Pull the fish or treat the tank?

[traco1]

One of my little long fin cories has his tail looking bacterial (I think?), no fuzzy fungus just clamped tail and whiteish on the end. Now he is in a tank with other fish, I wonder, do you pull just him out for treatment of some kind or do you treat the whole tank he is in? Will the others come down with this? Or will upping the water changes help combat this?

This is the same tank where I just had a platy pass away. She had white marks on her tail, not the edge like the cory, more in the middle of her tail. Her tail was white/clear and these marks were in the middle of her tail, inside.

I have not added any meds, salt or melafix to the tank yet. Temp is 76, ammonia/nitrate are zero, nitrates are 10.

I think it was the cory who brought this in.

[Melody]

If you've had similar deaths I'd start with good ol' water changes and salt in the tank, and probably pull any fish that have similar symptoms, just in case. Without knowing what it is, its impossible to answer the rest. Do your best, trust your instincts.:yes:

[traco1]

This little cory is the smallest of the cories. I think with all the shipping, new tank, shipping again and another new tank, was just too much for him. I'll pick up the pace with water changes and hopefully, clean water and good food will help him pull through. Why is it my first instinct is to add meds?!! When really, I should be trying the old fashioned, true blue, good results way, of clean water is the best to go with.

Oops, and salt? 1 tsp. per 10 gallons? Been a while since I've done salt for livebearers.

[Melody]

Depends on the type of salt. If its Freshwater Aquarium Salt, it should have a recommended theraputic dose and a dose for illness.

Med's are the response to our desire to 'do something!'. Trust me, I did it for a very long time, spent a fortune, and almost invariably made things worse, especially when I used antibiotics. When I preach no med's, I do so because I've made the mistake, not because I'm being a snobby naturalist....lol.:laugh:

[traco1]

I've got both kosher salt and aquarium salt.

[Melody]

My choice would be aquarium salt. I like doseages on boxes - it comforts me...lol.

[thegrandpoohbah]

I thought cories didn't tolerate salt very well?

[traco1]

Yikes! I only added 3 tsp to a 33 gallon so that should be okay?

[Melody]

I thought cories didn't tolerate salt very well?

Mine have been in so much salinity they though they were marine Cory's...lol...they do fine as long as the increase is gradual and the salt should be predisolved. You're quite right though, some very well-informed Catfish people say they don't tolerate it well, and it is something that should be watched for. Thanks for mentioning it!

Barb, my Longfins are in seasalt and do very well - keeps their finnage healthy, so I'm reasonably sure they'll be fine. However, as suggested, watch for signs of stress just in case.

[traco1]

Melody, that is good to know about the gradual increase and to pre-dissolve in water.

I wondered about the longfins. When I first got them, it seemed to me that they could be as particular as discus in terms of water quality.

[Melody]

:nah: Naaa, they're just fancy Bronze Cory's - don't come much tougher than Bronze Cory's. I think your pH might be a shocker for most though, so a long acclimation might be in order for new fish. I baby finnage because I'm used to babying finnage - anything with elaborate fins and missy over here had to have them over the years. :rolleyes: Longer fins do seem to be prone to problems sometimes though - probably from the rips & nips they receive.

[traco1]

Not sure about the PH being a shock as I got my juvenile discus from over there in Vancouver and had no problems with them (and they are sensitive to water issues). It could be though, but I don't know how something like that would be fixable? I don't want to start fiddling around with the PH as that could be a recipe for disaster for moi. lol

[Melody]

Its not something that needs to be fixed, just accomodated. 7.6 is on the high side and pH shock kills new fish. My local water supply is somewhere between 6.8 & 7, but I boost it in the tanks. Neutral is around 7 - 7.2, so you're definitly getting up there. Nothing like Alberta mind you...lol...it just means you have to take some time to acclimate the incoming to be on the safe side.

Like anything, it won't be as big of an issue for young, healthy fish - they adapt much more quickly and appear none the worse off. Something to watch anyway.:yes:

[traco1]

Thanks Melody. I just figured if I could keep discus alive, I could do anything. As noted, I can't do everything. I thought "well, how hard are livebearers? I should have no problems with them.":err:

Now would PH difference shock show up right at acclimation or weeks down the road? Or is that one of those "well, it could be both" questions and answers?

[Melody]

Pretty much immediate with that one - they wouldn't look/act well right off the bat. If its a big jump, they'll go into spasms & die on the spot. Its just a matter of acclimating them over a few hours rather than 20 minutes, type thing. It also depends on the species - some are very sensitive to pH jumps and are drip acclimated over a very long period of time.

Discus are one of the few species that appear to be toughening up, rather than the opposite. I was reading an article on some site that sells them... can't remember which one, and he said he started pushing the limits of the Discus he breeds and found they're just fine with reasonable maintenance. I suppose they're 'evolving' into captivity. I think that one of the problems may be that they've been kept in such sterile conditions so they can't handle anything, but that's just theorizing.