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Yep, all about law of averages. That one time you finally get caught and lose a bunch of special fish
That happened to me a few months ago. I never quarantined and never had any problems until I added some new fish to my 40 gallon. I lost everything except 3 fish. My angelfish lost his mate. It was sad. I set up a nice quarantine tank with plant attached to driftwood that I can move around when I need to catch them. They stay in there for two months because they get comfortable and I get around to moving them. Never again I learned my lesson the hard way. Sorry to hear about your fish.
What a bummer to lose a whole tank, minus the two indestructible rams. Great info, I especially appreciated the bit on fin clamping and you pointing out that all the fishes fins are usually clamped when they are stressed or coming down with something. When I first got Sparkling Gourami I freaked out for about a week because they kind of hang out with their dorsal fin clamped down and only flare the fins when they swim. So I thought they were sick! But all the other fins were fine and I finally figured out that they were just relaxing those fins like guppies or long fun betta when they're resting. So it depends on what type of fish you have and research and watching yt vids like this and reading forums is a great way to get the feel of what "normal" is for a new species you haven't kept. 😅✌️
the roadblock i encounter is buying some fish and having no quarantine tank. this is actually easy to avoid if you have a place to buy some storage totes, the clear plastic sterilite brand 20qt/5gal size is perfect. i bought 5 of them and use them for more than just quarantine. plant storage/propagation, daphnia culture, infusoria/green water, and sick fish isolation and treatment are a few uses. fill them about 2/3's, use add some java moss and some floaters and the fish are comfy right off the bat. add one of those small cheap 1-5 gallon preset heaters if needed. these tubs are less than $5 each, you can put them anywhere temporarily, even a kitchen counter, come with lids, and won't scratch furniture, light enough to move easily, and you can stack them inside each other when you get done and need to put them away.
about the salt, that is an excellent safe and effective treatment, but you need to make sure the particular fish is good with it(my ramshorn snails react to it but continue eating and living, not sure about other snails). a teaspoon per gallon is a good place to start, but if your fish is actually sick, you can double that amount, over time. some articles i have read say a 0.5% solution which seems to be 6 teaspoons to a gallon. if i was going that high i would def do it slowly over a period of days and keep close watch on the fish. then i do a water change and slowly reduce the salt content. they say use non iodized salt, but i use that with no noticeable effects. get some kosher salt or aquarium salt if you have the time. soaking your nets in a strong salt solution might be a good idea too.
My next fish room is definitely going to have quarantine tanks! I’ve been burned a few times. I was one of the 80% or so and had the day finally come where it bit me in the butt. I thought it was just a fluke and had luck the the next time and the next whipped out my tank again! I’m definitely taking the time to quarantine for now on!
I have made this same mistake and not quarantine my new Ottos. Like you, I lost many fish. One thing, if you are treating your tank with General Cure and also use Slime Out, you are doubling up on the same antibiotics Erythromycin. Most of the Cynobacteria removers are actually Erythromycin.
The slime out reduces the oxygen in the water
So sorry to hear about your loss. Thank you for posting this & sharing your thoughts, tips, experiences. Separate equipment is a really good tip! I was guilty of not doing. Until I transfered an algae problem from 1 20 gal to another. Still trying to kill the stuff!
I am only about 2 years into this hobby. So I am still learning. You suggested using salt. I have read and have seen others post they also use. I don't normally use salt because my tanks are heavily planted. But, when I set up a quarantine tank, it wont be heavily planted. I have salt that I use for hatching brine shrimp. I have two questions. Is the salt I use to hatch brine shrimp ok to use for this purpose? Can you share your formula for salt (i.e.: tablespoon per gal)? Thank you.
No matter what you say, people will still practice "Buy and Plop" when they buy new fish. It's only when they start to lose their favorite fish due to infections will the importance of quarantine will sink in. I went through the very same stressful experience. Also fish medication is very expensive. A quarantine tank setup costs a fraction of the medicine cost.
This literally happened to me over the past couple of days. Added new new fish (I drip acclimate), went to the tank this morning and my largest dwarf Amazon rainbow was belly up on the bottom. To be fair, she did have some genetic issues. Still watching the tank closely.
From the literature I've been able to find, epistylis itself isn't the problem. It is, however, an indication of excess bacteria (on which epistylis feeds), and often means your fish have a bacterial infection. So, you have to treat the bacterial infection 🙂
Few years ago threw in a sick koi. Week later bye bye koi pond🤦🏽♂️
Sorry to hear about the losses. Good that your letting people know that this type of things happen. If meds are hard to come by I use fresh garlic and canned peas. The peas helps with the digestion and the garlic helps with killing parasites. Keep up the good work man. 🤙🏽 CORY GANG GANG‼️‼️‼️‼️
I set up a cheap 10 gallon tank to use it as what I call a "green room". It's a simple planted tank with two small filters, a heater and a bunch of snails in it to get the biomass and the cycling going. That's where I put my new fish. In case of illness I set up a small 2.5 gallon clinic tank, borrow one of the filters from the "green room", add a mini heater and use whatever meds are needed for the patient(s). Luckily I didn't have to use the clinic yet.