Confirmation of raised scales treatment

[maggie9059789]

Raised Scales Conservative Treatment:
~100% Daily Water Changes
~Epsom Salt = 3.5 tsp for 1.75 Gallon Tank (2tsp/gal)
~Temp. = 83*f
~Pellets Soaked in General Cure (2 meals of 2 pellets/day) (Contains Metronidazole)


here's the situation:
my male halfmoon has raised scales when i woke up at noon today and checked on him, his eyes don't look swollen, nor is his tummy area greying and he isn't clamping fins though he is less active but is still willing to lay down on his plant and around caves with fins spread out nicely in a calm way like he normally does


Tank Stats:
-5 gallon

-1 male halfmoon

-heated to 80*f

-two fake silk plants

-two caves

-one plastic plant

-filtered

-1 50% water change per week (gravel syphon and filter inserts swished every other week)

-filter inserts are ammonia remover, sponge and biomax (for aquaclear 20 filter)

-he is fed frozen brine shrimp since before his tummy swelled up a bit trying to digest pellets of various brands so i settled for frozen instead as that doesnt make his stomache swell as he tries to digest it

-.5ml of primewater conditioner and 5ml of stress coat is added to tank after every water change
this is what i though of:

-put him in 1 or 1.75 gallon glass quarantine tank (since his 5 gallon tank right nwo is quite big and has decors)
-100% water changes daily

-2tsp epsom salt per gallon

-soak omega one pellets in general cure before feeding him (since it contains Metronidazole, but I forgot how to do this, do i just get some water treated with water conditioner already and pour in an entire packet of general cure into it and pour a bit of that solution out into a tiny cup to soak pellets?)

-temperature to 83'f

-have cellophane wrap at top so it keeps the air warm when he goes up for air

-keep tank dark to reduce stress

is that ok? should i add tannins as well? like a few drops of decaffeinated green tea as well?

and so is that it? his scales are just raising and yah, sorry i'm just really freaked out and scared right now

[callistra]

I've never used General cure but I've used pure metro and I put a full dose in the cup along with the pellets. I also mix it up fresh twice daily but you could choose to save it for a second feeding and only mix up fresh once daily.

You use one full dose of the general cure in a cup with some liquid of your choice (I like garlic guard but you can use regular old dechlorinated/treated water). Soak them 10-15minutes. Feed 2 twice a day. I get Hikari because they swell the most. You can use others, but omega one swells less than average so it wouldn't be my first choice for a med soak. I'd get ones where wheat is high on the list, if not first.

That said.. this is a sloooooow treatment process that could easily take 2 weeks for turn around and should be continued for 3-4 weeks (including one full week past when the fish appears 100%).

What color is his poop? Are you sure it's parasites? (That's what you're treating with that mix) and not bacterial? Parasites tend to cause abdominal or GI dropsy, not all over dropsy.. that's usually bacterial or at least secondary bacterial if there is also a parasite infection. What makes you think it's parasites and not bacterial dropsy?

Regardless get him in the eposoms asap - 100% pure magnesium sulfate, predissolved and added very slowly.. half slowly over the first hour.. wait an hour or two and add the second half slowly again over another hour. the reason is you are going to cause some ph drops with epsoms.

Please fill this out to make sure we're not missing anything.

[maggie9059789]

I really don't know about the parasite thing, all I know is his scales are raising and I havent seen him flash so far, but when he swims today it's like a shimmy, as for poop he hasn't been pooping that much lately so I'm not sure to what's happening inside of him, so should i not soak the pellets in general cure? (I got aqueon pellets http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInCA%2FNo)

and the one thing that I did change in his tank was on dec 24th, i added a honeybee cave (http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInCA%2FNo) to his tank and the paint started bubbling and i took it out today, do u think it realeased toxins into his water as well?

[callistra]

You can try the pellets or you can try antibiotics in the water like Kanaplex by Seachem. It's a guess which will work because we can't know exactly what's going on.

Parasites usually have spastic behavior - increased in activity. Feeding live foods can cause this. Fish will lose weight despite eating normal. - treat with epsoms and anti parasite feed

Bacterial produces more lethargy and no flashing/parasite zig zag dancing. Happens as a result of poor water quality, or chronic constipation. - treat with epsoms and kanaplex or antibiotic feed

Chem, age or stress related dropsy doesn't generally have constipation along with it and poop will be normal. - treat with epsoms alone

These are just general things to help you narrow down which you think is most likely.

The ornament issue might have had something to do with it.. You wouldn't think a large company like that would produce such a product but bubbling/peeling paint doesn't sound good.