It's been 10 days since my last post. I have long since reduced the temperature to normal and turned off the UV sterilisers. There's no evidence of ich on any of the fish. I'm inclined to think that the treatment worked.
One problem with this approach, I suppose, is that it permits the parasite to persist in the system. Fish that have recovered from ich acquire some degree of resistance. Reducing the temperature also slows the growth of the parasite. In combination this means that any residual infection would probably be difficult to detect. Ugh. Ironically, the best way to detect the parasite would be to introduce stressed fish that have not been exposed to ich. Unfortunately, that would equate to new fish from the pet store. And, in that case, there would be no way to determine whether they brought the infection with them, or whether they picked it up in my tank. I suppose the best thing to do is to observe the group of baby guppies that were born about a week ago. Not that guppies seem to be terribly susceptible...
Showing posts with label disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disease. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Monday, 7 September 2009
Fighting ich
There are three places to buy freshwater aquarium fish in this town - Petsmart, Petco, and a local fish store. The LFS has friendly people and a much wider selection of fish. Unfortunately, they don't seem to quarantine their fish very well. I've had three ich outbreaks, and I believe that all of them have come from that store. Now, obvioulsy, I should have learned my lesson and made sure I quarantine all my new purchases. And for the most part, I've learned that lesson.
I recently bought a group of Otocinclus for my main tank. Many people consider them delicate fish which are hard to keep alive. My experience has been just the opposite - they strike me as almost bulletproof, great survivors. From what I've read, the main 'danger' period is just when they are introduced, because they are often very stressed in transit. Bearing that in mind, I decided to add them directly to my main tank. They seem to have settled in very nicely.
More recently I bought a group of fish from the LFS - corys, rummynose tetras, and three kuhli loaches. Given the difficulty in catching and moving kuhli loaches, I decided to take the chance and introduce them directly into my main tank. And the fun ensued.
Within a few days there were white spots on the rummynoses. I had successfully eradicated ich with salt and heat in the past, but the salt took a toll of some of my plants. I decided to try something different - a UV steriliser. When I went to the petstore, they were out of the 9V one I had my eye on, but they still had the 24V model. Now 9V sterilisers are recommended for tanks up to about 50 gallons (mine is 55), while 24V models are for tanks up to about 125 gallons. Wasn't too worried, since more power is probably better than less when trying something experimental. After I bought it, I poked around the web to see what people said about that approach. While people liked it for saltwater ich, there was a good deal of skepticism about its effectiveness for freshwater systems.
The next morning I looked at my fish and noticed that a lot of them had ich, far more than two days prior. I decided to play it safe and up the temperature. Then I hit the scientific literature.
Hitting the literature is often frustrating as an aquarist, since few papers are published on tropical aquarium fish. Fortunately, ich is a major problem for commercial aquaculturists. More so, in fact, in temperate than tropical conditions. From what I read, I realised that (a) a UV steriliser would probably do that job, and (b) heat alone would probably work as well.
Within two days of turning up the heat (three days of adding the UV steriliser) my fish were spot-free. It may be too early to say with certainty, but I feel pretty confident that it worked. And worked very well.
I recently bought a group of Otocinclus for my main tank. Many people consider them delicate fish which are hard to keep alive. My experience has been just the opposite - they strike me as almost bulletproof, great survivors. From what I've read, the main 'danger' period is just when they are introduced, because they are often very stressed in transit. Bearing that in mind, I decided to add them directly to my main tank. They seem to have settled in very nicely.
More recently I bought a group of fish from the LFS - corys, rummynose tetras, and three kuhli loaches. Given the difficulty in catching and moving kuhli loaches, I decided to take the chance and introduce them directly into my main tank. And the fun ensued.
Within a few days there were white spots on the rummynoses. I had successfully eradicated ich with salt and heat in the past, but the salt took a toll of some of my plants. I decided to try something different - a UV steriliser. When I went to the petstore, they were out of the 9V one I had my eye on, but they still had the 24V model. Now 9V sterilisers are recommended for tanks up to about 50 gallons (mine is 55), while 24V models are for tanks up to about 125 gallons. Wasn't too worried, since more power is probably better than less when trying something experimental. After I bought it, I poked around the web to see what people said about that approach. While people liked it for saltwater ich, there was a good deal of skepticism about its effectiveness for freshwater systems.
The next morning I looked at my fish and noticed that a lot of them had ich, far more than two days prior. I decided to play it safe and up the temperature. Then I hit the scientific literature.
Hitting the literature is often frustrating as an aquarist, since few papers are published on tropical aquarium fish. Fortunately, ich is a major problem for commercial aquaculturists. More so, in fact, in temperate than tropical conditions. From what I read, I realised that (a) a UV steriliser would probably do that job, and (b) heat alone would probably work as well.
Within two days of turning up the heat (three days of adding the UV steriliser) my fish were spot-free. It may be too early to say with certainty, but I feel pretty confident that it worked. And worked very well.
Thursday, 20 December 2007
Treatment
While I was very optimistic about fenbendazole as a treatment option, I'm a little more worried now. After two days of treatment, I don't see fewer Camallanus worms hanging out of the fish. I am very concerned about whether the fish are ingesting enough of the drug, especially the smallest female Macropodus, which also seems to be the worst infected. I have soaked a mixture of foods in a fenbendazole suspension, and I'm hopeful that they are getting enough of it, but the only way I have of monitoring the treatment is by looking at the worms hanging out of the fish. They still appear red and healthy, which isn't a good sign. This is the final day of the treatment course, so I was hoping for some visible results. "TheGreatBlueDiscus" had visible results after 36 hours, but since he was treating his fish twice a day, that amounts to three treatments.
Since I won't be able to continue the treatment over Christmas, I'm seriously considering euthanising the Macropodus. Not something I would want to do, but I can't afford dead fish floating around the tank for several days (there's only so much my plague of snails can handle).
Since I won't be able to continue the treatment over Christmas, I'm seriously considering euthanising the Macropodus. Not something I would want to do, but I can't afford dead fish floating around the tank for several days (there's only so much my plague of snails can handle).
Timeline of infection
A parasitic nematode like Camallanus needs to get into the aquarium from somewhere. I've been thinking about possible paths of infection. According to Levsen and Berland (2001) Camallanus cotti takes 11 days to fully develop in its copeopd host, and then another 34-42 days to develop after it is ingested by a fish host. Presumably the adult feeds for at least a few days before it extrudes from the anus of the fish and starts releasing larvae of its own. Levsen (2001) found that it took a minimum of 62 days and a maximum of 110 days for visible signs of the parasite in a system with monoxeny - direct (fish to fish) infection. Since I first saw signs on the worms in mid-December, they became infected somewhere between early September and early November. That said, I first noticed the worms last weekend, and once I looked there were worming hanging out of several Macropodus.
In that time period I bought (and didn't adequately quarantine) quite a few fish. The fighter is an unlikely culprit - not only did we buy him too recently, he also shows no signs of infection. The pygmy corys are also unlikely, since they have never been in the main tank. On the other hand, the plant tank has a population of copepods, so I would only have to introduce the copepods, not actually any fish. It's reasonable that Camallanus was introduced with infected copepods that came with the Java moss. The timeline is reasonable - about 55 days. I also transferred a couple larger corys from the plant tank to the main tank, and an Otocinclus. They are also potential sources of infection.
There are, of course, other possibilities. I bought three batches of neon tetras this Fall, and had remarkably high mortality. I also bought some ghost shrimp. The ghost shrimp themselves are unlikely vectors - I have not read about Camallanus infecting shrimp, although there's a slight chance that they were using them as secondary hosts. The neons, on the other hand, are another story.
I bought my first batch of neons back in early September. Four of the five died within two days, and that was followed by a wave of mortality: a fighter, two Angels, two platies and a couple Macropodus. It seems pretty obvious that they weren't the ""cleanest" of fish. The extra burden of Camallanus infection could be blamed for the death of the neons (if you're already feeding parasitic worms, you have fewer resources with which to handle stress), it seems unlikely that transmission of the Camallanus larvae could have resulted in such rapid mortality among the other fish.
While I initially blamed the pet store, the deaths of the other fish led me to wonder whether something had gone wrong with my water, and that the timing might have been coincidental. Anyway, the sole survivor remained in the tank, seemingly healthy, but with a shrunken abdomen (which was always a cause for concern). He died a couple months later, after I bought some more neons to keep him company.
I'm most inclined to blame the neons (or more specifically, the one neon). And while I could do a lot to improve my quarantine procedures, segregating new fish for 2 to 4 months just isn't something I can do at present. While I hate the idea of medicating new fish as a precautionary measure, I can see why people would do it.
In that time period I bought (and didn't adequately quarantine) quite a few fish. The fighter is an unlikely culprit - not only did we buy him too recently, he also shows no signs of infection. The pygmy corys are also unlikely, since they have never been in the main tank. On the other hand, the plant tank has a population of copepods, so I would only have to introduce the copepods, not actually any fish. It's reasonable that Camallanus was introduced with infected copepods that came with the Java moss. The timeline is reasonable - about 55 days. I also transferred a couple larger corys from the plant tank to the main tank, and an Otocinclus. They are also potential sources of infection.
There are, of course, other possibilities. I bought three batches of neon tetras this Fall, and had remarkably high mortality. I also bought some ghost shrimp. The ghost shrimp themselves are unlikely vectors - I have not read about Camallanus infecting shrimp, although there's a slight chance that they were using them as secondary hosts. The neons, on the other hand, are another story.
I bought my first batch of neons back in early September. Four of the five died within two days, and that was followed by a wave of mortality: a fighter, two Angels, two platies and a couple Macropodus. It seems pretty obvious that they weren't the ""cleanest" of fish. The extra burden of Camallanus infection could be blamed for the death of the neons (if you're already feeding parasitic worms, you have fewer resources with which to handle stress), it seems unlikely that transmission of the Camallanus larvae could have resulted in such rapid mortality among the other fish.
While I initially blamed the pet store, the deaths of the other fish led me to wonder whether something had gone wrong with my water, and that the timing might have been coincidental. Anyway, the sole survivor remained in the tank, seemingly healthy, but with a shrunken abdomen (which was always a cause for concern). He died a couple months later, after I bought some more neons to keep him company.
I'm most inclined to blame the neons (or more specifically, the one neon). And while I could do a lot to improve my quarantine procedures, segregating new fish for 2 to 4 months just isn't something I can do at present. While I hate the idea of medicating new fish as a precautionary measure, I can see why people would do it.
- Levsen, A. (2001). Transmission Ecology and Larval Behaviour of Camallanus cotti (Nematoda, Camallanidae) Under Aquarium Conditions . Aquarium Sciences and Conservation, 3(4), 315-325. DOI: 10.1023/A:1013137801600
- Levsen, A., Berland, B. (2002). The development and morphogenesis of Camallanus cotti Fujita, 1927 (Nematoda: Camallanidae), with notes on its phylogeny and definitive host range. Systematic Parasitology, 53(1), 29-37. DOI: 10.1023/A:1019955917509
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
First casualties?
While the Camallanus still appear well (there are still red worms hanging out of most of the Macropodus), one of the male Macropodus died. Was it worm-related, meds-related or just coincidence? I'm inclined to think it's something other than coincidence. After all, the only visibly infected fish are the Macropodus, so I'm guessing that they are more susceptible to the Camallanus.
It makes me wonder whether there's a stress component. The Macropodus are likely to be the most stressed fish in the tank, since their struggles for dominance consume a lot of their energy. Interesting thought.
It makes me wonder whether there's a stress component. The Macropodus are likely to be the most stressed fish in the tank, since their struggles for dominance consume a lot of their energy. Interesting thought.
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Camallanus biology
One of the challenges of home diagnoses is "getting it right". Based on the University of Florida IFAS Extension document (Yangong 2006) on nematode infections in fish, a diagnosis of Camallanus infection seems reasonable. But, like any biologist, my first question is: what species? Is there only one species that you tend to find in freshwater aquaria, or are there many?
According to Yanong, Camallanus requires a secondary host, usually a copepod. I suppose a moderately planted tank with driftwood has lots of room for copepods, even if I can't see them. There are enough hiding spots for them in there. So I'm guessing that control of secondary hosts really isn't an option.
According to Yanong, Camallanus requires a secondary host, usually a copepod. I suppose a moderately planted tank with driftwood has lots of room for copepods, even if I can't see them. There are enough hiding spots for them in there. So I'm guessing that control of secondary hosts really isn't an option.
"The dreaded Camallanus worm"
On Sunday I noticed something red and spiky protruding from the anus of one of my female Macropodus in the main tank. When I looked at them carefully, I saw something similar on one of the males. While I had never seen anything of the sort before, it was easy enough to recognise based on the descriptions I had read online - my tank was infected with "the dreaded Camallanus worm". A quick Google search reveals two things - one, that aquarists dread this worm (a genus of parasitic nematodes), and two, that there are two fairly well-established treatments: fenbendazole and levamisole. Fenbendazole is a common dog dewormer, and levamisole is apparently used for pigs. Fenbendazole was available at the pet store locally, so I went with that. However, levamisole is probably easier to use, since it can be applied to the water, and is usually effective with a single treatment. Fenbendazole needs to to ingested by the fish, and involves a three-day treatment cycle, followed by another treatment two weeks later. Since the fish have to ingest the drug, the issue of dosage becomes very complicated. On the other hand, the more powerful a drug, the more suspicious of it I am. I was reassured by the low level of warning on the fenbendazole package as well.
Based on what I could find online, I decided to make a solution (or suspension) of the fenbendazole and soak bloodworms in it. For good measure, I also added some sinking pellets to the mix. The fish at both quite happily, so it does not seem like the drug made the food unappealing (either that, or it didn't soak in well enough, which is a concern of mine).
Like everything else in the world of fishkeeping, the major source of information out there is the bulletin boards. And like everything else, I'm hesitant to trust them. I'm glad I came across this University of Florida IFAS Extension document. It was also nice to find this essay at PetFish.net - most people use levamisole, so it's nice to have something against which to compare my own experience.
Based on what I could find online, I decided to make a solution (or suspension) of the fenbendazole and soak bloodworms in it. For good measure, I also added some sinking pellets to the mix. The fish at both quite happily, so it does not seem like the drug made the food unappealing (either that, or it didn't soak in well enough, which is a concern of mine).
Like everything else in the world of fishkeeping, the major source of information out there is the bulletin boards. And like everything else, I'm hesitant to trust them. I'm glad I came across this University of Florida IFAS Extension document. It was also nice to find this essay at PetFish.net - most people use levamisole, so it's nice to have something against which to compare my own experience.
Monday, 9 April 2007
More on Ich
Searching for information about fish online has been enlightening. There's an awful lot of information out there, but it's often hard to gauge reliability. I realise that shouldn't be a revelation to me, but the truth is that I have rarely looked "blind" - I usually either have a sense of what I am looking for, or I have restricted my search to sources I feel comfortable trusting. This hasn't been a viable strategy this time.
I initially got the impression that ich was a water quality issue - that the causal organisms were normally present in aquaria, but only became a problem when fish were otherwise stressed. That proved to be a misconception - Ichthyophthirius multifiliis appears to lack a dormant life stage, so it can only be transmitted by infected fish or by plants (or other substrate) upon which the tomont has encysted. The infectious trophont is the sensitive stage - this is the one that can be affected by medications, and it appears that the infectious trophont stage can't survive more than a couple days outside of the body. Hence the suggestion that they best way to "clean" a tank is to leave it fish-free for a few days. Of course this doesn't answer the "Typhoid Mary" question - are there outwardly healthy carriers of the disease? To some extent this is true - since the parasites tend to infect the gills, it's possible to have an infected fish that lacks the characteristic white spots. But these fish will still only remain infected until the trophonts mature and drop off. Are there dormant infections - ones that will remain in the trophont stage until the fish is stressed?
I initially got the impression that ich was a water quality issue - that the causal organisms were normally present in aquaria, but only became a problem when fish were otherwise stressed. That proved to be a misconception - Ichthyophthirius multifiliis appears to lack a dormant life stage, so it can only be transmitted by infected fish or by plants (or other substrate) upon which the tomont has encysted. The infectious trophont is the sensitive stage - this is the one that can be affected by medications, and it appears that the infectious trophont stage can't survive more than a couple days outside of the body. Hence the suggestion that they best way to "clean" a tank is to leave it fish-free for a few days. Of course this doesn't answer the "Typhoid Mary" question - are there outwardly healthy carriers of the disease? To some extent this is true - since the parasites tend to infect the gills, it's possible to have an infected fish that lacks the characteristic white spots. But these fish will still only remain infected until the trophonts mature and drop off. Are there dormant infections - ones that will remain in the trophont stage until the fish is stressed?
Sunday, 8 April 2007
Ich
The dreaded Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) has struck my community tank. And in the last day or so I have learned an awful lot about the disease.
Ich is a disease caused by a parasitic ciliate. I got the impression initially that it was a disease of low water quality - that the organism was usually present in aquaria, but only stressed fish suffered actual outbreaks. Turns out that bit of conventional wisdom is false - it's an obligate parasite, so any introduction needs to come either with living fish or live plants. I hadn't thought of quarantining plants (well, slightly, but not to any great extent).
So how did I get it? The outbreak seems to be confined to the platies, but it's almost impossible that they are the cause. Most of my platies were born in this tank - they were the first fish I got. So the true culprits must either be plants (which are, after all, my most recent purchases) or an asymptomatic fish ("asymptomatic" in the sense that I can't see the symptoms, although they could easily be on the gills). I've had my newest fish (the Otocinclus and the Kuhli loaches) for two and a half weeks, so they could be the culprits, as could the new plants.
Ich is a disease caused by a parasitic ciliate. I got the impression initially that it was a disease of low water quality - that the organism was usually present in aquaria, but only stressed fish suffered actual outbreaks. Turns out that bit of conventional wisdom is false - it's an obligate parasite, so any introduction needs to come either with living fish or live plants. I hadn't thought of quarantining plants (well, slightly, but not to any great extent).
So how did I get it? The outbreak seems to be confined to the platies, but it's almost impossible that they are the cause. Most of my platies were born in this tank - they were the first fish I got. So the true culprits must either be plants (which are, after all, my most recent purchases) or an asymptomatic fish ("asymptomatic" in the sense that I can't see the symptoms, although they could easily be on the gills). I've had my newest fish (the Otocinclus and the Kuhli loaches) for two and a half weeks, so they could be the culprits, as could the new plants.
Friday, 2 March 2007
Hospital tank
About a week ago I moved two platies to the "hospital" tank. A male that was looking really bad - he had significant tail rot, and a female that wasn't looking too good. I treated the tank with Melafix, and hoped for the best. The female died a few days later, but the male seems ok. His tail hasn't healed yet, but the large whitish spot at the base of his tail (which he has had for several weeks) is almost gone.
I believe that his main problem was bullying - he was the second largest male, and had been harassed a lot by the largest male. While that fish has almost doubled in size since I have him, this male hasn't grown much. Until today the male in the hospital tank hasn't looked very happy - he spent a lot of his time sitting near the surface with his fins clamped - today he's much more active, poking around the bottom of the tank (and finding something edible, by the look of it). Hopefully he's finally on the mend. I still think his main problem was social, not water quality or disease per se. Hopefully I'll be able to get a second tank this weekend and move him into it. It might be worth making it a male-only tank (for platies, at least) - put him and the two smaller males in there - without females to fight over they may get on better. Probably have to move the male babies across there too.
Of course, this still leaves the question of what I want to do with the platies.
I believe that his main problem was bullying - he was the second largest male, and had been harassed a lot by the largest male. While that fish has almost doubled in size since I have him, this male hasn't grown much. Until today the male in the hospital tank hasn't looked very happy - he spent a lot of his time sitting near the surface with his fins clamped - today he's much more active, poking around the bottom of the tank (and finding something edible, by the look of it). Hopefully he's finally on the mend. I still think his main problem was social, not water quality or disease per se. Hopefully I'll be able to get a second tank this weekend and move him into it. It might be worth making it a male-only tank (for platies, at least) - put him and the two smaller males in there - without females to fight over they may get on better. Probably have to move the male babies across there too.
Of course, this still leaves the question of what I want to do with the platies.
Friday, 16 February 2007
Sick fish
Initially the female platies looked significantly stressed, but since the major water change it has been the males that look worse. Basically the water change sent to platies sex mad, and the largest male started bullying the smaller males. The second largest male is the one the got the most harrassment (perhaps because he was more willing to stand up to the largest male, unlike the smaller males who just ran). Anyway, he has had a moderately large whitish patch at the base of his tail fr a couple days - it looks more bacterial than fungal, but I am hesitant to add an anti-bacterial to the tank for fear of disrupting the biofiltration. I added Stress Coat - not sure if it will help, but anything that speeds wound healing (it's basically aloe vera) has some potential to help the fish. I'll see what happens - if need be, I'll isolate him and treat him with something stronger.
Thursday, 15 February 2007
Fish and water
The water chemistry seems to be improving - the nitrite level appears to be around 1 ppm, down from somewhere between 1 and 3 ppm. Hopefully that means that Nitrobacter populations are growing, doing a better job of converting nitrite into nitrate. The alternative hypothesis is that the Nitrosomas populations have collapsed for some reason and the ammonia isn't being converted to nitrite. It's possible, but I think it's unlikely (though I suppose I should test the ammonia levels again).
On the other hand, the second largest male platy isn't looking good - he has splotches of on him, and he is being harrassed terribly by the largest male. I'm guessing the two are related. I need to get something to treat that...if I knew what that was. Anyway, I have a heater to return (it was too big for the small tank).
One real problem with trying to treat anything is that I have two things to manage - the fish and the tank ecosystem. Most anti-bacterials will destroy the biofiltration system, which will put the rest of the tank at risk. I really wouldn't want to start this whole process over. That said, of course, the health of the fish is important. A diseased fish means a much larger population of pathogens in the tank. Even though they were there to begin with, it's that reserviour that has the potential to infect the other fish, the ones that are less stressed.
On the other hand, the second largest male platy isn't looking good - he has splotches of on him, and he is being harrassed terribly by the largest male. I'm guessing the two are related. I need to get something to treat that...if I knew what that was. Anyway, I have a heater to return (it was too big for the small tank).
One real problem with trying to treat anything is that I have two things to manage - the fish and the tank ecosystem. Most anti-bacterials will destroy the biofiltration system, which will put the rest of the tank at risk. I really wouldn't want to start this whole process over. That said, of course, the health of the fish is important. A diseased fish means a much larger population of pathogens in the tank. Even though they were there to begin with, it's that reserviour that has the potential to infect the other fish, the ones that are less stressed.
Sunday, 11 February 2007
Beginning
Linz got me an aquarium for my birthday, and so the adventure began. After a 20+ year hiatus, I was once again fish-crazy. And I made a new discovery - cycling. Back in "the old days" the books I had never mentioned cycling. No one talked about "New Tank Syndrome". It made sense to me - after all, I'm an ecologist, I am aware of the nitrogen cycle. But it still seemed an awful imposition :)
Anyway, with a 55-gallon tank and "magic" bacterial cultures to add, I figured I could cheat a bit. So I added plants, figuring they would help things along, and Linz's fighter. And after a couple days I bought a few platies. That's where the problem started - everything I read said more females than males, so I asked for 3 females and two males. I figured that the guy at the pet store should know what he was up to, but once I got them home and had a look at them I realised that I had four males and one female. So a few days later, since she was being harrassed so much, I added four more females. And, of course, some Corys.
A few days later, after the first female had given birth, I noticed fin rot on her and one other the other females. Not sure what that meant, I moved them into the old fighter tank, where they promptly died. (The fighter had also expired the previous day - I felt really badly, since he wasn't mine). Only then did I got looking online, and realise that rather than being a contagious disease, fin rot was most likely to be a symptom of bad water quality. So I did a water change - about 10%, because I didn't want to mess up the cycling too much.
The next day I noticed that the remaining females in the tank didn't look well either, and had some fin rot. I was going to attribute it to (harrassment by the males, but then I noticed "shimmying", and I remembered seeing something about it on a disease page. So I looked into it, and realised that my water temperature was set really low. I raised it any everyone seemed happy.
Anyway, with a 55-gallon tank and "magic" bacterial cultures to add, I figured I could cheat a bit. So I added plants, figuring they would help things along, and Linz's fighter. And after a couple days I bought a few platies. That's where the problem started - everything I read said more females than males, so I asked for 3 females and two males. I figured that the guy at the pet store should know what he was up to, but once I got them home and had a look at them I realised that I had four males and one female. So a few days later, since she was being harrassed so much, I added four more females. And, of course, some Corys.
A few days later, after the first female had given birth, I noticed fin rot on her and one other the other females. Not sure what that meant, I moved them into the old fighter tank, where they promptly died. (The fighter had also expired the previous day - I felt really badly, since he wasn't mine). Only then did I got looking online, and realise that rather than being a contagious disease, fin rot was most likely to be a symptom of bad water quality. So I did a water change - about 10%, because I didn't want to mess up the cycling too much.
The next day I noticed that the remaining females in the tank didn't look well either, and had some fin rot. I was going to attribute it to (harrassment by the males, but then I noticed "shimmying", and I remembered seeing something about it on a disease page. So I looked into it, and realised that my water temperature was set really low. I raised it any everyone seemed happy.
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