If dewormer has worked, how long til fish fill out?

[Odd Duck]

On 8/23/2021 at 8:25 PM, PineSong said:

Just an update: no specks have been seen since the temp was turned up in the tank. The mollies have not appeared to gain weight despite now having had 2 rounds of Paracleanse and then 2 of Expel-P. 

I was about to conclude that they are just slender athletic fish instead of couch potato fish and call them done with QT andthought I'd add them to my community tank next weekend, but then one of them started looking not good--no specks but definitely not looking normal and happy so it's back to watching and waiting.

Frustrating when they don’t do well when you feel like you’ve done all you can.  Sometimes they have things we can’t treat.  Or we can’t tell what they have without a post-mortem  exam which isn’t often feasible for just one or two sick fish.  You’re smart to wait it out and observe.

Last Ich speck I saw was yesterday and that was a single speck on one ember tetra forehead.  All Ich spots are gone today.  I’m glad I had a UV filter and salt on hand to add.  Everybody is still eating and active.  I’ll water change in another week (I never went high dose on the salt, just the normal supplement dose recommended, not the much higher, “Ich treatment” dose, so no hurry on the water change).  I’ll keep the UV filter running for a month, probably.

[PineSong]

Patience is indeed the name of this game 😕

[PineSong]

A happy ending:  all three mollies showed no more "specks" after the tank temperature was raised. They had their second dose of Expel-P and 5 days of Maracyn and have visibly gained weight. 

Finally, after more than a month in QT, they have been added to the community tank where they appear to be fitting in nicely.  

The TL:DR for this thread is that my too-skinny fish stayed too skinny after 2 doses of Paracleanse, but two doses of Expel-P, and/or 5 days on Maracyn chubbed them up. The glassy specks on fins which looked kinda like ich but did not multiply like ich went away when the tank temp was changed from room temperature to 82 degrees, and stayed away when the tank was gradually lowered back down to 80.

A huge relief!

[Odd Duck]

On 8/28/2021 at 7:50 AM, PineSong said:

A happy ending:  all three mollies showed no more "specks" after the tank temperature was raised. They had their second dose of Expel-P and 5 days of Maracyn and have visibly gained weight. 

Finally, after more than a month in QT, they have been added to the community tank where they appear to be fitting in nicely.  

The TL:DR for this thread is that my too-skinny fish stayed too skinny after 2 doses of Paracleanse, but two doses of Expel-P, and/or 5 days on Maracyn chubbed them up. The glassy specks on fins which looked kinda like ich but did not multiply like ich went away when the tank temp was changed from room temperature to 82 degrees, and stayed away when the tank was gradually lowered back down to 80.

A huge relief!

Terrific to hear!  I thought all my specks were gone,too, but the tetra that had a speck on its head the longest has a speck there again, so I suspect it’s the same speck.  Right now he’s still doing fine and I still have the tank temp up and the UV filter running.  We’ll give him some time since he will be almost impossible to take out of the tank.

[PineSong]

On 8/28/2021 at 2:05 PM, Odd Duck said:

 We’ll give him some time since he will be almost impossible to take out of the tank.

Good luck with him!

[Odd Duck]

On 8/28/2021 at 8:43 PM, PineSong said:

Good luck with him!

Thanks!  He’s still strong and plump, eating great, etc.  Time will tell.  If he looks like he’s getting in trouble I’ll start baiting the fish trap.  I’ll catch him eventually if needed.