What's wrong with my oscar? - Page 2

**Fishfirst** · 10-17-2007, 09:20 AM

no... don't give up on him... you just did stuff to fast in my opinion. Like I said... 25% water changes, even less would be beneficial, he may have osmotic shock because of the 50% water change and that is why his condition got worse. Do a 25% water change every other day for the next week and a half. I would also use a melafix or maracyn 2 for the infections if you don't see improvement in 2 days.

Fungus med that cures pop eye? Possibly... but I would use a more specific medication that treats for bacterial infections as this is what pop eye is in general.

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 12:13 PM

i dont have ammonia test strips...what can I do to bring the ammonia down? I might have some stuff to put in the water to lower it...should I just do that?

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishfirst

no... don't give up on him... you just did stuff to fast in my opinion. Like I said... 25% water changes, even less would be beneficial, he may have osmotic shock because of the 50% water change and that is why his condition got worse. Do a 25% water change every other day for the next week and a half. I would also use a melafix or maracyn 2 for the infections if you don't see improvement in 2 days.

Fungus med that cures pop eye? Possibly... but I would use a more specific medication that treats for bacterial infections as this is what pop eye is in general.

alright...the fungus medication I got says it also treats fin rot, open wounds and all that stuff...I think I still have melafix I believe...if im not all out of it..i'll check now...should I put that in even tho the medication from the previous time is still in there? Also someone told me to take the medication and put a concentrated amount in a small bowl and put him in it for about 5 min. I havent done anything yet but if i find that melafix i'll put some in there.

EDIT: I'll take a pic of the medication and post it here... I dont have melafix but I checked the fungus clear medication and it says "clears fungus and bacteria fast" I also have amquel+ and says that lowers ammonia

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 01:49 PM

so should I put that amquel+ in today?

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 02:20 PM

and im also on my way to buy some melafix pretty soon so I will probably just put that in first and wait a f ew days to add the other stuff?

redpaulhus · 10-17-2007, 02:29 PM

Don't add amquel if you haven't tested for ammonia.

Good news is that your fungus med is actually nitrofurazone and furazolidone -- two good antibiotics in general. Unfortunately they also both are "gram negative" antibiotics (well, nitrofurazone is both gram+ and gram-) , and will therefore knock back (ie kill) your biofilter.

What's this mean ?

It means the fungus med will make your biofilter stop processing fish waste as well - so ammonia and possibly nitrite may start going up - ie poor water quality. Which since most of these infections are initially caused by poor water quality, may make things worse instead of better.

This is the number #1 reason to always treat fish in a hospital tank and never medicate your main tank.
Its alot easier to treat a fish in a 20g tank and give it daily water changes to keep the ammonia levels down than it is to do so in a 55g tank...

some good info on antibiotics:
http://www.syngnathid.org/articles/medications.html
(its officially about saltwater, but most of the drugs are also used for freshwater )

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redpaulhus

Don't add amquel if you haven't tested for ammonia.

Good news is that your fungus med is actually nitrofurazone and furazolidone -- two good antibiotics in general. Unfortunately they also both are "gram negative" antibiotics (well, nitrofurazone is both gram+ and gram-) , and will therefore knock back (ie kill) your biofilter.

What's this mean ?

It means the fungus med will make your biofilter stop processing fish waste as well - so ammonia and possibly nitrite may start going up - ie poor water quality. Which since most of these infections are initially caused by poor water quality, may make things worse instead of better.

This is the number #1 reason to always treat fish in a hospital tank and never medicate your main tank.
Its alot easier to treat a fish in a 20g tank and give it daily water changes to keep the ammonia levels down than it is to do so in a 55g tank...

some good info on antibiotics:
http://www.syngnathid.org/articles/medications.html
(its officially about saltwater, but most of the drugs are also used for freshwater )

damn....I never knew...so your saying melafix even is a bad idea in my tank?

redpaulhus · 10-17-2007, 02:57 PM

Melafix probably not (I haven't had too much trouble with it) but in general - I bet 90% of the forum members would recomend always using a hospital tank.
(10% think everything they read here is BS, according to a recent informal poll, and probably toss nyquil in their aquariums... )

emc7 · 10-17-2007, 03:14 PM

I just read (on a pharma website) to never feed your fish when using an antibiotic (because no food=no ammonia).

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redpaulhus

Melafix probably not (I haven't had too much trouble with it) but in general - I bet 90% of the forum members would recomend always using a hospital tank.
(10% think everything they read here is BS, according to a recent informal poll, and probably toss nyquil in their aquariums... )

well I don't have one sadly so I really don't have any choice but to use the tank I got. I'll just have to really keep up on the water changes. I've used this stuff and treated my other 55gallon tank many times without issue...not saying you guys are lying and if I had the cash on had (paying back tons of school loans) I would pick up a spare tank to use for this reason but I'm pretty short on cash so what I have is gonna have to do...

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emc7

I just read (on a pharma website) to never feed your fish when using an antibiotic (because no food=no ammonia).

and it's been like 2 weeks since he ate so I don't think I have to worry about food right now lol

Here's a pic of one of my tanks..plexiglass I believe and the top isn't removable which sucks.

My filter...(I keep the rubbermaid tops there to help with the evaporation...since I have no top the water evaporates too quickly)

and an updated pic of him....lookin worse.

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 06:23 PM

and my other tanks just cause i'm bored

Countryguy · 10-17-2007, 07:25 PM

OK a quick question, how's the convict doing?

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Countryguy

OK a quick question, how's the convict doing?

In the tank with the oscar he was perfectly fine. I took him out yesterday and put him in the 10gallon tank u see above...all he does is stay in that little cave thing now

Countryguy · 10-17-2007, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorfee

In the tank with the oscar he was perfectly fine. I took him out yesterday and put him in the 10gallon tank u see above...all he does is stay in that little cave thing now

Was the convict gotten before or after the Oscar was put in the tank???

Jorfee · 10-17-2007, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Countryguy

Was the convict gotten before or after the Oscar was put in the tank???

He was put in the tank before the oscar was

Jorfee · 10-18-2007, 04:24 PM

He's been laying on his side all day..I have no choice but to medicate and have put in melafix since yesterday but he's not going to make it..all hes doing is suffering

Jorfee · 10-18-2007, 08:13 PM

and hes dead

Countryguy · 10-22-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorfee

and hes dead

I'm sorry to hear that...

emc7 · 10-22-2007, 11:17 PM

Sorry for your loss. In my experience, once a cichlid stops eating, it almost never makes it. I do think you need to be careful with pH and hardness for large water changes. I once killed an angel by moving it to higher pH tank too quickly. However, I have seen remarkable recoveries with no treatment except moving a fish to a 100% clean water hospital tank. Are you going to bleach the tank?

10-17-2007, 09:20 AM	#21
Fishfirst Fish Guru Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Northern Wisconsin Age: 24 Posts: 3,541	no... don't give up on him... you just did stuff to fast in my opinion. Like I said... 25% water changes, even less would be beneficial, he may have osmotic shock because of the 50% water change and that is why his condition got worse. Do a 25% water change every other day for the next week and a half. I would also use a melafix or maracyn 2 for the infections if you don't see improvement in 2 days. Fungus med that cures pop eye? Possibly... but I would use a more specific medication that treats for bacterial infections as this is what pop eye is in general. __________________ 210 Gal Reef w/ 55 Gallon Sump/Fuge, 125 Gal Fish Only, 65 Gal Seahorse-29 Gallon Sump, 55 Gal FOWLR, 54 Gal Corner FW Community, 20 Gal Nano FOWLR, 55 Gal Piranha, 29 gallon QT "All the yellow tangs and clownfish in the world can't save you now! hahahah" Peter from Family Guy

10-17-2007, 01:49 PM	#24
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	so should I put that amquel+ in today? Last edited by Jorfee; 10-17-2007 at 01:52 PM.

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10-17-2007, 12:13 PM	#22
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	i dont have ammonia test strips...what can I do to bring the ammonia down? I might have some stuff to put in the water to lower it...should I just do that?

10-17-2007, 02:20 PM	#25
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	and im also on my way to buy some melafix pretty soon so I will probably just put that in first and wait a f ew days to add the other stuff?

10-17-2007, 02:29 PM	#26
redpaulhus fishgeek Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boston Age: 38 Posts: 456	Don't add amquel if you haven't tested for ammonia. Good news is that your fungus med is actually nitrofurazone and furazolidone -- two good antibiotics in general. Unfortunately they also both are "gram negative" antibiotics (well, nitrofurazone is both gram+ and gram-) , and will therefore knock back (ie kill) your biofilter. What's this mean ? It means the fungus med will make your biofilter stop processing fish waste as well - so ammonia and possibly nitrite may start going up - ie poor water quality. Which since most of these infections are initially caused by poor water quality, may make things worse instead of better. This is the number #1 reason to always treat fish in a hospital tank and never medicate your main tank. Its alot easier to treat a fish in a 20g tank and give it daily water changes to keep the ammonia levels down than it is to do so in a 55g tank... some good info on antibiotics: http://www.syngnathid.org/articles/medications.html (its officially about saltwater, but most of the drugs are also used for freshwater )

10-17-2007, 02:57 PM	#28
redpaulhus fishgeek Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boston Age: 38 Posts: 456	Melafix probably not (I haven't had too much trouble with it) but in general - I bet 90% of the forum members would recomend always using a hospital tank. (10% think everything they read here is BS, according to a recent informal poll, and probably toss nyquil in their aquariums... )

10-17-2007, 03:14 PM	#29
emc7 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Johns Creek, GA Posts: 3,283	I just read (on a pharma website) to never feed your fish when using an antibiotic (because no food=no ammonia).

10-17-2007, 06:23 PM	#32
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	and my other tanks just cause i'm bored

10-17-2007, 07:25 PM	#33
Countryguy Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Age: 38 Posts: 48	OK a quick question, how's the convict doing?

10-18-2007, 04:24 PM	#37
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	He's been laying on his side all day..I have no choice but to medicate and have put in melafix since yesterday but he's not going to make it..all hes doing is suffering

10-18-2007, 08:13 PM	#38
Jorfee Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	and hes dead

10-22-2007, 11:17 PM	#40
emc7 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Johns Creek, GA Posts: 3,283	Sorry for your loss. In my experience, once a cichlid stops eating, it almost never makes it. I do think you need to be careful with pH and hardness for large water changes. I once killed an angel by moving it to higher pH tank too quickly. However, I have seen remarkable recoveries with no treatment except moving a fish to a 100% clean water hospital tank. Are you going to bleach the tank?

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