Wolfie81
11-07-2007, 02:20 AM
Kinda long post... but please read!
Many of you may remember my first post here, when I was losing fish because I had an overstocked and un-cycled 10-gallon tank... I made every mistake in the book because I didn't take any time to research fishkeeping BEFORE I got in over my head.
Well the good news is this: my tank is now fully cycled, we survived a nasty case of Ich, and the fish are doing well. I'm even expecting Platy fry any day now, and I can't wait!
When I first decided to get an aquarium, I thought it was as simple as "buy aquarium, add water, add fish, voila" but I quickly learned that was not the case. With the help of some wonderful folks here, I was pointed to the appropriate reading material on cycling a tank, caring for fish, and treating diseases. I'd like to extend my thanks to all who offered helpful advice to my ignorant a$$. :1luvu:
So, I'm feeling a little proud of myself for one event in particular, and I thought that some of you might like to hear it, and maybe share your own.
In my tank, I have a lovely pair of Silver Mollies -- a big, robust male named Ed, and his saucy little woman, Sheila. One day I noticed that one of Ed's eyes was cloudy and bulging a bit, and so I moved him to a small "hospital tank" that I set up in a hurry -- just a little plastic tank, no substrate or decorations, so daily water changes were necessary. I was panicked, having never been through this before, and did massive amounts of research online. Still not sure if it was "pop-eye" or "cloud-eye" or a fungal or bacterial infection, I decided to try a course of Melafix.
The Melafix didn't help; in fact, the other eye became swollen and cloudy as well, so I went out and bought some Maracyn. The swelling subsided a little, but the cloudiness remained. By this point, Ed was very listless and had difficulty seeing or swimming. I had some Gel-Tek tetracycline drops that are intended to be eaten by the fish, but of course, Ed didn't want to eat them. So I have no clue what to do... how do I get a fish to eat medicine when he doesn't want to?!?
Now, I'm a veterinary technician, and I have lots of experience with sick cats and dogs, small furry creatures, and even birds and reptiles, but absolutely NO nursing experience with fish. As a last resort, I decide to try gently force-feeding him the drops. Twice a day for 5 days, I scooped Ed gently into my left hand and "bottle-fed" him the tetracycline drops. He was amazingly well-behaved for this. In the beginning, I think he was too sick to fight me... but as he started to get better, I think he understood, on some level, that I wouldn't hurt him.
So, thankfully, Ed's eyes have both healed wonderfully... I can't tell you how excited I am that my nursing care worked! It's great to look into my tank and see Ed chasing Sheila around, all clear-eyed and mischievous again.
Thanks for taking the time to read... and feel free to share your own story!
*Edited to add crappy photo of Ed and Sheila
Many of you may remember my first post here, when I was losing fish because I had an overstocked and un-cycled 10-gallon tank... I made every mistake in the book because I didn't take any time to research fishkeeping BEFORE I got in over my head.
Well the good news is this: my tank is now fully cycled, we survived a nasty case of Ich, and the fish are doing well. I'm even expecting Platy fry any day now, and I can't wait!
When I first decided to get an aquarium, I thought it was as simple as "buy aquarium, add water, add fish, voila" but I quickly learned that was not the case. With the help of some wonderful folks here, I was pointed to the appropriate reading material on cycling a tank, caring for fish, and treating diseases. I'd like to extend my thanks to all who offered helpful advice to my ignorant a$$. :1luvu:
So, I'm feeling a little proud of myself for one event in particular, and I thought that some of you might like to hear it, and maybe share your own.
In my tank, I have a lovely pair of Silver Mollies -- a big, robust male named Ed, and his saucy little woman, Sheila. One day I noticed that one of Ed's eyes was cloudy and bulging a bit, and so I moved him to a small "hospital tank" that I set up in a hurry -- just a little plastic tank, no substrate or decorations, so daily water changes were necessary. I was panicked, having never been through this before, and did massive amounts of research online. Still not sure if it was "pop-eye" or "cloud-eye" or a fungal or bacterial infection, I decided to try a course of Melafix.
The Melafix didn't help; in fact, the other eye became swollen and cloudy as well, so I went out and bought some Maracyn. The swelling subsided a little, but the cloudiness remained. By this point, Ed was very listless and had difficulty seeing or swimming. I had some Gel-Tek tetracycline drops that are intended to be eaten by the fish, but of course, Ed didn't want to eat them. So I have no clue what to do... how do I get a fish to eat medicine when he doesn't want to?!?
Now, I'm a veterinary technician, and I have lots of experience with sick cats and dogs, small furry creatures, and even birds and reptiles, but absolutely NO nursing experience with fish. As a last resort, I decide to try gently force-feeding him the drops. Twice a day for 5 days, I scooped Ed gently into my left hand and "bottle-fed" him the tetracycline drops. He was amazingly well-behaved for this. In the beginning, I think he was too sick to fight me... but as he started to get better, I think he understood, on some level, that I wouldn't hurt him.
So, thankfully, Ed's eyes have both healed wonderfully... I can't tell you how excited I am that my nursing care worked! It's great to look into my tank and see Ed chasing Sheila around, all clear-eyed and mischievous again.
Thanks for taking the time to read... and feel free to share your own story!
*Edited to add crappy photo of Ed and Sheila