sick incoming fish?

[ariston]

About ten days ago I got six juvenile angelfish (quarter size or a little bigger) from PetsMart. The first couple of days they were pretty shy, but then they seemed to really "warm up" and start making use of the whole tank. They were good eaters.

After a couple days, I noticed what I thought might be fin rot on two of them. I wasn't sure, so I kept watching. Now, I'm pretty sure it's worsening fin rot, and a couple other fish seem to be starting with it, too. Worse still, during the last 48 hours they've become skittish again -- hovering together at the bottom of the tank, in a corner, and breathing hard as well. They still eat, but not as well, and they tend to dart back down right after grabbing part of a flake from the surface.

Ammonia and nitrite have consistently been zero. Nitrates were around 40 to start (I guess I didn't do a big enough water change after my fishless cycle), but I have been doing 30% water changes every 2-3 days, and nitrates are now down to 10-20.

I guess my first question is: how likely is it that these fish brought some illness in with them, versus there being something wrong with my tank? If it's the former, then I might return them to PetsMart before the 14 days are up and get new fish from elsewhere, but if it's the latter, then I'd like to try to fix things.

The 6 fish are in a 29g tank by themselves. (I know it will be too small as they grow.)

 

[flyfly]

it is very possible that they had it to begin with. If you dont want to return them there is medication that can fix em right up, also it doesnt sound like a water quality issue

 

[Aqualung]

Although I've never dealt with fin rot, it sounds to me like the fish were already diseased rather than it being a problem with your tank conditions. I would say return the fish, and examine any possible new purchases closely (preferably over a matter of days or better yet - weeks). Do most of the fish in the store where you purchased them seem to be healthy stock?

 

[judgemax]

with the fourteen day return policy most stores require a water sample and if your params are off at all they wont accept the fish ...i hope they will not give you a problem but i have run across this at petco!

 

[ariston]

on to treatment...

Thanks for the help. I've decided to have a go at treating the fish... Of the lfs's I've seen here, I actually dislike PetsMart the least, so finding a better local source of fish might be difficult. (Anyone in the Tucson area have a recommendation?)

I started treating with Melafix tonight. It seems to be one of the most recommended methods for fin rot, but I still have some questions:

1) The edges of my fishes' fins are (and have been) black, not whitish. Does that change the diagnosis or the treatment method?

2) Is there something better than (or in addition to) Melafix that I should use?

3) Water changes really seem to stress out my fish. (They don't like the siphon in the tank, etc.) If the water is already clean, would it be less stressful for the fish to to just leave the water be for a week or so?

4) The temp is currently at 83 F. Should I keep it there?

Thanks in advance for the help. Oh, and one update on the fishes' behavior: they're acting healthy again. I had lowered the temp a bit, trying to slow the bacteria down, which I now think was a mistake. The fishes' lethargy began around the same time I did that, so I raised the temp again, and they are now again behaving happily... though it still looks like their fins are slowly vanishing...

 

[gman52]

keep the temp up above 80. i have never used melafix before, but do the directions. if it says to do waterchanges, do them, if it does not say to do water changes dont' to them. water changes will not stress them out that much. it may for a lil, but long term it won't and will help your fish, especially when dealing with fin rot they neeed the best water quality they can get. other than that keep doing wat your doing