Jennifer

These guys are prone to that from what I hear. I had 4 die of the same symptoms regardless of the treatment I offered (now I don't keep them any more). If I were to do it again, I would get some proper antibiotics from a vet and treat them early. I tried good wound care, antibacterials and furan to no effect, even when I caught it early. That said, the general wound care principles are the same for most species - keep the wound clean, fight infection if it arises, keep the environmental temperature high (dramatically speeds healing) and boost the immune system (excellent nutrition and minimal stress). For fish this would mean very clean warm water, the best food you can get and minimising stress in the environment. Others may have some good tips on how you can carry out those steps. Good luck!

If it is a tumour, and the skin has opened up, it is unlikely to ever heal on its own. If you wanted to get rid of it, you would need to cut it out with wide margins around the cancerous tissue and ideally suture or bandage the remaining wound so that it heals and forms a good scar. Of course for the layperson, that is near impossible with fish - especially in that location and since the water is full of potential pathogenic contamination....although a good antibiotic would help. If it is some other type of wound not related to a neoplasm (tumour), the likelihood of healing is dependent on the fish's immune response, bacterial contamination and the size of the wound. Removing some of the dead tissue can someimes stimulate the wound healing response but it can also expose the tissues to pathogens or cause lethal bleeding amd fluid loss. If it were me, I would keep the water as clean as possible, feed the fish very well to promote a good immune system, minimise stress by allowing a good amount of rest and other environmental enrichment, and hope for the best in terms of healing. If you wanted to be more proactive you could add antibacterials or antiobiotics, but take care as either can cause stress so you would need to be very consistent with your treatment regime in terms of follow through. Just my opinion, but I am not a fish medicine specialist. HTH

Gosh, people on these forums are so cool......

That doesn't sound too normal....are the other fish acting normally? Is the fish eating and otherwise active? I would make sure the water parameters are ok, check pH and temperature too. Might be good to do a water change and add a slice of pumpkin (slightly cooked so it isn't hard as a rock) just to help fight off stress. Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

:roll: Now I don't feel so bad about my leaking JBL balls!

Crikey that's a lot of ferts! My tank would turn into an algae haven....good thing you have all those good lights! 8)

*pout* I wish I had done my research.... :-? although honestly, the hairgrass has completely spread out and covered the substrate now so i can't complain.... it is the dwarf sag that I want to branch out a bit more....it is sending runners out and has flowered twice but it isn't getting any more dense at all.... I think I needed to get a taller background plant....the back wall is so bare. I thought of a bubble wall but that isn't very Iwagumi at all. :roll: *sigh*

Now you tell me! I know, I didn't ask....:roll: It's a bit late now, but could you grow hairgrass that way?

*groan* don't say the "I" word to me....I am suffering with my wanna be Iwagumi tank....not as easy as it looks :-?

+1 It looks like an old wound/ulcerating tumour with necrotic (dead - black) tissue. I wouldn't have hope for the fish though - with necrotic tissue and such a large wound, the fish is likely to become septicaemic (toxic with bacterial overload).

Rox, as a teacher of vet science I would advise that the student politely add a comment to the assessment to the effect that they asked a lot of 'experts' for advice, etc. etc. and wonder if this question was faulty as there are a number of possible issues but no clear answers for the particular condition. The reason I say that is because it is entirely possible that someone wrote the assessment with the best intent but with inaccurate knowledge (perhaps a very old book) and if they know the the question is faulty, they can go back and look at re-writing the question for next time and perhaps even omit the question from marking in this instance. You could always volunteer to look over the assessment for accuracy... :roll: Good luck!

OMG, you are SO hooked!! :lol: Welcome.

Hi, I am not an expert but I would wonder if this was particles of food that are getting mouldy. Are you feeding pelleted food? If it were me, I would feed only what the fish can eat within a couple of minutes and hopefully all is eaten and not floating around the tank. That might solve the problem entirely. If the water is also cloudy, it could be bacterial bloom. Either way, I personally would do a good water change (approx 30 to 40%) and change any filter wool out then wait to see what happens. Nothing too drastic - a lot can happen as the tank stabilises. Anyway, hopefully some others might have good ideas as well. Good luck!

Wow!! Amazing is right!!

Welcome! CAUTION: being on here will exacerbate MTS .... :bounce: :lol:

I had a lady here in Chch (http://aji.co.nz/) get me in some real New York deli style kosher dills - they were huge and delicious! It was a massive jar and cost me $16 but it was worth it for a taste of home.

Oh wow, they look so great!!! Congrats! :bounce:

Awesome!!! :bounce: There is a good article on breeding cardinals on the main FNZAS page: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/index.php?PG=cardinal I saw someone else say previously that neons should be similar. Good luck! How many do you have?

Yep. Zebra loaches eat snails very well indeed.

Seriously, I have 6 hatchets and a very fast flowing tank (with a few still areas behind the pump outlet) and they are NEVER at the surface! They are constantly darting around, going under the log, picking at the GBA's cucumber, chasing each other and schooling with the tetras!! I was actually kinda dissapointed with them as I wanted some surface fish!! :roll:

There is a place in Aukland that sells black basalt grit, I think they sell on TM as well.

I could be wrong (I am no expert) but I think that those are botia type loaches and as such they are shoaling so you should have a group of 5 or more. Someone correct me if I am wrong... :roll:

Mmmm, the prawn park....I have fond memories of that place........ :roll: Here's hoping that Sam is managing to make some headway with regard to the Cherry Shrimp....I predict he will one day he will announce to us that he got them in and he just happens to have some for sale at $100 each! :lol: 8)

I have been using DIY Co2 for a few months and just recently come up with a really good system that works a treat for me. I use a 2.4L bottle and add 2 cups fine sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon fresh yeast (not old yeast and not the bread maker type yeast), a pinch of baking soda and a smear of marmite. I add warm (35 degrees) water to fill the bottle up to about 3/4 full. Then I shake over the sink to dissolve. I then place it in the cabinet next to my warm canister filter and forget about it for 2 to 3 weeks. I have airlines that go to bell diffusors or frits so there is nothing blocking the line - they bubble like mad and all the plants have O2 bubbles within hours! HTH

+1 Smidey re: the old media. As to the process, if it were me I would siphon off the clean water into chilly bins, capture the fish, turn off the pump, remove the gravel and anything else from the tank then move everything to the new location. Then set the tank up, add the gravel back, add the fish back, turn on the pump and then top up with water from the tap (use a hose and connector so you get warm water if you like). It should just be like a large water change and the fish should be just fine with very little stress if the process is quick. HTH Can't wait to see the Takashi tank when it is up!