KiwiGal77 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Just wondering if people routinely medicate new fish they get, either in a quarantine tank or treating the whole tank? I bought 4 new cory a couple of weeks back and instantly noticed they were all looking a little pale, but two especially had very red gills and red streaks down their bodies as well being much smaller than the others. I immediately did a week's treatment of melafix and 3 doses of prazi as heard cories can be prone to bacterial and parasite infections. 2 have recovered very well and darkened up nicely, one is still quite small and pale but no longer red and behaving normal so just keeping an eye on that one. The fourth never really picked up, was eating well but looked very weak and skinny with slightly clamped fins - so he's currently in his own tank and going back to be replaced tomorrow. Noticed another one a couple of days ago flashing with one red gill, so dosed with prazi again and he's instantly improved - will do another week of prazi to ensure what I believe to be gill flukes are totally eradicated. It made me wonder how people deal with ensuring new fish who arrive are healthy, cope with the stress of the move ok and don't introduce diseases into your tank? I was lucky in that there were only two other fish in the tank before these 4 arrived, so haven't ended up with a mass spread of infection. But would be quite concerned if I had a tank full of healthy fish and then new ones brought disease with them and infected the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 I don't treat fish that I have just bought as I observe them carefully before buying or if unavoidable, buy from reputable sellers. I have never used melafix so know nothing about it. It is also unlikely that I would ever use it either as I have satisfactory cures for any diseases that are treatable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 26, 2015 Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 It is always recommended to quarantine new fish for at least a month before adding to an existing tank of healthy fish, preferably longer. Some people make the effort and do it - particularly if a spare tank is available - others choose to take the risk. The most important thing is not to purchase fish that look less than perfectly healthy which is not always easy. Another risk you take in treating a whole tank over a single fish is that in time the disease, parasite or whatever will build up resistance to the treatment so it is rendered ineffective. We have so few medications available over the counter that this is something you don't want to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiGal77 Posted March 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 Unfortunately a quarantine tank isn't something I'm going to be able to set up in the long run due to lack of room. Would be ideal though. I probably should have taken those two back before I had even got them home. Lesson learnt, will definitely be paying more attention to the look of the new fish when purchasing! Good point about the resistance issues as well Adrienne, a real concern in medicating. Thanks for the advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colour_genes Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Just a few ideas re quarantine tanks - they do not have to be large, expensive or take up a lot of room. The fish will not be in there for more than 6-8 weeks, and you are not likely to have many at one time - so a proper glass tank is not strictly necessary. I have successfully used translucent plastic containers - hobby boxes/storage containers etc of the types sold in many hardware & general shops, and I'm sure others have as well. They work fine, although it is best to occasionally remove the fish into a glass container to examine for any disease, as the translucent plastic makes it difficult to see small details. If you are only buying in one small fish you may even be able to use a large glass or plastic jar and suspend it inside your main tank. Buy a small heater; and a cheap air pump can be used to run a small 'corner-type' filter, which can have the media thrown away and the plastic sterilised at the end of the quarantine period. Then, If you think you might be buying more fish anytime soon, you can put more media in the filter and put it in your main tank for a while so the filter bacteria starts to build up, then move it back into the plastic container when you need to quarantine the next new fish. Total cost for one I have set up - $10-15 container, $20 heater, air pump $15 - 20, filter & media c.$12 - total $57 to $65, and a half a square metre on the floor somewhere. So, if the total cost of the fish that are already in your main tank is more than $60, it is worth setting up a quarantine; if less, it may not be financially worth it, but it also depends on how emotionally attached you are to the fish you already have. Just my thoughts on the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Personally I am hesitant to medicate unless necessary. The only thing I might dose for is internal parasites (eg Prazi) as some fish are prone to them (eg wild caught fish) and they are hard to notice - Callamanus worms spread quickly and are dangerous, whilst the treatment for them, Levamisole, is very safe and soft for the fish. But in most cases, I don't medicate. Some fishkeepers might still use salt as a preventative but that appears to not be so common any more with newer fishkeepers. It'll kill plants and many fish (especially soft water and scaleless fish) are sensitive to it. Methylene blue may be used as a general treatment (fungus, parasites, /maybe/ some bacterial etc) and is not too dangerous for sensitive fish (such as scaleless fish) - it's used for things such as Nitrite toxicity and may be used in cases such as quarantine tanks and fish in bags. However, at higher doses it can knock back the filter, along with killing plants and staining tanks/decor - so it's rarely used as a preventative in display tanks. Products that help slime coat production are often used by some when fish are added to bags and new tanks. I don't know how effective they are, but they don't appear to be harmful. But honestly, even if you had the perfect medication, I would still recommend quarantine as the number one preventative measure. Callamanus worms may infect a tank for over a month before you notice. Columnaris can take a month to show. Ich can take several weeks to show (if fish are only carrying it in the gills, it may not be visible for some time). These three are such major issues, and the medications to treat the tank are either difficult or have a tendency to kill plants, inverts, filtration bacteria and sensitive fish. Generally, IMO, you don't quarantine until you need to quarantine - when you have something wipe out everything. It's something we so often see people suffer, and it'd be awesome if even just one person doesn't end up with an infectious disease because they decided to try QTing first. Colour has some great tips for QT tanks - mine may sit anywhere between 30-70L and continuously run. All that's needed is the separate tank, filter, heater, siphon, bucket and net. Can sit in a corner or in a cupboard - somewhere quiet is usually preferred to prevent stress to the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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