I'm about to throw in the towel...

[emilyekk]

Well I'm not really, but I am so frustrated I feel like it. :(


Last night I noticed one of my albino cories had half of his fin ripped off, with the help of everyone here, I realized it was probably just an injury but I decided to treat with melafix just in case. Well, after I did it, I decided water changes are more important than treating with melafix, so I went to bed and decided to instead to like 3 water changes this week.


I wake up this morning to check on my albino cory with the ripped fin (who seems fine but it hiding a lot (in plants, under driftwood) - and instead see 1 dead neon tetra at the bottom of the tank, one tetra has a white dot near the back of his fin (which I am assuming is ICH? Even though that is the only white spot on anyone in the tank). I also swear I started with 15 neon tetra and now I only count 12.


On top of this - I've lost my job, I have almost no money and I have run out of testing supplies for the aquarium and now I really can't afford them. AWESOME.

I am so frustrated. :(

I know you guys can't offer advice on the job front, lol... but any help pertaining to the tank is welcome. :(

[Star_Rider]

fish with injuries can be treated simply with lots of water changes.

ich can be treated with salt.

if you need jobs and are willing to learn healthcare customer service...well
lets just say we are always looking for people ;)

[Reframer]

Well, I was unemployed for 10 months so I feel your pain. The best thing I did for that was start a volunteer job and I got an offer within a month after that.
With regard to the tank, just do daily water changes of 50% and forget about the testing supplies for now. If you do get a bad result on a test, you just do a water change anyhow, right? So just do water extra water changes when there is a problem. After awhile you learn how to watch your fishs' behavior and let that tell you when there is a problem instead of the tests all the time.

[ksane]

It probably isn't ich if that's the only sign. If no one's been added to the tank for weeks or longer you're safe from ich. Neon Tetras aren't the hardiest of fish and losing 2 or 3 of them at various times certainly isn't unhead of in the least. Don't worry about the test kit for right now, just use the strips you have. Cut them in 1/2 long ways and they'll last twice as long. All the fish need is water changes and those are free. If you start seeing what looks like grains of salt all over your fish then it's probably ich. But like I said-if nothing's been added for quite some time, it's not ich.

[nugpuffer]

If you happen to live near Raleigh, NC, I'd gladly give you some free water testing supplies (After buying several tanks on CL, I now have lots of test kits)

[emilyekk]

If you happen to live near Raleigh, NC, I'd gladly give you some free water testing supplies (After buying several tanks on CL, I now have lots of test kits)


Thats really nice of you. :)

I wish I did. Unfortunately I'm in South Florida.

But that really is nice of you to offer. I appreciate the thought. =)

[emilyekk]

It probably isn't ich if that's the only sign. If no one's been added to the tank for weeks or longer you're safe from ich. Neon Tetras aren't the hardiest of fish and losing 2 or 3 of them at various times certainly isn't unhead of in the least. Don't worry about the test kit for right now, just use the strips you have. Cut them in 1/2 long ways and they'll last twice as long. All the fish need is water changes and those are free. If you start seeing what looks like grains of salt all over your fish then it's probably ich. But like I said-if nothing's been added for quite some time, it's not ich.


I am worried about it being ich because I added about 10 neons 1 week ago. They all seemed okay up until last night though, except I did think they kept disappearing, lol.

I don't have ANY testing supplies right now (ran out of the strips about a week ago). I was saving and waiting until this week when I got paid to go get the liquid test kit but now I think I need to save that last paycheck for food... :/

I guess water changes are my only option at this point.

[mott]

what size tank? how long has it been up?

[mel_20_20]

Water changes will help them avoid problems with ammonia and nitrites. It's work but it's the best thing for your live stock right now. I agree with Reframer on the schedule for daily 50% water changes. Be careful not to over feed, and make sure you keep the gunk vacuumed out regularly, but not too aggressively. Do about a third of the substrate each time so you don't stir up too much mulm and cause an ammonia spike.

If it is Ich, you should see more signs of it soon. As soon as you do have evidence that is Ich, I'd jump on the heat/salt method to treat that. There are a lot of good threads dealing with that method, but if you need help with that just give a holler.

I hope everything will get better for you. I'm sorry about your job. What kind of work did you do? I'd pm Star Rider to see what he's talking about. You can't go wrong getting into the health care field.

Hang in there Emily.

[mel_20_20]

If you could get any pics of the cory and also the tetra with the spot that would be helpful.

[jbradt]

I agree with everyone else... =) How's that for adding to the thread?

Daily water changes are your best bet. You can afford it, and it's the best panacea in the hobby that I know of. Just remember that the bigger the water change, the more important it is to have the water temperature matched and treated with dechlorinator. Being faithful about this routine will ensure the best possible outcome for your fish... and you. =)

I have had several first and second hand experiences with neon tetras. IME, if you only lost 3 out of 15 in the first week; that's a success. These fish are extremely fragile. I know it's hard to lose any fish, but it will happen from time to time.

It's obvious how much you care about your fish, and they're lucky to have you. It sounds like you're doing the right things, and I don't think there's enough evidence yet to say "Ick", but keep watching. Good luck and keep asking questions!

[sea-community]

try petco or some other crappy fish store at least your good at what you do and you can go somewhere with that