Creamcicle Molly With White Puffy Spot On Head! Plz Help :(

[Anna Robinson]

Melafix is very unreliable, to the degree it's not worth using. Over at WWM you wouldn't believe how many fish we deal with that have been treated -- without result -- with Melafix.

It would obviously depend on what they were being treated for, and how severely ill they were. Melafix is patented and has 6 years of research and development behind it, after all. It also has the immense advantage of being safe with all fish species and desirable invertebrates.

 

[nmonks]

It would obviously depend on what they were being treated for, and how severely ill they were.

This is kind of the point. In superficial cases where the fish would probably get better anyway -- given optimal water quality and a good diet -- then Melafix may help speed up the healing process. But antibiotics -- which Melafix is not -- will work against both mild and severe infections, and if there's any hope of a fish getting better, antibiotics will be the drugs that do the trick. Let me ask you this: If you had pneumonia or a gangrenous wound, would you want an antibiotic or tea-tree oil?

It also has the immense advantage of being safe with all fish species and desirable invertebrates.

It's a moot point if your other fish are fine but the sick fish dies. May as well take the sick fish out, euthanise it, and not bother medicating at all. As for being safe with invertebrates, that's again misleading. Sick marine fish should be treated in a hospital tank, and new fish quarantined in a quarantine tank, so that the reefkeeper is free to use hyposalinity, copper-based medications, and antibiotics as required. Really, Melafix is far inferior to antibiotics, hyper/hyposalinity, and copper/formalin-based medications in terms of efficacy; so while it might have usefulness as a preventative, e.g., when shipping/handling fish, I think it's dangerous to recommend the stuff as an actual cure for an established disease. I've just come across too many people with sick fish that stayed sick despite being "treated" with Melafix and other tea-tree oil potions.

Cheers, Neale

 

[swaddell13]

if i do end up getting medicine, do i get the molly in a bowl by herself and drip it on her in the net? or put her in the bowl and have her eat the medicine, or however way it suggest?

what im trying to say is... if i get medicine will it harm the other fish? should i do it isolated ... i can possibly find a smaller tank for a quarantine tank for a little while, but im not sure if i can or not.... thanks again for all the help

edit: oh and neale, on that link u gave me, on the rain water... i live in Arizona and it hardly ever rains.... so i doubt that will help me haha

edit edit: they also have chemicals i can add to add the ph at the pets store i go to, its called pH increase... should i get that? and to harden the water(which i now know is different from raising the ph) do i still need the marine salt? other places say to add baking soda and espon salt... here: http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/chemistry.php
should i maybe get the ph increase formula and then get something else for the hardness?

 

[nmonks]

what im trying to say is... if i get medicine will it harm the other fish?

Treat the fish in the tank. Medications are harmless to fish, plants and filters. Sometimes certain medications harm shrimps and snails. Remove carbon when medications are used (if you use carbon, and you don't really need to, though shops will happily sell you the stuff).

edit: oh and neale, on that link u gave me, on the rain water... i live in Arizona and it hardly ever rains.... so i doubt that will help me haha

Read the page to the bottom. There's a recipe* on the page for making hard water using Epsom salt, baking soda and marine salt mix. That's what I told you to do, not collect rainwater. Note you need all three of those chemicals to make hard water properly: not just one of them or two of them! As I suggested earlier, you could swap the marine salt mix for the Doc Wellfish salt you have until you use that stuff up. But once you're done with that box, buy a box of Instant Ocean or whatever -- it's much better.

they also have chemicals i can add to add the ph at the pets store i go to, its called pH increase... should i get that?

No; you'll do more harm than good if you change pH without changing hardness, particularly carbonate hardness, as well. Water chemistry is tricky stuff, and for inexperienced fishkeepers there's plenty of scope for disasters.

Cheers, Neale

*The proportions are important; use level teaspoons or level tablespoons as required!

 

[WILDER]

I agree with nmonks about melafix.
Good Luck.

 

[swaddell13]

I agree with nmonks about melafix.
Good Luck.

im in the process of raising the pH, im aiming for 7-7.5 to try and make all my fish happy. as far as hardness, i have to get another test since the one i have only does ammonia and ph.

and neale, thanks so much for ur help, its been very interesting that i may pursue a course at my community college to learn more... any particular course u suggest ? thanks again guys

ps: i got some melafix for free and just threw it in for the hell of it, since its tea tree oil it prolly wont do anything ... hurting or healing lol like u said antibiotics are what im gonna shoot for but first gotta see if this pH increase helps my molly out.

 

[WILDER]

I would only use antibiotics in issolation.

 

[swaddell13]

I would only use antibiotics in issolation.

using a fungus/dryrot medicine by Tank Buddies that disolves in the water, all the fish seem fine with it, some of the fish may benifit since i think one of the guppies has tail rot or is fighting?

 

[nmonks]

Happy to help.

Good luck at CC. I hesitate to recommend any specific course, but an intro to biology or ecology would probably be worthwhile if you're taken by the more scientific side of fishkeeping. Depending on where you live, there may be specific courses on things like aquaculture, fish-farming, animal welfare, and ornamental fish care.

Careers in science are difficult to get for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that there's many more students after jobs than there are actual jobs! Given the choice, it's wisest to pick courses that would help you get a better job, and then leave science for the hobby side of your life. Two fields I'm involved in, astronomy and palaeontology, operate very much like this, with many amateurs learning and doing the science they enjoy during their spare time. This approach is a lot more fun than scraping a living as a "professional" scientist.

Do find out if your public library can get hold of a book called "Diversity of Fishes" by Gene Helfman, Bruce Collette and Douglas Facey. In my opinion this is by far the best single-volume book on fish biology. It covers just about everything from the behaviour of predators through to the evolution of bichirs. Although a technical book, it's quite easy to read and has lots of diagrams. I use this book all the time! Like a lot of college-level text books it's pricey (around $100) but used copies cost far less. If you want a "taste" of fish science, I can't recommend this book too strongly.

Cheers, Neale

and neale, thanks so much for ur help, its been very interesting that i may pursue a course at my community college to learn more... any particular course u suggest ?

 

[swaddell13]

Happy to help.

Good luck at CC. I hesitate to recommend any specific course, but an intro to biology or ecology would probably be worthwhile if you're taken by the more scientific side of fishkeeping. Depending on where you live, there may be specific courses on things like aquaculture, fish-farming, animal welfare, and ornamental fish care.

Careers in science are difficult to get for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that there's many more students after jobs than there are actual jobs! Given the choice, it's wisest to pick courses that would help you get a better job, and then leave science for the hobby side of your life. Two fields I'm involved in, astronomy and palaeontology, operate very much like this, with many amateurs learning and doing the science they enjoy during their spare time. This approach is a lot more fun than scraping a living as a "professional" scientist.

Do find out if your public library can get hold of a book called "Diversity of Fishes" by Gene Helfman, Bruce Collette and Douglas Facey. In my opinion this is by far the best single-volume book on fish biology. It covers just about everything from the behaviour of predators through to the evolution of bichirs. Although a technical book, it's quite easy to read and has lots of diagrams. I use this book all the time! Like a lot of college-level text books it's pricey (around $100) but used copies cost far less. If you want a "taste" of fish science, I can't recommend this book too strongly.

Cheers, Neale

and neale, thanks so much for ur help, its been very interesting that i may pursue a course at my community college to learn more... any particular course u suggest ?

yeah i was thinking of getting a history major since its the only class i like, and it recomends 2 science classes or something, but like you said im not sure what i would do for a living after learning history and whatnot.... i know a business degree or something is best but i dont do school is im not interested since i have bad add and i dont take medicine lol

 

[swaddell13]

alright i just bought a good tester and i got my latest results:

gh:180
kh:240
ph:7
no2:1
no3:160


the fish in my tank are listed in my older post...

what do you think neale?

 

[nmonks]

Okay, your general hardness is moderately high (180/10* = 18 degrees dH), and your carbonate hardness is very high (240/17.8** = 13.5 degree KH). So quite why your pH is so low makes no sense. Ordinarily, water of this type, which is pretty standard for Southern England for example, would have a much higher pH, between 7.5-8.0.

Let's assume for now your pH reading is wrong!*** Providing you kept doing regular water changes, this type of water should be ideal for mollies and livebearers generally, especially if you added a small amount of salt (say, 3-5 grammes/litre to begin with). Marine salt mix should up the pH a bit in any case.

Now, your major problem here is nitrite; a nitrite level of 1.0 mg/l is toxic, and mollies will be among the first fish to sicken when exposed to this. Salt does help detoxify nitrite somewhat, so again, using salt will be of benefit, but this doesn't get around the fact your water quality is poor. Review the three basics: [a] has the tank had time to cycle; is the tank overstocked or under filtered given the fish being kept; or [c] are you overfeeding or not removing uneaten food quick enough.

Cheers, Neale

* One degree dH is 10 mg/l calcium oxide
** One degree KH is 17.8 mg/l calcium carbonate
*** Though it may not be, check again, and get back to me; American fishkeepers in particular seem to get "odd" water chemistry results for a variety of reasons. Well water can have strange mixes of salts that "fool" your test kits. Also, if your water supplier adds flocculants and other chemicals that improve the clarity and taste of the water, these can also "fool" your test kits. One approach is to draw some water into a container, test some of it, leave it to stand for 24 hours, and then test again to see if the water chemistry has changed. If it has changed, this means you're dealing with "funky water". The best approach here is to choose hardwater-tolerant fish exclusively, and then add the hardwater salt mix described here, either at half- or full-dose, as required to get consistent results for the types of fish you're keeping. This salt mix "overrides" whatever the chemicals are in your water, creating something reliably good for livebearers, rainbowfish, goldfish, and other fish that enjoy hardwater conditions.

 

[swaddell13]

okay ill get back to u, the tank has been going through alot recently and i think that may just be a weird test result... ill check it today and tomorrow and give u results.

do u think the medicine i used by Tank Buddies for Fungus and Tail Rot etc etc, would raise the levels so eratically? the tank is still a light color of green from it but not as bad as the day i added it... looked like a swamp! haha, anyways ill let u know, and the no2 was a guess, it was more of .5-1 but it still is too much im sure, thanks again neale, ill let u know when i get the results

 

[nmonks]

do u think the medicine i used by Tank Buddies for Fungus and Tail Rot etc etc, would raise the levels so eratically?

Shouldn't do if used as directed on the packaging; I can't stress too strongly how important it is to follow the instructions. In particular, take note of issues like measuring the dosage, removing carbon, not adding two medications at the same time, and so on.

Cheers, Neale

 

[swaddell13]

the filters i use come pre package with carbon so i cut it open and disposed of the carbon, washed out the filter then used it. i didnt use a filter for the first 2 days of treatment.

i used the melafix given, as directed, with the medicine since it "helps" medicine.

i used 2 since its one tablet per 10 gallon

one thing im notorious for is overfeeding and not cleaning my tank

whats the easiest way to clean out the rocks with all the extra flakes.

and with almost 20 fish how much food should i feed? 2 pinches? enough to fill a layer of the top but no more than that?

thanks again neale

ps: with all this new knowledge u tought me im helping my family out with they're tank(they have chiclids but didnt know they need brackish water)
pss: i might get a job at a local pet store since im unemployed since im finding a great interest in fish and helping people take care of em... thanks again man!