Sphyrna_gal
Active Member
IT'S BEEN A TOUGH FEW WEEKS Y'ALL! After losing a some of my beloved fish fam I almost wanted to just give up the whole hobby to be honest. But after getting my remaining fish back to healthy and vibrant I wanted to make this post as more a "lesson learned" post to hopefully help someone else and maybe even save some fish out there even though some of mine didn't make it.
When you see your fish family member show sign of illness you rush online to try and figure out what to do to help. Is it THIS? is it THAT!? There's hundreds of opinions, even more products and less time to take action. So after hours of stress and researching here's a list of things I wish I would've had BEFORE my fish got sick so I could've saved them:
-First of all, even if you don't want to have it running all time or plan on getting new fish/corals- have a spare tank, heater/therm, air pump w/ stones, some decor/hideouts, simple filter with sponges, some MicroBacter7/live bacteria on hand too. DO have a QT set up ready on hand.
-Secondly, have these meds on hand:
Ruby Reef Rally Pro
PraziPro
Coppersafe and/or Cupramine
Hanna Copper tester
Rechargeable air pumps (these are great to have on hand for power outages too!)
+ Know how to safely FW dip fish and how to set one up with what you have available. (you can search that right here on the forum)
-Thirdly, yes! You should TREAT ALL YOUR FISH
For example, one fish in your system has flukes/velvet/etc. so you think just taking that one out to treat will be enough only to find a few days later another fish has them, and then another. Treat all fish together- just because you may not see an issue doesn't meant there isn't one. Better to treat them at the same time to avoid more stress or worse later on and actually handle the issue.
Watch your fish and know what to look out for. General signs for concern that may require QT:
- rapid or labored breathing
- discoloring or spots
- cloudy eyes
- lethargic, hiding a lot more
- not eating normally
- damaged fins or scales
- itching/flashing against things in your tank
There's so many posts online and on this forum about even more meds, more hobby slang, more treatment plan details.. it IS overwhelming and sometimes even after you've read and done everything you can find- your fish still doesn't make it. Just keep learning and doing your best for the fish in your care.
Good luck all!
When you see your fish family member show sign of illness you rush online to try and figure out what to do to help. Is it THIS? is it THAT!? There's hundreds of opinions, even more products and less time to take action. So after hours of stress and researching here's a list of things I wish I would've had BEFORE my fish got sick so I could've saved them:
-First of all, even if you don't want to have it running all time or plan on getting new fish/corals- have a spare tank, heater/therm, air pump w/ stones, some decor/hideouts, simple filter with sponges, some MicroBacter7/live bacteria on hand too. DO have a QT set up ready on hand.
-Secondly, have these meds on hand:
Ruby Reef Rally Pro
PraziPro
Coppersafe and/or Cupramine
Hanna Copper tester
Rechargeable air pumps (these are great to have on hand for power outages too!)
+ Know how to safely FW dip fish and how to set one up with what you have available. (you can search that right here on the forum)
-Thirdly, yes! You should TREAT ALL YOUR FISH
For example, one fish in your system has flukes/velvet/etc. so you think just taking that one out to treat will be enough only to find a few days later another fish has them, and then another. Treat all fish together- just because you may not see an issue doesn't meant there isn't one. Better to treat them at the same time to avoid more stress or worse later on and actually handle the issue.
Watch your fish and know what to look out for. General signs for concern that may require QT:
- rapid or labored breathing
- discoloring or spots
- cloudy eyes
- lethargic, hiding a lot more
- not eating normally
- damaged fins or scales
- itching/flashing against things in your tank
There's so many posts online and on this forum about even more meds, more hobby slang, more treatment plan details.. it IS overwhelming and sometimes even after you've read and done everything you can find- your fish still doesn't make it. Just keep learning and doing your best for the fish in your care.
Good luck all!
