Sebastian In Trouble

[Fryfly]

My situation is due to a broken filter and damaged cycle I have a very unhappy shrimp…

I’ve explained what happened in this thread :
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...owtopic-230920/

but ultimately woke up this morning and as per pic my shrimp has a big white spot on him – I didn’t know shrimps could get this so please help what do I do and does anyone know if I can save Sebastian, right now I’m under the impression I’ll loose him.

Thanks,
Glynn

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hi Fryfly, replied in your other topic, first priority has to be sorting out your water quality, without the water quality fixed you'll never manage to treat white spot.

problem is your shrimp is v sensitive to the medication for white spot, even if you half dose with white spot meds there's a good chance of it killing him.

are any of your other fish showing symptoms? any flicking or rubbing?

 

[Fryfly]

Hi Fryfly, replied in your other topic, first priority has to be sorting out your water quality, without the water quality fixed you'll never manage to treat white spot.

problem is your shrimp is v sensitive to the medication for white spot, even if you half dose with white spot meds there's a good chance of it killing him.

are any of your other fish showing symptoms? any flicking or rubbing?

Thank you, I'll be going home early to make the fish shope and get the ammolock stuff and ask if the have the Bacterial additives you mentioned. Most appreciate the advice. I don't really care about how much it costs as I'll pay for what i need to sort it. I can't believe it ! It's so sad, none of my other fish are showing symptoms - I spent 15 minutes watching them this morning and each one seemed happy and active. No specs on any. no rubbing on stones or leaves and all were eating. My new little plec seems to have made friends with Sebastian and is always really close to him - is he going to get it too?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i don't think the proximity will be an issue, if it's in the water it's in the water. can you isolate the shrimp at all? if you have a spare tank and can set that up for him then put him in there and you can try treating him with a v weak solution of a good white spot med, obviously you'd need to get the filter for the second tank cycled too so that'd need some bactinettes. Some of your other fish are susceptible to white spot meds too (plec) so you could put all the fish that don't like the meds into one tank and treat that with a diluted solution, adn then treat the main tank at full strength with all the fish that can handle it.

 

[Fryfly]

i don't think the proximity will be an issue, if it's in the water it's in the water. can you isolate the shrimp at all? if you have a spare tank and can set that up for him then put him in there and you can try treating him with a v weak solution of a good white spot med, obviously you'd need to get the filter for the second tank cycled too so that'd need some bactinettes. Some of your other fish are susceptible to white spot meds too (plec) so you could put all the fish that don't like the meds into one tank and treat that with a diluted solution, adn then treat the main tank at full strength with all the fish that can handle it.

If it'll give me a good chance of saving them I can buy a new tank and filter tonight. I assume I’ll need to buy a heater for the tank too? I’m going to go read everything I can find on it now.

Just so I can be clear:
From the picture are we agreed this is white spot?
Do I need to treat all my fish even though they are not showing signs of whitespot ?
Can I expect all my fish to get it now?

What size tank do you recommend I get for this?

Thank you again
Glynn

 

[Miss Wiggle]

From the picture are we agreed this is white spot? not definately, but probably. I don't think you can ever give a clear 100% accurate diagnosis over the web from one picture, but bearing in mind the whole situation I think it is likely
Do I need to treat all my fish even though they are not showing signs of whitespot ? yes, if it's in the water the whole tank needs treating
Can I expect all my fish to get it now? not if you get to it quick enough, yes if you leave it

depends which fish you need to put into the tank what size you need, remember you're not housing them for life, just a week or two so doesn't need to be huge. can you post you're full list of fish and i'll let you know which ones are sensitive to meds and which one's arent and what sort of size tank you need for them

what you'd need to do if you're buying new is divide the existing filter media between the two tanks (roughly proportionally to the fish so if you have 40% of fish in one tank and 60% in the other then put 40/60% of the media in the corresponding filters. Add some bactinettes to both tanks. Now bear in mind you'll now have two cycling tanks to contend with, far from ideal but if you are determined to try and treat and save your shrimp then IMO it's the only way.

and just to be clear from my side, what you're embarking on is a risky strategy, no guarantee's of sucess, even a diluted white spot treatment may finish off your shrimp. But there's not a lot else you can do IMO (although i'm always willing to hear anyone else's strategy!) so you either take a chance at saving them and maybe loose them, or accept that you'll probably loose them anyway.

 

[Fryfly]

Ok so , I’ve just gone through all the photo’s I’ve taken of him and I think I’m a complete twat but the white spot seems to have been there all the time and I’ve only just noticed it. My first pic I have is at the end of December with him and that white spot is most definitely there. Could that be just a mark, at which I shall sneak off with a bag over my head and sign up with a different username as to avoid the embarresment , or could he have had white spot all this time and I haven’t noticed?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Ok so , I’ve just gone through all the photo’s I’ve taken of him and I think I’m a complete twat but the white spot seems to have been there all the time and I’ve only just noticed it. My first pic I have is at the end of December with him and that white spot is most definitely there. Could that be just a mark, at which I shall sneak off with a bag over my head and sign up with a different username as to avoid the embarresment , or could he have had white spot all this time and I haven’t noticed?

lmao!

yeah fish do sometimes have irregular markings or have old wounds so have a small patch of scar tissue or something like that

if he's always had it then panic over. still need to deal with the mini cycle though so water change water change water change

 

[Fryfly]

Well I say, 10 outta 10 on the I am bonehead scale ! Anyhow thank you so much for your prompt reply and cared response it was most appreciated. I’ll keep an eye out on the others anyway just to be sure as I’m sure they didn’t like the water bluper. Everything I’m learning about this and then the sudden issue must have drawn my attention to it. Got that huge sinking feeling - Sorry about the panic.


Now to the water changes.

 

[bluetrane2028]

Well I say, 10 outta 10 on the I am bonehead scale ! Anyhow thank you so much for your prompt reply and cared response it was most appreciated. I’ll keep an eye out on the others anyway just to be sure as I’m sure they didn’t like the water bluper. Everything I’m learning about this and then the sudden issue must have drawn my attention to it. Got that huge sinking feeling - Sorry about the panic.


Now to the water changes.

I would still recommend getting a hospital tank. 10 gallons could even be enough, and wouldn't cost much.

10 gallon tank
Cheap (like Regent brand at Wal-Mart*) 5-15 gal filter
Glass versa-top (don't need a light so why bother with a full hood)
Heater

That adds up to not too much, a worthwhile investment IMO. Also, that filter really is decent, I use one on each of my smaller tanks.

That way, you'd be prepared for a true fish emergency, and wouldn't have to waste time getting the stuff first.

*You're in the UK, I don't know what store is similar to Wal-Mart in your area, but I'm sure you know the type of filter i'm getting at.