tHEcONCH

Bugger.

Fin rot wouldn't have been the root cause, but it indicates that the fish was weakened to the point that bacteria could take hold. That suggests water contamination, and as the usual nitrogen cycle susbstances have been ruled out my money would be on whatever the local authority treats their water with, perhaps chlorine. In low doses that would cause the fish to be sick and suseptable to infection before dying of chlorine poisoning.

In that case just change however much you can age - maybe do 2 x 40 litres over two or three days - otherwise you will stress and kill your fish for sure. Best of luck

Well yes, that is kind of the point - but there is far more to it than that. I'm not going to type out all the chemistry here, and if you have good results with Wonder Tonic then by all means continue to use it, but I think there are far better alternatives available - like Furan2.

The food 'fuzz' is a clue - that suggests colonisation by bacteria or fungus that aren't part of the nitrogen cycle, so although your water tests OK, I suspect your biofilter is only just coping. You may also have elevated phosphate (you can buy a test for that) which can stress fish. Bacteria is always present in your tank (and everywhere else) - your fish only succumb to it if they are stressed or physically damaged and weakened, so you will have to do your best to work out what what caused the problem. If it isn't phosphate or ammonia etc., then you have some other sort of contaminant, so I'd be inclined to give your tank a good clean (hoover the gravel etc) and do one big water change (80%) if you haven't done that already, then change 25% / week from now. p.s. I don't know about the water in your area, but if it is treated you will need to declorinate / age it before you use it.

:bounce: Ooopps - double post removed...

I've posted this in another thread, but it seems relevant to this discussion as well: The problem with 'broad spectrum' treatments like 'Wonder Tonic' and 'Melafix' is that they don't target anything in particular rather than treating an actual cause and if you know how drugs work, that isn't a good thing. All drugs work by interupting chemical pathways (they do things like preventing sodium crossing cellular membranes) and they do so in the host as well as the pathogen, .i.e. IN YOUR FISH AS WELL. Drugs don't kill pathogens, they only weaken them, hopefully enough for the host's (fish's) own immune system to finish them off. Usually the host is bigger and stronger than the organism attacking it so can withstand the detrimental effects of the drug in the short term. The problem with broad spectrum drugs is that they weaken your already sick fish in ways that are of no help in curing the problem. The fish above clearly has (had - R.I.P) a bacterial infection, so using something like Furan2 that weakens bacteria is better than some cocktail of poisons that have a questionable effect. I would go as far as to say that products like that don't belong in any knowledgable fish-keepers medicine cabinet, because there are better treatments available for every condition they claim to treat. They are a poor substitute for a bit of observation and research.

The problem with 'broad spectrum' treatments like 'Wonder Tonic' and 'Melafix' is that they don't target anything in particular rather than treating an actual cause and if you know how drugs work, that isn't a good thing. All drugs work by interupting chemical pathways (they do things like preventing sodium crossing cellular membranes) and they do so in the host as well as the pathogen, .i.e. IN YOUR FISH AS WELL. Drugs don't kill pathogens, they only weaken them, hopefully enough for the host's (fish's) own immune system to finish them off. Usually the host is bigger and stronger than the organism attacking it so can withstand the detrimental effects of the drug in the short term. The problem with broad spectrum drugs is that they weaken your already sick fish in ways that are of no help in curing the problem. The fish above clearly has (had - R.I.P) a bacterial infection, so using something like Furan2 that weakens bacteria is better than some cocktail of poisons that have a questionable effect. I would go as far as to say that products like that don't belong in any knowledgable fish-keepers medicine cabinet, because there are better treatments available for every condition they claim to treat.

And Quinine is what make Indian Tonic Water taste good When all is said and done, you should try and select the treatment that best matches the symptoms on your fish - try and stay away from 'cure-alls' and make sure you work out why they got sick so that you can avoid a recurrence.

Riccia Fluitans? (although you need to hold it down with a bit of fishnet stocking to start)

The second kind of bacteria that converts Nitrite to Nitrate is MUCH slower growing than the one that converts Ammonia to Nitrite, so it is a little unusual - you may be overfeeding. In any event, just keep up the water changes.

Java Moss (Vesicularia Dubyana)?

:lol:

Wonder Tonic contains Methylene Blue which can damage your biofilter - as far as I'm aware Furan2 doesn't and won't, but it can give YOU cancer (although oddly enough the warning suggests only if you live in California :lol: ). That said, I've had good results on the rare ocassion I've used Furan2.

That sucks. Keep an eye on tardme?

Echinodurus Tellenus?

I've not had particularly good results with Melafix / Tea Tree oil - and be aware that it kills some fish outright (all pencil fish) - and it stinks! :lol: Bung up some pics if you can.

Well, don't forget I'm attempting to diagnose a condition on fish in a tank I haven't seen! I'd recommend you try and work out what is causing the stress and do a big water change first before you give any treatment, otherwise my recommendation is Furan2 (which I suspect contains Malachite Green amongst other things)

Rather than buy cheaper, I'd recommend you buy quality - don't forget how much Discus cost in the first place. Rather than pay Jansens big bucks for average food I'd consider buying JBL stuff (Novobits are the equivalent) for similar money. Phosphate free, vitamin enriched, and reasonably economical so long as you don't overfeed - and don't scrimp too much on bloodworms - they are an essential part of a Discus diet, IMO.

Not a great one - quite a bit of collateral damage to the bio-filter, but it can still be useful. Malachite Green has kind of replaced it, but Furan 2 is possibly more effective.

Hi there... welcome

Hmmmm... we have stressor of some kind. Unfortunately there are many things that can stress fish that don't show up in regular test kits (could be cigarette smoke, cleaning products, fly spray, air freshener - even moisturiser off someone's hands - they are all potentially toxic). Fortunately the 'cure' is usually the same - big water changes with good quality water (by which I mean clean, aged, correct pH etc and heated to tank temperature before you drop it in) - do an 80-90% water change to flush out whatever might be in there and see what develops. If it gets worse, treat with Furan 2 - read the safety instructions first.

They should be fine at 27 degrees - It might have just been a weak individual - they aren't the most robost of tetras. I wouln't be too concerned about it unless you get more dying off

It will close the moment you try and cut it, but it will also release aleopathic (toxic) compounds, so I'd remove it, cut it, give it a rinse in a bucket of old tank water, and put it back.

Sounds like a free-to-a-good-home situation to me. Anyone here want a Knife fish?