dan_from_nz Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 My friend has just brought a Coius microlepis, He put it into a newely set up aquarium (after being advised that this was a mistake) he has been doing regular water changes and ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all very low (only a slight detection of ammonia but about 0.5ppm) all in all he has had the fish for 4 weeks now but came aroud today asking for help he said that his fish had white spot but he wasn't sure if it was white spot as it was also on his eye. So i went around to help him (by this stage he had dosed the tank with the reccomended doses of cpv white spot cure, melafix, and tonic salt. the fist test i dont was a ph test and it came around about 14 (that may be a little exageration as my test only goes up to 10) it was the darkest blue I have ever seen in a ph test although the salt would have had an impact on the ph i know the water we use from wet pets is always high in ph and it can catch ammatures out. so i mixed up a week mixture of ph down for him and told him to dose it very slowely for the next few days untill the test comes out green. the problem i have is that I dont think it is white spot as although it looks just like white spot the spots are fluffy more like a fungal infection not a parasitic and is particulaly bad around the edges of the fins sort of like fin rot. the bubble on his eye was a blister and within the few hours from him noticing it to me comming out the other eye had gotten a blister as well. my worry is that with so many things going bad it is hard to decide what to fix first (as i am sure trying to add everything to heal all the problems would just stress him out too much) I have told him to do the following: 1. over the next few days get the ph right (as i am sure this is the cause of it all) 2. do a few largeish water changes (making sure he adds water that is the same temp and ph 7) to get the current meds out of the water 3. add formalin 5% (i think this is for fungal infections please correct me if i am wrong) 4. once all of that is done and he is looking a little less stressed call me and i will go around and pop the blisters with a pin and add melafix and tonic salt can you please advise if this is not the right order to do things in or if somthing i have sugested is a bad idea also will he last a week with a blister over his eye or will he go blind before then thanks daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 No way it would be 14, that high of PH would have killed and burned up the fish by now. And salt doesn't effect PH. The medications might be effecting the test. I think whitespot cure makes the water blue anyway, doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 no his water was still clear, i don't know exactly what it was he added and yeah i knew i was exagerating saying 14 (as noted) but i have never seen it so high before. but even 10 is way too high especially for a fish that likes acidic water. the other thing is it would be very soft water i thought fish either like hard alkaline or soft acidic never soft alkaline (which is what he has the other thing i forgot to note i had told him to do is keep a towel over the tank to keep light out, i am not sure if there is any basis to that advice i just thought it could help reduce stress and also insulate temperature fluctuations a little also reducing stress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 Does this fish have scales? If not, and I siuspect it doesn't, the cure for whitespot could be having a dangerous affect on the fish the same as would happen to a clown loach. Ignore the above if it has scales. Just that I've never been moved to have a close look at this species Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistymu05 Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 These fish are fine scaled, they require very good water quality to thrive with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH (7.0-7.5), medium hard water, a large tank with open swimming space, subdued lighting. This is just the basic information i could find - hope some of that information helps in the decision of what to add to the water???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 thanks the fine scaled part was somthing i hadn't read he has turned black which is what they do when they are unhappy so i hope things go well he is a really neat fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Firstly, if the ammonia is 0.5, this is very high and extremely toxic. Just how toxic it is depends on the pH, with every pH point making it 10x more toxic. By adding all the medications the filter will be totally wiped out meaning the ammonia will continue to rise and the tank will need to be cycled again. Standard salt won't change the pH by much at all if any. Is the bubble on it's eye like a bubble-gum bubble coming out between the eye and the socket? If so then it is probably pop-eye. It means there is a major bacterial infection in the tank. If the fish has irritated skin from the other problems it has it may have been scratching itself on object in the tank. Because they have such a big unprotected eye they often scratch it and it gets infections. Melafix and Meth-blue work pretty well on pop-eye. Just do the waterchanges. Use formalin as an absolute last resort unless you can positively identify a parasite it will kill. I wouldn't pop the blisters, it is likely to do more harm than good. Popping the blister on it's eye will likely make it go blind in that eye. If the waterchanges are done and the bacterial infection sorted the blisters will go away in time. Good luck, they're a great fish. Goes to show, don't jump the gun with putting fish in a tank before it's ready. Especially fish as sensitive as these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted November 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Goes to show, don't jump the gun with putting fish in a tank before it's ready. Especially fish as sensitive as these... yeah, haven't talked to him today and unfortunatly am in napier all day tomorrow and thursday so it wont be untill friday untill i go and do more tests for him, he should have the ph fine by then and done one water change so hopefully they will hold out untill i can help more. if there is no biological filter should he do smaller more frequent water changes? say, 5% to 10% every day or every second day? Thanks for all your help Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Yes, daily waterchanges of at least 10% until the biological filter is all-go again (at least 4-6 weeks). He'll be totally sick of water changes by then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted December 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thanks for all your help i gave him a call tonight to see how things are going, he said things are getting better the blisters have already dissapeared on their own ph is still basic but he is only moving it down very slowely (as i told him too) so hopefully things all go well regards daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillz Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thats good to hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistymu05 Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 glad to hear things are looking up for the little fishy ..... i hope that will be a learning experience for your friend to listen to your advice in the future not to just throw a new fish into a new tank ........ but i guess we all make mistakes and this one has turned out for the best...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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