# Help! Melafix may kill my fish???



## jbayrd (Dec 28, 2005)

I had a zebra with Popeye so I treated the entire tank with melafix. After a week I did a partial water change, per melafix's instructions. Two days later, my fish aren't eating and they're all at the top of the tank gulping at the surface of the water.

I added an airstone, and more melafix and then tested the water. My nitrates and Nitrites are as high as they can go. No ammonia. I'm going to treat with nitraban to see if that helps but I could use some help.

1) Did Melafix wipe out my biological filtration??
2) Will a recent dose of Melafix cause my water to test high for nitrates and nitrites??
3) Was the sudden change in water chemistry after the water change too much to handle??


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

I saw the other post with issues with Melafix. I find it perplexing. I've used it numerous times on several different tanks with absolutely no negative impact on fish or biological filter. That said, I tend to under-dose from the instructions . . .

I don't use things like Nitraban. If it were me, I'd do a water change, stop using Melafix and make sure my filter isn't blocked up. I'd pull the guy with the injured eye and put him in a hospital tank and treat him there. I've never had pop-eye, but my understanding is that is it usually caused by a water issue, so perhaps your nitrates were high BEFORE the Melafix?

Good luck


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You don't need to add more products to the tank, water changes are in order, and lots of them.

What are the exact water parameters?

How long has this tank been set up?

What size tank is it? How many gph are you filtering?

What is your normal tank maintenance routine?

If it is an established tank, Melafix didn't destroy your beneficial bacteria, so we need to find out where the problem actually is.

It would also be good to have a full stock list along with sizes, to determine the stress level in the tank...


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## jbayrd (Dec 28, 2005)

Here are the Specs as I know them. 58 Gallon oceanic tank that has been up and running in the current location for 2 years. 
It was set up 1 1/2 years prior to that at another location. 
I'm running a Rena XP2 filter.
Normal tank maintence is a 25% water change monthly as well as a filter cleaning. I add aquarium salt and dechlorinator.
nitrite levels were over 5.0 yesterday
No ammonia...yet

Stock list - 2 rusties (4 inches), 1 ice blue zebra (approx 5 inches), 1 melanachromis (3.5 inches) 1 pictus cat (6 inches), 1 sail fin pleco (4 inches), 5 zebra babies (1-2 inches). I'm sad to say but the red zebra with Popeye did not last through the night.

Moving forward...I'm going to stop feeding for a few days and do small water changes every 48 hours.

Thank you for your help. Please advise.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Your nitrAtes are high probably because you're not doing adequate water changes. Most folks do 25 percent weekly -- at a minimum. You are lightly stocked, but you definitely still need to increase your water changes to a weekly schedule of some sort.

Also, cleaning your filter monthly could be part of your problem, depending on how you are cleaning it. I only open my canister every other month or so to rinse the media in old tank water. If you're doing a really good cleaning i.e. using tap water or replacing lots of media, that is what could have put you back into a cycle.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

> nitrite levels were over 5.0 yesterday


If its nitrIte, with an 'I' then you've found your problem. Nitrite needs to always be 0 in an established tank.

To detoxify nitrite: 
First do a 50% partial water change using a declorinator that detoxifies nitrite. Seachem Prime or Amquel Plus will do a good job here. 
Add aquarium salt at the rate of 1-2 teaspoons per ten gallons
Feed sparingly
Increase water movement.

Robin

And on the Melafix being responsible for killing fish: I recently contacted the makers of Melafix, Aquarium Pharm. and they assured me that Melafix will not deplete the oxygen levels in the aquarium or effect the biological filtration in a freshwater or marine aquarium. The medication simply aids in regeneration of damaged tissue of the fish. At times the product may cloud the water but in no way does it alter any of the chemistry or dissolved oxygen levels in the aquarium.
I think a product can get a bad rap like this when it's used on a fish that is on its way out. The med has nothing to do with the fish's demise but because it's the last thing thrown into the water it gets the blame.


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## jbayrd (Dec 28, 2005)

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for your input thus far as my tank slowly unravels.

I miss spoke...my NitrAtes are at 5+. And they continue to hold at dangerous levels. (even after two 40% water changes in 6 days). Fortunatly no ammonia.

I know I probably need to be patient and continue routine water changes, but my concern is growing as the body count rose to two last night. I lost a 4 year old male rusty.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

> I miss spoke...my NitrAtes are at 5+. And they continue to hold at dangerous levels. (even after two 40% water changes in 6 days). Fortunatly no ammonia.


5ppm is not high for nitrates. In an established tank without plants you will always have nitrate--it's normal and as long as it doesn't get too high, (below 20ppm is ideal, over 40ppm and you need to up the water changes to get it down and/or cut down on the waste being produced). 


> I know I probably need to be patient and continue routine water changes


No! This is does not sound like a wait and see situation. 
*Do this: *
check your filters and make sure there is no build up of waste on the media. If there is then rinse it out in a bucket of tank water. Then watch and see if there is a good strong flow coming out of the filter return. You may need to drop the water level an inch or two in order to see what kind of flow there is. 
Then do a 30% partial water change and siphon the gravel. Make sure you're using a good quality declorinator: one that detoxifies nitrite and removes ammonia. Seachem Prime and Amquel Plus are two good choices here. 
*Then please get back on here and answer the following questions:* 
You mentioned in your original post that your nitr*i*tes, (with an *I*) were as high as they can go--? What are they reading exactly? What sort of a test kit are you using? Test STRIP kind or test TUBE kind? How old is the test kit? What are you using for a declorinator? 
The two fish that just died: were they eating and swimming normally yesterday? 
What symptoms are you seeing in the remaining fish? Are they eating? Gasping? Hiding? Swimming normally around the tank? Hanging at the top? Sitting on the bottom?

Sorry you lost more fish--

Robin


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

*I moved the Melafix discussion part of this thread here: :thumb: *
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 43#1285243

Robin


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## jbayrd (Dec 28, 2005)

I'm using the testing strips. I know they're not as accurate as the liquid test but I need something my parents can use since the tank is at their house and I don't live there. Normal behavior has returned to the tank.

It's my understanding at this point Nitrites are at zero, and Nitrates are at 5+

I cleaned the filter per your instructions. The dechlorinator is made by I believe Tetra. It comes in the yellow bottle and if my memory serves me correctly it's called tetra.

The fish ate like champions today. As far as i can tell it's normal behavior. Water flow also appears to be strong.


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