brishe Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 I am having an aweful time with our fish. In previous posts i have asked for help with hexamita. The fish are all showing signs of it again. I have added Metronidazole to the tank yesterday but it really takes its toll on the fish. Last time i lost 3 neons, this time all fish (2 bristlenoses, 1 male dwarf gourami, 6 neons, 3 rummy nose and 1 rainbow tetra) are showing signs of stress fast breathing not eating etc. One neon has balooned up and like the others will die too. I dont know what to do, the other option is feeding them medicinal food but i dont know where to get suitable food for all the fish to add medicine to. Can anyone please help?? I am going to have to stop the treatment i think but will wait for some advice first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 maybe you are treating for the wrong thing mate? i have used metro a few times before, at quite high dosage, and its never done any harm to fish, or anything else. for medicated food just use flake, mix with water into a paste and add powdered metro. then flatten out between gladwrap and dry out again. not sure on the dosage, but it has been posted on here not so long ago. this is the method i have used and its worked for me. good luck just a thought, have u tested your water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Really sorry to read about all your problems. Others will probably be horrified with this suggestion but if it was me at this stage I would probably take my fish out of the tank, completely strip it, rinse it with janola, rinse it out really well again (several times), do the same with the filters, heaters and everything else, refill it with water about the same temp, add water ager and put the fish only back in. No stones, plants, just a bare bottom tank and then hope like hell that it works. No, the tank won't have cycled or anything else but if you can't do the meds theres not a lot else you can do! I know how you feel, lost a tank full (40-50) jarred male fighters last year to a bacterial infection, tried for weeks to save them to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 maybe you are treating for the wrong thing mate? i have used metro a few times before, at quite high dosage, and its never done any harm to fish, or anything else. for medicated food just use flake, mix with water into a paste and add powdered metro. then flatten out between gladwrap and dry out again. not sure on the dosage, but it has been posted on here not so long ago. this is the method i have used and its worked for me. good luck just a thought, have u tested your water? I am pretty sure it is Hex, the last two gouramis i had wasted away to nothing then died, they both had the clear stringy poo, then went off food and died. Our two bristlenoses and remaining gourami have had the clear stringy poo and when that starts they are not them selves. I cant understand why we are having the problems we are having with the metro as so many others have used it with good results. I have now stopped the treatment and will let them recover then try the medicinal food approach. Thanks for you help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 from what you said Brishe it does sound like Hex and stripping the tank will not do anything IMO. I am concerned, like dimebag, about why your fish are acting so strangely to it- i have just finished a treatment on one of my discus at 400mg/40L with two 50% w/c's a day (400mg added after each w/c) for 7 days and he is happy as larry. I am wondering if perhaps its not that great of a med to treat for Hex when in a tank with substrate etc? If they are all eating then dont worry about the treatment via water, do it by food. I use tetra bits myself a use 10mg of metro per gram of food (as says the simply discus site). I dampen the tetra bits with a bit of water, crush the metro up and sprinkle it in, mix gently, then pop in the freezer. Getting one gram of flakes is quite a large amount, then you have to attempt to measure out 10mg of metro which would be hard :lol: I used tetra bits because they were the heaviest and absorb liquid well. Theres other ways to do it, and google would have a bit, i just wanted to add my personal experience so you can have more options to look at for your treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Really sorry to read about all your problems. Others will probably be horrified with this suggestion but if it was me at this stage I would probably take my fish out of the tank, completely strip it, rinse it with janola, rinse it out really well again (several times), do the same with the filters, heaters and everything else, refill it with water about the same temp, add water ager and put the fish only back in. No stones, plants, just a bare bottom tank and then hope like hell that it works. No, the tank won't have cycled or anything else but if you can't do the meds theres not a lot else you can do! I know how you feel, lost a tank full (40-50) jarred male fighters last year to a bacterial infection, tried for weeks to save them to no avail. I am starting to wonder if thats what i will have to do, i am going to give them a break then try the food method if that doesnt work i will strip the tank. thanks for your advice. Will keep you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Sharn might be right - I wonder if there is something in the substrate that neutralises or reacts with the metro so it isn't working properly. I have to say that I have never yet had hex (touch wood) so I certainly bow to others experience. You probably need to get some feedback from others to say whether or not they have used metro in tanks with substrate and whether or not it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Have tried doing a dose of formalin. Some of my fish had the same simtims. All is good now. Plus also 20% water changes daily or even twice daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishe Posted March 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Have tried doing a dose of formalin. Some of my fish had the same simtims. All is good now. Plus also 20% water changes daily or even twice daily. Do you add the formalin to the main tank? And do i need to add formalin after each water change or is a one off dose enough?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 I dosed the main tank. also when I did the water change I dosed the new water. I did that for three days. But do note, I am only a newbie. It would be a good idea to get advise about formalin from more experinced members. Also note, the main reason for me doing a twice daily water changes was because my nitrites were very high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Had a quick look on some sites last night and some suggest it can be used with formalin, others also say 10days treatment. Have a search around on the web, you never know what might be of help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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