3 Dead Danios after Treatment with API

[wackorash84]

Hi all,

Bad news. I found my platy dead today.

This is the one with the fin rot and cotton growth neat it's back fin. Not very good. I don't understand it only had a slight fin rot and the cotton growth isn't big at all.

I've also just noticed that the other platy which was lying at the bottom of the aquarium is showing symptom's of swim bladder. Yesterday it was just sitting at the bottom of the aquarium and today it's on it's side and it seems to have lost it's buoyancy.

So hope one of you would be able to advice. I don't have another heater in my hospital aquarium. It might get too cold without the internal heater. So do I remove the platy?

Ok, so now with the good news. I've finally received shipment of Maracyn & Maracyn 2. Phewwww......I'm going to do a 30% water change today and another 30% water change tomorrow. Hoping that this will allow me to start to administer Maracyn/Maracyn 2. Alternatively, I could re-introduce carbon filters and this would remove all other form of medications in the tank. However, afraid that I might make the current problem worst as there are several platy's flashing/rubbing/flicking.

Any advise will be much appreciated......Thanks a lot

 

[wackorash84]

Another day and another Platy dead! Urggghh....This is getting really frustrating. This bring the total death in my aquarium to 4 Danios and 4 Platies in 3 weeks.

To make matter worst. I've got a 5th Platy that's now also lying at the bottom of the aquarium showing signs of swim bladder. Are all platies so common to parasites/bacteria/etc? The only symptom I've noticed with all the Platies are flicking and rubbing. Seem's to be like some sort of silent killer that's killing my Platies one by one.

I did a 30% water change yesterday and I just completed another 30% water change today.

For the first time today, I've also administered the combo of Maracyn & Maracyn 2 today. I've been reading from different website which seems to suggest that I might as well treat for both the gram positive and gram negative bacterias and destroy the buggers once and for all. I've lower my water level so filter output sort of drops into the water like a waterfall and also put in another air pump.

I've still got 5 Danios and 4 Bronze Corys. Since stopping Melafix and Pimafix, I've not got any Danio's death. All Corys seem to be doing ok.

Ordered more Maracyn n Maracyn 2 since I didn't know that I need to administer 4 packets of Maracyn 2 on the 1st day as it's 2 packets per 10 gallon and 1 packet per 10 gallon from day 2 to day 5. I've only got 8 packets in total for Maracyn 2! Hmpppphhh.....Looks like will run out of Maracyn 2 on Monday....crap! That's 2 days short of the recommendatory dosage....

 

[pinkertd]

I don't think that platys are necessarily more suspectible to parasites or ailments, but if there was illness in the tank they came from, I'm sure every one of them were doomed. The marycins work terrific together and you're correct to use them together when you don't know gram-negative or gram-positive. Sure hoping that the rest of the danios and the cories will be fine.

 

[pacpac2]

Good morning. It looks as if you are taking all the great advice and trying very hard to get this under control. I am going to throw a wrench into this mix. If your fish are showing clamped fins and lethargy it may not be columnaris. It might be chilodonella(spelling?). I thought I had the same symptoms as you, but treatment didn't help. I did some research and tried potassium permanganate in my tank. Within 2 days my fish were acting better and I have not lost any since. It did kill all my snails and algae and burned some plants, but my fish are now fine.
So, what I'm saying is, there might be a chance that you are treating the wrong thing. Others on this forum can help direct you much better than I. I only throw this in because of due diligence. Good luck. Pictures would help alot.

 

[Reframer]

It's likely that when you added both the cories and platies together it was too much at once for a tank that size.
Columnaris does not look cotton like. True fungus does and excess slime coat from irritation might.
If you see them flicking and twitching, you might try prazi pro or something for parasites. What does their poo look like? Sometimes parasite infection can cause fin rot and everything else secondary.

 

[wackorash84]

Good morning. It looks as if you are taking all the great advice and trying very hard to get this under control. I am going to throw a wrench into this mix. If your fish are showing clamped fins and lethargy it may not be columnaris. It might be chilodonella(spelling?). I thought I had the same symptoms as you, but treatment didn't help. I did some research and tried potassium permanganate in my tank. Within 2 days my fish were acting better and I have not lost any since. It did kill all my snails and algae and burned some plants, but my fish are now fine.
So, what I'm saying is, there might be a chance that you are treating the wrong thing. Others on this forum can help direct you much better than I. I only throw this in because of due diligence. Good luck. Pictures would help alot.

Hiya,

Thanks for your advice. I'll definitely take in on board, take a step back and re-assess the scenario.

1 - Only 3 Platies showed signs of white spots/white fungus & they had fin rot. Once the fin got all rotten the area around the rotten fin had a large white patch and these Platies consequently died.

2- Had 9 Danios, of which 4 died when I started using Melafix and Pimafix. The only symptoms that I've seen before these died was that they become lethargic and start gasping heavily. Consequently every time that I have found them dead was after administering Melafix and Pimafix where I'll find them the next day their mouth is wide open as though they suffocated.

3- 2 more Platies died without showing much symptoms. I noticed that they were lethargic and was just sitting at the bottom of the aquarium. Within 24 hours the 2 Platies lost buoyancy. Found them dead in the 5 hours.

4 - The other Platies were flicking/rubbing/flashing. I've seen one with obvious signs of red gills.

5 - Danios/Cories seems ok. No obvious change in behaviour. Their gills seems a little redder than usual but don't know whether that me looking too much into things.

So with all the above scenarios, I'm at lost as to which bacteria's, parasites or problems I'm dealing with. I've don't think I've got a problem with Ammonia spike, Nitrate or Ph since I've tested the aquarium several times before and after I've introduced the new fishes. Also, the aquarium has been established for nearly 3 years. Even had my LFS test the water parameters (They used API Liquid Tests) and there were no issues with my water parameter.

I guess that's the main reason behind going the combo of Maracyn+Maracyn2 don't really know what exactly I'm dealing with. General advice is that once I've started with Maracyn+Maracyn2, I need to use it at least for the course of 5 days or not I risk creating a stronger strain of whatever that's infecting my aquarium. So pacpac2, hopefully this combo will work and annihilate my issue once and for all. Otherwise, potassium permanganate sounds like a plan......

I've also noted that the Platies have reduced the amount of flicking/rubbing/flashing. Don't want to be too optimistic but let's hope the current medications are working.

 

[wackorash84]

It's likely that when you added both the cories and platies together it was too much at once for a tank that size.
Columnaris does not look cotton like. True fungus does and excess slime coat from irritation might.
If you see them flicking and twitching, you might try prazi pro or something for parasites. What does their poo look like? Sometimes parasite infection can cause fin rot and everything else secondary.

Hiya,
I definitely considered ammonia/nitrate spike but tested my aquarium water parameters at the time and there was nothing to suggest that at the time.

I feed the aquarium a mixture of sinking algae pallets, tropical flake, thawed peas, and Tetra Blood Worms. I don't feed them all of these in a day. Just different food once a day.

In terms of their poo, I've seen it green/white/brownish in colour and form in the past 3 weeks when my aquarium started having problems. However, recently it's been brownish and constant when I feed them with algae wafers or tropical fish food. It is more whitish after I've fed them with peas.

 

[wackorash84]

Hi all,

Just popped over to the LFS to buy a new submersible heater in case I needed to use my plastic aquarium as a hospital/quarantine tank. This is the same place where I bought my Platies.

Guess what!!!! Their seem to have disease outbreak with the Platies. The Platies in the aquariums were showing various diseases. Some had fin rot, some had white cotton like fungus, some were lethargic and were just sitting on the bottom of the aquarium.

I feel slightly vindicated as this indicates a pre-existing condition before I bought them. Guess a great lesson has been learnt of the importance of having a quarantine aquarium before introducing new fishes to an established aquarium.