My Fish Are Dying!

[@TheLisamac01]

Ben I'm so sorry about all the losses. It's devastating. This was a great video and very informative. Thank you for taking the time and allowing us to be apart of this chapter in your fish keeping hobby. My thoughts are with you . Great advice .

[@graphite2786]

What a nightmare, so sorry for your losses, I can't imagine the stress and pain you were enduring throughout this incident. This is a real important wake up call for me as I've been a little slack with my quarantine practices, 4 weeks from now on. Once again, I'm so sorry for your losses.

[@James-ye7rp]

Hello Ben, just subscribed today. I just purchased two tanks to build up, and truly respect your appreciation and care for your fish. Thank you for putting out this video to help me to note what to look out for, and what to do when getting new fish. Your fish are truly beautiful, and your love and concern is recognized. I will be watching more of your work with interest. Take care.

[@inventoryking]

Hi Ben, this really sucks! Sorry you are going through this. I know exactly how you feel. To add to what you mentioned about not buying fish that look off, I recommend not buying any fish from that tank in general, who knows what they may be carrying. You might want to research columnaris. I just did a vid with Deb Tim on this and she has hands on experience. It might be Columnaris, but not 100% sure. If it is, it is extremely contagious. This just sucks! And sterilizing your nets, hoses, faucet attachment, anything that was in the tank or had tank water flowing though it, is going to be key, I needed to do this. We want to see you beat this. Cross contamination is easy to overlook. Believe me I know. At least I think cross contamination played a part in my issues.

[@KGcichlids]

exactly what I was thinking, looked like symptoms of columnaris.

[@bobbygsproaquarium]

Good on you for sharing Ben! It's hard to admit to our mistakes when we have losses, although if we don't we haven't learned anything. I'm certain this video will save many fish!!! Thanks for sharing and keep us updated on your treatments and hopefully what works.

[@maximusaquatics7835]

Sorry for your losses Ben. This was a very beneficial and well put together video, nice work!

[@TheWoema]

Hi Ben, sorry to hear about this. I always enjoy watching your tanks and fish. Hang in there, this will pass. Slowly you will get the tanks back in good order. Good luck.

[@donaldchristie3534]

I suspect Columnaris also. After seeing Deb Tim and others with a bacterial outbreak, I now keep API Furan-2 on hand! I am so sorry for your loss Ben. You get so attached to these fish, especially "the Old Man" since he has a special place in your heart.

[@aquaticfish7327]

Awwww, so, so sorry to hear. I went through a columnaris outbreak with my rainbows once. Lost a lot of fish makes you sick to your stomach. Hope your remaining sick fish get better soon!

[@JustaGuyinMI]

Ben, sorry for the loss, but thank you for sharing. Great advice about quarantine and what to do when medicating. Such a great example of the importance of keeping fish in quarantine for longer periods of time. Here’s to sustained success in the 60 and recovery for the others.

[@dennisruedel]

Hey Ben,I’m very sorry this has happened to you and your losses. That is a clear case of Culmanaris. Unfortunately, that is a very serious issue to solve, and the Maracyn 2 is your best bet. I wish you the best, and I wish you would have opened up to the group that you were going through this.

[@BenOchart]

Denny's Aquatics Dennis, several times I was about to ... work, schedule changes, there never seemed to be a good time to get into it. So I threw together a video and put it out there. Thanks.

[@168meister]

Sorry 4 your loss, it definitely sucks when this happens. I've had this happen also and with all the preventions and knowledge time to time this tragedy can happen. The 1 point u brought up is key.. to keep new fish in holding tank for longer time to do away or prevention of bad stuff to our precious ones. Again sorry 4 the loss, hoping all rest r doing well and sharing your concerns, and video.

[@snowwolf7256]

Sorry to see this Ben,they say mistakes are the best teacher. Hope all goes well with the treatment and recovery. I recently brought 25 new fish and so far I've lost 6. Two of which my daughter picked,which sucks. Chin up,stay positive..

[@ethanbush5496]

I'm sorry to see this Ben. I'm dealing with something similar now too. It seems like all of us that get into these fish eventually run into a disease that we can't get a handle on until it's done some serious damage! I hate it for you though. Thanks for putting this out to help others.

[@michael-ev5fk]

I'm sorry for your loss Ben. Wow, excellent video, I'll be heeding your advice and lesson learned.

[@JRP4H4L]

Sorry to hear about this loss. Keep up the diligence and you will get through it. Good luck and thank you for sharing to help the FishFam community.

[@craigsweat9621]

Hi Ben, sorry for you're loss. Very brave of you to share this, as it can help us all learn more about our fishy friends. Thanks

[@denisepollitt1021]

OMG Ben, I'm so sorry for you and all your fish. How horrible. I'm particularly heartbroken about your beautiful OB. Good luck with the restt of them mate. My thoughts are with you.

[@SheWolf-ih5vg]

Awwww Ben sorry to hear. Hope you can somehow save them. Thanks for sharing I can only imagine how devastated you must be.

[@johnleemarshall7825]

Hi Ben, really sorry for your loss. Some of those fish youve lost are famous on your channel. For me the one that stands out is the OB. He aas a awesome fish. Im after an OB myself. Keep the faith. Your an inspiration to fellow fish keepers like myself.

[@shahedhossain133]

Hi Ben, very sorry to hear your losses. I know its really hurts and painful when you see your fish been end up like that which you have been raising them so many months and years. I really don’t know what to say. I hope and pray for your rest all of the fish will survive.

[@pamparsons3274]

So sorry for the crap you're going thru, Ben. Sounds like columnaris, and SOO sorry about the OB . I also had a bout of this...Seachem Kanaplex....I keep it on hand now. So sorry for your losses. The video was tough to watch.....hard lessons....xoxo

[@2keeperv]

Been there myself of late Ben.. Good luck buddy..I feel for ya.. It's disheartening that's for sure. Keep going.. Keep the faith and keep doing all the things you can... Know you will.

[@joet6494]

Wow! Ben sorry about your fish loss! Happy Birthday!

[@stevesaquatics165]

Ben very sorry for your losses. I know how devastating this can be and you're right it seems that fish problems are hitting a large group of fish keepers the past few months. You might want to try some medicated food also to help build up their immune system from within. New life spectrum has some. Good luck and please keep us updated.

[@Cichlids23]

that really sucks Ben, so sorry! good luck with gettin it worked out quickly!! Happy late Birthday!

[@cynthiaaberbein680]

Awe sorry for your loss!! I recently had a big loss as well and I know how much it sucks.

[@portersaquatics4729]

Sorry for your loss Ben, hope the rest all heal up well!

[@joshuapantoja5263]

I’m sorry to see this ben, I just picked up a few beautiful cichlids from a local breeder and I never have any issues and I came home to most of them floating. No idea what happened but I feel your pain! We live and we learn!

[@miguelcintron7048]

Very sorry for your loss Ben you had so many beautiful fish..it’s hard to imagine losing so many at once but I’m rooting for you to come back stronger my friend and happy belated birthday

[@fishworldcichlidz8241]

Man . So Sorry to see an hear about this . Believe me it happens to the best of em . Dont get yourself down about it . I know its a difficult time but i hope you come through a stronger and wiser person.

[@hixxie7848]

Ben, so sorry to hear this, OB was my favorite for your fish :( its heartbreaking to watch this knowing what your going through. Most, if not all fish keepers have this at some time in there hobby. I know i have!

[@lawrencebard4660]

Sorry Ben, holy crap I don't know if I could handle that problem but good luck I catch all you KZbinrs all the time I also have a ob like the one you lost he was my first guy still swimming around the 180 so I will definitely keep an eye on this and hopefully it doesn't happen to me or other cichlid people but information was well done thanks hope things are better Larry with the 180

[@Elysian777]

This was very brave of you. So sorry for your losses but I am glad you posted it as a warning. Subbed. And I started dosing Prime every time I add fish- starting over a year ago and I have not had any communicable disease issues since then. I did not connect that with the use of Prime, but your video makes me go hmm.

[@BenOchart]

I contacted Seachem and they told me that they doubted that the Prime had anything to do with it. Still stumps me why that 60 gal was so immune to such a contagious disease. Thanks for tuning and commenting. Appreciated.

[@Elysian777]

You're welcome. Stumps me too. It wasn't until you mentioned Prime in the video that I realized I haven't had any issues since I started dosing tanks when getting new fish. Just another one of those mysteries, I guess. I'll still keep with my routine, though.

[@pondguru]

I see a few people have mentioned Columnaris / Saddleback - that's what it looks like to me too. We had a couple of batches of fish when I had the shop which went down like this and it was devastating. Luckily we had every tank filtered separately and each had its own net so the problem was contained to one tank both times it occurred. The speed it brought the fish down was incredible and as the fish stock in the tank became really depleted the symptoms eased up and about 6 fish from a tank of 100 survived (guppies one time and platy the second time). It is not nice.

[@IsaacHartleyHall]

Yes columnaris, it's actually a bacterial infection but gets mistaken for a fungus. I'm currently using furan 2 and tonic salt for treatment on my guppie tank, wish me luck.

[@davidbowie762]

Much much sadness bennyboy..... brave video to post though... I'm quite happy not knowing to much about keeping my fish... kinda ignorance is bliss... but at my local shop I usually visit the tank I plan on buying from over about a week or so.. if it remains healthy then the get my buck.. sometimes I lose out on the fish I wanted and pick another but fingers crosses its all good.. can't offer any advice though but we're there for you....deep breath big guy... onwards and fishwards... ta ta...

[@frankwite1033]

What a bomber Ben, I hope that your tanks make a strong comeback. This happens to the best of us unfortunately. Good luck my friend

[@iceman7306]

Really enjoy your videos and your tanks and fish are amazing, using your advice to set up my own peacock and hap tank. Thanks Ben

[@josephruopoli2934]

sorry ben . went through the same scenario with my angel fish that i spawned and raised for four year's,after adding two pictus cat fish that looked perfectly healthy to the tank without quarantining.i did EXACTLY what you did,even as far as first medication,because i was cheep.lesson learned, dont treat with snake oil's .pima fix or melafix did not do anything except waste valuable time .i think they actually supported the bacteria.never seen such an aggressive bug. i saw one fish's tail fall off as it swam. after seeing that i did a water change and started treating with api general cure and e.m. erythromycin. it did the trick. after loosing 20 fish and left with 4 about a year and a half ago,im back in the groove. ps. i quarantine new fish for 6 weeks . never want to loose fish for no good reason again.good luck

[@stevenk907]

Ben I totally understand. Last year I Lost about 60 -70 fishes . Every morning I had about 4-10 dead fishes . I had Malawi bloat . Soooo sorry to hear .

[@damonghanayem9982]

Am truly sorry for your losses bro. I knew something was going on as you have been scarce on vids of late. Hoping you have your arms around it now. I have no experience with Safe or Prime but use Stress Coat religiously. And tend to agree that less stress is helping the 60g juvie crew stay healthy. Thanks for sharing and sorry again. GB

[@TheLauren3305]

That sucks! Sorry for your fish loss

[@TheBudgetAquarist]

Yikes...that's a lot of fish.. Bummer! I think the lesson is to keep a longer quarantine as you noted at the end of your video....though we are all guilty of misdiagnosis and simple impatience with quarantine. Also, people need to note that many of these diseases can live in the water quite awhile, so when the outbreak seems over it is necessary to treat the empty tank with medication and continue water changes or to completely empty the tank ( which is a pain). Hope it's over!

[@cameronlarsen2021]

So sorry for your losses. We need to be more diligent about quarantining our fish long enough and definitely not move them around to multiple tanks until we're sure they are healthy. And Pimafix and Melafix are not curatives like a true anti--fungal or antibiotic( like Furan, Clout,Maracide, etc.) Once you get the fungus under control you have to use an antibiotic also to prevent secondary bacterial infections. I've been keeping cichlids for over 40 years now and even though they are usually a pretty hardy fish even they need to be quarantined especially if they show any signs. Even fin nipping can lead to a secondary bacterial infection. and of course water changes are most important during these times. I usually double up on water changes during quarantine and /or treatment. .Hope you get this issue straightened a round and so sorry for your losses.

[@danutasiniarska9118]

hi ,I have question where do you buy this antibiotics, please and thank you

[@FXOptions007]

Thanks for the information Ben, sorry for your losses. I know you may not feel this way as you lost some fish, but good action on treating tanks to save as many as you can. This was very informative and may help many of us in the future.

[@hopsonz28]

Hi Ben, sucks when this happens! I’ve been keeping fish for 15 years and have learned to use Seachem’s Stress Guard and Paraguard for one week when I add new fish. Along with a up light every other day (for 24 hours).And have never had any issues! Good luck my friend!

[@silentlary4940]

Sorry about your loss Ben. Pimafix and Melafix are not strong enough at this point and you seems in the right route. I would consider using Seachem Kanaplex or Furan 2 to treat this badly bacteria infection which looks like columnaris to me. I wasn’t 100% sure but I’ll give it a try because I just had these symptoms on my cichlids couple weeks ago, two of them dead at first day and I treat immediately thankfully rest of the fish are still alive. For best results I would suggest you mix kanaplex and focus with food if your fish are still eating and also save some money on it. Hope they can make it and good luck Ben!

[@efrainscichlids9038]

Sorry for your lost, I have no words, good luck my friend

[@pisto_run_cycling]

I bought a fish that looked healthy and i did not quarantine it.. Then 4 fish that were already in my tanks got sick then died.. Then thennew fish died.. My mistake.. No more deaths since then.. But i know the feeling.. It came fast and there wasnt much i could do... Sorry to hear about your troubles.. Thanks for the learning lesson

[@violettenewman8686]

Great advice. So sorry you lost so many fish. It’s so frustrating

[@BenOchart]

It was a difficult time and I'm glad it's far behind me. Thank you for watching.

[@RoyDumaw]

Thats tough Ben... but it happens, and all we can do is to make sure we learn from it. Been keeping fish tanks for a long time and I sure had my share of problems like that. I'm sorry about your beautiful old O.B there...

[@cichlidguru1163]

Oh no .that's really sad .my fav otter point died.im so sorry to hear that Ben. It's really heart breaking. I'm hoping sand diver hap and all the fish be fine .sorry for your loss

[@wc77mitch]

Oh Man, Ben I'm sorry. I once killed 2/3 of the fish in my 125 gallon tank during a water change when I mixed to many products and added them all in at once. It was devastating. Probably the worst part was working so hard to salvage what I could using tanks, tubs, air stones. I questioned my choice in hobby most of that week, and shed a few tears, but this is what I love doing so I got right back in the saddle. I know you will bounce back!

[@wc77mitch]

I had a show stopping 8" Insignis in that tank that was just stunning, and a few of the fish were 5-6 years or older.

[@iceman7306]

Have had bad luck myself at times man that sucks, all we can do is learn from it Ben. Thanks for sharing

[@BenOchart]

A learning experience for sure. Just got to move on. Thanks for watching and commenting

[@samstromersten6035]

Thanks

[@BenOchart]

Thank you 🙏 ❤️

[@Maggie19701]

So great ful for your honestly Ben.You horrible lost will help so many peoples and fish.Sorry also about your OB that sure made me think of what a Super compassionate fellow you are coming from missing a Senior grandma isn’t that what I like to listen to you and Corey it’s so much to my Fish keeping .Also so wonderful awesome for all of us to learn from you including all the future children it will eventually take our place what a great example you have been!

[@michaelsullivan2410]

Hate to hear about your loss. Kinda broke my heart to see the "Old Man'" gone. Keep up the good videos.

Wow! For someone as experienced as you, I am gobsmacked that you only quarantined them for one week! WTH? Sorry for your loss, mate.

[@CoreyHecker]

Damn, sorry to see this Ben. Glad to see the fish you like the most seem to be ok. Hoping the rest pull though.

[@anwarducati1]

Really sorry to see that, hope your remaining fishes get well soon.

[@michaelskuse4019]

Absolutely been there bud. I set up a small quarantine tank about three gallons biomaterial and a filter in it for just such a situation. I quarantine everything that comes to my house now including plants makes life a little easier to deal with when you pick up hitchhikers

[@rockya5173]

Sorry to hear this Ben .

[@JustMyFish]

Ben so sorry for your los . I'm feeling your pain you put so mtch live into your fish I'm deversated about the old man OB he was the fist fish I seen when I fist came to your channel. This can happen to anyone don't let it get you down. I can tell you I have had this happed with south american cichlids I lost all but 4 fish out of the 37 I had to fin rot. Witch also attacks the mouth and eyes Is that what it was?. I don't buy fish from a store anymore I ant saying they are all bad but I do know all the fish in the store are in the same water on the same system. You have done all you can I hope this works out for you your a good guy and I love your channel. Thanks for sharing .

[@markwilkinson2164]

Just watched your vid . So sorry Ben . We put all our spare time and more into our fish , raise them see them grow giving them everything they need . When things go wrong it's literally like losing u best friend...Chin up son ...

[@freemansaquatics5326]

i feel your pain Ben i got lymph in my tank it was a nightmare to deal with.... i hope things level out this stuff drives us fish nerds mad best of wishes man

[@freemansaquatics5326]

i really dont have answer man you would know before most of us, with my lymph experience the spines on the dorsal would swell and burst and that infected my fish i hope this never happens to you but if your curious my sulfur head colored up video shows it in its early non contagious form its the bright spot on his dorsal im so paranoid now i hope no one experiences this im so sorry Ben best of luck man

[@HalfManHalfCichlid]

Hi Ben again, another thought on why the 60 gallon did not experience the problem. As a biologist trained in observing animal behaviors, I have noticed that there is some level of body and gill irritation with my fish when I do a 60% water change. I add Safe dechlorinator at the beginning of adding the new water. It is obvious to me that there is temporary irritation, either from the chlorine or the dechlorinator from a large water change. By the time the water change is done, the chlorine is gone and the Safe has done it's magic and fish are acting normal. No more scratching, scraping and twitching. I am wondering if the fish in your larger tank may have had gill/body slime coat irritation from a recent water change making them more suseptible to the disease introduced to your aquariums?

[@bigrobssichlids8252]

NOT THE OLD MAN!!! I'm so sorry to hear Ben!

[@cclittles6882]

Thanks for sharing, Ben. That's tough.

[@danacampbell182]

Hi Ben, my heart breaks for you as I am going through the same thing...it's awful and so discouraging. I wish all good things for you and wet pets. I've lost close to 15 and it's the worst I've gone through in the hobby. I didn't realize columnaris could rear it's ugly head internally only. It makes so much sense now. I've been praying because my guys are so special to me too. My fingers are crossed that this terrible outbreak is under control.

[@BenOchart]

Well I'm sending good vibes, thoughts and prayers your way. Yes, I had several show signs but I also had a good number looking perfect and then just tip over dead. It is a horrible disease that requires pretty strong antibiotics to get under control. I hope you turn the corner fully. For me it was that one day that I didn't lose a fish that gave me hope.

[@Mac-ek5hp]

Sorry this happened to you Ben I no you love your fish and you take really good care of them

[@redjack56]

Sorry Ben it's a shame you have to deal with this hopefully it all works out. I've made my mistakes too and the one thing I advise is doing quarantine for 30 days regardless how fish look and act. OUCH ! I would also suggest taking out the plastic plants and maybe disinfect them. That's a lot of loss to deal with but I'm sure once it all gets straightened out you will be back on the mend.

[@chrismaussner9255]

Damn....so sorry for your losses Ben. Don't give up. The rest of your 🐟 kids need you now

[@Spacey7]

I'm so sorry that you had this happen. I've literally just had the same happen with my lovely Guppies. I quarantined one female Guppy for a month, she was fine. A week later I lost 2 in 2 days & they were young & healthy. Same mouth swelling & going white. I used Melafix for a couple of days but was told it wasn't strong enough. I just did two big water changes & haven't lost another one yet. Fingers crossed for yours & mine 🤞😢 Its very aggressive & kills before the symptoms are that noticeablr in smaller fish!

[@BenOchart]

This was a while back for me but it sounds like we followed almost the exact same path. It took a strong antibiotic from Fritz to stop the spread in my tank.

[@rymaccichlids5999]

Oh no ben jeez I loved some of those fish to the old man nooo I also been going thou some stuff in my tanks have only lost 1 but I think I have caught it and medicated my tanks I am so sorry it’s sucks so bad but thank you for sharing this when you didn’t have to to help us

[@kimblanchette2167]

Oh no! That's so sad :( hope the other ones will make it through.

[@KGcichlids]

columnaris can look like those symptoms as well, furan 2 is a good treatment. man im sorry brother hope you get it worked out.

[@tommy2tone8650]

Hard video to watch I had something similar happen lost alot of fish I tried melafix it did the same looked like it was working then it would come back. I got metro that seemed to help a little then I used general cure that also helped along with 90% water changes. It was a disaster. Keep watching them and doing the big water changes once a week that has had the biggest impact. Hope everything works out.

[@lindashansen2561]

Hey Ben, sorry for your Loss. Did you ever consider using Borax in the water and Montmorillonite?

[@civiksi]

Ben that sucks. After the advisory my 7 year old daughter came over and was sad. Made me sad too. Hope it goes as well as can be

[@BenOchart]

Please let her know that everybody is doing fine now. Sweet kid 😀

[@stephenbrooks9196]

The same thing happened to me. Every morning I get from work, I lost fish. This didn’t happen until I started using Safe instead of Prime thinking I could save money. One of my fish lost and eye. A friend told me that the Safe might be stressing my fish and to go back to Prime. No issues since then. It was driving me nuts to lose fish that I had for a while to something mysterious but it made sense. The Safe I believe is too strong made for higher volumes of water and even though I felt I was correct in my dosage, it was too much for my fish and they got sick and died. Ben you was using Prime in the tank you had no problems in.

[@BenOchart]

I'm glad that you worked that out. When I contacted Seachem they stated that Prime and/or Safe should not have any effect on the health of the fish, but yet the one tank, a tank that was obviously cross-contaminated, the 60 gal, suffered zero infection. Very odd and the only difference was that I use Prime in the 60 and Prime might have greated stress coat properties. I'm just glad it's behind me (and you) now. Thanks for watching!

[@stephenbrooks9196]

Thanx Ben always a pleasure

[@ranjansanyal]

It's very unfortunate Ben, it seems to me like allied force lost a regiment.......hope rest of them will get well soon

[@spidy278]

so sorry Ben, i have had this experience before. To be honest i have learned and i can say that pimafix and melafix is not good enough when fish already becoming very sick because they are natural based medication. It has to be treated with antibiotic based medication straight away. I use pima/mela fix as prevention now like once a month or when getting new fish.

[@jpbsc2009]

I agree Melafix is not a strong medication. I have had 0 luck using it with ill fish. Don't know about Primafix.

[@danthemancichlids077]

Sorry to hear this Ben. Part of the hobby I hate. So sorry about the Old Man ob

[@adamstephens5964]

Hey Ben, weird thing I noticed, had a columnaris outbreak in my tank after buying new live stock ordered online, I moved the entire stock still alive into a 10 gallon, from a 90 after failing to medicate the whole system. The fish in the 10 gallon all appear to be in the mend the next day (no medication added since switch) and all fish have are on hold till I decide my next move. Quite a horrible flavobacteria. Always inspect your 🐠 (cypricromis kerenge, sumbu Shellie’s, and yellow labs. Lost all the kilesa)

[@davidbogert984]

Sorry for your loses. I’ve been there (lost over 100 Africans!) and done pretty much what you did early in my hobby. Just a few corrections for your video. Mardel Maracyn Plus is not an antibiotic, rather it is a combination of two sulfa anti-bacterial drugs, sulfadimidine and trimethoprim. This will work but is not as effective as antibiotics. To rid the fish of a bacterial disease, I like to treat the fish with a broad-spectrum antibiotic like amoxicillin (Thomas Labs Fish Mox, Midland Vet Service Aqua-Mox, VetDepot Amoxicillin, Fishbiotic Ampicillin), ciprofloxacin (Thomas Labs Fish Flox Forte), cephalexin (Thomas Labs Fish Flex), kanamycin (SeaChem KanaPlex) or erythromycin (API E.M. Erythromycin, Mardel Maracyn, Thomas Labs Fish Mycin). Be aware that all these antibiotics and the sulfa drugs kill the beneficial bacteria in your filter. I stop feeding my fish for a week and do a lot of testing and water changes to keep the ammonia at bay.

[@jpbsc2009]

The info. with Erythromycin states it does not kill the beneficial bacteria.

[@bossryder6999]

So sorry about this. How did you go about cleaning/sterilizing your tank afterward? And after what period of time did you feel confident introducing new fish?

[@GutiCorp]

Hey Ben, sorry to see what happened. Not to bash them but can you let us know what LFS you bought them at? I, as well as others live in your area and I would like to not buy from them for a few months OR at least be a little more cautious when buying from them. I know its not their fault directly, but at least I can look out for stuff I might not normally look for if I buy from them or others in that area. Thanks.

[@CJ80ish]

Dang, bubby I’m so sorry to hear this!!

[@hilljer]

Sorry about The Old Man. I know he was dear to your heart.

[@Shadow-wn5fw]

Ben, I have a sixty gallon aquarium with about 15 mbuna cichlids and 4 cuckoo catfish in it. A couple of fish looking like they have sunkey belly as well as a red sores on their fins.I have been using API General Cure and Melafix. The condition is still there. I have only lost one cichlid (Metriaclima sp. Deep) thus far and I hope not not loose any more. I saw a video where you addressed API FURAN-2. Do you think that this may help me or can you give me a suggestion on what I may need to use. I would appreciate any knowledge that I receive.

[@IsaacHartleyHall]

Yes columnaris, it's actually a bacterial infection but gets mistaken for a fungus. I'm currently using furan 2 and tonic salt for treatment on my guppie tank, wish me luck.

[@adamc7918]

damn this sucks, sorry Ben. it could possibly be stress triggered. if you think that's the case maybe leave the lights off and possibly cover the tank with a blanket for a couple days to completely calm the fish down

[@HalfManHalfCichlid]

Hi Ben, this brings back nightmare learning experiences I have had, I extend my sincerest sympathies, I know how it feels. Here are some things I have learned over the years that might be of interest: 1. When you quarantine, always medicate, I use ICH-X and Erythromycin (I credit Aquarium Co-op) for this tip. 2. Buy fish from local breeders, vs LFS or on-line. LFS or on-line (in general) the fish come from many places and endure many stresses before they end up in your tank. 3. If you have wild caught fish, don't mix them or their equipment (nets, etc.) with your domestic raised fish. I keep away from them, but if I had a moment of weakness I would have them in a separate room. Wild caught fish carry a whole different set of pathogens (diseases) which they have adapted to, that the aquarium bred fish have never experienced nor had the chance to build up any immunity towards. 4. All my fish contamination episodes were from buying fish during the cold months from my LFS or on-line. My theory is that they are exposed to more stresses, particularly temperature changes during the winter months. 5. Some aquarium stores, like Aquarium co-op pre-treat all their fish in quarantine, with medication, before they offer them to their customers, don't count on this from PetsMart. In fact, I have interviewed the sources of my contaminated fish and neither of them did any preventative, medicated quarantine. John

[@rawblow4512]

I have not tried this but i have asked questions before on various U tube channels about the QT process, i have not quarantined any fish but i am set up to do that if needed but my question has been why not put seachem paraguard in the QT tank as a precaution for that 2-3-4 week period? Most have said no meds and just visually look at the fish and observe them over those weeks and make sure they are eating etc etc, i have read in a few forums that people use this method of paraguard because the medication covers a broad range of sickness???

[@thomasmckechnie3907]

ben can we check if they all used safe as i started to use safe and got this happen to my rainbow tank just a thought

[@Crisbas45]

Thank you I had a major fish die off 1/2 my tank of very well established Frontosa’s 7-10 inch in size 5-8 years old. I never figured it out it was the saddest 3 day period of my life. All I could do was gigantic water changes every day till it stopped. No signs or symptoms and no new tank mates. So upsetting

[@BenOchart]

Not knowing why and what makes it worse

[@Crisbas45]

@@BenOchart yes not knowing why was horrible and all of those fish were born in my tank. They were my babies. I still have 10 or 12 offspring but so far no mor breeding. 😥

[@kylekonkel3706]

Do you use the same python to change out water in the quarantine tank?

[@peapodamoose]

Every fish keepers worst nightmare. So sorry for you loss.

[@lizleonard2509]

It might be the fact that there's no sand for the fish to sift through in your 60g? IME my Africans in my 40g breeder never touch the substrate, which is crushed coral. My bigger tanks have sand and they are always digging, sifting and eating God knows what and in doing so sharing bacteria ect. I'd have to imagine that's why so many diseases show up around the mouth area first. . Just some thoughts.

[@BenOchart]

Liz Leonard Good points Liz. I’ve often heard talk about substrate being the home of a large amount of the beneficial bacteria, so, it makes sense that it could also be the home of bad bacteria as well. Thanks!

[@lizleonard2509]

I recently went though a parasite infection and my livingstonii where hit the hardest, their also the most aggressive sifters in my tank. I now make sure after each feeding there's no fish waste left on the sand. If you think about it, it's amazing that fish don't get sick more often than they do.

[@TomSerious]

That's why you should quarantine for at least 4 weeks

[@BenOchart]

Now you tell me ... LOL. I'm doing up to 6 weeks of QT these days. Thanks for watching.