I finally got a good look at the gills and both are affected after all. I decided to put in the melafix and he went nuts. I've never seen him swim so fast. He was dashing up and down on the side like they often do but he was going so fast. When he would get to the top and start on the way down he would thrash his tail HARD. About 40min. later he calmed down. He's swimming slow and hid behind plants a little. I'm thinking maybe the mela burned??
I don't know if I should do one of those FW baths or just see if he's alive in the morning and watch him.
Then I found water dripping down the biowheel cord...UGHHHHHHH!! Don't worry the cords are in a U.
Melafix and Wild Behavior
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
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.
Read this before posting!!
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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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
malafix and pimafix are herbal, they should not have hurt him...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
Re:Melafix and Wild Behavior
That's what I thought. I don't understand why he went nuts. If I lose this one...I just don't know anymore. He's been here 18days. Yeah, I count the days.Jase wrote:malafix and pimafix are herbal, they should not have hurt him...
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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
maybe he tasted it or something...
counting days. wow.
counting days. wow.
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
You're probably right. He's probably never experienced that before.
As soon as I get up I go check on him and I count the day in my head. Now I'm back to being scared to go in there. I swear I think I hold my breath until I see him. Unlike the poor F8's this little guy came so healthy and I've been able to see that puffer behavior you all talk about. There's just no fish like them. I was looking in the fridge last night and I glanced at his tank and I swear he was watching me even though I was in another room. I've never been watched like that by a fish.
On a different note, where on earth do you keep your mbu? They are so pretty and BIG. What do your parents think about him/her?
As soon as I get up I go check on him and I count the day in my head. Now I'm back to being scared to go in there. I swear I think I hold my breath until I see him. Unlike the poor F8's this little guy came so healthy and I've been able to see that puffer behavior you all talk about. There's just no fish like them. I was looking in the fridge last night and I glanced at his tank and I swear he was watching me even though I was in another room. I've never been watched like that by a fish.
On a different note, where on earth do you keep your mbu? They are so pretty and BIG. What do your parents think about him/her?
Jase wrote:maybe he tasted it or something...
counting days. wow.
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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
I don't have an Mbu 
I really wish I did though...
I really wish I did though...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1755
- Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:57 pm
- My Puffers: 1x Porcupine Puffer
1xValentini - Location: Long Island, NY
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
Where it says mbu is reflective over the total amount of posts you have. Right now your a dwarf puffer, than after that your a figure eight, gsp, and so on.LizB wrote: On a different note, where on earth do you keep your mbu? They are so pretty and BIG. What do your parents think about him/her?
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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
I get it now. 
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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mikeosoft
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:35 pm
- Location: Farmington Hills, MI
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
I've had fish start "tasting" (at least that’s what it seems like) the water like crazy after adding melafix/pimafix.. They definitely know there's something different in the water.
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PufferPuck30
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:34 pm
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
Look, I'm no fish expert, but I do know one thing.....
Melafix is extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia, more commonly known as Tea Tree Oil. Undiluted Tea Tree Oil, (though not overly caustic), is still caustic enough to irritate human skin, causing mild "burns".
Just because something is "herbal", doesn't mean that it's "harmless" to living creatures. See aconite for reference. Oregano oil causes burns, too, as does undiluted mint oil. Capsaicin causes TERRIBLE burns to human skin. Oil of cloves is "herbal", and yet, (even heavily diluted), will euthanize your fish within minutes.
Many "harmless" herbs are not precisely "harmless", as far as your fishes reaction to the Melafix.....
Imagine being trapped in a room where someone pumped in large amounts of mentholated, (harmless, but mentholated), smoke. You'd freak out a bit too, I'll wager.
Melafix is extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia, more commonly known as Tea Tree Oil. Undiluted Tea Tree Oil, (though not overly caustic), is still caustic enough to irritate human skin, causing mild "burns".
Just because something is "herbal", doesn't mean that it's "harmless" to living creatures. See aconite for reference. Oregano oil causes burns, too, as does undiluted mint oil. Capsaicin causes TERRIBLE burns to human skin. Oil of cloves is "herbal", and yet, (even heavily diluted), will euthanize your fish within minutes.
Many "harmless" herbs are not precisely "harmless", as far as your fishes reaction to the Melafix.....
Imagine being trapped in a room where someone pumped in large amounts of mentholated, (harmless, but mentholated), smoke. You'd freak out a bit too, I'll wager.
One Tough Fish...
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sparks42
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 231
- Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 12:45 pm
- My Puffers: Green Spotted Puffer named Chomper!
- Location: London Ontario Canada
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
Chomper was laying around on the bottom for a few days before.... you may have read..
But I gave him Melafix and he "woke" right up from it and started zooming around the tank, and eating again
But I gave him Melafix and he "woke" right up from it and started zooming around the tank, and eating again
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FishFan
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:08 am
- My Puffers: Orbicular Burrfish (Oblio, shown in the avatar), Striped Burrfish
- Location (country): Maine USA
- Location: USA
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
When you add anything to a tank, the fish sometimes rush over expecting food. We've had fish that clearly suffered gill injury and gasped at the surface after "breathing" the un-disbursed Melafix just after it was added to the tank. Once this occurred the fish continued to show considerable distress until removed from the tank to fresh water. Exceeding the prescribed dose of Melafix is known to damage fin margins so you can imagine what it does to the already irritated gills of a sick fish.
I don't mean to say Melafix is toxic, but it can cause fin or gill injury if too much is used or if the fish get an overdose by swimming into the concentrated medication before it disperses in the tank. Just because a medication is herbal doesn't mean it can do no harm. That said, we like Melafix and use it frequently because it is proven to significantly accelerate healing, though it has no effect on pathogenic bacteria.
For more information see Vet. Dr. Johnson's article at http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/art ... edications.
I don't mean to say Melafix is toxic, but it can cause fin or gill injury if too much is used or if the fish get an overdose by swimming into the concentrated medication before it disperses in the tank. Just because a medication is herbal doesn't mean it can do no harm. That said, we like Melafix and use it frequently because it is proven to significantly accelerate healing, though it has no effect on pathogenic bacteria.
For more information see Vet. Dr. Johnson's article at http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/art ... edications.
A = Anne, R =Robert
There has to be a point.
There has to be a point.
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StormySkiez
- Fahaka Puffer
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- Location: USA~TN
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
So in other words you are saying melafix is not good to treat a fish with gill injury. What treatment should be used for gill injury?FishFan wrote:When you add anything to a tank, the fish sometimes rush over expecting food. We've had fish that clearly suffered gill injury and gasped at the surface after "breathing" the un-disbursed Melafix just after it was added to the tank. Once this occurred the fish continued to show considerable distress until removed from the tank to fresh water. Exceeding the prescribed dose of Melafix is known to damage fin margins so you can imagine what it does to the already irritated gills of a sick fish.
55g-2 green spotted puffers 1 year old Nov 08!
20g-5 leopard danio,4 whiteskirt tetras, amanos, nerita snails, 2 neon tetras
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yunachin
- Former Staff Member
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1x Diodon Holocanthus
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1x Irrubesco - Location (country): USA
- Location: SC
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
It would depend on how the injury occurred. There are many different options for medications. Some bacterial and protozoan injuries respond well to Methylene Blue. Some treat wounds with Epsom Salts. Also there is hypo salinity. But as with all medications there are always possible side effects, just like our medicines as humans. 200 people may take penicillin but 10 of those people might get really ill from it. And I do agree, not everything is good if it says "herbal".
E.Ridgeway
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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
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- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
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- Location: Montana
Re: Melafix and Wild Behavior
while looking for something witty to write...
herbs are deadly
http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ ... iller.html
herbs are deadly
http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ ... iller.html
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.