1 dead, 1 sick... please advise
- Thread starter BOSLawGuy
- Start date
The HOB filter is plenty for the 10 gallon. An air stone is plenty for a 10 gallon as well even with a few small fish in there (not recommended salt mess everywhere behind the tank and on rim) . Personally if it were me, I would go to petco and buy another 10 gallon tank ($14, $10 if on sale) Then go to walmart and buy the smallest HOB filter ($10), then hit homedepot for a couple of pvc pieces ($2), take your other fish out and put them in the new 10 gallon. I'd treat the fish with a general antibiotic and then with copper. Get some concentrated garlic and try to entice the blenny to eat. Let the DT sit empty for 8 weeks and then evaluate the fish as you go to see if you need to make any changes to what you are doing. Watch for any obvious signs popping up of other illnesses. Then qt every fish that enters your house. Just my opinion.
Mrscribbled
Team RC
The problem is not aeration, I'd start off with prazi pro; could be flukes/internal parasites. It's a mild treatment to the fish, but yet effective. I'm not a fan of lr in QT as it will absorb some medications. An established bio filter is a must, instabt ocean bio spira will instantly establish media.
Well, after 2 weeks, bi-color blenny just died overnight! 
Not sure why - he was in HT, being treated, doing much better (so I thought), swimming around, but still not eating.
The other 3 fish are STILL in DT, still all doing great, no signs of ANY issues...
I've added addition CUC to DT since as well (few shrimp, 15+ snails, hermit crabs, cucumber and 2 porcelain crabs) ...
What should I do at this point? I am afraid of adding more fish to DT ... but at the same time, there seems to be nothing wrong with the fish that are in the DT already??
Not sure why - he was in HT, being treated, doing much better (so I thought), swimming around, but still not eating.
The other 3 fish are STILL in DT, still all doing great, no signs of ANY issues...
I've added addition CUC to DT since as well (few shrimp, 15+ snails, hermit crabs, cucumber and 2 porcelain crabs) ...
What should I do at this point? I am afraid of adding more fish to DT ... but at the same time, there seems to be nothing wrong with the fish that are in the DT already??
Newsmyrna80
Active member
Did you/could you do a freshwater dip on the Blenny? If you still have him you could do one and see if any flukes come off him. If nothing comes off him it doesn't mean he didn't have flukes, some species will vacate the body shortly after death. Others will dig in deeper.
What were you treating him with?
I'm not sure how the idea of "lack of aeration" became the diagnosis, however, if you were treating with Prazi aeration is very important. Prazi will reduce the oxygen in the water but this was not the cause of death.
At this point I would not add anymore fish to the tank for another month or so. Wait and watch the rest of the fish. That being said some species of flukes are host specific while others are not. If you do have flukes in the main they may not host on the remaining fish and may die out.
This, of course, is going under the assumption that you are dealing with flukes.
Dsotto gave key advice...QT!
What were you treating him with?
I'm not sure how the idea of "lack of aeration" became the diagnosis, however, if you were treating with Prazi aeration is very important. Prazi will reduce the oxygen in the water but this was not the cause of death.
At this point I would not add anymore fish to the tank for another month or so. Wait and watch the rest of the fish. That being said some species of flukes are host specific while others are not. If you do have flukes in the main they may not host on the remaining fish and may die out.
This, of course, is going under the assumption that you are dealing with flukes.
Dsotto gave key advice...QT!
Deinonych
New member
Empty all water and dispose of filter media. Wipe down aquarium, heater, powerhead, filter etc. with white vinegar. Rinse, and allow to fully dry (at least 24 hours). If you're really paranoid, you can use a mild bleach solution, but vinegar works perfectly fine, IME, and it won't leave a harmful residue if you don't fully rinse it.
