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disclaimer was describing me... and my opinion on response of eye to metronidazol... ie i dont know for certain and still said i dont think it would be an effective treatment
i am with thomas on not medicating unless you are pretty certain that you need to
fish have an immune system, give them the appropriate enviroment to use it and they will... good clean water will manage many issues
often treatment in a compromised fish can be the final push that finishes them, though without having exact same fish in exact same water as a control and not medicating we cant say that fish died inspite of medication rather than because, this is also often true of fish got better inspite of medication rather than because
andrwe
sounds like the globe actually ruptured - in mammals that is normally only seen with very severe ulcerative disease or direct trauma to the eye
chilling should not have affect the biobacter in any permanent way, there metabolism is related to temperature and they are hardy
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Andrew, then I appologise, to be honest I read the thread as you calling me an idiot :(
I haven't treated any of the fish as yet, i am thinking of investing in some good meds & hopefully find a good vet in the Ryde area so If I have another big problem, I can get it looked at.
Th0mas, i guess the brown water is an embarrassment, as well as a precaution, I am unsure of how long the ram had been dead before i fished him out, So the 50% waterchange is to prevent any bacteria & ammonia he may have released into the water.
so far they all seem to be going well, i should post some pics up soon, as they are growing fast (for apisto's) and starting to look really pretty!!!
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Given the present of drift wood or peat in the tank, the brown water is no embarrassment at all. In fact most apisto/ram do benefit from this.
The tanin from wood/peat causes the water to go brown. It is totally unrelated to any fish's death.
As for a vet for fish - I you'll find more trouble than it's worth. Most vet don't get involve with fish at all (as they don't have legs or wing), and it's probably easier to fire the question to our resident vet here (Mike - I believe he's on holiday at the moment).
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Mike as in; Noddy65 Mike? He's a vet??? he never mentioned this to me!
wow, thats handy :P
I heard that about the tanins in the wood & that it's good for some fish, didn't know Apisto's benefit from it though... That's something I did right for once!!!
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Yes, Mike <=> Noddy65 is our resident vet.
And he's now in Sydney (since the beginning of 08).
The tanin soften water and reduces the pH. which benefit most apisto and ram (plus discus), but the drawback is the brown water (which some people dislike). I (and my fish) don't have any issue with water being brown.
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yeah i bought some Apisto's from Mike, saw his set-ups (when it was first put together) but never mentioned he is a vet!!! very very cool.
The brown water is fine but it's very noticable & makes it hard for a good pic, I did a nice chunky water change last night, I love how the Apisto's will swim in the new water while it's being pumped in... very cute!!!
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boost i try to only be that rude in person :wink:
not many vets can bother with learning anything about fish because not many clients are actually prepared to pay for the correct investigations and treatment
most would rather log no and listen to virtual experts dish out free advice
when the fish cost 20£ and the vet wants to change 20£ to see it and then another 50£ to run some tests and another 15£ for some medication
it is just cheaper to buy a new fish
small fish like the apisto's with short life span and high metabolic rates also go from first apparent signs of illness to dead very quickly to
andrew
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Andrew,
Totally agree with the financial aspect of keeping apisto - especially of their cost versus durability for the inexperience (including many LFS down under). Making them a major turn-off for the trade. :banghead
However that doesn't stop a small number of us die hard fan, which hoping in one day their popularity will exceed the African rift lake cichlid (yeah - dreaming here :cheers ).
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Apisto's will never be as popular as Rift lake fish
You have to know what you are doing to keep and breed apisto's
Africans you just buy a big tank....get a couple of buckets of calcium carbonate.....and a pile of rocks or fake broken sewer pipes. Fill the tank with tap water and add a huge cannister filter or better still a sump and throw in some fish...BANG your a breeder!
Apisto's you have to select quality fish provide care with tank,plants,water quality and feed lots of live food.....too hard for most people for fish that like to hide....but....each to his own :wink:
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i think they are great fish, unfortunately i am in a protracted move and have only trifasciata left at present
