Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a Beta fish and something strange happened he fell down the sink and got stuck the only way to get him out was to use tweezers I got him out but he lost a lot of his tail. Will it grow back and if yes how long? Will it live in the mean time?
  
  
• I have a 48 Gallon salt water aquarium, I have only had it 3 days now and I am starting to establish it. I have aluminum sheeting lining the inside of my tank lid where my lights are to reflect down( no metal was touching the water) but this morning I found the aluminum sticking down into the water? Will this kill my fish?
  
  
• I have a Sailfin Tang in my tank which has recently developed abrasions on his face. He has been very aggressive when I put food in the tank and will snatch it from my hands and sometimes he touches me. Does this have anything to do with the scars on his body?
  
  
• I recently bought a Copperband butterfly fish to rid my tank of triffid anemones. So far he has not touch the triffid anemones. Was I mislead on what he will eat? A Week later I noticed that the fish has developed spots on it tail and it left eye has a glaze over it. What is wrong with this fish?
  
  
• My Betta fish swelled up and his skin is bumpy like goosebumps. Why did this happen? What can I get or do to cure him?
  
  
• I have a Platy and I have only had him for a week. The fish seems to have spots all over it's body. What is it?
  
  
• I have 2 Oscars, one of which is covered in white spots which almost looks like air bubbles. Can you help?
  
  
• One of my golden barbs has seemed to have turned really red. It seems to swim ok but is their something wrong with him?
  
  
• My Green Arowana had tail rot and i'm treating it with Maracyn-Two. It is a five days treatment and she's on her third day of. Cloudiness of the water is expected but I would like to know if it is just normal for my Arowana to stay on the bottom of the tank during her treatment?
  
  
• I have a Box fish that has somehow produced white spots that look like salt all over his body. What is this???
  
  

• I have a Beta fish and something strange happened he fell down the sink and got stuck the only way to get him out was to use tweezers I got him out but he lost a lot of his tail. Will it grow back and if yes how long? Will it live in the mean time?
  
  Yes it will grow back. Fins are sort of like fingernails in that they are dermal tissue, and can regenerate. I would suggest in the future, you pour through a fish net when you are emptying your Betta bowl.
  
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• I have a 48 Gallon salt water aquarium, I have only had it 3 days now and I am starting to establish it. I have aluminum sheeting lining the inside of my tank lid where my lights are to reflect down( no metal was touching the water) but this morning I found the aluminum sticking down into the water? Will this kill my fish?
  
  One night with some aluminum in the tank will not harm anything, but we suggest you secure that reflector better so it doesn't happen again.
  
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• I have a Sailfin Tang in my tank which has recently developed abrasions on his face. He has been very aggressive when I put food in the tank and will snatch it from my hands and sometimes he touches me. Does this have anything to do with the scars on his body?
  
  Those "abrasions" are not caused by the fish rubbing against your hand, but could be caused by fighting with other fish or rubbing against rocks or coral to remove parasites. You'll have to watch it closer to see if you can pick up some clues. This could also be the beginning of LLE, lateral line erosion, which is a condition that is sometimes caused by malnutrition in fish that require a great deal of greens in their diet. We need to qualify that statement, as there are many other possible reasons for LLE, and more research is being done on this condition, so what we say here could soon be out-of-date. For example, it is now known that keeping live rock in a marine tank will often prevent or even cure some cases of LLE. Make sure you feed freeze-dried algae and that you are feeding a wide varied diet which includes different frozen foods. It is also a good idea to use a little vitamin formula in frozen food as well.
  
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• I recently bought a Copperband butterfly fish to rid my tank of triffid anemones. So far he has not touch the triffid anemones. Was I mislead on what he will eat? A Week later I noticed that the fish has developed spots on it tail and it left eye has a glaze over it. What is wrong with this fish?
  
  Copperband butterfly fish are often put into reef tanks in an effort to control Aiptasia anemones or other nuisance anemones. Sometimes they help, sometimes they don't. We like to control these anemones by VERY CAREFULLY target poisoning of the anemone using calcium hydroxide or marine buffer. You use a long eyedropper or a piece of 1/8" hard tube, and jam it into the powdered buffer. Then very carefully touch the powder to the anemone in the tank, releasing only a few grains and being careful not to allow the powder to touch your valuable corals. The anemone will melt on contact and can then be siphoned out of the tank. Fair warning, this technique will also kill any other coral or anemone if the buffer or calcium hydroxide makes contact with THEM! The white spots are probably marine "Ich" (Cryptocaryon irritans), a one-celled parasite. The eye has a haze from a secondary bacterial infection caused by a wound left by one of these parasites. You need to treat the tank immediately with a reef safe medication. Please register on our forums at http://www.aquariumpros.com/forums/ and ask about treatments there.
  
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• My Betta fish swelled up and his skin is bumpy like goosebumps. Why did this happen? What can I get or do to cure him?
  
  That is an indication of "Dropsy," which is a condiition caused by any internal bacterial infection that causes gases to build up in the coelem (membrane sac that holds all the internal organs) of the fish. the gases build up causing the fish to swell and the scales start to stand on-end, looking like "goosebumps." The bacteria (there are several species) that cause this are difficult to kill, and this problem can usually only be treated in the very early stages. If the fish is still eating. The best treatment would be to soak some defrosted frozen bloodworms in some Neomycin or Kanacyn (one capsuleper ounce of food, then try to get the fish to eat a few pieces every day for ten days. For mild infections with Bettas, I would recommend Betta-Max by Aquatronics for the fish, but it is doubtful treatment can be successful unless this condition is caught early.
  
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• I have a Platy and I have only had him for a week. The fish seems to have spots all over it's body. What is it?
  
  If those spots look like small grains of white salt, that is probably Ich, a one-celled parasite. Freshwater fish get this disease when they are stressed, usually from a rapid change in temperature, or in aquariums that do not have heaters.
  
  The best treatment is to do a partial water change, raise the temperature of the tank slowly to 80 degrees, then treat with a good Ich medication. We like Super Ich Plus by Aquatronics.
  
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• I have 2 Oscars, one of which is covered in white spots which almost looks like air bubbles. Can you help?
  
  Sounds like Ich to us, a one-celled parasite, and it also sounds like you need a good fish book. Our FAQ are answered every other week or so, so urgent questions should not be asked here. Consulting an aquarium book would have gotten you an immediate answer.
  
  Change 50% of the water and vacuum the gravel; raise the temperature to 80 degrees; medicate with a good Ich medication like Super Ich Plus by Aquatronics. Make sure your heater is working, as the most common cause of Ich outbreaks are sudden fluctuations in temperature or not using a heater for tropical fish.
  
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• One of my golden barbs has seemed to have turned really red. It seems to swim ok but is their something wrong with him?
  
  There is probably nothing wrong at all. Male gold barbs will turn reddish when they are courting a female.
  
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• My Green Arowana had tail rot and i'm treating it with Maracyn-Two. It is a five days treatment and she's on her third day of. Cloudiness of the water is expected but I would like to know if it is just normal for my Arowana to stay on the bottom of the tank during her treatment?
  
  The cloudy water is due to the antibiotic killing nitrifying bacteria, so you now have an ammonia problem or a bacterial bloom. That is what is affecting the fish. Discontinue treatment and change 25% of the water. If you are using a carbon filetr, change the media. Tail rot is almost always caused by unsanitary tank conditions. In almost every case of tail rot we have ever seen, the aquarium was either too small, under-filtered, over-fed or was not getting regular partial water changes every three to four weeks. If all you are using is an outside power filter (one of our MAJOR pet peeves), add an undergravel filter. Make sure you feed correctly. If the tail rot does not go away with proper tank management, medicate with Aquatronics Spectrogram.
  
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• I have a Box fish that has somehow produced white spots that look like salt all over his body. What is this???
  
  This is a very common parasitic infection called Cryptocaryon, or "Ich". The tank should be medicated as soon as possible. As long as there are no invertebrates in the aquarium, copper-base medications are typically the most effective treatment. Many other treatments are available for use in tanks containing inverts or live rock. It is important to treat the entire tank, as these parasites may lie dormant in the substrate and will infect other fishes in the tank even after removing fishes that have visible signs of infection.
  
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