Dosing melafix, making skimmer bubble like crazy

[dnas17]

I purchased some melafix because my cardinal fish has fin rot, I went to diagnose the suggested amount but when I looked back at the tank there was a thick foam sitting at the top of my tank and the skimmer was releasing bubbles like crazy on top of that the collection cup was full of bubbles. So I turned off the skimmer however I am not sure what to do. Should I really keep my skimmer off for the next 7 days for the dosing period? I plan to do a huge water change at the end of the dosing period as well to compensate the skimmer being off this long. Anyone who was had experience with this your help would be greatly appreciated.

[FocusFin]

No help with the skimmer but I have had amazing results with Selcon food additive. I used it with HLLE here;

http://ovas.ca/forum/index.php?topic=46451.msg262021#msg262021

[dnas17]

Thanks for the help, but I already have the melafix on hand and have already begun dosing it into my tank just today.

[FocusFin]

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

Many fish ailments can be traced back to poor water quality or something lacking in diet. By boosting the fish's immune system it helps to protect against (and reverse) many of the ailments we run into. Dosing Melafix in a display tank is a bit like trying to cure arthritis with bath salts. You might see temporary relief but the problem will persist.

How long has your tank been up? Have you had any other fish with problems? Do you have room for a quarantine tank?

[dnas17]

about a month and a half, only the cardinal is affected and no room for a QT.

[Darth]

yes melafix will make the skimmer go nuts I would turn it off while you dose, then run carbon afterwards

[FocusFin]

I don't think dosing Melafix in a display tank is going to have the results you're hoping for.

You've got a few things possibly going on. New tank, stress, poor diet.

If you've set up a new tank, you've likely moved or added things, changed rock structure or location and as a result probably caused some stress and/or spike in water quality. Add to this a poor diet and you can have problems. I'm not saying you are responsible for a bad diet, it's just that most foods lack some of the elements needed to keep fish free of illness. That's why a supplement like Selcon is so effective because it immediately goes to work at boosting the fish's immune system.


Read the info below from Wet Web Media it may be helpful:


So, the main question is how do you treat bacterial infections? First, it's critical to realize that the presence of a pathogen does not necessarily equal disease. While a pathogen must be present, clinical disease occurs only as a result of an interaction between the pathogen, the host, and the environment (see Figure 1).

This is where stress comes into the discussion, and it plays a very big role indeed. When a pathogen invades a host it does so because it gets past the host's defence mechanisms, the immune system. When fish are stressed the immune system is suppressed, meaning that it is not working to its usual efficiency.

The most common sources of stress includes poor water quality, aggressive tankmates, poor nutrition and, not surprisingly, infectious agents. In fact, the problem is somewhat cyclical as many bacteria secret toxins and enzymes that are immunosuppressive; in other words, the bacteria themselves are able to reduce the efficiency of the fish's immune system. Often, simply improving water quality, diet and eliminating any sources of stress will enable the host's own defence mechanisms to fight back.

If you suspect that your fish has a bacterial infection and is getting worse, the first thing you should do is review your system. Check water quality, aggressive behaviour from tankmates, whether the diet is optimal and balanced for the species, and all the other good husbandry practices that, if optimized, should help to alleviate the problem.
The second thing you should do is confirm, as best as possible, that you are in fact dealing with a bacterial problem and not something else.

What you shouldn't do is look for a silver bullet. This is because treating a fish with an antimicrobial when you haven't made a reasonable diagnosis and haven't addressed the root cause of the problem is essentially a waste of time and money. In fact, it may even exacerbate the problem by allowing the infection to spread.

[dnas17]

So keep the skimmer off for the next 7 days? it says to not use carbon w/ the melafix as the carbon will adsorb it

[Darth]

yes melafix will make the skimmer go nuts I would turn it off while you dose, then run carbon afterwards

afterwards (meaning after the cycle) But I would also look into what Mike has been saying as well