getting sick is b/c he likes to hide alot in a sunken ship ornament I have. I think I am about to pull it out and see if maybe there is some food in it. I'm really confused about all of this. I just remebered that the same Barb appeared a little dull and slimy about 4 days ago, maybe this could help someone in telling me if I'm going chemical overboard or what. Wish me luck though, the poor fishies will be dead in another week or 2 if this stuff now doesn't work.

 

[wetwetwet]

Hi shaggy - sorry about your problems.

I think you have too many fish for that size tank especially considering itis still cycling.

Fish can become very stressed during the cycling process leading to a great susceptability to disease if not directly affected from ammonia or nitrite poisening

Keep up with regular partial water changes to keep the toxins to a minimum and feed very sparsley.

I'd also caution against adding a cocktail of meds/additives - who knows what affect this will have

Please read some of the pinned topics in beginners section.

hth and good luck


www

 

[Shaggy]

Well I appreciate your input, I'm laying off of all the chems except for the Maracyn and the MelaFix, since at the very least it will help repair one of the Gouramis tailfins that is got a tear. I really didn't think that it was overfull since there is really alot of room still in it. The good news is the Ammonia is dropping and the Tiger Barb isn't getting worse, although the other male Rosey is starting to get what looks like a fungal "hole" in his head. I think that it started from the Roseys since everyone was healthy until they came in.

I am gunna have to go back to Savannah soon, so what would be some good meds to get to keep on hand, if any? Thanx again!!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Shaggy

Your fish have a bacterial infection. It could be from Columnaris or Aeromonas bacteria, or both at the same time. This is a common ailment that happens to fish when they have undergone stress such as cycling a tank.

Their symptoms include the white fungusy looking stuff on the mouth and gills and could also appear as white patches on their bodies, which become like open sores, or damaged fins and tails.

Common causes of infection are sudden rise in temperature, overcrowding, high nitrites, infrequent water changes, low oxygen content in the water, uneaten food in the tank, or infrequent water changes.

To treat this, I prefer the antibiotic Kanamycin. It treats both kinds of bacteria without upsetting the beneficial bacteria. However, since you are already using Maracyn, I suggest using Maracyn2 in combination with it to be sure you are treating for both Columnaris and Aeromonas.

I would discontinue any other treatment and remove all meds by adding charcoal to your filter for a day and doing a good water change. Don't forget to remove the carbon before restarting medication.

To slow the growth of this bacteria during treatment, it would be a good idea to lower the temperature to 74 t0 75 degrees and add and airstone to increase the oxygen content of the water.

The best thing to do for you fish is to prevent infection from happening by doing regular water changes and gravel vacuuming. Right now this might slow your cycling process, but will not stop it. Going slowly but surely is the easiest way to help your fish survive.

I suggest you stop using all other medications. MelaFix is a mild natural anti-bacterial agent, which might help under certain circumstances, but since the torn tail was probably another case of the same infection your other fish have, the Maracyn and Maracyn2 will help that as well.

 

[Shaggy]

Thanx for your help Inchworm!

Another Rosey Barb died this morning, but my Sick Tiger Barb is starting to look better. His whole head was turning into an open sore almost, but it is starting to turn back white and recede. I discontinued my meds today and reinstalled the filter to get the chems out. I will start back with Maracyn Tomorrow and it will be sometime this weekend before I get back to the UnLFS to get Maracyn2.

I've gradually began dropping temperature since 5 this afternoon. The start was 82 and it is now at 77 (5 degrees in 4 hrs). By the time I go to sleep it will be about 74.

I will do a water change tomorrow before I start back meds, because both said not to do a water change until 24 hrs after last dose. The ammonia is starting to drop again, and nitrItres are about the same. So far my fish are eating all the food we feed them in about 3-4 mins. and I feed them twice a day.

Is there a website I can order this Kanamycin from? I noticed alot of people "Prescribing" it here so I asked for it, but they said they didn't have any. I'm gunna do a search, but if anyone knows a good cheap store on-line I appreciate it!

Thanx again to Inchworm and wetwetwet!!!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Shaggy

Since you are asking about Kanamycin, I first want to be sure that understand that you use it alone. Since you are already treating your fish with Maracyn, I suggested that you continue with it and add Maracyn2 as well.

Either can be used to treat your problem, but don't use all of them together. And do treat for the full amount of time recommended.

I don't order from the internet, so I can't help you there. But Kanamycin can be purchased under the brand names Kanacyn by Aquatronics or KanaPlex by Seachem. Since Aquatronics products are becoming hard to find, you might have to look for the other brand.

Good luck. Please let me know how you do with this.

 

[Shaggy]

My water readings are holding constant, which is better than still rising I guess. The Tiger Barb still looks nasty, but he has started swimming better now, and the other Tigers are letting him play w/ them again. One of my Blue Gouramis is still sickly looking tho, his fins stay clamped and he won't leave my sunken ship ornament except to eat.

I found a pretty decently priced internet site and I have the Maracyn 2 on order. should be here about mid week next week. If anyone is interested the address is http/www.thatpetplace.com It has good price and a very wide selection.