I finally got a heater 55 watt heater to get the water to perfect temperature for my poor oldfish rememeber?, the one that had this massive infections a massive sphre like bubble Puss filled ball like thing well anyways i got a 55 watt heater for the 13 gallon tank with my 4 fish in it and ima set it up and i have started appliying aquarium salt I bought, i also used a morter and pesle thing to grind the salt up form big chunks to little fibers and added to the water now what suggest everything anyone can possible suggest related to this what I can do to help it get better any other tips related to salt, heater e.t.c. Is it alright to have th eother 3 fish in the 13 gallon tank while i am treating this fish it should be right? and i FORGOT TO BUY SOEM MELAFIX ######!!! i keep hearing about its magical healing powers!!!!!! anyways any suggestions or tips or anything related to this plz do tell!!! THANKS

ive come so close i dont wanan end trying now poor lil thing i am not even some real caring person i find myself laughing at some really weird revaulting stuff that you shouldnt be laughing at but my mum keeps telling me she feels sorry for it and its getting to my small number of brain cells HELP

WOOPS FORGOT THIS GENERAL DISCUSSION WOOPS SORRY O WELLS YOU CAN ALL STILL HELP ME HEHE SORRY ILL REMMEBER NEXT TIME HAVENT BEEN ON THIS WEBSITE FOR A NUMBER OF WEEKS :|

I've read somewhere that medicating healthy fish stresses them out, and yes, you have too many fish in your 13g tank. So at the very least, seperate the sick fish from the others if you can when you start using the Melafix.
I havent read your other post, but it sounds like you have a nasty infection on your hands!!! I've used Melafix, and its working wonders on on my orandas shredded fins! However, I've used another product called Paragon on what I think was a nasty infection caused by an anchor worm and it was cleared up in 4 days! Its a broad spectrum anti-parisitic, anti-bacterial, antibiotic that seems to cover pretty much everything. While, according to the back of the bottle of Melafix, it is used for : Fin and Tail Rot, open red sores, open body wounds, eye cloud, pop eye, body slime, and mouth fungus.
The choice is yours, and I certainly dont want to slam Melafix because it is a very good medication, but I would be more inclined to use the Paragon in the case of serious balls of pus and bad infections.
Also, as I've read and learned, good water quality is the first step in healing a sick fish. With 4 fish in 13g of water, what are your parameters? How often do you change your water? what is your aeration situation? Keeping the water at perfect conditions (even if that means daily changes) will go a long way towards helping your little fish!
Best of luck to you and your fish!

Yep looks like a bigger tank is in order. Other then that is sounds like you are making ever effort with what you have. Daily water changes would be good too about 30 percent everyday untill you get new bigger tank.

Hi, sorry your fish is sick, but like the post above this you need a bigger tank. I had a comet that was getting big hemorrhagic spots on his side (he was in a 55 gal. tank with 6 other fish) and he didn't get well until I moved him to a 20 gal. all by himself. Now he's doing fine but I need to move some of the others in the 55 gal. out now. I'm setting up another 40 gal. tank for 2 or 3 of them. Do you have a small (5 or 10 gal. tank) to isolate him in while you treat him? Good luck. Cindy

Hi tom,
I have to just repeat everyone else--get a larger tank. With that many fish, your water will continue to be polluted. Even a large plastic tub with a filter would be better than an overstocked tank.

Melafix is NOT magic. And I don't think that melafix would help your fish anyway--it repairs torn fins and would not help a severe infection. Try the Paragon like joneus suggested.

It would be best to have a hospital tank for the one you are treating since treating the whole tank could stress the healthy ones.

How big are the fish? Prolly the best thing you can do at this point is get the other three in a roughtote tub. Rubbermaid sells them at nnnnnn. Get at least a 30 gallon. You'll want to take all the gravel, filters, anything else in the small tank and put it in the tub. Is your tank cycled? How long has it been running? More details and I could help you keep those fish alive.

"We" can help you keep those fish alive. BTW, the tub costs like $5.

######!!!! my mum was just sent on a erin for me to get some melafix too bad she doesnt have a mobile o well i guess its good to have melafix on hand just incase.... i might get some of that stuff you suggested and too bad i dont live in america no walmarts here in Australia ive spent alot now from what i said i got nyways ima go add some more salt its been well over 12 hours ummmmm the tank loked big to me untill i went yesterday witha mate to a hi tech aquarium omg massive tanks put my tank to shame ummmm i havent changed water for about weekhalf now at all maybee i go do a partial change now :| i have got 2 other tanks but they are tiny!!!! about 9 litres fills them up !!!!!! will that do to put the fish in there?

i have good airation going into the tank with a Rio inwater filter with a bubble wall up back and a 3 inch air stone pumping in air as well as 3 small plants withs ome driftwoood and ust put a heater in there to get a temperature perfect to fix this fish although just remmberd ill boil the fish to death if i stick a 55wat heater that is made for a 13gallon tank in a like 1 gallon and a bit tank

You could probably get a tub at a hardware store. Even a large (clean, never used for anything) plastic garbage can would work. It doesn't have to be pretty, just functional. If you can find something that even holds 30g, the sick fish could stay right where he/she is and the others could be moved. Its gonna be alot of work- maintaining 2 cycling tanks at once, but it'll be best for the fish.
Does your heater have a thermostat on it? If it does, it should be fairly easy to regulate, just be careful and keep an eye on it. If you dont already have one, a thermometer wil help you moniter the temp regardless of the heater size. I have a 60w heater set at 76D (with a thermostat) in a 10g platy tank and it seems to work just fine. Also, be careful of raising the temp too fast- that could be just as harmfull as lowering it too fast.



Yes! Definatly go do a water change... 30%...now!!! I cant stress how improtant it is to do that regularly... especially if your tank is overstocked!!! Do you have a test kit? Its also a good idea to keep a running log of what your test results are everytime you do a water change. Then you can see how quickly it is cycling and if something goes wrong or if someone gets sick, you'll have a record of what the water conditions have been recently.

I know how you feel- I was shocked that a $ .12(US) feeder fish could require so much work and how expensive all the accessories, chemicals, equipment etc. could be! It was a hard lesson in research research research

As for the Paragon... maybe your local pet or fish store can order it for you if they dont carry it? If not, ask a local veteranarian if they could find it for you (when all else fails, go to the doctor, right?). Then if _that_ doesnt work, let me know. I'll be happy to send you some (not sure what the customs' regs are regarding fish medicine, though... it's powdery and comes in a large vial and could look suspicious to the uninformed).
Hope this helps!

wow send me some over dont know ill check first at petstroe my mum just got back and the pet store man told her it sounds like a cancer and the best thing to do would most likely jus tput it down as in in a half a bucket of water and some soda water will be the humane thing to do to end it for him/her but he also said he can probable survive another 5 years like that although he cant swim but i dont wanna put him out of his misery it really sucks hard!!!!! waching him slowly stop all movement and float to the top does this Paragon really work against this type of stuff does it hav a overnight affect? just give me some specs about it if you wish thanks alot your very helpful person. ###### ALSO I REALLY WANNA get a digital camera so then you can see what it looks like

Also im still builkding up my kits i havent even got one lol ima basic man i think i should get some kits what you suggest to get?

I cant find your original post. What exactly is wrong with your fish? Does your local veteranarian deal with exotics (meaning fish)? An office visit might be expensive, but at least he/she will be able to _look_ at your fish and be of more help.
Paragon is made by Aquatronics (http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/). It is a broad spectrum (ie treats most everything) 6 component blend of anti parasitic, anti bacterial powder that clears up infestations of parasites, infections and secondary infections caused by parasites, poor water etc.
The only experience I've had with it is when my oranda, Godiva, got a nasty ulcer with what I believe was an anchor worm sticking out of it. Here's the thread:

http://kokosgoldfish.com/forum/index.php?s...=4017&hl=godiva

I treated her with Paragon and followed the instructions *as well as the advice of the board members* and the ulcer (there's a picture- it was gross, and looked even worse the day before) was completely healed in 5 days. Then again, you should remember, Godiva was the only fish in a tub of 15g, with no gravel, decorations or toys, and her water was changed every other day and kept very clean.

As for the test kits- the _most_ important ones you NEED to have are for Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH. If you are using Amquel plus as a conditioner, I can tell you right now that the test kits made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (aka Doc Wellfish) are compatable and should give you accurate readings.
Otherwise you have to be careful. Sometimes Amonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate conditioners/removers will give you false positive readings (ie it'll tell you that your Amonia level is sky high, when really it isnt). So ask before you buy and always read the label.
I'm glad you've found my rambling helpful. So many others have helped me- I'm just happy to give something back to the GF Community and share what I've learned. You and your little fish are in my thoughts and prayers. Keep trying, but if it looks like (s)he's not gonna get better, there's nothing more noble than helping him/her to stop suffering. Take care and let us know how you're doing.

there is this really kool helpful staff at hi tech aquariums and they sound like there very smart with GF and they offered to cut the infection or as they think it is cancer ummm im going to try and get a picture for you to inspect and other people to finally try and pin point what it is... also seems you sound quite intelegent (if thats how u spell the word lol) my older GF had her for many many many years old GF now has started getting white scales that I know is old age and i have noticed a red area there dont know i think it is attributed from poor water quality i have to do water changes more often <_< anyways im going to try everything b4 i decide to put it down Thanks cya P.s also how old are you and what is your sex just wondering.?