sick fishies-

Started treatment for the serpae in QT last night. I'm using API General Cure for antibiotic and antiparisitic. If a round of that does no good I might try a few salt dips, if it is still unchanged I will assume lympho or a tumor and just see how long it lives... Following instructions on the packaging I pulled the filter and just running an airstone, but I hate doing this the fish surely must be suffering ammonia and nitrite. Not wanting to loose the bacteria colony that has started in the sponge filter I put it in a vase (that once housed shrimps and buce) running on an airline, am feeding the colony one flake of fish food a day and dropped in a few dead leaves out of the main tank. Maybe silly, but if Punk needs to stay in QT for a while after this round of medication is done, I'd like to have an established filter to put back. He's still alive this morning. I have the tank covered but I peeked. A bit less pale with the stress, kind of hovering in one corner twitching fins occasionally. I saw a stretch of all the pectorals, pelvics, tail fin and mouth at once. That was a gesture I've never seen a fish make before. Lump on the nose looks a bit flatter maybe but I can't be sure.

Took 'Nito out of the main tank this morning for an epsom salt bath. That fish is looking worse- even after eating peas and two days of fasting. When unmolested (by me chasing with a net) it stays apart from the group, body kind of stiff but pectorals constantly dog-paddling or rowing to keep it afloat. Tail end dragging down. Looks awkward and uncomfortable. Of course it still moved fast enough when I tried to catch for the bath. I used the same method as before, with 1 tsp salts per gallon of water. Knowing that tetras can be more sensitive, I kept an emergency "revival station" on hand- a smaller container with 1/3 salted water, 2/3 tank water to drop the fish in quickly if it lost consciousness. But I didn't need to. 'Nito tolerated the bath well, went very pale with distress- shoulder mark completely washed out- but otherwise ok so I kept it in a full fifteen minutes before diluting the bath with tank water to readjust. I didn't release the fish back into the main tank, but put it in the fry box in a corner. It doesn't like being confined in there- constantly going back and forth pushing the sides with its nose to find a way out- but I want to give it a salt bath twice a day for a few days maybe, and this way I don't have to chase it down every time.