Please Help - Lost 3 Fish Already

[Aquapotts]

He was always a bit on the thin side and never that keen on his food, he had no other physical symptoms so it may have been down to the stress of the other fish being ill (if that's a possible cause).

The last of the sickly guppies has been in the hospital tank for over 48 hours and really doing his best to stay alive, but he has not eaten for 3 days now and though his mouth hasn't eroded furhter he now has tail rot and is starting to spend a fair bit of time at the bottom of the tank. I'd hoped the Myxazin and Pimafix combination may have stopped the bacteria enough for him to at least eat, but it's not looking too likely...

How can I be sure when my main tank is desease free? ...and, is quarantining new fish always the best way to go in the future?

 

[WILDER]

If he was on the thin side before he stopped eating it can mean alot of things from -
Not feeding enough, internal parasites, fish tb, external parasites.

What does it look like when your fish go to the toilet.
Is the anus enlarged, or red and inflamed.

Sometimes the bacteria multiplys that fast lfs meds can't keep up.
A bad strain of columnaris you have to resort to antibiotics. Which will wipe your beneifical bacteria out in the filter. But to be honest a bad strain wants wiping out.

Keep doing water changes, and add the correct amount of med back to water removed.

Once the mouth starts to rot away they usually tell you to destroy the fish.

 

[Aquapotts]

Sadly I had to take the decision to put my poor guppy to sleep last night. I used the clove oil method and felt horrible, but I know it was the right thing to do - he really wanted to fight it, but it was clear he wasn't going to make it - his tail had started rotting away too, he was becoming a bit bloated even though he hadn't eaten and was also staying at the bottom of the tank a lot more - it seemed unfair to have him struggle through another night.

The hospital tank is now fish free, however yet another fish is displaying bad symptoms. The last of all the new fish (a Harlequin Rasbora) is looking much paler and seems to be rubbing himself on plants and ornaments a lot. (I clearly won't be buying my fish from that shop again!) I have just medicated the main tank with Pimafix and Myxazin. Are these considered strong enough to kill off all the bacteric? I'm prepared to go through the whoel nitrogen cycle again, but confused as to whether Muxazin in an antibiotic...

Also, I thought it would help to replace the activated carbon and xeolite in the main tank yesterday - I'd previously only been rinsing the sponge filter in tank water and have never replaced the carbon/xeolite. I'm guessing I should take these out again now I've resorted to medicating the main tank?

 

[WILDER]

Myxazin not an antibiotic so you are ok.
Myxazin and pimafix wont' wipe the bacteria out completely, it might knock it abit.

Eventually columnaris will burn it's self out. But you can lose quite a few fish before this happens.

Soak there food in garlic juice to boost the immune system.

What does it look like when your fish go to the toilet.
Also check there anus is not enlarged or red and inflamed.

Remove the black carbon and throw it away. It can release the chemicals back into the tank if it been in the filter ages.
Only need to use black carbon for removing meds.
Using it all the time is a complete waste of money, as it's only affective for 2 to 9 days.

 

[Aquapotts]

It's very rare that I see them actually go to the toilet, but when I have seen it it's usually quite short and dark. They don't have enlarged anus' and are not red or sore looking. for future reference, what would it indicate if they were.

I'm not home at the moment, so can't give an update on the fish, but at lunchtime the harlequin did seem to be in better condition. I will be taking out the carbon when I get in.

 

[WILDER]

It's very rare that I see them actually go to the toilet, but when I have seen it it's usually quite short and dark. They don't have enlarged anus' and are not red or sore looking. for future reference, what would it indicate if they were.

I'm not home at the moment, so can't give an update on the fish, but at lunchtime the harlequin did seem to be in better condition. I will be taking out the carbon when I get in.

Columnaris can cause fish to flick and rub, but check water quality, and parasite symtoms.
Also sometimes med can irritate fish skin.

Enlarged red inflamed anus can be due to internal parasites, dropsy.
With keeping livebearers just wanted to make sure they didn't have internal parasites.