What to do after fin rot?

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks

Babel Fish wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Leave it in there. The organisms that cause disease are there all the
time, you could disinfect the entire tank but that would mean starting
the cycle from scratch. Fish get sick when they are unable to to resist
disease, often due to bad water conditions or other stress. Since you
were using the minnows to cycle the tank then high nitrite levels are
the likely culprits. So the solution is to continue to cycle the tank.
Reality can be harsh.

Peter

Thanks for that. I'll leave it then and keep a check on water chemistry
before introducing more fish.


"Peter Ashby" wrote in message
...
Babel Fish wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of
action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or
leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Leave it in there. The organisms that cause disease are there all the
time, you could disinfect the entire tank but that would mean starting
the cycle from scratch. Fish get sick when they are unable to to resist
disease, often due to bad water conditions or other stress. Since you
were using the minnows to cycle the tank then high nitrite levels are
the likely culprits. So the solution is to continue to cycle the tank.
Reality can be harsh.

Peter

On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks


In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am
guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am
more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of
action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or
leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks


In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

Fin rot is a very opportunistic bacteria which enters the open cells of
the end of a fish's fins (usually the tailfin). The fish has almost
always have to be in an advanced stress condition, so that their immune
system cannot stop the bacteria from multiplying. If you have lost all
the fish, then just wait until the tank has cycled, do a large water
change and add a few new fish. If there are still fish in there, there
are antibiotics available. Melafix can also be used, though it is more
of a preventative, it does have some mild curative powers (imo), and I've
never observed it to have any bad effects on the biofilter (unlike most
antibiotics).

NetMax

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am
guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am
more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of
action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or
leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks


In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

Fin rot is a very opportunistic bacteria which enters the open cells of
the end of a fish's fins (usually the tailfin). The fish has almost
always have to be in an advanced stress condition, so that their immune
system cannot stop the bacteria from multiplying. If you have lost all
the fish, then just wait until the tank has cycled, do a large water
change and add a few new fish. If there are still fish in there, there
are antibiotics available. Melafix can also be used, though it is more
of a preventative, it does have some mild curative powers (imo), and I've
never observed it to have any bad effects on the biofilter (unlike most
antibiotics).

NetMax


Thanks for the info. What would you call a large water change? 30 or so %
?

I would say half of your tank volume.

CapFusion,...


"Babel Fish" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am
guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am
more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course of
action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again, or
leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks


In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

Fin rot is a very opportunistic bacteria which enters the open cells of
the end of a fish's fins (usually the tailfin). The fish has almost
always have to be in an advanced stress condition, so that their immune
system cannot stop the bacteria from multiplying. If you have lost all
the fish, then just wait until the tank has cycled, do a large water
change and add a few new fish. If there are still fish in there, there
are antibiotics available. Melafix can also be used, though it is more
of a preventative, it does have some mild curative powers (imo), and
I've
never observed it to have any bad effects on the biofilter (unlike most
antibiotics).

NetMax


Thanks for the info. What would you call a large water change? 30 or so
%
?

"Babel Fish" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

Hello,

I have just lost white cloud mountain minnows to fin rot. I am
guessing
that this is because the tank had not been fully cycled. Now I am
more
clued up on the cycle, etc, what would be the recommmended course
of
action
to take? - take everything out, wash it and start the cycle again,
or
leave
the water in there that the minnows were in and keep an eye on
water
chemistry until it completes the cycle?

Thanks


In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

Fin rot is a very opportunistic bacteria which enters the open cells
of
the end of a fish's fins (usually the tailfin). The fish has almost
always have to be in an advanced stress condition, so that their
immune
system cannot stop the bacteria from multiplying. If you have lost
all
the fish, then just wait until the tank has cycled, do a large water
change and add a few new fish. If there are still fish in there,
there
are antibiotics available. Melafix can also be used, though it is
more
of a preventative, it does have some mild curative powers (imo), and
I've
never observed it to have any bad effects on the biofilter (unlike
most
antibiotics).

NetMax


Thanks for the info. What would you call a large water change? 30 or
so %
?

If there are no fish, a couple of 60-70% changes will dilute things
nicely. Just match temperature approximately & de-chlor as needed before
you turn on the filter again (which has most of your good bacteria).
Don't leave your filter off too long, or let it dry out.

NetMax

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

None of the fish seemed aggressive. All were dead within a week of
introducing them to the tank.

Sound like either the following:
Bad handling
Water is not cycled
Water parameter

and or

Overfeeding

CapFusion,...


"Babel Fish" wrote in message
...

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 17:03:57 -0000, "Babel Fish"
wrote:

In my experience fin rot follows fin nipping. Have you got an
aggressive fin nipper perhaps?

Melafix often clears "rot" and is safe for most fish.

None of the fish seemed aggressive. All were dead within a week of
introducing them to the tank.