Seeding...is the old tank healthy enough?

[daveedka]

Several things to consider.

#1. as you have determined, you do not have to have a seed, it speeds things up but isn't a requirement. Therefore the next several points can be weighed out and you can decide.

#2. As OG. indicated ich will not survive the period of a fishless cycle without a host so you are safe on ich, but then it doesn't sound like you had ich to begin with.

#3. if you treated for internals and treated properly, there is little chance that you still have them. unless it was something really odd. What medication did you use and for how long?

#4. The fin damage is most likely a fungal or bacterial infection secondary to the original illness. Fungi and bacteria are always present (unlike parasites) but only attack weakened fish. So that would not be a large concern for me when seeding.

#5. (I feel like the devils advocate) it's always better to be safe than sorry, but if it were my tank I would seed it.


Lastly, I have heard two pronunciacions " gore-ahh-me" and "grah-mee" I have always been under the assumption that the first of those two is correct but really don't know.

Is there a really good chart out there for determining fish problems?

If you find one let me know. The bast thing I've found is the instruction pamphlet that comes in mardels boxes, but it is bordeline on useless.

Dave

 

[id10t]

Just read on another forum posting here that you can use rockwool from a potted plant to add a little bacterial seed... I'm guessing it will show up with a quick search for rockwool (here on ac)

 

[acocacolagirl]

I gave one dose of parasite clear then waited 48 hrs, did a 25% water change, and another dose, waited 48 hrs again, 25% water change again, but did not treat them again, because I felt I had to get my inverts back into the tank as they were just sitting in a bowl of tank water for the whole treatment period. Then I waited a week, during which time I lost my snail - I assume because sitting in the bowl was too much for him, but maybe it was just his time. Now all of the fish were eating happily, but the platy was still not perky so I did one more treatment, but only one so that I could return my shrimp to the tank after 48 and another water change. Then I started the melafix the next day for the fins. And I have to say, as odd as this may sound, my tank seems like a ghost town without my snail, because everyone else has taken to hiding in the plants, but the snail was always out and about.

id10t - I'm thinking I don't have any rockwool in any of my plants since I have know clue what it is, but thanks for the tip....I'll see if I can figure it out and get some.

 

[jaylin]

#3. if you treated for internals and treated properly, there is little chance that you still have them. unless it was something really odd. What medication did you use and for how long?

I woudn't agree with that. Too many of the medications treat the parasite that is active in the fish, they do nothing to the cysts that can be created. Pathogens are the masters of adaptation and survival. That's why I don't recommend seeding from a tank that's had a sick fish in it for a very long time. Especially when it's not the only option. It's not all that hard to cycle a tank from scratch.

And this is one of those cases where there really isn't a right or wrong way. I'm just more conservative when it comes to dealing with fish illnesses.

 

[daveedka]

I gave one dose of parasite clear then waited 48 hrs, did a 25% water change, and another dose, waited 48 hrs again, 25% water change again, but did not treat them again, because I felt I had to get my inverts back into the tank as they were just sitting in a bowl of tank water for the whole treatment period. Then I waited a week, during which time I lost my snail - I assume because sitting in the bowl was too much for him, but maybe it was just his time

Not sure what the active ingredient/ ingredients in parasite clear is/are, I imagine if it is reccomended to remove invertebrates it contains copper. I am not a fan of ever putting copper in a tank for any reason. It is deadly to snails, and can be difficult if not impossible to remove from a system. I also agree that a day or two of treatment for most parasites is insuffecient. therfore I would not be confident that your tank is rid of parasites. The flip side is that copper (if that is what you used) will be there for a long time and probably continue to work on any and all inverts including your prasites.
However there really are not many common parasites that have a dormant or encysted stage that will outlast a fishless cycle. Oodinium could if there was ample light and organic matter in a tank, but then oodinium is not an internal parasite as a rule. It can go internal, but that is very rare indeed. Most of your internal parasites are worms of one type or another, and do not survive for any given time without fish. Like ICH they die quickly in the abscence of a host. Oodinium ( velvet) can photosynthesize for survival, but even with that capability the survival rate without a host is very very low.

Bacterial and fungal infections can and will survive, and additionally can be brought in through any number of methods aside from fish. They cannot be kept from a tank, but a fish's natural immune sytem can fight them off unless the fish is otherwise weakened.

I do absolutely agree with jaylin that is it always wiser to be conservative. I just put far more confidence in my own controlled systems than I would in borrowing a bacteria seed from outside.
dave