Do I need to worry?

[mikev]

malachite green seems to be perfectly fine with hillstreams, but formaldehyde I'd be worried about.

antiparasite medications are not necessarily wrong in this case, they are often effective against external bacterial and fungi infections. In some cases they are more effective than antibiotics.

I'd consider adding a small amount of Meth Blue to the water, of the order 2-3 drops per 10g. This will have no effect on the fish, not enough to affect the biofilter, but will reduce the amount of parasite/bacteria in the water (reducing chances of transmission to other fish) and may cure the problem too. An alternative is Furan2 which combines effective antibiotic with Meth Blue but at a standard dosing may cause biofilter damage in a small/new tank.

In the two recent episodes of external bacterial growth I had with new hillstreams, Meth Blue+Salt was reasonably effective with one case, Furan2 was effective with other; conventional antibiotics were useless.

hth

[janma]

The loaches are looking better, tough I didnt give them any medication. I´ll see tomorrow if I need to get some, dont know what to buy. There are maybe 3 types of medicin to get here: against Parasites, Fungus or Bacterial. Wich is the one to go with, allready have the one against parasites. Also thinking about getting some vitamins, cant hurt. Also seen one of them eat and that allways comforting.

-Janne

[mikev]

Good news!

There are maybe 3 types of medicin to get here: against Parasites, Fungus or Bacterial. Wich is the one to go with, allready have the one against parasites.

You really need to be more specific. There are different anti-Parasite medications, and different antibiotics. anti-Parasite and anti-Fungus meds are usually mixes and one needs to look at the components, both for efficiency, and for possible danger to fish and the biofilter. Components of all three "classes" of drugs actually overlap.

IME, furan2 proved to be the most efficient antibiotic. It is a mix (Nitrofurazone+Furazolidone+Methylene Blue), with Nitrofurazone being the main component. Every new fish here gets treated with it now. Minocycline (aka Maracyn2) IME is the 2nd overall most useful drug for hillstreams.

While it is very good that you see improvement signs, your gastros seem to have an open wound, which may be prone to secondary infection(s). Thus, some antibiotic or general disinfectant may still be a good idea.

hth

[janma]

The thing is that you just can walk into a shop and buy antibiotics. You need a medical prescription for that. So only thing I bought today was vitamins so we shall see.

[LUVaLOACH]

The thing is that you just can walk into a shop and buy antibiotics. You need a medical prescription for that. So only thing I bought today was vitamins so we shall see.

Glad to hear they are eating, that is a huge plus. I don't know where you are located but we have a store here that sells any meds...I mean it's a wall full. I hate that you have to get a script to get them meds. You could order off the internet...Mike's advise sounds right on and I know he knows his hilly's.

Best of luck to you, keep us posted,
Krista

[janma]

The loaches are ok now. Almost back to 100% with normal colours at affected areas. It only took some vitamins, glad I take mine every morning.

-Janne

[Jim Powers]

That's great news!!