[SNAXX]

I just managed to wipe out most of my Pencilfish population. The only possibility is that Pimafix is the culprit.

I had 2 CPOs in my tank that beat up two Sterbai corys. Why these two particular Sterbai were so comfortable swimming right up to the CPO's and turing their backs, I will never know. One of the Sterbai recently developed some white patches and began to show a film on it's body. Soon after the other one of the two showed the same whitish film. As there was no visible fuzz, and having used Pimafix and Melafix in the past with varying degrees of success, I gave it a shot. Not being a poop for brains, I dosed to the amount of water that's in the tank minus the hardscape and substrate weight. The tank is a 72, I dosed to 60 ish. A few hours later it looked like a pencilfish massacre in my tank. Once beautifull Golden Pencilfish bodies strewn everywhere. I managed to recover 11 bodies, 4 still alive, 3 MIA.

I test my water weekly, change 35-50% weekly. My water is steady with no Nitrites or Ammonia. Having just changed the water yesterday my nitrates were under 40 ppm. Ruling out overdosage or water quality, I'm left with the only logical answer. Pimafix wiped out my Pencilfish.

 

[Nordic]

There are many things that could have been in the new water that you are not testing for/able to test for. You can not do two things at the same time and then randomly ascribe blame to one of them when something goes wrong.
That being said, Pimafix can kill easily if overdosed... what was the exact dose you used?, could you have had a brainfart while doing it? I know I have dosed some dubious variations with dechlorinator, especially when I work on tanks very late or early.

 

[bigbadjon]

I don't know how off it has to be before the dose is lethal. I have heard accounts that pimafix can effect air exchange and kill your fish. You may lower your water level a bit or adjust your spray bar to increase aeration.

 

[SNAXX]

Three 10 ML and one 1 ML. That's what I dosed. The directions are 5 ML per 10 gallons.

Let me make this clear, I'm not trying to bash API or Pimafix here. I should have made that qualification in the first post. I have used it in the past and had no ill effects in the livestock or water quality. Having done some research after the losses unfortunately, apparently others have had the same experience with certain fish. Pencilfish being among them. Also, there are articles discrediting those that have concluded Pimafix was the cause of the fish losses. So my goal is to inform those who keep Pencilfish of my experience. Hopefully any Pencilfish keepers that read this and are considering Pimafix will not make the same mistake I made by not researching first.

On a side note, my initial post may have came across as a knee jerk reaction. I'm an experienced hobbyist who's dealt with all the things that come with this hobby, many times over in some cases. I'm no guru however. I do understand alot of fish loss is due to human error. I did my due diligence as far as I was able before making this tread. I did the testing I was able to as well as went over the steps that led to the loss. Could there be something that was added to the water by the water company? Sure there could be. Along with infinite other possibilities. We as hobbyists can only control the things we do however. Those are the things I took into consideration. The facts of my situation are the fish were alive and vital before I added the Pimafix. Mostly dead with the surving members obviously distressed post Pimafix. There could be extenuating circumstances, most definitely. So where I'm at is, I'm going to stop using the Pimafix in my main tank. Look into seperating the Corys for treatment.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I've heard of other cases of Pimafix (& Melafix) killing pencilfish but leaving the rest of the fish population unaffected. Beckford's are usually as tough as nails but they must be super sensitive to some ingredient in those medications.

 

[SNAXX]

Tough as nails indeed. They had been the most healthy fish in the tank since I got them. Never a sign of illness. They were small and underfed in the LFS tank. They plumped up and grew into beautiful fish in my care. If I could find them locally I'd definitely replace the losses with this species. They have great personalities. A bit on the aggressive side considering the size, but not overly so.