Bloated Stomach... Help Needed Quickly.

[ICEEGRL]

Ok... I need to be able to use this tank. It is my display tank. I guess I will move these fish to one of the 20 long tanks.
This will make the water changes and all a little easier for me.
The next issue is the big tank. Can I save the substrate and plants and wood ? I really don't want to have to start over. I have a lot of money in there. I can't afford to do it again right now.
Would it be ok if I let it run (empty) and kept up water changes for a while? How long would I need to do this for it to be safe for fish?
I HAVE HAD MY HANDS ALL IN THIS TANK WITH SMALL CUTS! I have also been having a lot of health issues recently...
I haven't had a chance to read the links yet. I will get that done in the next couple of days. We are going to be at the cemetary most of the day. I will try to get to it Monday though.
I bought lids for this tank, but they didn't fit.
I got some more today. I hope these fit. These are used so I have to get them cleaned before I do anything with them. I got a truck load of fish stuff today. My shop is shutting down. I will try to get on and get some of the reading done when we get home. For now I have to get a few hours of sleep. I have a lot of work to do out there.
I don't know if I can handle watching my babies die. This situation is so hard. My fish are not just decoration or pets. They are my babies. I love each and every one of them.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate everyone trying to help me! I know we haven't gotten very far, but it is not from lack of trying.

 

[Tolak]

You have gotten some excellent advice here, especially from jollysue & the National Fish Pharmacy link. I have spent some serious long distance phone time with these folks, 5 minutes with my problem, then nearly an hour going off on different aquatics topics. It would be worth your time and money giving them a call.

The only way to be close to certain with diagnosing a fish disease is by dissection & preparing slides. This is done by your larger hatcheries & breeders, and is beyong the budget and expertise of most aquarists. Without this you are just making an educated guess, which generally works with more common diseases, but has a lower success rate with the less common diseases.

Another thing you may want to look into is treatment with Potassium Permanganate. This is serious stuff, you will want to remove your bio filtration, as well as driftwood. An extended discussion about this treatment can be found here; http/www.angelfish.net/yabbse/index.php?...;threadid=11739

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thank you! I am trying very hard to read everything, and I am making notes so I can remind myself of things I need to remember.
I didn't get to get on until a few minutes ago. I won't have time to read much tonight, but I will try to get at it in the morning.
We spent all day mixing soil, cleaning, leveling, and planting grass on our son's grave. I also went and got flowers and made him a new arrangement. While we were there we also cleaned, pulled weeds, planted bare spots, and made some arrangements for the baby next to him. No one ever does it, and we couldn't take it any more. It is a 9 month old girl. It still had the origional flowers from almost 2 years ago. (rotten) The weeds were almost 3 feet high. It is clean now with fresh flowers and an angel. I don't think anyone has been to see her since right after her service. That is sad...
I will post again as soon as I can read these links.
Thanks again!