I got this Bolivian Ram for free from my friend's store as I felt sorry for it, it has a big chunk out of its side, do you think this is saveable? Will get some melafix asap tomorrow if people think it's worth trying. Only threw all my meds out the other week cos they had expired!
Given conditions appropriate to the species, fish are very much better at healing than (say) we are. The wound doesn't look infected so I'd say that your fish has a very good chance of a full recovery - though with a piece of its operculum going AWOL, its breathing may not be perfectly efficient until then.
Some leaves (Indian Almond or oak, for example) and/or a few alder cones would help by adding their antiseptic properties to the water. Garlic, too (piece of a clove, crush very well, leave for ten minutes, add to tank). Ensure good oxygenation of water.
I'm not particularly a fan of Melafix, so I don't feel qualified to comment on it!
I have leaves & cones will throw some in. I have a garlic crusher I take it we're only talking about a tiny amount? Take it Garlic can just be left in the tank?
I feed with fischience flakes which have garlic as an ingredient too.
I know it looks painful! There was an angelfish in the same tank in the store possibly been the culprit.
That poor bolivian ram, well done on rescuing it from your friend's store.
Quote from API
www.apifishcare.com wrote:API® Melafix is an all-natural antibacterial treatment that works to treat infections in fish. Common bacterial infections are open wounds and abrasions, tail rot, eye cloud, and mouth fungus. API Melafix also promotes regrowth of damaged fins and tissue.
Melafix is a popular treatment and should help with the wound.
Sixo wrote: ↑Sun Nov 24, 2019 20:22 pm
... I have a garlic crusher I take it we're only talking about a tiny amount? Take it Garlic can just be left in the tank
Yes - a fragment of a small clove. A garlic crusher might be too cumbersome and not efficient enough in context. I tend to put it on a plate, slice it as finely as I can with a knife and then crush well with the flat of the knife. The 'leave for ten minutes' thing is important - otherwise it won't work as well as it might otherwise. The whole lot goes in the tank - juice and all - so the best strategy mighty be to wash the plate (or whatever) in the tank! And, yes - the garlic can be left in the tank if you want.
What I don't know is how often you may have to repeat the exercise to ensure its effectiveness over a period of time. I'll see if I can rootle out the email address of the garlic researcher (!) with whom I had a conversation a couple of years ago. If not I'm sure I could find it again - there can't be many university labs (it was in North Carolina, I think) who could put up with the smell!
I've found the text that I wrote in Another Place in January 2017 following the conversation referenced above (it was Oregon University!). Here it is in full ; hope it helps …
"Just popping back to let you know that I've not forgotten this! I was prompted because, in response to some enquiries that I'd been sending out re longevity of garlic in water, the Micronutrient Information Center at Oregon State University very kindly sent a 2008 article overnight which addresses exactly this (amongst other things). The article was authored by Hiroyuki Fujisawa (and others) and it looks like they were trying to assess the stability of allicin in various extracts (water, ethanol etc.) in the context of perfume manufacture!! I haven't read it in detail yet - it'll demand a bit more concentration, not least because it's got loads of numbers and algebraic notation in it, but as an interim report ...
There was apparently a previous study (Lawson, 1995) which suggested that the half-life of allicin in water was of the order of 40 days. However the 'Fujisawa' paper I've just received says that the previous study's methods were unreliable. Instead they conducted their own. They differentiate between 'chemical' and 'biological' half-lives.
The 'chemical' half-life refers to the breakdown of allicin into various other compounds which may or may not be biologically active (it looks like some of them are). In a water extract they found that allicin has a chemical half-life of around 6.5 days.
The 'biological' half-life refers to its effectiveness in killing bacteria. They tested their water extract on both Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) and Escherichia coli (gram negative). The biological half-life for S. aureus was around 10.5 days ; and for E. coli around four days. "
A simple to use calculator for working out how much to dose of a certain product, based on your aquarium water volume and the requirements of your product.
There are two major causes of fish deaths in an aquarium; new tank syndrome and over feeding.
If you take the time to read this you will hopefully not have to deal with new tank syndrome and you will create a healthy environment for your fish.
Cycling a fish tank can be confusing to beginners and experienced fishkeepers alike. If you’ve already read about it you’ll probably still be confused, because most cycling guides don’t really explain cycling in a manner that’s easy to understand. Here I’ll try to explain in simple terms what is essentially a very simple uncomplicated process.
Algae is a natural occurrence that has been present on Earth for over a billion years, thriving in environments with light and water. In moderate amounts, algae can have advantageous effects, such as utilizing ammonia as a food source, acting as a food source for fish and invertebrates, and producing vital oxygen through photosynthesis.
