lorrainel Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Hi all just to let u all know... fishies still alive yay thanks to all the advice everyone is giving me! all signs of ich are now gone from clown loaches, a couple of the tetras had ich 2-3 days ago but cleared up after 1 day! still continuing with salt + heat treatment for the next 2 wks. Now I have another set of problems! 1) the plants are kinda going brown? someone already advised me about this on this forum so just persevere and keep up the water changes right? 2) my blue rams are getting v territorial + chasing my clowns around! a friend told me that its ok and normal esp if the rams are male and female.. but can they damage the clowns esp since they haven't got scales? 3) I'm going to go away for 4 days next week and need to find some suitable form of feeding! are those 'weekend' blocks any good? or just buy an automatic feeder?? Thanks to all who've helped me the last few wks re: probs with my tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Good to hear that things are going well. Your fish should be fine for a few days without being fed. Feeding blocks can upset the balance of things and I don't know of anyone here that uses them. An automatic feeder can be good if you will be away regularly but can be expensive. Fry would be an exception to this as they do require regular feeding. When I am going away I just feed my fish as normal (not extra or the tank could get dirty) until I go and then pick up feeds again when I come back. I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences. Have a great time away! MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Mustcooktea, isn't it something like 7 days that fish can go without food? Now, others will correct me if I'm wrong. But, it's like MCT said, most people here don't do anything in the line of feeding when they are away, well, of course, unless its going to be for a long time. For 4 days your fishies should be fine. If it would be for a longer period, uh, past the 7 days (oh wise fishy people correct me here if the period isn't correct), from what I've read so far about this issue if there's somebody that you can trust have them feed your fishies. What I mean by trust is they will be able to resist the temptation of the fishies coming up to the tank and PLEADING, "we're still hungry" :lol: I have even read where some people will alot a certain amount of food to feed the fishies each day. This is just for future reference. Sorry so long, I seem to be really long winded with all my posts today :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 a few fish i know of can go over a month without eating if they have to, four days wont be a problem i wouldnt imagine. if your worried you can measure out special amounts of food and ask a neighbour to pop in each day. its easier to set specific amounts so you dont risk them over feeding :lol: not sure if your tanks finished or near the end of the cycle but you *might* have some problems with ammonia and nitrite build up? just something to consider, cant really cancel your trip and its annoying getting someone in to do your water changes so maybe just do a large one (50% or so?) right before you leave and one as soon as you get back, only setting out small amounts of food (if you go that way) will help too. not sure about the holiday feeding blocks myself, never used them but if they let out excess food that might be a prob. have a good time away :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Good to hear things are settling down without any deaths so far Lorraine. Normally I would say to get someone to feed them since it is a new tank but in this case, I would recommend you leave them without food for the 4 days you are away. They will certainly not die of starvation in that time although they will be very pleased to see you on your return! :lol: If you can, give them a nice meal of live foods the day before you go. Do not be tempted to give them extra dry or frozen foods as these may foul the tank while you are away. Hopefully the rams will settle down. Keep an eye out for damage on the clowns though. If you find any, you will have to decide which ones have to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 How are your fishies doing now???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainel Posted May 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 just came back from holiday - fishies are all doing ok, i added another 2 last wk, one small one same size as the other two. problem is that the little one is now absolutely covered in white spots!!!! i dunno why it just appeared 1 wk ago and hasn't gotten any better at all. he's still v active + eating normally, and no sign of spotting on any of the other loaches. i raised the temp to 30degrees and the tank has been 'salted' for over 3 wks now so i'm not sure what else i can do! PS btw all fishies still alive yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Stop adding fish, and wait a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 white spot is a pretty persistant thing and can take a few weeks to get rid of. keep the tank water nice and clean, salt and heat up and see if that helps. if they still dont show any improvement after another week or so perhaps you may need to try the meds as they are stronger. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljtan55 Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Wow, I've got some White Spot Cure if you want it. But I honestly have no idea whats in the stuff, its worked well for me in the past, but I dunno if its alright for your loaches?? If ive got my information right, the white spot parasite can only be killed in one of the stages of its life, but raising temp speeds up its life cycle, and the meds will kill it then. Tell me if ya want it. I can send it down thru "company" mail :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 raising temp speeds up its life cycle, and the meds will kill it then It's when the parasite falls off the fishies that the meds kill it, am I right oh wise fishy people? What I've learned to far about Ick, please feel to correct: can take 2-3 weeks for the spots to appear :evil: , turning the heat up makes the cylce progress faster (e.g. spots appear), when they "fall" off the fishies is when the meds...and vacuum get them When using meds with scaleless fishies, must check first to see if safe to use on scaleless fishies & I think most you use at least half the dose for some meds anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 spot on caper (no pun intended lol) the cysts fall off the fish and onto the gravel where they break open and release babies which then go and find a host (this is what i have always been told). the salt or meds will kill the parasite then and thats why you have to keep up treatment as they might be a few unhatched cysts lying around or babies that havent found a host yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Oh, and I forgot...you should treat at least 2 to 3 days AFTER there are no more spots on fishies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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