[Columnaris or fungal infection?]

@nabokovfan87 I lost 2, but the rest look a lot better. They've gained weight and I don't see any of the white film on them. Thanks again!

[Columnaris or fungal infection?]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:31 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

There's a few things going on.  It's hard to see detail in the first 3 photos.  In the last photo, on the tail it looks like what would be signs of fin rot on the tail.  the gills are a little reddened which isn't good for corydoras.

Can you please share full water parameters including temperature?  If possible, try to get more photos of the fuzz or white stuff you see on the body of the fish. I only see the oddness in the tail on the fish, but not any white stuff on the body of the fish.

If you have little spots all over the fish it could be ich.  Treatment for that would be ich-x and salt.  (co-op has a video on ich as well as a guide on how to treat it when cory encontered it in the 800G.

If you have fungal issues, the treatment would be ich-x and salt, coincidentally.  There is also a product called jungle fizz tabs which work for antifungal as well.

For the fin rot in question, you would want to use a product like maracyn 2 or kanaplex as well as aquarium salt.

Salt may cause some issues with your plants, so if you have QT the best thing to do would be to remove the fish to a QT system.  If you don't then consider moving the plants to a bucket for a week or two.  Salt dose with corydoras is going to be 1 tbsp per 2 gallons and after about 3-4 weeks they get a little uncomfortable with the salt dose.  It should help with the gill redness as well as help with any external issues. 

Note, whenever you add salt or meds, add air.  For corydoras especially you want to do this to make sure that they have good oxygenation.

This looks a bit like extra slime coat being produced, but it's very difficult to see.  If it's bacterial the kanaplex would help with that treatment.  If you don't see improvement, after the kanaplex for the fin rot (usually 2 weeks of treatment) you can give the fish a break and then follow up with something like maracyn.

fungal infection would present like a ball of cotton or appear like the end of a q-tip on the body of the fish.

Note, because you have shrimp in there, it's best to move the fish out of this tank for treatment.  Shrimp can handle 1 tbsp per 5G salt dose, but they will struggle with higher doses.

I found a bunch of articles about "slime coat disease", and the pictures matched what I'm seeing on my fish. Thank you for that observation! I'll start with kanaplex and salt, but I ordered a bunch of meds for different bacterial/parasitic infections that could be causing issues with their slime coat. 

[Columnaris or fungal infection?]

Temp 77°, ph 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate about 20ppm.

The white patches are hard to see, but they are towards the back of the body and are visible in the first 2 pictures. I'll try to get better pictures.

I bought the fish yesterday in Oregon and noticed the symptoms when I got them home, so thankfully it's not something that developed in one of my tanks. I suspect the sick ones were hidden away because I didn't notice anything at the store. 

I'll move them out of the tank right away and start treating with salt and kanaplex. Thank you! 

[Columnaris or fungal infection?]

Hi, I recently bought panda cories and noticed they have white fuzz on their bodies after I got them into their quarantine tank. I'm leaning towards a fungal infection since I not seeing anything on their faces.

I think the ACO website recommends Ich x and maracyn to treat fungal infections. Are these good meds to start with? 

 

[Easy Flow Kit Available Now]

Just got mine! Love 'em

On 12/1/2023 at 1:17 PM, AndyP said:

I placed an order for 2 kits and a sponge filter.

The sponge filter shipped, but the upgrade kits have not.

I like that you eliminate the need for an airstone if you use these kits?

Anyone know if these will fit on other brands of sponge filters? I currently have an Aquarium Technologies coarse sponge filter I have been running for years that I would love to retrofit with one of these. I have a Coop sponge filter also, but that's in a box. This one is running and seeded.

Did Aquarium Coop make a video about these?  I can't find one on YouTube.

I don't know if sponge filters have a standard tube size across brands, but it fit one of my large none ACO sponge filter backups. 

[How frequently do you buy new fishes?]

I don't buy fish that often because I've come to accept that I want ALL of the fish, but I can't have ALL of the fish. Plants on the other hand... 

[Fish Wish Lish!]

I'd love to have glass dwarf tetras or hummingbird tetras, but they've been hard to find.

 

 

[What is the most annoying thing your fish do?]

It's pretty annoying when they swim too close to the gravel vac. I always check the bucket water before I dump it. 

 

[Geli barb temp in community tank]

@nabokovfan87 I really appreciate your advice. Your replies have always been super helpful. 

I am going to double check with a barb group, but I set up the 33 for them in case they confirm what you've told me. I'm holding out because I really hate having to catch fish in planted tanks, but I know I'll probably be moving them tonight. Haha

[Geli barb temp in community tank]

@nabokovfan87 I actually set up the 75 specifically for the kuhli loaches! Haha I will probably end up moving the barbs to a 33 long. Would you happen to know what it is about warmer water that is not optimal for cyprinidae, aside from oxygen saturation? Does is just shorten lifespan due to higher metabolism?  They were extremely timid in their quarantine tank, but now they are all over the place and don't bolt when I approach the tank. I'm considering leaving them in and observing for a bit, but I will take the advice of more experienced hobbyists. 

[Geli barb temp in community tank]

I spaced on the lower temperature requirement for golden dwarf barbs (geli barbs, Pethia gelius) and added them to a community tank that's kept at 76-78 degrees. Will they be okay or do barbs really suffer at higher temps? I spent a lot of time nursing these guys back to health and want them to do well, but I'd rather not have to net 20+ skittish fish out of a 75 gallon.

 

[Brine shrimp for community tank]

I really like the Ziss hatchery because I can use a heater in it. I like to keep my house chilly though, and I do have a lot of fish to feed. 

[Things you "shouldn't" do, but do anyways]

I don't cycle planted tanks. I just make sure I see some growth in the floating plants, add livestock slowly and test the water regularly until the tank is fully stocked. 

[Indostomus Paradoxus and a shrimp tank]

Mind if I ask what size bamboo tubes ended working the best? 

[Sick dwarf golden barbs (geli barbs)]

On 6/4/2023 at 11:14 PM, DaveO said:

I love your group of Pethia gelius. They look healthy now. Good for you. I also have a herd of them, and enjoy 

I can't wait to get them into a planted community tank! Super happy with them

[Sick dwarf golden barbs (geli barbs)]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:57 PM, Colu said:

With the symptoms your describing I would just do deworming treatment I would do two full courses of paracleanse two weeks apart if your not seeing them put on weight after two courses of paracleanse then I 

I decided to use Expel-p first since I've used it successfully with pea puffers. I still have 22 of the 29 (went back and got the rest), and they're all putting on weight. The 2 guppy fry that came in with the first batch are still alive and looking healthy. 

Thanks again for your advice. 

[Sick dwarf golden barbs (geli barbs)]

I bought golden dwarf barbs on Sunday, but didn't realize how bad they looked until I got them home that night. I waited a few weeks after I initially saw that at the LFS and they looked good at the time. 

8 of the 15 look extremely underweight and a few look like they have bent spines. There were 2 dead in the bag by the time I got them home (3 hour drive). I have a picture of one of the dead fish,  but wasn't sure if I should post it. They are extremely skittish, and in a heavily planted quarantine tank, so it's hard to get pictures of them. They do seem to have good appetites and have been eating  black worms and fish flake.

When I start the med trio, should I add expel p, or would that be too much? Really don't want to lose more of them. 

[White worm (feeder) coming out of gills]

I fed my Elassoma okatie some white worms this morning and one of the females had one end of a worm coming out of her mouth and the other out of her gills. 

I scooped her out and pulled the worm out with tweezers. Anyone else experience this? Should I have let it come out naturally? I'm worried I might have caused damage by removing it, but she seemed to be in distress. 

 

[Coop Heater Clicking]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:59 PM, jasper5150 said:

Mine isn’t clicking but making a whining noise when the element turns on

I had the same whining sound with 3 of the 4 I bought.

["Season the tank" start by growing plants - how fast is safe?]

Can you possibly add a picture of your tank?

I would wait until you get more algae/biofilm before you add snails or shrimp (especially shrimp). Not sure how densley planted your tank is, but some bettas can be jerks, so you'll want plenty of plant cover for your snails and shrimp as well. I think the betta would be fine to add right now as long as you don't over feed. 

[How much flow do planted tanks need?]

There are lots of variables (type of substrate, water flow, nutrients, bioload, filtration, filter media, types of plants, tank size, lighting, "clean up crews", etc) that have to work together to have a successful system, especially in a low maintenance setup.

I think the amount of flow you need will be determined by some of those other variables, but also by how "clean" you want your tank to look. I have a super healthy 40g breeder with barely any flow, but the mulm buildup in and on top of the substrate would make some people crazy. The water is also never crystal clear. Low flow means you are going to get very little mechanical filtration. 

It would probably be best to have enough flow to see movement in the plants if you aren't sure. I like overpowered hob filters with coarse prefilters because flow can be adjusted as your plants grow in and prefilters really buy you time in filter maintenance. 

 

 

[Has anyone ordered from Jonahs Aquarium?]

I ordered from them not too long ago and had a great experience. He even let me know I had the option to have the fish delivered to a UPS Store so they wouldn't have to sit out in the cold. 

[Minimum Distance For Canister Filter]

@nabokovfan87

Dang. I just recently considered doing a canister filter and have only seen a couple of review videos. Those are good points that I didn't consider. I forgot about the tight bend in the hose brackets. Thank you!

Looks like I'll be going with sponge filters for this one. 

[Minimum Distance For Canister Filter]

I have a tank that is about 4 inches off the ground, and I'm hoping to filter it with a Fluval 107. The top of the canister (red line) will only be about an inch or 2 from the intake. I'm wondering if that will be enough distance to prime it. Does it have to be completely under the tank to work?

 

[Plant goals 2023, anyone?]

I want to get rid of the duckweed in all of my tanks and be better about cleaning lids off. The mineral deposits and duckweed block off way too much light.