Sick Cardinal Fish... HELP

[Ryan Rioux]

came home from work yesterday to find one of my Cardinal fish dead inside a QTtank, it was showing signs of sickness right before work , long stringy white feces , and no appetite the night before . This morning before work the other Cardinal Started to do the same thing. I have a bad feeling that when I'm home from work it will be too late for the other Cardinal . I was going to pick up some prazipro right after work hoping to help him. The other Cardinal had no signs of sickness until the end , this Cardinal has red spot at the base of the fins . I have checked all water params numerous times and my water params are perfect. Nitrates were on the higher end the other day between 40-80ppm and I changed 50% of water . That's the only thing I can think of that could've affected them , or they were sick when I got them. Also let's say the other fish does pass , is the water itself contaminated ?! And should I not introduce any other fish into the QT at all right now ?! And or any other steps to prevent new fish from disease ...any help or advice is greatly appreciated !

 

[Naiad]

White poop and lack of appetite indicates internal parasites. If you already have it I would start the prazi. If not try picking up some of API general cure.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

White poop and lack of appetite indicates internal parasites. If you already have it I would start the prazi. If not try picking up some of API general cure.

I will give it a shot , what if I get home and the fish is gone? What do I do with the tank water ? Isn't it contaminated ?!'

 

[Naiad]

Yes. Is it a standard qt? Bare with pvc?

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Yes. Is it a standard qt? Bare with pvc?

Standard QT , PVC , sponge filter , and a HOB filter .

 

[Naiad]

If the cardinal dies to be safe I usually get replacement sponges and media. You can start seeding them in your DT right away. Toss the old filter media and empty the tank. Fill it with tap water and add bleach. Let it set at least an hour. More won't hurt. Have water running through the hob as well. Then empty the tank and fill with ro. Add declorinator and allow that to cycle. Empty the tank and let dry overnight. You should be able to set up fresh now no worries.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

If the cardinal dies to be safe I usually get replacement sponges and media. You can start seeding them in your DT right away. Toss the old filter media and empty the tank. Fill it with tap water and add bleach. Let it set at least an hour. More won't hurt. Have water running through the hob as well. Then empty the tank and fill with ro. Add declorinator and allow that to cycle. Empty the tank and let dry overnight. You should be able to set up fresh now no worries.

Ok , when you say add dechlorinator , like sea chem prime, and cycle as in cycle completely all over again? Or just take the media from DT sump and add it to QT filter ( at what point do you add the media back into QT?) . I have a piece of nitrate remover inside my DT sump that's been there for about 3-4 weeks. I was just testing to see if it worked . And I also have seachem matrix inside of QT filter , that should be thrown out too? It's basically like rebuilding entire QT again!!!!!! The whole sponge filter is no good or do the sponges come off ?

 

[Naiad]

When I said cycle I ment let the water run through everything. Sorry bad choice of words. Yes prime is a declorinator but I personally use one that doesn't lock ammonia for qt.

The sponge comes off your sponge filter. You can save it and decontaminate it but if you want to get the qt started right away it's easier to have a new one seeded to pop right on.

Unfortunately it is a complete breakdown of the qt but it insures that no matter what killed the last fish it won't hurt any new arrivals.

You will refill the tank with saltwater after a night of drying. It's then that you want to put the new media in.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

When I said cycle I ment let the water run through everything. Sorry bad choice of words. Yes prime is a declorinator but I personally use one that doesn't lock ammonia for qt.

The sponge comes off your sponge filter. You can save it and decontaminate it but if you want to get the qt started right away it's easier to have a new one seeded to pop right on.

Unfortunately it is a complete breakdown of the qt but it insures that no matter what killed the last fish it won't hurt any new arrivals.

You will refill the tank with saltwater after a night of drying. It's then that you want to put the new media in.

Appreciate the help. If I have any questions I'll ask here. Completely new to the whole thing. Glad I didn't put them in DT. One question , another good dechlorinator that can be used ?

 

[Naiad]

Api tap water conditioner will be easy to find.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Api tap water conditioner will be easy to find.

Will do , I know LFS sells the sponge filter itself but not the replacement sponges . As for media I'm using filter wool and a nitrate reducer pad in qt filter with seachem matrix as well. I'll prob do the same again but replace all with new. So qt should be up and running again within a week.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Will do , I know LFS sells the sponge filter itself but not the replacement sponges . As for media I'm using filter wool and a nitrate reducer pad in qt filter with seachem matrix as well. I'll prob do the same again but replace all with new. So qt should be up and running again within a week.

How long does new media stay inside DT sump?

 

[Naiad]

Yep. That is if we can't get the other cardinal to pull through.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Yep. That is if we can't get the other cardinal to pull through.

Hope so...

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Yep. That is if we can't get the other cardinal to pull through.

My cardinal never ended up making it ,I dosed prazi-pro and he passed that night. I had to take everything down and disinfect it basically. Did just like u said and used bleach and actually let run for a day . Long story short I just got the tank filled with saltwater again yesterday, I had a sponge filter in my DT sump for 9 days , I just transferred it to qt along with a nitrate reducing pad that I had in my sump for a month or so that also is like a foam/sponge. And then I also used a 75 gallon rated bottle of bio spira to be safe. Qt is 20 gallon long. I am probably 80% sure it's 100% safe for the. But I will test tomorrow to be sure. And I don't have any fish to put in there right now so I'm debating buying one .