Help! Sick Cory And Freshwater Angel?!

[kcartwright856]

i am a million percent sure it is not ICH as i have been through that in a tank already (not this one) and know what it looks like. i am just not sure if the infection is bacterial or fungal or a mix of both (bacterial for cory fungal for angel) and unfortunately i cannot get pictures because i only have a camera on my phone and it takes crappy pix. as for water testing i'll be honest. until this tank that is running now ive never tested the water and in my defense other then the random fish dieing ive never had any kind of issues like i am having right now. yes i know that i need to get an api water testing kit but 1. neither pet store within my driving distance sells them and 2. you need a credit card or bank account to order it offline and i use neither and never have. so unfortunately all i can to is use the testing strips. and dont take this the wrong way. but i really dont want to hear anyone put me down for the way i keep fish just because i dont have a way to buy a liquid test kit and because i never tested water parameters until this tank. not saying you specifically were going to put me down but ive seen now people from this site have treated others for not being able to afford certain stuff for their fish and believe its completely unnecessary to people to judge and treat other people that way.

but thank you for the information all the same. i'll do everything i can do make sure all my fish remain healthy. i'll ask one of the pet stores if they can order in any liquid testing kits. but if not all i can do is use strips. i'll try my best to get pictures of what is going on so that maybe someone can see and help out a bit more.

I sincerely apologize if I offended you.

The fact of the matter is that, especially when dealing with illnesses and such like right now, you must be positively sure of your water parameters. Ancient test strips will not give you the information that you need to save the lives of your pets.

Fish keeping is not inexpensive. However, there are other ways to get a better idea of your parameters. Take water samples to your LFS and ask them to test your water for you until you can save up for a liquid kit. Any LFS worth their salt will test a customer's water free-of-charge.

 

[KRamgren89]

ty and no i wasent actually offended i was just stating that i didnt want people to tell me im a bad fishkeeper. yes our lfs will test free of charge. and they are actually going to look into and see if they can order any liquid test kits or just the strips. because as of today no place has any testing kits. if all else fails i'll have to see if i can paysome to order some online for me.

update: today everyone is looking good! unfortinately for our sterbai he probably isnt going to survive much longer, poor guy has been thru heck and back losing all his friends and getting thrown into a different tank and now getting sick, he isnt eating much anymore and i will be suprised if he lives till the weekend. as for the angels. all look clear today except our marble has 1 or 2 little patches yet. thanks everyone!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Hey, you're from Minnesota! I'm in Ely.

Make sure you get a liquid test kit, not strips, which are horribly inaccurate. I recommend Nutrafin, but you can also use an API Master Test Kit. If you're down in the cities, you should try World of Fish in Richfield.

 

[Suleika]

but i really dont want to hear anyone put me down for the way i keep fish just because i dont have a way to buy a liquid test kit and because i never tested water parameters until this tank. not saying you specifically were going to put me down but ive seen now people from this site have treated others for not being able to afford certain stuff for their fish and believe its completely unnecessary to people to judge and treat other people that way.

I'm sure that kcartwright856 wasn't judging you, but merely giving you advice about what is needed for adequate fishkeeping - you have just posted a thread asking for help because you're having problems! And imo if someone cannot afford the necessary equipment to adequately keep the wanted fish (it is an expensive hobby), then maybe rethink (without any judgement, but out of concern for the animals)

 

[kcartwright856]

I'm glad that most everyone seems to be pulling through. You are doing a great job with the tools that you have to work with so far.

As for the one that won't make it... I'm very sorry. Consider keeping clove oil on hand for cases such as this. I can't stand watching and waiting for a fish to die when every effort has been made and I just know that they won't make it. I keep a bottle of clove oil in with my fish medicines for this exact purpose.