salt baths

It's really hard to catch one fish. The two new female barbs still have pale marks on their tails- the second one it showed up yestserday, more an indistinct blotch than clear oval shapes like on the other one. Maybe it's a fungus. I don't know now. Yesterday I managed to catch both fish with a net and gave them a thirty minute salt bath. They did ok, swam about slowly in the bucket close to each other. Today it was a different matter. Both very wary of the net.

I tried baiting with food at the surface and resting net below them, then scooping upwards when they had relaxed and were feeding. Pointless (and damaging) to chase them through the plants. Didn't work. Then I set the fish trap. Lots of fishes went in it (funny, the kuhlis when they get in start contentedly eating the bait; the barbs get nervous and just want to exit again) but it took two tries (lots of patient waiting) before I caught the sickest fish. Tried again for the second one, baited with garlic- caught the rest of the males and another female, but this last one just wasn't hungry enough anymore to go for the bait. So I gave up on her and just treated the one. This time she looked more stressed in the bath- from being caught again, or from being alone? Didn't loose equilibrium but just hung still in the water for long moments, until I started refreshing with clean water at the end. Neither of them actually look sick- alert fins, normal appetite- but the second one that I chased a bit now has a split in her tail fin. Sigh. I don't want to try and catch them another day. If it doesn't seem to clear I think I will treat the tank with PraziPro...