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fish from a friend/ got questions

Discussion in 'Cichlids' started by blowfishRus6, Mar 10, 2010.

  1. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    im holding onto some fish for my buddy. he is in the middle of a move and cant set it up right now.

    all small fish that he has not had that long in a 20 gal. very small bubble bee african, small juvi kenyi, a small jack dempsy and 2 crabs along with a pleco.

    he has been batteling high amonia in his tank and recently lost his little shark he had from what he thinks amonia posining, that was not long after he got these fish.

    he sent the fish in a cooler with his tank water and well that water STUNK!!!! so me feeling bad for the fish and not wanting to set his 20gal up late last night i threw them in my 75gal, african tank.

    upon throwing the fish in i noticed the bubble bee and one of the crabs had some white stuff on them like there skin was pealing off, kinda like dry skin. that is how his shark looked before he died. im guessing its from the amonim poisining.

    there is two things im concerned about, one, i want the fish to get better and health, two, i dont want them to get my fish sick.

    i think i have some things in my favor tho, my tank turns over ALOT of water. i have a sump thats turning over i say atleast 700gph if not more. i have my orginal filter that is filled with gunk that im sure has alot of good bacteria on it. its turning over probably 175gph. i hooked up his filter also and its turning over probably 250gph. i also have a few air stones in two corners. i also think my tank is bologicailly balanced but i have no test to determine this, i just know i have not had sick fish in a LONG time.

    also when i put the fish in i treated the whole tank with stress coat, dosed it with some salt and turned the heat up a tad.

    if anything i feel my tank will help these fish get better.

    do you feel im being to nice to these fish or this is the best thing i could do for them??
     
    blowfishRus6, Mar 10, 2010
    #1
  2. KingKedros452

    KingKedros452 New Member

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    Well, you certainly took a risk on your own fish by putting the sick ones in your tank. Also, if his fish are very small and yours are large they could be eaten. I would have just changed the water that the visiting fish are in.

    He doesn't have a setup in which these fish will thrive. Africans, South Americans, Pleco, crabs, and a 20 gallon tank. He should have at least three tanks because he has fish and inverts that thrive in three totally different environments. And the tanks should be over 20 gallons. I don't think the fish would be at too much of a disadvantage if they had died.

    Personally, I'd fill the 20 gallon halfway and put in their filter and seperate them out right away. Its not like you have to do a major setup, just a temporary one.

    If those are fiddler (mini) crabs, then neither of you are doing them a favor. They're brackish and require access to an area out of the water to thrive. They're probably tapping on the side of the tank and thinking "oh just eat us already".
     
    KingKedros452, Mar 10, 2010
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  3. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    the crabs have access to the top of the water, i already have a crab in mine, seems to do pretty good.

    i have also had africans, a jack dempsy, and a crab all in one tank before too.

    ai441.photobucket.com_albums_qq133_blowfishRus6_DSCI0081.jpg

    ai441.photobucket.com_albums_qq133_blowfishRus6_DSCI0085.jpg

    ai441.photobucket.com_albums_qq133_blowfishRus6_DSCI0083.jpg

    i know its not the best condition for all the fish to thrive, but i also think its very doable and mine seemed to have no problems.

    yea i could just kill the fish and have him start over, but thats not what im really trying to do.

    ill have the 20 gal set up later, hopefully, would really like to clean it out some first and maybe let it cycle some, the tank itself smells bad also. if i start to see any issuies ill pull the fish out and put them in the 20 gal, but i think they have a much better chance in the 75gal to get better.
     
    blowfishRus6, Mar 10, 2010
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  4. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Member

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    Are you treating for the white stuff on the fish? If your gonna have them with your fish I would at the very least, throw some Pimafix in the water. If its a fungal infection your other fish may catch it.
     
    jrow8162, Mar 10, 2010
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  5. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    i dont really use medications. if i cant do it with good water quality/salt/heat/water conditioner well then they might be out of luck.

    medications have never worked for me, not that i have used alot, i do have the mitafix i think it is but i have cured more fish with salt/heat.
     
    blowfishRus6, Mar 10, 2010
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  6. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    after 48 hours the fish are starting to look alot better.
     
    blowfishRus6, Mar 12, 2010
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  7. MasterBlue

    MasterBlue Active Member

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    I'm with you on the medication bit. Only medication I keep is metholyn blue, for when I get new fish from a pet store (Which never ends well mind you).

    I wish you lotsa luck! About all I can do tho =/
     
    MasterBlue, Mar 13, 2010
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  8. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    thanks. the fish are starting to look great. i think they were happy to get into some good water.

    with medication, it just dont seem natural. alot of times it changes the color of my water, it STINKS, i just dont think man made drugs are ment for fish IMO.

    ive treated my ich a few times when i had it with chemical stuff, it dyed everything in my tank and it never got rid of the ich. gool ole salt and heat did the trick great.
     
    blowfishRus6, Mar 13, 2010
    #8