Cardinals droping like flies!

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Blade

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I've lost 7 Cardinals in less than 24 hours!. They had what appeared to be ich starting about 4 days ago. I treated that with Maracide and it apppeared the ich cleared fairely quickly. However starting today the fish are very listless hardl swimming much at all. There fins appear to be somewhat ragged but not as though from another fish. The stomachs on some appear to be sort of swollen and white although not dramatically.

I am confident my water quality is good however I have very hard water and it comes with a very high PH around 7.5. I am in the process of lowering the PH and rigth now it is a 7.0. The temp is at 81.
 
How are you lowering the pH?

Your tank really sounds overstocked to me. 40-45 in a 29 gallon?

Cardinals are very sensitive, and once they get a disease, even if it is cured, they may never fully recover.

P.T.
 
...yeah mabye you should lower your stock a bit, i does look over stocked.
Cardinal Tetra also need soft water, so it's a good idea to lower it ike your doing now.
 
Yeah it probably is. its just a holding tank for at most another week. I'ne really kept up on the wayer changes though at 2-3 times a week.

I am lowering the PH using a Discus Buffer as I was hopng that was the problem.
 
Guppylover said:
...yeah mabye you should lower your stock a bit, i does look over stocked.
Cardinal Tetra also need soft water, so it's a good idea to lower it ike your doing now.
I'm afraid its being lowered for me. Over what time period can I complete my the lowering of my water. 24hts?
 
Well,

8 hours later I've lost about 5 more but after finding and treating them with a Tetra specific antibiotic Naladin they seem doing somewhat better. They are moving around the tank searching for food. The color is still off some and they mostly stay towars the bottom of the tank. Its been 6 hrs since they were medicated so w'll see what they look like in another 6.


Anyone know what Tetra Disease is?


I stayed up all night and got the PH down to around 6.8
 
Some information on the Neon Tetra Disease... it's exactually the same to tetra disease.

Disease Type: sporozoan
Organism: Pleistophora hyphessobryconis

Names: Neon Tetra Disease, Pleistophora

Description: Neon Tetra disease is more common than many aquarium enthusiasts realize, and affects species beyond neon tetras. Named after the fish that it was first identified in, the disease strikes members of the tetra family most often. However, other popular families of aquarium fish are not immune.


Cichlids such as Angelfish, and Cyprinids such as Rasboras and Barbs, also fall victim to the disease. Even the common Goldfish can become infected. Interestingly enough, Cardinal tetras are resistant to the ravages of Neon Tetra disease. Caused by the sporozoan, Pleistophora hyphessobryconis, the disease is known for its rapid and high mortality rate among neons. To date there is no known cure, the only 'treatment' being the immediate removal of diseased fish to preserve the remaining fish.

The disease cycle begins when parasitic spores enter the fish after it consumes infected material, such as the bodies of dead fish, or live food such as tubifex, which may serve as intermediate hosts.
Once in the intestinal tract, the newly hatched embryos burrow through the intestinal wall and produce cysts within the muscle tissue. Muscles bearing the cysts begin to die, and the necrotic tissue becomes pale, eventually turning white in color.

Symptoms:
Restlessness

Fish begins to lose coloration

As cysts develop, body may become lumpy

Fish has difficulty swimming

In advanced cases spine may become curved

Secondary infections such as fin rot and bloating

During the initial stages, the only symptom may be restlessness, particularly at night. Often the first thing an owner will notice is that the affected fish no longer school with the others. Eventually swimming becomes more erratic, and it becomes quite obvious that the fish is not well.

As the disease progresses, affected muscle tissue begins to turn white, generally starting within the color band and areas along the spine. As additional muscle tissue is affected, the pale coloration expands. Damage to the muscles can cause curvature or deformation of the spine, which may cause the fish to have difficulty in swimming. It is not unusual for the body of the fish to have a lumpy appearance as the cysts deform the muscles.

Rotting of the fins, especially the caudal fin, is not uncommon. However, this is due to secondary infection rather than a direct result of the disease itself. Bloating is another secondary infection.
Treatment:

Treatment:
None, separate or euthanize diseased fish

There is no known cure. To ensure all fish are not lost, remove diseased fish from the tank. Some species, such as Angelfish, may live for quite some time. However, they should be separated from uninfected fish to avoid spreading the disease.

Prevention:
Quarantine new fish for two weeks

Maintain high water quality

Do not purchase from a tank with ill fish

The best prevention is to avoid purchasing sick fish, and to maintain high water. Carefully observe the suppliers fish. Do not purchase any fish from tanks where there are sick, dying, or dead fish present. Fish that do not school, or hang apart from the others, should be suspect.

This is information I found off a site... sorry real tired here :zz I can't think straight :X

Hope this helped anyway... goodnight :zz :zz

P.S. It's 12:12am here in Western Australia, so you have an idea why I am sooo tired :zz
 
WOW thanks Guppylover,

After reading that a lot of things make sense right now. Well atleast I have some peace of mind as to how it got in the tank.

Thanks again
 
Well after 18 hours the deat count seems to have leveled off. I haven't lost anymore today and they have their activity back as well as color. I have lowered the PH to 6.8 - 6.5 and raised the temp up 84 where I will keep for the next few days.

It seems that combined with Aquatronics Naladin work wonders.

One of my Dwarf Cockatoo's has a bit of a swollen, pale that I will keep close watch of but it doesn't appear to be serious.
 

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