Fish meds and filter?

Question

As some of u may know from my previous questions about my dying fry with the deteriorating tails, i was thinking of getting them medicine. I told the fish store guy (hes kind of an ***) about the "pin" tail and their tails going away, and he said that i should use Trisulfa by Maradel which treats fin and tail rot, popeye, and gill disease. so i got some of that, does it sound right? Also the instructions say that you should remove your filter but then they contradict themselves by saying that its ok to use your filter if its more than 6 days old... which mine is (its at least 2-3 weeks old). Anyway i have one of those filters where you have tube and an outer box with a filter full of charcoal stuff, i think u call them carbon filters, but i dont know. why is it necessary to remove the filter? is it ok to just turn the filter off, or should i leave it on because the instructions say that its ok if its over 6 days old? what do they mean when they say a biological filter?

Answer 1

This is usually caused by over feeding fry. The water goes toxic for something that small very easily. Try reducing the food by half and change half the water every other day for a week with spring water warmed to the temperature of the tank for every other day. You might also want to add salt for freshwater fish.
A

Answer 2

The store guy was right, it is fin and tail rot, which is a bacterial infection. Like all the other people say, carbon is the usual filter media you remove because it absorbs any liquid impurities in the water. However, if the ask you to remove biological medium or filter, that refers to anything like bio-max, which houses the nitrifying bacteria in the tank. The medicine shouldn't harm the bacteria, but if it does, I'd say that it's too strong. I would recommned a 10% water change every 2-3 days for a week and a half. Also, I recommend all fry be kept in glass bottom tanks so it's much easier to keep it clean. Generally medication is a bad idea with fry.

Answer 3

Identifying fin rot

Fin rot is a general term for necrotic loss of fin tissue, resulting in split or ragged fins. It is usually the edge of the fin that is attacked, although occasionally a hole may appear in the middle of the fin. The appearance of fin rot can vary between a distinct, semi-circular “bite” shape and a “shredded” effect.

The edge of the lesion is usually opaque or whitish. In advanced cases there may be some reddening or inflammation. The main threat from this fish disease is, if left untreated fin rot can slowly eat away the entire fin along with the fin rays and start to invade the fish’s body, leading to peduncle disease if the caudal (tail) fin is involved, or saddleback ulcer if the dorsal (top) fin is affected. Fin rot is a bacterial disease involving opportunistic bacteria such as Aeromonas, Pseudomonas or Flexibacter that abound in all aquatic environments. Secondary fungal infections are not uncommon.

Usually caused by stress

With very few exceptions, virtually all cases are precipitated by stress, fear or poor environmental conditions. Indeed, fin rot is often one of the first signs that a fish disease problem exists and all cases should be investigated to determine the underlying cause. When I have fish in for hospitalization, occasionally some sensitive fish will start to develop fin rot as a consequence of their strange new surroundings and being handled – even though they are being kept in optimum conditions. It is usually self-resolving as they settle in, but does demonstrate just how sensitive fish can be to stress and how fin erosion is often a sign that all is not well.

Treatment

At the expense of being repetitive, stress is the major cause of fin rot. This could be due to a fish disease such as parasites, or overcrowding, low oxygen levels, bullying, poor water quality etc. The most important first step is to resolve any stressors. If caught early, this may be sufficient.

In more advanced cases it may be necessary to trim the affected fin and remove the necrotic tissue. This has to be done when the fish is sedated. It is important to use sterile scissors and treat the clean edge with an antiseptic such as povodine-iodine. This procedure does carry with it a risk of secondary infection and it is important that the fish is returned to optimum conditions and its progress closely monitored for the next week or so.

If the fin rot has advanced the full length of the fin and is threatening the body, this procedure would need to be accompanied by a course of suitable antibiotics.

Does the tissue grow back? In minor cases where only the fin tissue is affected it probably will, but in more advanced cases, particularly if the fin rays (bones) are affected, the chances of re-growth are slim

Treatments (such as Interpet's Anti Fungus and Bacteria No.8) destroys the bacteria, halting fin erosion. It may take some time for the fin to grow back. The medicine remains active for several days thus preventing a rapid recurrence of this disease.

This guide was bought to you by the members of FK.Com

Answer 4

I actually answered a couple of your other questions, and recommended the use of either Maracyn or Maracyn-2 from the Mardel line of products that Virbac Animal Health has.

I am not familiar with the other posters recommendations, but they could be worth a try if you find that the Trisulfa is ineffective. I would still recommend stacking it with Maracyn-2 (provided they are safe to stack), but regardless - best wishes and good luck.

Oh yes - the filter - Carbon will in fact remove the meds from your water when you put them in. If what you have is a canister filter just use the foam pads that came with it and nothing else while you do this meds cycle.

Answer 5

The instructions to remove your filter should have been more specific by telling you to remove the carbon which absorbs medicine and other chemicals that cause odor and tannins in your water.

Tri sulfa is one medicine but i usually prefer aquiflavin or aquarisol in a tank with newborn fry. It is alot more mild than tri-sulfa and can be used as a preventative measure than a cure.


btw, never ever turn off your filter because it will cause water to stagnate.

Answer 6

http://www.pondmart.com/filters.html
^ that should tell you about biological filters