yeh_buddy Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 My tank has recently gone through an ammonia spike and I fear that the Pictus Catfish might have contracted White Spot through the stress, What treatments can I use on Pictus that will not harm them as they are scaleless. Should I just treat with Blue Circle White spot remover at half dose or is there anything else you guys can advise for them? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 turn the temp up to 30*c for a few days and that should sort it out i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Salt + quarter-half dose of blue circle and increased temp.. I think the temp alone can get rid of it would try that first but if it doesn't get rid of it it will make it worse.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 The rise in temperature does not 'get rid of it' on its own, it just speeds up the white spot cycle so the meds work more quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks for your reply but I lost one over night, I am soooo gutted. I've still got one but hes not looking so good at all, its as though his skin is falling off. What the hell is going on? I just want to cry cos these fish mean alot to me and I've never had any problems till now and of all the problems that I could have had i get this one, which I dont know what the hell is going on. Can anyone enlighten me on what the heck is going on Im so distraught and anxious. The Pictus is not a very happy boy at all and Im so worried for him, hes in a guppy breeder atm just being very still, heres a pic, hope you can see the problem on his fins, and its definately not fin rot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 skin falling off..... look up columnaris. If you think it is that: Salt may help, though it sounds like it has got fairly advanced. Try 1 tsp salt per litre. You could hit it with a dip first of more like a good tablespoon of salt per litre for a minute or so. I don't know anything about Pictus specifically, so salt may not be good for them. Regarding the other cures (although it doesn't sound like whitespot): I really don't get how halving or quartering medication is going to have the same effect on the parasites. If that was the case then we could use those rates for all fish. The full dose rate is enough to kill the parasite, the half dose rate is not enough to kill the fish. Two quite different ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks for that Stella I still think whitespot maybe a secondary problem as there are raised white dots on body but oddly enough not fins.None of other fish are showing signs of it I have mainly fighters left now, however my female BN is showing the starts of it on a fin, so Im stressing hardcore because I am moving in 8 days, my hospital tank has been dismantled and my fighters dont like too much salt so Im torn as to what to do, I dont want to do anything that might upset my Halfmoon fighters but I want to save my pictus and BN so I dont know what to do, I've been doing water changes, stress coat and a little bit of salt to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Hmm, that doesn't sound like a great mix! How familiar are you with whitespot? I was duped once thinking my fish had whitespot but it was actually columnaris in little tufts on the edge of each scale (thus not on fins). Though you say pictus are scaleless? Just thinking, I remember once at Wet Pets they offered to try and cure a fish of mine when I was getting really stuck with it. I think for a rather inconsequential fee. Could save you a lot of bother by giving them the pictus and BN and then using whatever treatment for whitespot that your fighters are ok wih. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Ahhhh reali? Wet Pets you say. I can't get there today and I dont think Pictus is going to make it till tomorrow. God i hate only having my learners and no car.lol. Boyfriend is not much help either, "everything will be fine, dont worry..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 this is what you do... raise the temp to 29-30... you can only kill white spot when its in the water not the fish... so when it leaves the fish to find a new host thats wen it gets zapped. White spot cure from you LFS will do the trick... start with half a dose because of the gills of the pictus are fragile... after white spot has gone, treat for 3-4 more days and really really clean the gravel bed. There has been reports that it can acctually survive in there but dont quote me on that... Also remove any carbon... and goodluck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Hey there walked to Wet Pets its not white spot nor any sort of fungal disease its because of the Ph crash in my tank. I completly forgot to check Ph. Generally my tank sits at 7 or a little over so I never worry about it. But because of the water changes its brought my Ph down drastically. So according to the guy i spoke too its the Ph crash thats made my pictus catfish unhappy. I tested my tap water and its a low 6. So got Ph buffer... dont really like using chemicals but I guess the occassion calls for it. Thanks very much for the help guys I'll let you know what happens. The pet store are helping my little fellow out until he recovers, reckons hes got a 60% chance of survival, so fingers crossed. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 I dont think the pictus would have minded a ph drop of 7 to 6? They do prefer 5.8 - 6.8. But if the change was over only a day or so it could have an effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 IME scaleless fish seem more susceptible to changes in water condition maybe their mucus layer is slightly different have you checked all your water prameters and differences in lfs water and your tank water can be great and a longer "float off" period maybe necessary good luck with the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Well Tuesday night I did water test and the Ammonia was high (2ppm). I was suprised to say the least because the tank has been well established for a year and never had any problems, and Ph was always 7 despite tapwater being off the charts low. Did 25% water change, had deaths through the night , so did a 50% water change on Wednesday and added Ammo-Lock. Ammonia was back down to a 1 on the Wednesday (tested before adding the Ammo Lock). Today I did a further water change and the ammonia is still at 1 and Ph was 6 or below. At first I thought the Pictus had whitespot due to the stress of major water changes as I've never had to remove more than 25%, being the colour they are it is hard to tell accurately, it turns out it may have been their slime coating or skin. The person at Wet Pets believes the Ph crash caused the prediciment Im in at the moment as catfish especially Pictus are quite fragile in that sense. Damn Palmy's crappy water, tested the water from my tap and sure enough the water is 6 or below. Im hoping the water in Wanganui is better than Palmys. Since I have never experienced this before Im guessing Wet Pets staff member was right, and I hope that the Pictus will pull through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Whats Ammo-Lock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Whats Ammo-Lock? Not right up with the tech side of things but basicaly transforms the ammonia out of the toxic form ( or gaseous state) into a non toxic form untill the filter get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Not right up with the tech side of things but basicaly transforms the ammonia out of the toxic form ( or gaseous state) into a non toxic form untill the filter get rid of it. yes. and its important to remember that ammonia tests will still show the presence of ammonia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 yes. and its important to remember that ammonia tests will still show the presence of ammonia. Why use a chemical? :-? Id much rather Just do some waterchanges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Generally Im all for the no chemical approach for my fish, but when you have expensive fish in the tank that you dont want to also die, that hand kinda reaches for the bottle, alcoholic bottle too for my nerves!lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 What wouldnt a warm Waterchange it be better for the fish than unnecasary chemicals? Although you'd be adding chemicals in the form of chlorine remover anyway... Forgot about that, we are lucky enough down here to not have chlorine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 firstly if you are worried about ph flucs then add carbon. Will keep ya tank at 7 but must be changed every 6 weeks. However is this situation if you are using meds then dont add carbon... You need to be using some sort of white spot cure, the Ph crash could of caused the stress forming white spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 firstly if you are worried about ph flucs then add carbon. Will keep ya tank at 7 but must be changed every 6 weeks. However is this situation if you are using meds then dont add carbon... You need to be using some sort of white spot cure, the Ph crash could of caused the stress forming white spot. Interested to hear how carbon keeps ph stable? And at 7... Haven't heard that one before.. Some salt will clear up the white spot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Interested to hear how carbon keeps ph stable? And at 7... Haven't heard that one before.. Me to. The only thing i can think of is that carbon reduces organic matter which can cause ph to drop. But in saying that if you did regular water changes then this shouldn't be a problem. I have always used carbon for 2 weeks then changed it out, smaller amounts than packet said. Not using it now. Ammo rid can have its place, if you have a major Ammonia problem then a water change and a few mls can be a good thing, to many water changes can be stressfull to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Thanks for the post. Just to note I use carbon already. Accoriding to the people I spoke to, the Ph flucs are only because I've done such huge water changes to combat the ammonia, usually I do a 25% water change weekly which doesnt cause problems with the Ph, but if you live in Palmy you know how bad the water is and that it flucuates in Ph,depending on the area you are in of course. There is no white spot in the tank, if you read my previous posts you would have read that. Thanks for your suggestions anyhow. The tank seems to be pulling itself back together now, thankfully. The losses were devastating me, hopefully there will be no more now. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaide Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Hi ya Buddy Sorry to hear about your catfish - how is it doing today? Wet Pets are great - when I lived in the Palmy area they nursed my sick goldfish back to health - no charge either. Yes, the water there is crapola, I lived in Foxton so the water was even worse - my water was often so acidic that PH tested yellow! Luckily I had goldfish at the time which are a lot hardier than tropicals (I'm since finding out). I would buy water from Wet Pets for my tank when I lived there - it cost $1 for 20 litres at the time, you may consider doing the same and taking some with you to Wanganui, just in case Incidentally, fighters can handle salt - often fighter owners actually salt their water - plus I used it for my two when they were sick and it helped in their recovery. You'll be pleased to know that Handsome has made a full recovery from Ich (although he is not 100% as handsome as before as he developed fin and tail rot throughout the ordeal - but his fins and tail are growing back, albeit slowly). None of the other fish in the community tank he was in ever developed ich though, but I did treat it just in case. Fluffy's hole in the head white fungus thing has also completely gone, due to a complete course (all 8 capsules) of Furan 2 - I'll be making the final water change to his tank tomorrow. Keep us posted on how your pictus is doing :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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