"Elaine T" wrote in message
om...
If you can get it, feed food soaked in dissolved oxytetracycline for 10
days. The advantage of medicated food is that it won't affect your filter
the way PP, acriflavine, or dissolved antibiotics would. I agree with
others that it doesn't sound like flexibacter, but oxytetracycline is
broad-spectrum and good for many fish diseases.

You're already cleaning the tank and keeping the fish in very clean water,
which is the other key for managing a disease.

BTW, chin up! You're beating yourself up unfairly. This can be a
challenging hobby at time and you've been doing your absolute best.

Thnaks for your encouraging words. I'm not really beating myself up as far
as I can see. It's just one of the many aspects to this hobby. I was a
little astounded that a substrate that *looked healthy* was actually a
festering mess just below the surface.

I've treated with a broad-spectrum tri-suphur and Pima and MelaFix. I am
well aware, and prapared to lose my filter bacteria during this period, but
I have ammonia quelling water conditioner (in an emergency) and a mature
filter sponge set I can restablish (seed) the main tank with pretty quickly
once all the meds are finished with.

I figure if it isn't Flex but it's still a baterial thing then global
cleansing is needed, not just the fish. I just hope what I have done so far
is enough. Lowering the temperature just isn't possible at the moment
because the ambient temperature is so high during the day. I did notice the
heaters come on in the big tank tonight, so I pulled their power, but it
still hasn't dropped below 27C.

Daily gravel cleaning and water changes are the order of the day after the
next three days, for approximately a fortnight and if there is another
outbreak then I will consider shifting all remaining fish to a
holding/Hospital tank, same for the plants, breaking the display tank down
and steralizing everything in it, including the gravel, all filters and
media replacement, and then restarting it with a fishless cycling and re
populate it slowly after the cycle has completed. It's an opportunity to get
it more right than currently, more than anything else.

I have my eye on a 100L cube tank at LFS#1 which can hold the fish
(substrateless to begin with) while I medicate them some more and while the
main tank is being made safe. It may be a little crowded in the holding tank
and some of them may feel a little exposed because the plants will not be in
that tank as they need a seperate steralizing technique. I told you I was
catching MTS

I agree that a diligent cleaning routine is now required and i'm about 70%
there to preventing it happening again.

I see it as more of an opportunity than a problem, truth be known. I feel
for the fish that are dying, but I also have a perspective on that and I
know it's not really my direct intentional doing - more ignorance.

**** happens, and it's just really what you make of it more than it
happening

Oz

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My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith