Rainbowfish Mailing List Archive: RE: [RML] Fish TB?

Yeah, I pretty much agree with what Julie says and <gasp> comments by Harro too! I have a high tech plant tank but I'm careful not to push the envelope, go with a moderate level of CO2. You've stated that you do perform reasonable water changes (40-50% weekly) which often don't get done with many planted tank people. I really like to keep my bows at 6.9 or higher so don't push the CO2 issue. If you have a low KH you're going to get a lot of pH bounce. I think this probably even stresses them even more and brings about TB even quicker. Add some sodium bicarbonate to move the KH up to 3-5 to keep a steady pH. I also like to keep the temps below 80 but not always possible in the summer. I also have two powerheads at the opposite ends of a 220 with their output pointed towards the surface. Doesn't bubble the surface but I don't get that "surface scum" that you sometimes see with the planted tank folks that get over-fixated in not disturbing the tank surface. Knock wood, haven't
had a problem in that tank for quite a while but I have abused them recently by not doing a water change in ~ 3 weeks. So this weekend and a few days later they are going to get a major overhaul. Plants are nice but they are really there for one reason... for the rainbows to enjoy ;-)

gary lange

FWIW, rainbows do best (for the most part) at the lower end of your temp
range. Mid to higher 70s best. 80s pushing it for most. Generally they do
not like to be warm. They need LOTS of dissolved O2 as well. pH of 6.5 to
6.8 is low for many of the NG species. They are alkaline water fish for the
most part and stress at lower pH. M. praecox seems to deal with low pH and
warmth better than many NG bows. Blue-eyes are not my specialty so I will
defer to other's on that one. As for the Ozzie species of bows, many can
handle a lower pH like you have but not all. Most common bows in LFS are NG
species and thus I would guess your pHs are a bit stressful for them.

These are generalities fo course. Living critters sometimes don't read the
books that tell us what they want, so always take with a grain of (aquarium)
salt! ;-)

>From: "Kevin Sheller" <kevmo at aplants.com>
>Reply-To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
>To: <r_m_l at yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: RE: [RML] Fish TB?
>Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 17:07:07 -0500
>
>Hi Scott and Julie,
>
> Thanks for your thoughts. I have been doing a nice job of quarantining
>all
>new additions to my rainbow aquarium and I've also been doing weekly 40-50%
>water changes as they are maintained in a high-light, high-tech planted
>aquarium. Of course, this means the PH is in the 6.5 - 6.8 range, and I
>keep
>my water temps in the 78-82 degree range.
>
> Hearing their resistance to disease makes me believe that all of the
>diseases they have had in the past few years have been my fault. I have
>made
>errors in overdosing nitrates, refilling after a water change with water
>that was too cold, allowing the oxygen levels to get too low, introducing
>store-bought fish without quarantining first (in the past), etc, etc...
>
> I hope that after making all of these errors I will be able to avoid them
>in the future. I'm betting this last one is due to oxygen levels getting
>too
>low. I replanted the tank with fewer plants than before, so the plants
>likely haven't been "exhaling" as much oxygen as they were before I did my
>complete re-plant.
>
> Hopefully these boys and girls don't contract TB from all the
>disease-stress I've put them under... :(
>
> Scott: Since you've experienced TB first-hand, could you list out the
>symptoms you've witnessed? I'd be curious to know better what to look for
>from someone I KNOW has seen it with their own eyes.
>
>Thanks again!
>Kevin
> -----Original Message-----
> From: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com [r_m_l at yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
>Scott Davis
> Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 3:31 PM
> To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [RML] Fish TB?
>
>
> Hey Kevin,
>
> Are you quarantining new fish for your tank, maybe
> giving them a treatment for external and internal
> parasites? That is probably one of those do as I say,
> not as I do things until recently. However, I indeed
> did quarantine some rainbows I bought at a club
> auction a few years ago and they showed evidence of TB
> and lived out their lives in isolation. More recently,
> quarantined some stuff (not rainbowfish) that followed
> me home from a national and had an awful time with
> something they brought with them.
>
> I would guess way over 50% of all commercial purchases
> are coming in exposed to something, maybe many things.
> If they weren't exposed at the farm, those central
> flow through systems at some wholesalers do us no
> favors. The illnesses you describe are all too common
> with pet shop stuff, not a common with rainbows
> purchased through club channels.
>
> In some hobbyist circles, it seems that people are
> observing maladies with some resistance to
> antibiotics. That makes Bruce Hansen's dictum about
> leaving them in quarantine to see if they die or not
> seem more and more necessary.
>
> All the best!
> Scott
>
>

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Yeah, I pretty much agree with what Julie says and <gasp> comments by Harro too! I have a high tech plant tank but I'm careful not to push the envelope, go with a moderate level of CO2. You've stated that you do perform reasonable water changes (40-50% weekly) which often don't get done with many planted tank people. I really like to keep my bows at 6.9 or higher so don't push the CO2 issue. If you have a low KH you're going to get a lot of pH bounce. I think this probably even stresses them even more and brings about TB even quicker. Add some sodium bicarbonate to move the KH up to 3-5 to keep a steady pH. I also like to keep the temps below 80 but not always possible in the summer. I also have two powerheads at the opposite ends of a 220 with their output pointed towards the surface. Doesn't bubble the surface but I don't get that "surface scum" that you sometimes see with the planted tank folks that get over-fixated in not disturbing the tank surface. Knock wood, haven't had a problem in that tank for quite a while but I have abused them recently by not doing a water change in ~ 3 weeks. So this weekend and a few days later they are going to get a major overhaul. Plants are nice but they are really there for one reason... for the rainbows to enjoy ;-)