Ron.h

day 14 in the tub and still hanging in there. one seems to be less bloated and one possibly more. just delaying the inevitable i know, but until i can get some meds it's all i can do. no word on meds yet the vet in question is on holiday. still doing epsom salt baths daily, and could do esha ndx again as it's been a week since last time, what do you think? feeding a very small amount of live bbs but don't think it's being eaten. for sick fish they are being very resilient. thanks ron.

thank you odd duck, i have a friend who's daughter works with horses and is friendly with a vet and have asked if they might help me. the cories in question are young fish that i have bred myself and i still have the breeding group in another tank that is not affected. in fact if i'd not had this problem the sick fish were at a size to be sold, but obviously i put that on hold. all other tanks with young cories in are fine, it's only the one tank and only the black cories in that tank. i've asked my friends daughter for minocycline, kanamycin or metronidazole if possible and await a response, probably after the new year now. i don't know how the tubbed fish are hanging on, 9 days now with all the stress, but the things you've all suggested must be having an impact and i appreciate it. thanks again and have a great new year. cheers ron.

hi, i think i can get some human prescribed amoxicillin and possibly nitrofurantoin, would these be of any use, and if so could you help with dosing quantities. can't get these until monday at the earliest. fish in tub are still alive but found one more in tank this morning. the recent deaths are not showing any symptoms like the tubbed fish, whereas previously i would notice excess mucus and bloating on individual fish. now all fish look fine until i find a body. thanks for your help.

littlefish this puzzles me also, and though i feel you could be partly right, the snow white pandas are also heavily line bred, and more recently than the black corys. i have found them to be more sensitive by far than the black corys which are generally very hardy for me. guess it's a mystery that will not be solved.

nabokovfan87 ihave a couple of shops that i sell to, and trust them but i don't think they can access antibiotics but i will try them. don't know of any cases of dropsy local but would assume affected fish just die. colu i will look into contacting a vet but i'm not aware of any who specialize in fish locally, and most consultation fees are astronomical. maybe a chat with our local pharmacist could serve me better. if i can source some antibiotic meds hopefully someone could help with dosing quantities. will try for kanamycin or minocycline. thanks ron.

dosed the esha ndx again today and doing daily epsom salt dips for 15 mins. can't believe all three are still alive after 8 days of 100% water changes, epsom salt dips and dosing ndx esha 2000 and aquarium salt. found one dead cory yesterday and another this morning in the grow tank. these were not as swollen/bloated as the three in the tub, and i have not treated the tank at all, at least until i can pinpoint something specific. attached a photo from this morning.

i could possibly find esha gdex as suggested earlier by colu. done some research and 1ml contains 66mg of praziquantel. dosage is 1 drop to 1lt of water, and 100 drops equals 3.2ml. would this be strong enough at suggested dosage to have an impact. i have done epsom salt bath today for 15mins. fish seemed to take it well and were fine when returned to the hospital tub.

i'm having no luck locating sera baktopur so far, but do have NT Labs anti internal bacteria, active ingredient Chloramine T. does anyone know if this would be effective?

hi colu, i will try to get the sera baktopur if it is available in uk. i too thought it strange multiple fish were showing these symptoms, and again only the black corys and not the pandas. the grow tank gets weekly 30% water changes, and on testing is only showing 25ppm nitrate, but obviously something is going on in the tank. thanks for everyones efforts and suggestions and will update any developments. cheers ron.

thank you odd duck, i will try the epsom salt figure i've got nothing to lose and hopefully something to gain. all looks good in the grow tank at the moment, no losses for about seven days, and still not lost a snow white panda.

sorry my mistake, it's a hospital tub not quarantine.

yes mattym you are correct, no filter in quarantine tub. have to change water daily as only 2lt, no room for filter. main grow tank is well filtered nabokovfan87. these fish were pulled from main tank in this condition five days ago. have gotten no better or worse since treating in tub.

just a quick update. the cory from the original photo died about 6 days ago but i found three more in the tank to try to save. these had one day treatment with esha ndx, and two days of esha 2000 plus salt and this is the second day of no meds, just clean water to give them a break. so five days and still alive and fairly active, all days in a 2lt quarantine tub with 100% changes daily. although alive seems little change in the swelling/bloating. in two days time i can dose esha ndx again and see if that helps. any other advice appreciated. cheers ron.

Odd Duck thank you for your observations and advice.

Yes i have and use oak leaves and alder cones. the sick cory is in a 2lt tub at the moment with an airstone set fairly high. also as said earlier the grow out tank has plenty of oxygenation. i think i will treat the tub for now, and the main tank if and when things get any worse. thanks again for all the help, will update hopefully when things improve. Cheers Ron.