Help, Please!

[jollysue]

Well, yes, I forgot the plants. They are probably taking care of the extra food, etc. Did you learn anything in the emergency? So far we are stopped at more water changes and some salt baths. I wonder if a little salt would hurt the MTS that much? But I guess the shrimp wouldn't do well with salt either? Do you have a quarantine tank. Then you can treat the cories without worrying about the MTS and the shrimp.

 

[Spidergrrrl]

Well, yes, I forgot the plants. They are probably taking care of the extra food, etc. Did you learn anything in the emergency? So far we are stopped at more water changes and some salt baths. I wonder if a little salt would hurt the MTS that much? But I guess the shrimp wouldn't do well with salt either? Do you have a quarantine tank. Then you can treat the cories without worrying about the MTS and the shrimp.

Unfortunately, I don't have a quarantine tank. It would probably not do me a whole lot of good to try and set one up at this point, either. I will try putting in some salt, and doing more frequent water changes. So far, the remaining seven cories are looking better. More active, and I could swear the gill redness is decreasing. In the other tank I mentioned having before, with the other cories, I do remember putting in salt. I also had shrimp and snails and they seemed to do just fine, so I will keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again! I really appreciate it.

 

[jollysue]

Well keep us updated.

 

[Spidergrrrl]

I added 1 Tbsp. of aquarium salt to their tank last night before going to bed. When I woke up this morning, they were doing much better - swimming all over the place and swarming all over each other. I gave them a salt bath and did another water change - 20% this time.

So far the snails and shrimp don't seem to be suffering from the addition of salt, so I will keep adding salt with the water changes.

 

[jollysue]

That is wonderful!!!!!

Another attribute that salt has is to increase the fish gill's ability to use oxygen--or the available oxygen the fish can use??? I don't remember how it works now It is often recommended for sick fish to improve their oxygen intake..

 

[Betterbettas]

http/www.bluebettausa.com/salt.htm

 

[jollysue]

Spidergrrrl! I just reread your post! Did you use 1 tblsp or 1 tsp in your Eclipse 12? If you used 1 tblsp, do some big water changes right away!

As far as the salt debate goes, Bryan, I have not been able to figure it out. I use salt for fungal infections, would use it for a major paracite, trace amounts in Betta tanks, and for gill function in sick tanks when I remember. For most fish I use it sparingly. I have had more than one success with it in fungal cases. For ich I use ich treatments, the which depends on what I have and the stage. I haven't had an ich outbreak in many years, but if I see a stress situation I may add Aquari-Sol.

Unless it is for a salt dip/bath I use much less than 1 tsp per 10 usg. More like a 1/10 of a tsp. because I can never remember what the rcommendation is. I put a tsp in a small container and add hot water. Then I pour off a little of what dissolves. I seldom replace what goes out in water changes, except intermittantly when I figure nothing is left.

Thanks for chiming in to help, Bryan, we need the information, even the stuff that everyone debates is useful.

 

[Spidergrrrl]

Oh, dear - it was 1 Tbsp! Looks like it's time for some more water changes...

I hope I didn't make things worse in my attempt to make things better.

 

[jollysue]

I have killed way too many fish with my own fuzzy headedness, If they are alive now when you do a waterchange it should be all right. I would definately do a big one though! haha. Maybe it will be a fortuitus error. BettaTalk recommends using 1 tsp of salt per 2.5 usg always in Betta water (along with 1 drop per usg of Aquari-Sol) all the time. So that equals a Tblsp--Right? So the Betta should be ok! As I said above, some things I just have to try and go by my own experience, because ther is just no agreement in the hobby. If we can agree to disagree I think we are doing well. B)

DISEASE: FUNGAL INFECTION

uGENERAL INFO:

If you always add aquarium salt to your betta’s water (1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 2 1/2 Gal of water) and one drop of Aquarisol per gal, your betta will probably never get fungus. It is contagious, but bettas will more than likely recover if treated promptly.

uSYMPTOMS:
Betta has white cottony like patches on its body or head. He may be less active, may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped, color may be pale.

uTREATMENT:
Do a full jar water change. Add “Fungus Eliminatorâ€￾ by Jungle (included in our Betta First Aid Kit). These are crystals are dosage should be about 30-40 grains per 1/2 gal. Water should have a nice gold color, not too dark. Do not overmedicate! Change water every third day and add a new dose of same medication. Continue until all fungus has disappeared. Then keep betta jarred for another 2 weeks at least and instead of Fungus Eliminator, just add 1 drop of BettaZing in your betta’s water to clean any other bacteria/fungus that may still be present.
(this is copied from BettaTalk)

 

[Spidergrrrl]

Hi all,

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on my cories. They are doing MUCH better! As a group, they are much more active and happy looking. The one that had red gills and was flicking, is now looking much better. His gills are still a little discolored - pinkish - but not the really noticeable angry red. And I haven't noticed any more flicking.

After the initial salt I added, I did some water changes to bring down the total amt. of salt. I will definitely continue the larger water changes in the future. I also finally got my test kits today (had to wait for my order to arrive) and it does seem that my old KH/GH test kits were off. According to the new kits, my KH/GH are 5kH/10dGH. I also got a phosphate test kit and it's measuring at 20 ppm. (although this was only an hour after adding the daily dose of ferts). So, more water changes and perhaps smaller feedings and lower doses of ferts are in order.

Even better, I didn't lose any shrimp and my snails seem to be going great as well. I wish I had been able to save the two that initially died, but now I'm hopeful that I'm headed in the right direction to keep a tank my surviving cories can thrive in.

I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who helped me through my cory crisis. You're all the best!

 

[jollysue]

Delightful news! Merry Christmas!