To treat or not to treat - that is the question?

illiswiller

illiswiller

Prevention - the best medicine!
Jan 11, 2005
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Do I need to treat for this? - please help

I recently set up a community tank but I think I might have a problem with my older school of cardinal tetras: A couple have this odd lip "scale" or grain of sand, on the middle of their top or bottom lip from time to time. I noticed when I first got them, about six months ago - but only on and off. It seems to disappear and then come back.

I posted before and someone said tetras are prone to fungus. So I was thinking about moving the school back to the 10 gallon and treating for fungus.

Or should I treat the whole community tank (w/ cories, danios, angels & gouramis)?? But if I treat, I figured I'd lose a couple since tetras are so fragile.... However, they never seem to get "sick" from it - what are the consequences of ignoring it??? I keep going back and forth. They've been in the large tank w/ the others for about 2 weeks.

What do you think I should do? Treat? If so with what? Not treat? Isolate & treat? Leave in community?

Thanks so much! I've learned so much from you all!
Pictures attached hopefully

42 gallon hex
304 fluval canister
DW-96 tetra-tec
Visitherm Deluxe heater
Hagen CO2

Java fern tied on lava rock
Anubias nana (I think) tied on driftwood
Amazon Sword (sunk into lava holes
Banana plant

2 pearl gouramis (gonna be traded for dwarf gouramis and 2 blue rams)
2 angels (Snoopy and Sunkist)
6 cardinal tetras (are they sick?)
4 long-finned danios
3 panda cories (Mini, Meinei and Mo)
2 guppies and 1 fry in breeder

aq1.jpg aq2.jpg
 
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WHat about trying some Melafix? It supposedly stops mouth fungus, and promotes healing.....
 
Well, since you've had the cardinals for 6 months, I think this recurring problem is leaning towards negligible. Unless you've lost many fish over this problem, or the fish show distress over this, I think I would tend to leave well enough alone. Leave the fish in the community and monitor your cardinals and other fishes closely, keep on eye on your water parameters, and maintain water changes. After 6 months, I tend to think the problem is not extreme or fatal. It's not a good idea to medicate an entire tank without having some idea what the problem is, or you may end up doing more harm than good. If and when the fish show signs of sickness, or abnormal behaviour, I would isolate the affected fish, and treat properly after you've made a proper diagnosis. Let know know how it goes.
 
I'm still fairly new to this myself but from what all I have read, I don't think Melafix could hurt. I just started treating my 55g community tank this morning with Melafix after noticing one of my Silver Dollars have a sore on his side, one Angel with a red line down the base of her dorsal fin and another dollar with some reddish looking fungus around the mouth and things already seem to be clearing up. The sore on that one Silver Dollar no longer looks inflamed, the reddish colored base of the fin on the Angel is almost gone and the fungus on the mouth of the other Dollar is about gone. I also started raising the temp from 80 to 82 today(going to 84 tomorrow) and have started salting the tank(5 tablespoons of FW salt).

I will continue the Melafix, salt and temp treatment for 7 days.
 
Thanks for the replys!
I picked up Melafix on my way home today....as well as something called Pimafix. It says that they work best in combination? Or were they just trying to sell me both? I've never seen anyone recommending Pimafix since I've been on here.

It also says that it won't affect the biological filtration...but I'm a bit sceptical. Is that true? Melafix (and/or Pimafix) won't kill my bacteria?
THANKS so much!
 
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