My quarantine process

[Berylla]

I just bought some new corycats from Petco today and are now in my quarantine tank. I wrote about my quarantine process in blog:

http://www.manyhatsofme.com/2013/03/...-aquarium.html

Thanks for reading.

[Berylla]

I just added a potassium permanganate treatment section to my blog for those who are interested.

[Rocksor]

That's an odd way to treat ich. I've found keeping the temperature raised at 86-87F for 2 weeks will guarantee that the ich lifecycle is sped up and prevents the ich from reproducing.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php


Safer way to treat hexamita than using metro

"In fish, an excessive use of metronidazole can damage kidneys and other internal organs.(Bassleer, 1983)"

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...a-Spironucleus

1/2 cup distilled water
3/4 teaspoon epsom salt

Soak food until saturated, and feed to fish.

Article on the causes of Bloat and the myths behind it.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-and-BIG-Myths

[Berylla]

That's an odd way to treat ich. I've found keeping the temperature raised at 86-87F for 2 weeks will guarantee that the ich lifecycle is sped up and prevents the ich from reproducing.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php



Safer way to treat hexamita than using metro

"In fish, an excessive use of metronidazole can damage kidneys and other internal organs.(Bassleer, 1983)"

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...a-Spironucleus

1/2 cup distilled water
3/4 teaspoon epsom salt

Soak food until saturated, and feed to fish.

Article on the causes of Bloat and the myths behind it.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...-and-BIG-Myths

Thanks for your comments. I learned something new today about treating Hex! I also added a non-medicated treatment for ich on my blog earlier today if you haven't had a chance to read it.

The problem with Hex, is that the fish won't eat anything at all, so in many cases metro is the way to go. However, with the addition of using epsom salt feed when the fish recover, could speed up the recovery process.
I will read every article this week and discuss in Simply Discus to see what they have to say. Discus fish are prone to Hex and I don't believe there is any threads about epsom salt and Hex. This will provide some lively discussion there I'm sure!

Regarding bloat, discus fish are prone to bloat because they like to eat very quickly, even if the amounts are small. I feed my discus frozen brine shrimp every couple of days to keep their system moving along.

Thanks again for posting.

[Rocksor]

I read the non-medicated portion of treating ich, and still found that part about raising the temp than lowering to 70F quite unnecessary and cumbersome. The easier method is to maintain a constant temperature of 87F for 2 weeks. Combine it with the salt method of 2-3TBSP per 5 gallons (for salt tolerant fish), and those ich are almost guaranteed not to come back.

As for hex and non-eating fish, you can use a plastic syringe and administer 5 drops of the solution into the fish's mouth. Epsom salt is really easy to get around the world and relatively cheap when compared to metro.

[Berylla]

I read the non-medicated portion of treating ich, and still found that part about raising the temp than lowering to 70F quite unnecessary and cumbersome. The easier method is to maintain a constant temperature of 87F for 2 weeks. Combine it with the salt method of 2-3TBSP per 5 gallons (for salt tolerant fish), and those ich are almost guaranteed not to come back.

As for hex and non-eating fish, you can use a plastic syringe and administer 5 drops of the solution into the fish's mouth. Epsom salt is really easy to get around the world and relatively cheap when compared to metro.

I agree with you regarding simplifying the non-medcated ich treatment. I will revise my blog. I really don't have much of an opinion with this treatment since I've never used it, but I certainly see the benefits of it.

Regarding the eyedropper treatment of fish, I can't see that working on anything but a great big fish and even then, the stress might kill them (I'm thinking discus) if its done everyday. I read both articles and the one about the fishery made the most sense. I'm thinking that the epsom salt in food could be more of a preventative of the disease. My guess on how it works, is that it's a prophylactic by its laxative effect - causing the fish to defecate regularly and with muscle spasms to dislodge the parasite.

I will try and make up a gel food using Agar Flakes from the Asian food store (agar doesn't melt in warm temp's) clam juice, garlic guard, and shredded shrimp + the epsom salt and feed to fish once every two weeks. For my bottom fish, I will soak some of their more solid feeding disks with epsom salt solution. I will post my recipe here with some photos when I've made the food mix and my fish are eating them. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.