Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

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Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by LilGreenPuffer »

So then... parasites from the waste get into the water. Right?
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by RTR »

PP is correct.

IPs spread best (heaviest inoculation) from postmortem predation but also by waste eating by not-yet-infected fish grazing the wastes of infected fish which includes offspring or eggs of the parasite. Re-read the first paragraph of what I wrote yesterday that was quoted.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by LilGreenPuffer »

So why do we worry about transmitting parasites through the water? Should we not?
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him or her. Will she gain anything by it? Will it restore her to a control over her own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to freedom for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."

Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi


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I AM A DUDETTE!

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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by Puffer King »

pathogenic bacteria
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by Terrance »

I don't understand how some people report success deworming fish by dosing the water. Maybe these are unreliable results.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by RTR »

To be honest, it is extremely difficult to be sure that destruction of gut parasites is complete without sacrificing the test subject - which defeats the point of treatment. We only know we have done it months later, when the critter has resumed normal growth rate.

Gut parasites tend to shed eggs/infectious sections constantly when mature. Other fish definitely investigate the waste o other fish, as few fish have appetite suppression when they are full - when food is abundant (standard in captivity if suitable foods are used), fish will continue eating so long as food is available, even if undigested food is being pushed out the other end. Investigating other fish's waste is actually and effective feeding practice in the wild. There it lack the density we have in captive systems. But it does increase to chance of parasite infestation. In the wild, if that gives the fish the extra nutrition need to reproduce sooner or lager numbers of eggs/sperm, they may increase theor numbers in the next generation even if they may die sooner from parasites. Survival goals in captivity are quite different drom those in the wild.

I'm sure all the old timers here remember well the first generations of commercially-bred DPs/ They were all infested w/gut parasites.

HTH
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by Terrance »

Today he ate more than usual of the medicated raw shrimp. His belly immediately turned into one nice round lump. Very encouraging :) Just a few more days of this stuff before he goes back to his regular diet.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by Terrance »

If I medicate his water, will it get absorbed into his waste? RTR you say the parasites travel through fish waste. If my puff eats his own waste for some odd reason, then will medicating the water help?

Its been over 2 weeks of medicating his food (yes he is eating them). I saw stringy poop yesterday! The string was clear with 1 white bump running long every 2-3mm. Maybe I should medicate for another week :( I still have a lot of Prazipro left. Maybe I should switch to Jungle once the bottle runs out and I still see the strings.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by puffykid »

Prazipro only has 1 anti parasite medication ingredient -praziquantel

Jungle fizzy tabs has 2 anti parasite medication ingredients -Furazolidone and Nitrofurazone

The two active ingredients in jungle seems to be better ip killers then prazipro, it may be worth your time to pick some up. You can get it at walmart in the pet isle.
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Re: Slow Growth Rate for Fahaka

Post by RTR »

FW fish do not drink water. SW fish do. That means it is difficult to impossible to get enough med to be effective into FW fish, but it is easy in SW fish if the med has any stability in SW.

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