eek help flashy fish

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kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
my new biggest comet is flashing, not all the time but she keeps wiggling her fins, and she is flashing lightly against the gravel and driftwood and sides of the tank. i cant see anything on her, no ick, not white patches, she looks fine, but shes also going to the top of the tank a lot and gasping and hanging at the surface. :help: do i treat with anything or leave her to it. water readings are ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10, did a 25% water change last night, dechlorinated all water in bucket before adding to tank, nothing out of the ordinary. her fins ect are fine, and shes not looking too stressed or anything, just lazy and flashing sometimes. my smaller comet is also flashing very occassionally, and i think possibly one of the big fantails tho they are so clumsy at turning it may not be flashing at all :help:
 

Flaringshutter

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Oct 17, 2006
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It sounds like a classic case of external flukes, although that's hard to confirm without a microscope. Your best bet is AP General Cure, which will take care of any external parasites, and you may want to feed a medicated food like Jungle Labs Anti-Parasitic. Both can be found at Petsmart and Petco, and many non-chain LFS.
Since she's gasping, you'll want to aerate the water as much as possible. You can add a spray bar to the filter outlet, or an airstone, or just move the filter outlet so it's churning up the surface.
Keep us updated. :)
 

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
right il get straight onto it, ive added the air pumps lines to the outlets of the filter flows, its churning up nicely, but shes still hanging. il try to get hold of both either tonight or it will be tomorrow evening if my hubby cant find them, i dont drive and hes at his 2nd job until 11 tonight so il have to see if he can get them between finishing one job and starting the next. i so hope it goes ok, but the little comet isnt looking good, its gone down hill very quickly, it wasnt looking 'right' for a while, but i couldnt put my finger on what was wrong, its been hanging out on its own for the past day or so, and hiding, then i saw it flashing tonight. it seems all of them are gasping at some point or another. well apart from my 2 small fantails who seem completely unaffected-for now! thanks for the quick reply flaringshutter x
 

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
interpet general tonic, its all they have, have got my hubby in pets at home now between jobs, this says it helps keep parasites at an acceptable level, and its the only parasite treatment in the whole place. they have no medicated food either. will this help or should i not bother?
 

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK

kelly82

AC Members
Jun 1, 2007
1,108
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Lincolnshire, UK
its the shipping though, i just cant afford it, otherwise i would get that but at the moment, we are strapped for cash. i cant find anything in the uk, and everything seems to contain colours that stain the tank etc, which im not keen on. im giving this a go for now, the guy emailed me saying he has posted it out this morning and hopefully it should be with me tomorrow-fingers crossed. i tried using that general tonic last night, no surprise, it seems to have had no effect whatsoever, il do a big water change when i get this other stuff through, so not to double dose on anything. on a good note, since last night my little comet does seem a bit brighter and has been out and about swimming around more, its playing in the filter flow as i type. the flashing is still regualr though, and all my fish seem a bit down today, all are still active and swimming, and eating well, its just, well i don tknow, they dont seem happy, not that you can really tell when a fish is happy !
 

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
:cry::shakehead: my poor poor babies, peaches the biggest comet has started to show some localised reddening,almost small bloody patches,on her belly between her fins, and some light blood streaks in her tail, shes still active, but isnt happy, and izzit the smaller comet is back to hiding under the driftwood all clamped up again. all 6 fish are fidgety and looking itchy, and have started hanging in the water, they seem to like swimming in the filter outputs a lot today, im guessing the airbubbles and water flow must calm the itching and irritation a bit. the 4 fancies are all fins out as usual, but im so worried for my precious babies. can flukes kill fish? if so how long will it take? is there a point of no return? :help: i hate to see them like this, the guy has said he posted the treatment out this morning on royal mail 1st class recorded post, other than that the earliest i can get to the aquatics center will be saturday afternoon, it seems a life time away :cry:
 

Flaringshutter

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Oct 17, 2006
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kelly, you're seeing the normal progression of a monogenetic fluke/ protozoan infestation. I don't know if the product you ordered will help at all, but these are two proven products that will kill the parasites.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kusuri-Formal...14&_trkparms=72:1700|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Formalin-500m...14&_trkparms=72:1700|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

they are best used with malachite green, as you'll see in the product descriptions, and that will stain your silicone green, but it is the most effective medication. i wouldn't try mixing with a different ich medication other than malachite green - mixing meds is never a good idea unless specifically recommended on the product.
you'll probably want to heat your tank to speed up the life cycle of these parasites. raise the temp slowly to 80 degrees once you start treatment.
 
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