My Nemesis Strikes Again

[kribensis12]

Do you ahve any pics of the poor dear? Sorry, but i dsoubt she'll make it. I would definatley try a anti-parasitic medicated food and see what ahppens.

 

[LauraFrog]

I booted the betta out of a six gal I've been meaning to divide and put tetracycline in it. My thinking is that the worst problem right now probably isn't the parasites but the internal infection. Depending on how badly certain organs are damaged it will either help or it won't. I can't get medicated food but I can get anti-parasite tablets. Is it safe to mix tetracycline and pyrantel?

I dont' know if she'll live or not right now. I'm still inclined towards 'not' but I'm hopeful. She's a lot more active today and tried to evade the net, and still eating. This fish is unkillable. She's survived whole tank dieoffs before. Quite old now, but should have a few months left - IF I can get her past this, which is a pretty big IF.

 

[WILDER]

What does it say in the med instructions on the worming tablets and tetracycline about using other meds.

 

[LauraFrog]

The instructions on the tetracycline are very vague. It gives a dose rate, 'do not use on fish intended for human consumption', the poisons information centre number and not much else. A notable absence is the length of time the fish should be treated for - how long do I leave her in there?

I'll check the pyrantel next time I get near the LFS, which may be a while. I think I'll treat the other tanks because there are signs of parasites with some of the fish. I'm sick of the darn things, I can't get rid of them.

 

[WILDER]

Depends on how long the med takes to work.
Treat for 5 to 7 days first to see how things go.

 

[LauraFrog]

Nothing on praziquantel or trichlorforon (a different LFS, definitely won't be in there again for a fair time) about mixing meds. Staff say they think it's safe to mix them but I can't trust them fully, bad advice from there before. Fish is still alive but even skinnier, but active. There was a strand of poo hanging out of her - solid and white, opaque white, not 'parasite poo'. I don't know how because they haven't been fed for a day or two. The tetracycline has foamed up on the surface. It says 'aerate heavily'. Two airstones running full pressure = copious quantities of thick yellow foam. The only food I have that might sink through it is catfish pellets and they can't eat those. What should I do?

 

[WILDER]

Why do you have to mix the parasite med with food.

 

[LauraFrog]

I mean mixing parasite meds with tetracycline - I don't know if it's safe. The fish is so darn skinny that if she doesn't eat she's a goner anyway. I stuck my hand through the bubbles last night and put some food in. They're both eating (I put the other one in there as well because she'd been hanging around the top and I was scared she'd have it too) I only put in one big flake for the two of them but since last night the water has turned dark orange (it was pale yellow before). It doesn't appear to be causing problems though.

 

[WILDER]

I would only advise mixing meds in issolation.

 

[LauraFrog]

It's only the two fish in the hosp tank. The juvie looks fine. Should I remove her?

The tetracycline water has now gone bright red. Why does it keep changing colour?

 

[WILDER]

Not sure why its gone red, think I 've heard the water going orange before.
If its not harming the fish I wouldn't worry.
How are the fish.

 

[LauraFrog]

The one that I wasn't sure if she was sick or not still looks fine. The one that was dying is now not dying, but is still the skinniest fish I have ever seen swimming. I think she might have put some weight back on but I'm not sure. At any rate the treatment is working because she would be dead by now otherwise. The water is now solid purplish red. The scummy foam on the surface has collapsed, bubbles from the aerator last longer than they would in clear water but I can get food in easily now. I fed some high protein betta pellets earlier and I'm giving them more frozen peas later. The tank is basically barren and they must be quite bored (I didn't want to put the medication in the main tank and wipe out the cycle bacteria, just when I'd convinced them to grow back) so peas are good. It took them a few hours to demolish the last one and they were at it every time I went in. I'm glad Stryker's got her appetite back, she stopped eating for a day. That's what made me so certain I would lose her, because she has never done that to me before. She was the only fish that would still eat when that contaminant got into my tank a few months ago and poisoned them all. Both the fish that are sick now survived that, but none of the other fish that survived that are sick so it's not some delayed poisoning. Besides, it was ages ago.

Thanks for the help. She's not out of the woods yet but she is hanging on so fingers crossed...

 

[WILDER]

Bless her.
Keep up the good work.

 

[LauraFrog]

both fish are still fine. I would put the healthy one back in the other tank but I don't know whether i should remove her from the antibiotics or not. I know that incomplete treatment can cause a resistant strain to develop and I don't need that - it's very hard (not to mention expensive) to track down antibiotics for fish other than tetracycline in Australia. Can't even get Maracyn.

Stryker, the one I thought was a goner, is putting on weight. I'm using the world's cheapest betta food, because that's about all she'll actually take. The granules are tiny - it's sold as betta food but I use it for growing on livebearer fry. She just cruises around the tank chomping on them all. She's strong enough to swim against the current to grab them now instead of being tossed in circles. I'm still not going to say she's cured though because she is still so hollow in the belly. I think I will treat for parasites next because she probably still has them.

I added a third fish to the tank, from one of my outdoors tanks. she is showing the same symptoms as Stryker was. She's started eating again but hasn't improved the way Stryker did. She is also a platy. I'm worried now because it's only a five gal hospital tank and I'm pushing the stocking, especially since it isn't cycled. I pulled the biological media before I added the tetracycline because I figured I'd just wipe out the bacteria anyway (and make it really hard to cycle that media again.) If I change the water (50%) should I add another half a tablet?

 

[WILDER]

I would get treating for internal parasites.
Internal parasites do alot of damage to the inside of the fish.