Black Ghost Knife Fish And Treatments

[joncairns]

I recently had a case of white spot in my aquarium and treated it with a conventional treatment.The spots disappeared but my young BGK died shortly afterwards. I had raised the temprature to 81degrees and added the treatment in the correct dosage. I know the BGK are scaleless fish and wonder if the treatment could have contributed to its demise.

If the answer is yes, what should be done with these fish when disease is noticed in the aquarium and are there are treatments compatible with such fish.

Thank you.

 

[indigoj]

BGK are very med sensitive, strong whitespot medications are notorious for causing deaths.

I treat whitespot by raising the temperature and water changing.

 

[Davo86]

The treatment was possibly to blame, but other factors could also have been involved,

when you increased the temp did you increase the aeration? BGK need high 02 levels and when the temp is increased you can visibly notice them suffering
What were the water stats at the time?

I have successfully treated with WS3 at half dose when a BGK was present,

When treating for whitespot it is best to always; increase temp, greatly increase aeration, blackout tank, and lastly undertake a 50% water change before you start treating,

And if in doubt, half it out

 

[joncairns]

Thanks very much for that information,it is very useful.In particular I did not know about the high O2 content for BGK. My tank is fairly well settled now with no sign of white spot.How long should I keep it blacked out for if it happens again ? I take it you mean not to put lights on, not actually cover it with a blanket so no light gets in at all ?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[Davo86]

Well some people do go to the extreme of blanketing the tank, but leaving the lights out is usually enough,
Its not realistic to say a fixed length of time as each case is different, but the light should remain off for as long as the fish are visibly suffering IMO