Luis

Would an Epsom bath do him any good?

By clean water, is there a way to see besides water testing? I test the water one day yes one day no. ammonia 0 / nitrites 0 /nitrates 40 ph 7.5 Im always scared to do too much of a change in case it stresses the guy too much. he’s in a 20 litre which I believe is roughly 10 gallons. Even if numbers are stable, should I do more water changes? thanks!

Thank you for this! I’m a bit scared of medicines though 😔

No he did that maybe at the start. And he definitely started getting sunken belly. However for the past 4 days or so, he chills in his coconut cave and seems to be breathing peacefully. I’ve noticed he doesn’t fully close his mouth but I think it’s because of the sickness. His gills are very relaxed and today I was feeding him some big bites one by one and he managed to down about 8-12 so was very happy with that. For the first week his find also deteriorated so maybe you’re onto the initial cause and maybe now he’s finally getting better?

Hey everyone, Ive been treating my sick electric blue acara for the past 2 weeks now. I removed him from the display tank when I noticed he stopped eating (originally being the tank boss), and he had somewhat like a pimple on its tail and a small hole on its head. Water parameters: ammonia-0 / nitrites -0 / nitrates have been high which I only found out when I removed him at around 60ppm / ph is at a constant 8 Water temperature: main tank 28degrees celsius quarantine 24 degrees celsius Treatment for past 2 weeks: -20% water change every other day. So one day yes, one day no. - each water change add 5 tablespoons of aquarium salt (only for the first week as I didn’t see much improvement) Now on to the 13th day he’s started eating again. Up until now he would try to eat but would spit the food out after trying to swallow it. He’s one of my favourite fish and would be a pain to lose him. Does anyone have some advice? He does seem to be getting better but, I’m just worried I’m not doing enough. maybe I should be patient and expect 30days+ until he’s back to full health? (Im from the UK so a lot of medicines I find online are from America. ) Any advice or past experiences would be highly appreciated 🙏

Hey everyone, Ive been treating my sick electric blue acara for the past 2 weeks now. I removed him from the display tank when I noticed he stopped eating (originally being the tank boss), and he had somewhat like a pimple on its tail and a small hole on its head. Water parameters: ammonia-0 / nitrites -0 / nitrates have been high which I only found out when I removed him at around 60ppm / ph is at a constant 8 Treatment for past 2 weeks: -20% water change every other day. So one day yes, one day no. - each water change add 5 tablespoons of aquarium salt (only for the first week as I didn’t see much improvement) Now on to the 13th day he’s started eating again. Up until now he would try to eat but would spit the food out after trying to swallow it. He’s one of my favourite fish and would be a pain to lose him. Does anyone have some advice? He does seem to be getting better but, I’m just worried I’m not doing enough. maybe I should be patient and expect 30days+ until he’s back to full health? (Im from the UK so a lot of medicines I find online are from America. ) Any advice or past experiences would be highly appreciated 🙏

Hey everyone, Just got a test kit since not having had one in a while. Does anyone know what the ideal water parameters would be for a 600litre tank containing a variety of different barbs, two electric blue acaras, a blue Acara, 3 yo-yo loaches, red tail shark and fire mouth? As of now they read: Ammonia: 0 nitrite: 0 PH: 7.5 Nitrate: 60ppm any water parameters experts have any advice on optimal levels for health and growth of my fish? many thanks, luis

Thank you for the quick reply! It’s in my 150 Gallon planted tank which I do 80% water changes weekly and rinse out my filters every 3 months or so. ive noticed many pest snails coming up recently too, and was planning on introducing some small yoyos to get rid of them since I already have a group but just are too big to care for the baby snails.

Hey everyone, my male Kribensis started getting little holes on his head about a month ago after his first time taking care of fry. maybe it was the stress of keeping the other fish away that lead to this? does anyone know how to fix this? he rarely colours up like he used to, and he’s become less active. I got somewhat confused by the methods online so I wanted to see if anyone has had previous success treating this? many thanks, hope there’s a solution to get him back to 100%. luis. I’ll try to get a good picture of him, but he’s very skittish when I get close with my phone

Hey everyone, just got home and the lil one was gone. He looked like he was getting better, but today when I came back he was stiff and not breathing. His mouth looked like it had melted shut. I have no idea what happened. if someone recognises this type of death, I’d appreciate any advice for future knowledge 🙏 thanks to everyone who gave their advice

Perfect will get that sorted tomorrow and pop down to my LFS as I believe they have some. Thank you, will be following those instructions with what colu suggested too. also managed to catch her away from her usual spot, but this is how she currently looks.

Thank you for your reply. So I believe it’s worth a try. Should I just grab some Epsom salts off of Amazon or does it have to be from a specific place? thanks

Hey everyone, My yoyo is alive in his quarantine tank. But he rarely comes out of his cave that I put in. sometimes I’ll pop up and see him outside towards the night but then hides away. im sure him being in there alone makes him shy. he still has pink around his mouth but he’s not breathing as quickly and looks a little more comfortable I would say. I’ve been 25% water changes every day, and before I go to sleep I’ll drop in a couple micro pellets in case he’s up for it. I think he’s eating a little since the next day the food is not there but it might also be the filter since the pellets are quite small. Should I keep doing water changes until his lips go back to normal colour? How do I know when he’s ready to go back into the main tank if he’s always hiding away? many thanks, luis 🤞🏻

Honestly I am constantly getting egg bound females. I’ve had three die on me for the same issue in the space of 2.5 months. And the one I describe now is also very egg bound. All my plecs are smaller than 3 inches so probably like 5-7months or so. The males have bristles too so they should be ready. And for my water parameters I’m waiting for my new kit to come this week. but if it was a water issue I’m sure other fish in the tank would show some other signs but everyone’s behaving normally apart from a yo-yo loach that I had to take out for quarantining a couple days back. With regards to the Epsom salt bath, is it okay to use aquarium salt from API? And would it be just netting her out into a bowl with some salt and let her soak in it for 10 min? I know I won’t learn unless I do, but I’m afraid taking her out will stress her even more. You reckon I should try that method? Many thanks, luis I really appreciate it. My males have bristles so they should be ready. many last water change was Sunday Night. when and how much would you suggest to do the next water change and how often? thanks again, luis Right now she mostly spends her time on this piece of driftwood up close to the surface. i don’t know if that behaviour indicates something? and I also included a image of one of the males with the bristles.

And now I’m down to two males and two females. And I have another female that’s very egg bound too. how can I keep her from ending up the same as the other two? I really don’t want her to die 🙁 Any advice? thanks, luis

Hey, just woke up and saw the BN plec dead next to a piece of zucchini. It seems like every time I get a female that’s Eggbound she always dies. Happened about a 3 weeks ago too. 😞 Anyone have advice on keeping these? my tank is 600 litres, plenty of wood and hiding spots. I feed veggies regularly, feed algae wafers, do 35-40% weekly water changes. I don’t know how to keep female bristlenose alive for some reason. 😔 I really like the fish so it’s really upsetting it’s happened twice. first time I thought maybe it was because I didn’t have any Males to help the female lay her eggs but then I got two and same thing happened. Please anyone know what could be the issue? thanks, luis.

Hey, just woke up and saw the BN plec dead next to a piece of zucchini. It seems like every time I get a female that’s Eggbound she always dies. Happened about a 3 weeks ago too. 😞 Anyone have advice on keeping these? my tank is 600 litres, plenty of wood and hiding spots. I feed veggies regularly, feed algae wafers, do 35-40% weekly water changes. I don’t know how to keep female bristlenose alive for some reason. 😔 I really like the fish so it’s really upsetting it’s happened twice. first time I thought maybe it was because I didn’t have any Males to help the female lay her eggs but then I got two and same thing happened. Please anyone know what could be the issue? thanks, luis.

It’s been hard to see her eat lately since she typically stays there throughout the day now. I’ll pop in some of her favourite veggies today and dim the lights down a bit earlier than usual today and see if I can catch her snacking hahah. thanks for that 🙏

Hey everyone, ive noticed my biggest female that’s about 3 inches has quite a big belly on her and her mood has changed quite a lot since adding two male bristlenose (about 2inch each) about a week ago. she used to be very active moving at the front of the glass and now for the past 5 days or so she’s just been staying still in one spot. Does anyone have any advice or experience to say if what I’m describing is normal or if there needs to be some intervention to keep her healthy. My intention isn’t to breed them as they’re in a 600 litre tank but if they do, there’s plenty of space to try out. Here are some photos of her and where I see her most of the time now: let me know what you think, thanks, Luis 🙂

Okay I’ve just got home after 10 hours away and he’s still alive! water temperature is what it was before at 25 degrees celsius (I’m from the UK). Im planning on adding half a teaspoon of aquarium salt to see how he reacts as his lips seemed very swollen and see how that works. here is an image of the quarantine tank right now, to be completely truthful im not sure im the best fish doctor so if anyone could recommend some tips to make this more comfortable for him let me know. I just know bare bottom is easier to keep clean and if I plan on introducing salt it’ll have bad effects on my plants if I decide to introduce any. All the replies have been super helpful, I really appreciate it! Luis.

It was in a planted 600 litre tank with lots of driftwood . now he’s in a 20 litre, with a coconut and a rectangular pot

Can’t wait to get back home and give the lil guy some company. mill give the half dosages a go and see how he reacts. temperature wise, do you recommend going up to a certain number? thanks for your time 🙏

Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it. I’m at work now, and the kanaplex will be arriving within 2 days, would you suggest dosing the 20 litre quarantine tank with small amounts of aquarium salt in the meantime? Or maybe just stick to (?%) of water changes? Many thanks

Will do that. Just ordered some kanaplex as well as some melafix. I’m at work now so hopefully when I get back he’s alright. I since, moved him to a quarantine tank by himself. thanks.