Does anyone have any experience with maracide? I put my betta in a half gal hospital tank (he's usuallly in a 2 gal). Anyway, So the dosage is usually 2 capfuls for 10 gallons, i basically did only a couple of drops into the tank.
It's day two not and I am not seeing any reduction of the "gold coloring" on his gills and fins. I've been keeping the lights off too.
Also, the bottle says to treat on days 1, 3, and 5. That means I dont change the water when I do so correct?
Well anyway, how long before I start seeing results? I'm very worried about him. Do I just stop treating after day 5? What if he's not better yet? At this rate i'm not sure... help!
2007-06-05 18:27:27 · 5 answers · asked by Stephanie F 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
I went through this with one of my bettas earlier this year and it took 3 weeks for him to be completely rid of spots. Velvet is a tough parasite to treat. Good to see that you're keeping the lights off because that will help! And you should continue treatment until the spots are gone. I've used quick-Cure (made for ich, but treats velvet as well, and is easy to dose because it's a drop per gallon). Mardel products are good though, so I would expect the Maracide will work for you.
Other than the time factor (it's really too early for you to see results) is trying to come up with a dose when he's in such a small container. Do you remember how many drops you added to the tank? If so, you might be able to figure out how many are needed for the correct dosage with some water, an medicine dropper, and the cap. Since 2 capfuls are needed for 10 gallons, one will treat 5 gallons. Use the dropper and tap water to fill the cap, keeping count of how many drops it takes. Divide that number by 5 and you'll get how many are needed per gallon. Then you can compare the number you used with how many are needed. If you don't get enough of a dose, it may not be very effective in killing the parasite. And unless the instructions tell you to change the water between doses, I would think that would mean not to do so.
Another trick is to turn up the temperature to speed up the life cycle of the parasite. When it's attached to the fish, the medication doen't affect it as much as when it's in the water, so if the life cycles is speeded up, the parasites drop odd the fish and are killed that much sooner.
Good luck with this - like I said, this takes a while to get rid of this.
2007-06-05 18:54:45 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you have an unheated, unfiltered bowl this is causing the problem. Poor water conditions will lead to fin rot and other diseases and eventually, death. He needs at the very least a 5 gallon tank with a heater set at 78 F and a filtration system. Treat with aqua salt (1 teaspoon per 5 gallons) and Melafix. Fungus cure will do nothing as he does not have a fungus. If you see no changes in a few days. You can also try Mardel's Maracyn for fin rot. This is a very good anti-biotic. You will need to change the water 25% daily if you use the Maracyn as it degrades in the water within 24 hours of application. Also, never remove a fish when cleaning the tank. This stresses them out and causes them to get sick as well. You can clean the inside of the tank and syphon gravel and change water with the fish in the tank. I do it for all 4 of my tanks. You also want to be sure to condition the new water (I like Seachem's Prime) and make sure the new water is of the same temp as the old water. Never change more than 25% at a time unless you have an emergency. You should really only be doing this once a month. As long as you keep him stably heated and treated with the salt, Melafix and potentially and anti-biotic and keep the water pristine he should live. His fins will grow back but they will never look like they originally did. You also need to find out what caused this in the first place. Is the tank too small? Is it under-heated or under-filtered? Are you overfeeding? Re-evaluate your current set up to make sure this doesn't happen again. Good luck : )
2016-05-17 22:08:08 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The entire tank needs to be treated when treating for Velvet. A “white spot” remedy such as RidIch+ should be used. Maracide may be used for small fry and is usually effective with bettas. When using RidIch+, always precede each daily dosage with a 25% water change, be sure that your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels) are normal and follow all pertinent instructions included with the medication that you have chosen. Continue the treatment for three days after the coating has completely disappeared and typically treatment should last for as long as 10-14 days. Reducing light in the tank helps to kill Velvet. Do not share equipment such as nets, between your tanks, to avoid spreading this parasite
2007-06-05 18:34:35 · answer #3 · answered by jra60411 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just keep up for the full 5 days, but change the water before "Every" treatment. Thjis way the cysts and parasites that drop off can not reinfect the fish.
2007-06-05 18:41:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will take at-least 72 hrs or 3 days for the effect of the treatment to set in, and you can see the improvement from the 5th day onwards only.
Nemo
2007-06-05 21:28:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋