Help!!! Sick DP????

[Tang]

I have 3 DPs that I bought 2 weeks ago and they are in a fish tank at my mom's house. I fed them wednesday and they were fine ,but i was at my dads yesterday so i had not seen them. But today when i got to my moms house one of the DPs was lying in a plant and he is darker than all the others. I thought he was dead so i moved him with the net, but he is still alive, but he can BARELY swim... he pretty much rolls in the current and slides across the sand.... I checked my water and ammonia and nitrites are 0.... And he also puffed up once when I walked back in the room.. Anyone know whats wrong????? . They are in a 10 gal tank with a few ghost shrimp.

[jus85411]

could you please answer all questions in red? we need all water parameters you can provide, preferrably ammonia/nitrite and nitrate, you provided two of three that are most important. how did you cycle the tank?

[Tang]

all i can test for is ammonia and nitrites. The tank was cycled with flake food, until almost all of the ammonia was gone and then i put 2 platies in. It has been fully cycled for over a month... The sick DP looks really thin

[J-P]

could it be possible that you purchased him sick?

Some fish don't get over the shock of transport. From breeder (or wild) to the distributor, form them to the LFS, and eventually to you and your tank takes its toll.

If you don't believe that to be the case... could there be other factors that happened while you were away?

Someone was cleaning the tank and had antibacterial soap residue on their hands? Aerosols used in the room?

Could he be the runt and is being picked on / harassed by the others?

From the sounds of it, I'd keep that water pristine clean, hope for the best but expect the worst.

[Tang]

Hes been fine up until today so I dont think it is from the lfs. But im starting to thing he has a parasite? His stomach is sunk looking. There is a guarantee on the fish so do you think I should return him or buy meds?

[J-P]

Meds are very expensive but if you want to try that is up to you.

IF he has parasites, then there is a chance that the others have it also but have not shown signs as of yet.

Neal once recommended adding a little marine salt to a tank to see it it would "perk up"

It could just be the water perams .. being overly hard or overly soft.

Unless he has classics signs (stringy white poop or that thread of pearls poop), it may not be IPs at all.

[Tang]

I'm probably gonna end up calling the lfs and seeing if I can return them. Im pretty sure he has parasites though because he has gotten really skinny, and his stomach sinks in, and he is almost black looking.

[J-P]

or at least swap him out.

on the other hand, doing all you can for a fish and having it survive is a very rewarding experience. Having it die is a learning experience.

Either way you go (return or rehab), we'll back you up

[Tang]

Ill check on him tomorrow and decide then if I should trade them or try to bring him back to health. Can't I get medicine from petco/petsmart that I add to food that'll get rid of parasites for around $10?

[J-P]

yea jungle fizz tabs.

break them and put the food into a glass (with water), add the fizz (let it sit for a bit) and feed the guys

[Tang]

Sounds good, but 1 problem I doubt the sick one will eat?

[J-P]

but you asked about medicating the food....

if you want to set up a 5 gal QT that is a different story...

[Flutter]

You can treat the water and the food. There's a theory that it'll help mask the taste of the medicated food. You may lose the shrimp but I would medicate. If you return the fish it's pretty much guaranteed to die.

[Tang]

Alright, so I can put the meds in the water? and i'll give it a try today and hopefully he pulls through!

[Tang]

A few products I found are Jungle Parasite Clear Tank Buddies and Jungle Pond Fizz Tabs Parasites.... Are these the what you are talking about?