Afraid For My Gouramis !

So just use Maracyn 1 and 2 together? Or Maracyn Plus? And forget the fluffy stuff growing on the angels for now?? I will do anything you recommend ANYTHING.... I am just saying that the gourami is swimming erradically once in a while, not very often. There is an angel and a kissing gourami that is pecking at the affected gouramis gills, but also the rest of the body, and its letting them (doesnt seem like it hurts, more like it likes it).... and there is a little bit of cottony growth on both angels fins but its not hanging off or anything just little specs but I am sure its not ick because its more than that. Please Help

Ok, (after taking the carbon out of the filter) I put Maracyn one and two in the tank. I also put salt at 1 tbsp for 5 gallons.....I put the temp. up to around 88 F...turned off the lights and I will see what happens. Also, when I got home from the pet store I noticed that my second opaline is red in exactly the same spot AND side on its gill as the other. I also noticed that both were "darting" around the tank and rubbing against an air hose until I turned the lights off. The boxes say to treat for 5 days...what do you guys recommend?? Also after the 5 days what percentage of water do I change out??? Hopefully after the treatment I will not see any signs of illness, but if I do can I go for more than 5 days or can I wait a few days and re-do ?? ALSO... what about live plants?? The boxes say NOTHING about live plants... I was wondering If I should leave them in or not...and.... If not, will the "disease" stick to the plants so when I put them back in the tank it will get the fish sick again?? Any suggestions are helpful ..

GOOD / BAD ?

Make sure you can use the full dose of salt with the fish you keep.

How are the other fish acting in the tank. Are they showing any signs of darting, flicking and rubbing.

Actually the 2 opalines are darting, and rubbing against an air hose , havent seen much flicking... but since I put the meds and salt in yesterday they have been doing it once in a while...rubbing against the glass and hose(DO YOU THINK ITS FLUKE!!!! )... and all the fish seem like the salt is not bothering them. So you think the full 5 days should be enough or if I still see some red should I do another run?? Also , do you think the temp of 88F is good or no? What I was also thinking of doing is dipping some pellets in the meds prior to putting it in the tank so they can have some "medicated food".. What do you think?? ..... I REALLY HOPE thers no flukes in there

So... do you guys think flukes or no??? HOPE NOT

How are the fish now.

What symtoms are they still showing. Then we should know it it's flukes.

So, today is day 3 of treatment (out of 5), and the fish seem GREAT!! Atleast compared to what they were a few days ago... the opalines are NOT flicking , rubbing on anything or swimming erratically anymore! The other gouramis have also stopped "pecking" at them... The redness on the gills has completely disappeared, and the redness around the fins is almost gone. I can barely see it if I look real close and compared to the BLOOD RED it used to be its a huge change. The only thing that is concerning me a little bit is the 1st day of treatment when I turned the heat up to 88F, and put the salt and meds in a tiny bit of my angels top fin just fell off! I dont see any white around it or any cottony stuff or anything... just a tiny bit fell off that first night and then nothing, it has not gotten worse either . He still seems to swim around like theres no problem!(maybe a fight?) Then the other angel seems like has clamped fins.. eats normally acts normally just that his tail fin is never "opening" like it used to. Seems like he has no problem swimming around its just that the fins are "clamped" and the other angels fins are not! Do you think the clamped fins on one and the piece missing from the other could be because of the salt/meds and maybe the heat all at once?? And you said that septicemia is hard to cure, what do you mean?? This is the angel with the part of the top fin "missing" .. dont pay attention to the tail because thats a previous injury from a fight 2 weeks ago.What do you thnk?

Also, do you think I should go for another round of meds after I am done with this to make sure the septicemia is gone? Or go past 5 days?? I was thinking of doing the full 5 days, then doing a good 25% - 40% water change, putting in some new carbon for about 24 hrs, then doing another 5 days to be sure. Or do you think its too much bacterial meds for the fish and (good) bacteria in the tank??..............................................The Picture on the left is 3 days ago right before the meds, salt, and temp....the right one is as of now. It just seems like he always swims with the fins clamped down .. What do you think is the cause.. salt??? meds??
temp??? HELP!

I would do another round of maracyn, so I agree.
You can be using bacterial meds for awhile with a severe bacteria infection.

Forgot to mention last time for you to turn temp back to normal. Warmer temps mulitiply bacteria.
Also start removing the salt with water changes.

Was the top fin already damaged, as it sounds like the damaged area just fell off.

Clamped fins are a sign of stress and desease.
So turn temp down and start removing salt. it could just be that.
Also check your water stats. As maracyn will also knock water stats.

In the US you are able to get hold of antibiotics, unlike here in the uk, where you need a vet to perscribe them. So you stand a better chance of saving your fish.
Speticemia is blood poisoning and once the bacteria multiplys fast the med is to late sometimes.

Still keep a look out for fluke signs, but it sounds like they might not be the culprit now.
Glad there alot of improvement so far.

Ya I am STOKED that they are doing better... I will start putting the temp down but how low should I go?? I think im going to go down by 2 degrees every few hours but Im not sure where I should stop. 80/82 ? How should I remove salt with water changes?? Wouldnt that remove the maracyn or should I put some more in depending on how much water I take out...and I did not see any signs of the top fin being damaged, just that night when i added the salt/meds and the temp up I literally saw it fall off piece by piece, I think he just got in a fight with someone in the tank..

Just drop the temp back down to normal setting, gradually.
To remove salt you have to do water changes.

It can be epensive, but the only way to top the maracyn back up is by adding the correct amount of med back to water removed.
Ask in tropical discussion, as you can chop the tablet up for smaller tanks, and water changes.

Ok so I did a 25% water change to take some salt out and put some prime in the new water (ofcourse). I calculated how much of Maracyn 1 and 2 to put back in, it was a little pain in the A$$ since I have the powder packets, if anything there might be a little too much because its kind of hard to measure how much powder there is unless you have a digital scale! I also put the temp. down 3 degrees and will keep doing so until I reach around 80/81.... So you think doing the full 5 days then doing a good water change , adding some new carbon for 24 hrs then doing another 5 sound good to you??? ALSO, I dont have much algae in my tank so what do you think would be good to feed my Farlowella? I tried algae wafers and flakes but it doesnt seem to respond much to that... maybe hes munching on them at night! I was thinking some zucchini or romaine lettuce... Tell me what you think because you seem like you know what you arew talking about when it comes to fish!!!!!!!!!!!! YAAA WILDER!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO LOL

You were RIGHT Wilder!!!!! ONCE AGAIN!!! About 3 hours after the water change the golden angel that had clamped fins all of a sudden seemed better. No more clamped fins!! It must of been the high temp. and/or salt combo.. AWESOME!!!

Just follow meds instructions.
Do a water change and run some black carbon if it tell's you too, before redosing.
Never used the med myself.

As for the farlowella new kept them. Post in the right part of the forum. Or do a search on there diet needs. You will soon get your answers.

Thanks for keeping the thread updated.
It helps other members in the future.

Let me know how you get on.
Good Luck.