Tsarmina Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 my BGK has an injured tail. any ideas? he doesn't like, well diluted, melafix applied directly near his tail. he almost jumped out of the tank. he isn't eating anything and i'm starting to get worried. he is alone in his tank. i think he may have scratched it on his cave. please help as i don't want to lose him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Turn off all lights, reduce water flow in the tank. If you have any moss-type plants lying around, chuck them in there to help calm him down. Don't use salt as it screws with their eletrical direction finding. And remember to only 1/2 dose the tank! Replace his cave, and put a block of blodworm in there for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 i lost him melafix dose was less than 1 third recommended 1/2hr later he jumped out of the water and when he went back down he was almost flat on the bottom. i removed him instantly into another tank thinking there was too much in there for him. he barely moved and died 10mins later. a few things: he wouldn't eat anything at all. he was always swimming upright with his nose pointing towards the surface, never swimming through the water horizontally. tank parameters are fine, though ph may be a little low no other fish in tank wound on tail tank has airstone, filter, heater, barrel shaped cave, Indian fern floating, a couple of crypts planted, gravel and a piece of slate against the barrel to cover one of the holes (blocking light). what happened?? does it sound like a swim bladder problem?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Sorry to hear about your loss tsarmina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 I'm really sorry to hear about your boy, Tsarmina I lost my first BGK to a very small injury, not in the same pace as yours, but with similar symptoms. I discussed it with someone a few years later and was told it was probably a combination of bacterial and fugal problems. It seems they are quite susceptible to them and can be hard to treat. I was given the names of lots of medications, but none that we can get here in NZ, unless you're on really good terms with your local vet and they'll prescribe them for you. The best we can do is Furan 2 and I have no idea how a BGK would react to that. It's interesting what you said about his reaction to Melafix. I've never added Melafix to my BGK's tank because I've seen my Clown Knife react badly to it. Is this a Knifefish thing, I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 I think its something to do with all scaleless fish - BGK, Clowns, Synos etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Clown Loaches and Pleco's are also considered scaleless and I've never had a problem with any of them and Melafix, just my Clown :-? I don't know if I've ever dosed the tank my Syno is in.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Plecos are scaleless? I thought that with their armor-plating they should be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 You'd think that with the amount of armour they have, wouldn't you :lol: They have scutes, not scales. But they don't have a slimecoat over those scutes, which makes them more vulnerable to anything in their water. It's one of the reasons they're considered to be intolerant of salt, chlorine (more so than other fish), copper-based medications etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted June 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 thanks all for your support my BNs are fine when it comes to melafix. haven't tried it with the pleco and will never try it with my younger BGK. (not after the last reaction) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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