Ok, here's an update, rather sad. Diddy got progressively worse and died last night.
I checked water parameters as I did every week, and they were fine: pH 7.8, nitrIte 0, ammonia 0 and nitrAte 5.0. Since the fungus I had been doing partial (50%+) water changes, after my last post I removed all plants and ornaments to give them a thorough clean and to prevent Diddy from hurting himself. After PP's advice, I checked the tank thoroughly - all the plants were fine with no rot and no forgotten food anywhere. Every time I did a water change I washed the gravel in tank water, so I'm certain there was no rotting food. His diet was varied (bloodworm, snails, shrimp and mussel) and the tank has a good air supply. I've racked my brains and the only thing I've changed in the past couple of months was the increase in salinity - at a really slow rate of .001 SG per week. Absolutely nothing else has changed, we've had no power cuts or anything, and I've not even changed his supplier of food.
Since I first noticed the fungus he's had the following: fungus (which fell off), Ich, he's puffed once, blindness, and finally yesterday his other eye haemorrhaged. I feel appalling as he really seems to have suffered. I tried to do everything I could, cut out meds on advice, followed the articles to burp him after he puffed, and the article on treating Ich, increased water changes to every 48 hours, cleaned everything thoroughly and I've still managed to lose him. I'm experienced enough with fish to know sometimes there's just no saving them and no obvious reasons for problems, but as some of you may remember Diddy was a rescue case and I'm reluctant to get another unless I can work out what happened here.
Anyway, thank you for listening and for all the advice you've given me. Diddy was fine until about a week ago and seemed to plummet in health so very quickly. He was a real character, unlike any fish I've ever had before, and is sadly missed. RIP little man.
Becs
Diddy update
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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Archaeopath
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Pufferpunk
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Just like we can suddenly get ill & die--even though we eat healthy, take vitamens, work out & do everything we can for long life--same goes for our prickly friends. Sorry for the loss of your friend. You certainly did your best for him.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Archaeopath
- Puffer Fry
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So sorry to hear it. It's so hard to lose any pet and I can't stop thinking dunno what I'd do if Mickey died now... even the Ceylon would upset me quite considerably.-
Archaeopath
- Puffer Fry
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- Location: Birmingham, UK
Thank you, it all means a lot. Don't think I've ever worked so hard to keep a fish alive.
D'you think there could be a connection between the snails and Diddy's diseases? Can they carry anything harmful to the fish?
They've really gotten under my skin. Even though I'm reluctant, I can't keep away from the galleries.
D'you think there could be a connection between the snails and Diddy's diseases? Can they carry anything harmful to the fish?
They've really gotten under my skin. Even though I'm reluctant, I can't keep away from the galleries.