laritheloud

My nerites are still going! I also have some large rabbit snails and rabbit snail babies. I got 2 new Mystery snails and they're doing well so far. We'll see how it goes 🙂

Sort-of an update: Not really getting better, not really getting worse. He (I say HE despite his female coloring due to the body shape and really faded marks, which would indicate a very young and/or very genetically weak male) was a little weak this morning, kind of swimming around listlessly and taking bites as food fell in front of him. He's looking stronger now that the sun is up and the lights are on in his tank. It's tough to say what's up with him, as he went through one round of levamisole and now I have the metronidazole going, then back for a second round of levamisole later. I'm not convinced treatment is having any effect. He's being fed twice per day to see if he'll put on some weight, and though he doesn't have a sunken belly, he's still quite small and skinny. I'm a bit puzzled and haven't medicated the 55 gallon tank so far. Every fish in that tank is still thriving. 🤷‍♀️ So strange.

J/K, I am unabashedly embracing MTS, the 10 gallon will remain as a permanent tank (4 kuhli loaches and something else for the top) and I have fresh filters getting seeded in my 55 gallon to go in my 20G new quarantine tank................................. I just can't resist.

No, I'm not planning on dosing simultaneously. I'll try between treatments. I'm planning on keeping him separate for about three weeks to a month to clear out my options, and I'll keep an eye on any developments in the 55 gallon.

I noticed some stringy white poop from the rainbow in quarantine so I threw in some Levamisole yesterday, did the water change today. I didn't notice anything unusual expelled from him. Still acting pretty much the same. I'm considering trying to feed a course of Metro-laced feed. Is it safe to do that along with levamisole 3x a week apart? I'll continue with the levamisole course but I'm not convinced it's nematodes.

Acting a better today, even colored a bit by himself for me. I wonder if the rest of the school is bullying him since he's the smallest. I'll keep him separate until I'm sure he's improved enough for the main tank again.

That's what I'll do! We'll see what happens. Thanks for your thoughts, you're always the best!

I separated and observed him throughout the day. He's still eating, I gave him a tiny bit of frozen daphnia and he perked up after that. At first he was listless but now he's swimming normally again. Lights are off and he's behaving like a normal at-rest pseudomugil. I'm wondering if I should observe in isolation for a day or two and see if he's still acting weak tomorrow before dropping in the levamisole. It's one of those things where I don't want to rush to treatment and then rush to treat the main tank when it's not needed, you know? I have some rabbit snails and baby rabbit snails that I don't want to get slowed down by the levamisole if I can help it!

I was aiming to get one super young, but the ones at my LFS appear to be between 2 and 3 inches long. I did pick up a 20G L for 25 bucks, once i'm finished quarantining my rainbow and treating him, i'll just transfer the 10G media and filters to the 20G tank. I'll feel a lot better about it lol.

Hi everyone! We are looking to get a bristlenose or a blue phantom pleco to add to our 55 gallon tank next. Currently my quarantine setup is a 10 gallon tank. I'm concerned the 10 gallon won't be enough space/water volume even for a young pleco in the short term. Does anyone have experience with quarantining a young pleco in a small tank? Is 10 gallons doable, or should I upgrade to a 20 gallon long quarantine?

I am choosing to separate and try levamisole treatment. If it works I’ll treat the big tank too. The other fish are not sick at all.

Hi, I’ve had these pseudomugils for a few months now and this one is looking skinny and listless. It was weaker and skinnier from the start, the tank has been treated with a few rounds of general cure and a round of kanaplex in food. Is this something to separate and treat or do I have to treat the tank with big guns like levamisole? What do you think?

@CedcJon Yeah, I'm sorry to say, but I don't think your dwarf gourami will be with you for much longer. 😞 It's so sad, and I'm really sorry they're sick.

It looks like a shell 'flaw'? I don't think it's a disease, and likely there isn't anything to be done about it. Hopefully it's nothing and she can go on living her happy shrimpy life.

How often are you feeding bloodworms? I wouldn't offer them more then twice a week and withhold other food when feeding bloodworms, maybe add in some spirulina-and-invertebrate-based flakes (Fluval Bug Bites makes a good one ime) and/or some frozen daphnia into the rotation. Tetras definitely tend to pig out on bloodworms. 😆 Good luck, I hope you'll find the right combo to help your fish!

@xXInkedPhoenixX I have done lower doses of salt with cories but I err on the side of caution with them. Then again, I don't really have the nerve to use salt most of the time, period. I try to stick with good, clean water with a mature filter and see if they settle in and recover naturally. OP, I want to agree with @xXInkedPhoenixX above and emphasize that you really didn't do anything wrong. You did what you thought was best and followed some really strong advice. I'm not totally convinced that medicating them right away was responsible for their passing, either; they might have been weak in a way that wasn't easy to see. I'm really sorry you had to experience this as a new fishkeeper, and I hope you aren't too disheartened.

Quarantine is kind of a personal subject and your mileage may vary depending on who you speak to. However, my general policy is to not medicate the fish for the first 24 to 48 hours after introducing them to the quarantine tank. The reason why I do this is to let the fish rest a few days and to observe their appetite, behavior, eating habits. I also do this to check for anything obviously wrong with them from the start. After 24 to 48 hours in the tank, if all is well, I'll start with Paracleanse or a similar anti-parasite med, especially for more sensitive fish. I personally do not choose to medicate with straight antibiotics unless I see signs of illness. Sometimes I'll add in a dose of ich-x along with paracleanse, but usually, I will not unless I see signs of minor external fungus or flashing. If I still see any suspicion of internal parasites after paracleanse (white stringy poop), I'll throw in some Levamisole to de-worm for a few rounds. For wild caught fish or livebearers, I will be tempted to start with levamisole instead, as I've heard worms are a huge issue in both fish populations. This is just my conservative approach to quarantine that's been working for me. I do think pygmy corydoras can be sensitive to water hardness, and I believe @Irene actually made a video about her experience with that. You can ask where the pygmies are sourced from when you go to the LFS again!

I would just try to reduce food or switch up their diet until you find that sweet spot. One of my thicklipped gouramis also tends to pork out and is prone to overeating/bloat because of it. I'd also recommend one fasting day per week to help clear him out!

Thank you so much for the compliments, everyone. I'm reading every one of them and holding them close to my heart. It's really encouraging that others are enjoying my hobby, too. I sometimes have trouble taking compliments gracefully because of my lifelong clinical anxiety, but I appreciate all of you as friends and fellow nerms. 🙂 Mild update: My synodontis lucipinnis are doing really well in quarantine, still quite young. They're going to stay for at least another week or two while I shop around for a pleco. Meanwhile, In my 29 gallon, my honey gourami ladies (?) are doing this. Mute the videos, there's a lot of noise from my family in the background. https://streamable.com/tb3iz5 https://streamable.com/l728jj They dance like this every few days. Neither of these fish bubble nest. My gold honey male does, but to no avail. He hasn't danced with either of them yet! Honey Gouramis continue to amuse and mystify me. 😆

How are your fishies doing, OP? I hope it didn't turn into anything more!

I hate to say it but I agree with you. Selectively bred bettas seem to have problems that prevent them from living longer lives. How old was your betta, OP? You did what you could for your little guy and I’m sorry you lost him.

I keep pseudomugil signifers, they're pretty similar. Can you take and post a video of the behavior? That might help. I'm having a hard time picturing what the rainbowfish is doing. I hope the fish hangs on!

Also, I definitely suggest picking up frozen daphnia to help them clear out occasionally, if you don't include it in their diets already. I think it's a little less messy than peas, you can feed them just a portion of a frozen block and it's so fun to watch them slurp it up like candy. I usually let them feast on daphnia the day before fasting day so they can clear their systems.

Yep, those are definitely thicklipped gouramis and they are BEAUTIFUL. That male's color is perfect! Thicklips are one of my favorite fish for their endearing, outgoing, friendly personalities. I have a harem of 1 male 3 females, too, and one female does tend to overeat and pork out a lot. She occasionally had bloating issues from overeating. I'd say give them a fasting day to let the food pass through their system and experiment with cutting back on feedings until you hit the sweet spot. Skimming the surface isn't anything to worry about right now unless they have trouble swimming down (bloat) or holding themselves midwater. Regardless, even if the fish are bloating a little, if they're still hungry and acting fine aside from the 'floaty' behavior I'd still recommend just fasting for a day or two and seeing if it improves. 🙂

It's Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus and there is no known treatment that will work. The disease is fatal and an incredibly high proportion of Dwarf Gouramis will perish from the disease within six to twelve months. They could try to treat with an antibiotic, but I would prepare for the worst and consider euthanizing if the fish gets ill enough.