Hi, I am new to this forum, but a 20 year keeper of aquariums. I recently changed up my 55 gallon tank from ciclids to community fish such as angels, rainbows, tetras, rams. I am struggling for the first time to get it stable with some new fish purchase problems. Most recently I have purchased two angels and two rainbow.... All sick. After four weeks of trying to get them better, my pet store has replaced them ($65 investment!), and allowed me to keep the original purchase. Before returning them, I had set up a hospital tank and tried to get them better with a variety of meds including Melafix and Pimafix, API fungus and API's Tectracyline (about 4 weeks of treatment). Not all at the same time. I have questions.

The angels have parasites, pale colored sores, bumps with black rod-like lines inside. Seem to get getting better with parasite meds, but how do I know when it is saft to put them back in the 55 gallon tank?

The rainbows are not getting better. They are three-four inches, have white fuse on their mouths. One has no tail (all rotted away) and is not eating. The others have some white marks on their fins, but they are keeping their fins up, move around well and eating. After three treatments of fungus meds, should these fish be ready to go back into the 55 gallong tank? Should I keep treating them in the hospital tank. How long?

I am doing 25% partial water changes in the 10 gallon hospital tank every 48 hours. I have also added two teaspoons of aquarium salt to the hospital tank. I have no carbon in the filter. Currently I have the water treated with both fungus and parasite meds at the same time. Is this wrong? Any suggestons?

55 gallon tank
6 Columbia Tetras
6 Black Skirted Tetras
2 Bolivan Rams
2 German Blue Rams
2 Koy Colored Angels
2 Albino Catfish
1 Bristlenose
1 Clown Loach
1 Bismoni Rainbow
1 Rainbow (long, bright red stripe)
1 Rainbow (long, pink,red, gold)

10 Gallon Hospital Tank
two Silver Angels
two Rainbows (long version)
one Bismoni Rainbow

seems to me like your doing everything right,do you have a filter on the hospital tank?and how high do you have your temperature set?sometimes the temperature setting can make a difference on how long it takes a fish to recover as well as having some sort of background or some place to hide tot he fish feels secure and has a place to get better.

I would say try putting your temp up to 80 degrees if its not already there.i would also say 4 weeks to be on the safe side.and im not to sure about this other stuff.I'm sure a lot of people can help you here.hope i helped a bit.

Do you have any idea what kinds of parasites and fungus you are dealing with? knowing the specifics may help others recommend a treatment plan. Pictures can also be helpful.

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White fuzz over the mouth sounds like mouth rot a fungus,HOWEVER,its hard to diagnose without a picture.Please if possible,get a photo of the infected fish,and tell us the meds used when what it has done,as well as the water params;ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and temp.

Alot of sores over the body is not parasites but ammonia burns which can also be the cause of the fungus.What size is the qt tank they are in?

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"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

You may be causing stress in the fish you're medicating so heavily. With those that are showing signs of improvement, try sticking them in a bucket with a bubbler, maybe a spare filter with some media from your main tank, and do daily water changes. Most times, a fish will pull through the tail ends of a disease recovery in pristine water with no meds. Also, are you treating the main tank for parasites? The infected fish are out, but the parasites might be living in the tank somewhere.

Also, are you dechlorinating your new water? The burns on your angels (if I remember which one correctly) might be from ammonia OR chlorine.

PM Inkmaker on this forum, he's very knowledgeable when it comes to parasites and can refer you to some very specific and very strong anti-parasitic meds.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. Here's some answers/comments:
10 Gallon Tank, Whisper Filter, no carbon, 78 degrees
I treat water with STRESS COAT to eliminate chlorine.
Parameters are good, I check each day and pet store just checked three days ago.
Med history: Began four weeks ago with Melafix for seven days. No improvement.
Started Tectracyline as prescribed. No improvement. Started AVI Fungus: two applications completed. No improvement on Rainbows. Started Parasite meds: Angel is improving, but still has black spots within the lightened sore. I have pictures, but can't seem to load them from here. I put them in the gallery and it's asking for an URL. I'll try in a separate reply.

This is the Angel with a sore that contains several black linear spots. I began anti-parasite meds four days ago. Two applications. It seems to be a bit better. The fish eats well and moves very well. Tempted to put him in the main tank, but afraid those little black spots will "JUMP"!!!!

Personally, I don't think these pics do any good. The brownish tint obscures and if you turn off your bubbler it would help also.

This is one of the Rainbows with whitish tips on the fins. When I put it in the main tank, the other fish chase him in the corner, where he stays. When in the hospital tank, he acts normal, eats OK.

Sorry, best I could do with the camera, flash and glass. I have devoted three hours to get these pictures taken and then posted.I tried. It's the best I'm going to be able to do. How about the Angel, you can see the sore and three black dots. Can you give me a hint as to what is going on? Would greatly appreciate it.

Out of four 4 inch Rainbows, two originals and two replacements, three have died. The last one is in my main 55 gallon tank exhibiting the same frayed tail and white growth on the mouth, but is still alive and eating.

Re: the expired Rainbows: The white growths on their mouths and fins and tails just would not bounce back using API's Fungus Cure or Pimaflex. Interestingly, one of my 6 year old Rainbows began to get the white fuzz on its gills (?). I treated him in the main tank with Pimaflex. He came clean in just 48 hours.

I placed the two Angels in the 55 gallon, too. The Angel pictured with a sore and three black spots seems to be healing. The parasite meds worked. The sore is no longer pink, but grey and the small black marks seem to fading. The surface of the sore is not elevated, but rather flat.

I have read over and over on these forums that water changes is the best way to help build up immune systems. I will continue to change the water every other day 30% hoping that my last new Rainbow will survive. In total, I have spent $50 on the fish, $50.00 to set up hospital tank and $30 on different types of meds for five fish. In my 30 years of having fish, this was the first time I have experienced a bad purchase at my fish store and the effects of disease on the entire tank. Since the original and replacements were from the same tank at the fish store, I believe the fish store got a BAD shipment in time for the 25th anniversary sale.

I sure hope my 55 gallon stabilizes soon. I am not buying any new fish for a month!