Fish beating itself up / water parameters normal - ???

[LiveMermaid07]

To me, that is a lot already. In 15 years, over 40 species, and hundreds of fish, I have only medicated maybe 6 times. I did do salt baths and metro soaked food for wild caught fish coming in, but as a preventative. I never saw any of them actually have a disease or parasite. I think 2 of those happened during quarantine periods.
I really keep coming back to your original statement that the fish would act like this after each water change. I am thinking there is something in or missing from the source water. Yes, this bothers me...

I'm not positive about Petsmart, but most large box stores get their fish from one or two farms for the entire chain. I've spoken to one of people responsible for getting the fish at this particular petsmart and they use there own supplier. That would mean if it's the breeders fault, all the female bettas all across the country would be getting tumors after one year. Bettas will like it a little warmer because the air in the tank stays more humid and they like that. I didn't see you mention Bettas before though so... This tank use to house my betta sorrority (I think I've had about 3 different ones in this tank, but not all at once. Sadly the last one died of - possibly of tb - recently. Now I just have 2 boys and girls left in different tanks.)

Are you sure there is chlorine in your water? I don't know what the long term effects of a chlorine remover is when there isn't anything for it to react with. You can find out if you call your water provider and see if there is anything added. They should be able to tell you exactly what all is in your water and where it comes from. Ask them about heavy metals. Yes, I'm sure there is chlorine in the water, the amount varies though, sometimes there is hardly any, other times it smells like a pool in the house - when someones running water. We got the water um, thingy?, lol, in the mail fairly recently, all kinds of nasty stuff in there (which might also explain somewhat why when I don't drink only filtered water it makes me ill. I wouldn't be surprised if there is something in there hurting my fish. ) There are heavy metals, but the api is suppose to 'neutralize' (?) heavey metals, or so it says. Is that not good enough?

See if you can't get some liquid test kits for your other params.

Unfortunately I can't get anything right now, they're trying to do away with my department at work and I'm down to roughly 3hours every other week, gah! I haven't been able to find anyting else around here yet. Everyone's letting people go. Sorry for the rant.

 

[LiveMermaid07]

I recently read something about using salt for freshwater velvet, but first it said something along the lines of 2 tablespoons per gallon, and further on in the article it said 1 tbls per gallon - and it was written by the same person. :/

IF, either of those are even correct, it doesn't say how long it would have to stay at that level.

Would that level (either) not be dangerous to the plants?
And how much would I add at a time, and how long in between to let the fish 'ease' into it?

And how bad would this be for the otos, cory, and black khulis??
Would it kill them? Shorten their lives? Damage them?


???

 

[jpierce3]

Um, yeah if the water makes you sick then there might be something that is bothering the fish. Any kind of copper would be bad for inverts.
Have you tried using filtered water for the fish as well? When you get your employment situation solved, you may want to look into getting an RO/DI unit. Not just for the fish, but your health also. Brita type carbon filters do an ok job, but RO/DI really strips the water of everything. Which also means that you will have to add buffers back in, but you will know what is in it and how much.

I would use the info they provided for you and start googling to find out if it is safe for fish (and me).

 

[LiveMermaid07]

Um, yeah if the water makes you sick then there might be something that is bothering the fish. Any kind of copper would be bad for inverts. Wouldn't that get neutralized with the heavy metals?
Have you tried using filtered water for the fish as well? Not normally, the only filter is in the land lady's kitchen, I fill the jugs in the tub upstairs.

When you get your employment situation solved, you may want to look into getting an RO/DI unit. Not just for the fish, but your health also. Brita type carbon filters do an ok job, but RO/DI really strips the water of everything. Which also means that you will have to add buffers back in, but you will know what is in it and how much.

I would use the info they provided for you and start googling to find out if it is safe for fish (and me). Oh, I've been googling like a crazy woman lol! I'm just having trouble finding what I'm looking for - I mostly get the same dozen or so sites, half of which are just ads for drugs - but I keep trying.

Could a mod move this to Freshwater Illness and Disease, please? I think at this point it fits over there better. (Not that ya'll havent' been helpful! Thanks! )

 

[Mabuhay]

I would seperate your fish from your plants if at all possible. While a heater would speed up the process, you can be successful if you are diligent without one.

3 teaspoons per gallon of water. Make sure it is regular non-iodine enhanced table salt. Mix very well. Dip fish for no longer than 20 minutes and then put them in a clean tank of freshwater. You may remove them earlier than 20 minutes if you see any signs of stress.
Some fish are unaffected by salt baths (catfishes).

Large water changes are a must. The more of these parasites you get out of your tank, the better chance your fish have at surviving. The no-lights strategy is used because these bad boys have chlorophyll (think algae). A few days in the dark shouldn't hurt your plants.

Edit: They have roughly about 24 hours from birth to find a host or perish. When they hatch off your fish, they hatch in literally....hundreds.