VERY SICK ORANDA - PLEASE HELP !
#1
PLEASE HELP! I am sick with worry over my very ill oranda. Everywhere i go i get conflicting advice and i'm so stressed and he is so poorly. A week ago i noticed a large sore on the side of his body.... The day before i had noticed him "sitting" on the heater so i assumed it was a burn off the heater. I got a heater guard and added melafix to the tank.
A day later i noticed some black marks on his body and one on his head. Then he started to bloat and have problems swimming. I thought this was swim bladder so tried the pea trick which appeared to help briefly.
Now though he has stopped eating and is even more swollen and is swimming into the side of the aquarium really hard. I visited an aquatic shop and they gave me some protozin.
I am on day 2 of the treatment but he is still really bad. He is starting to "pine cone". I fear the worst. He is either swimming around crashing into the side of the tank or lay on his side/back breathing heavily.
Help Please ! I'm desperate.
I feel terrible. Is there anything i can do? I am doing 25% water changes every day (i have been for about 5 days now) as i know the nitrate and nitrite level is too high.
Aquarium size: 160 litres
Filtered using an external DIY trickle filter. The filter has layers of 3 foam types, Kaldnes K1, alfagrog and carbon (the carbon was removed as per instructions on the protozin bottle.
3 airstones
Temperature usually 20 (celcius) 68 (farenheit). I have now raised the temperature in the tank as i understand parasites dislike this.
Although i think it may be bacterial now. So i don't know whether the protozin will do anything to help. Or will it make it worse even? Should i stop the protozin treatment?
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 50
Nitrite 0,5 (Not seen nitrite before tonight)
GH >21 (I was told bogwood would lower this, which i have now added)
KH 12.5 (darker than 10 but not as dark as 15)
PH 7.8
CL 0
Very grateful for any help.
Thanks