Added Meth. Blue

[stiver james]

My last few times my pair laid eggs they turned white and got fungus. I just added meth. blue to the tank tonight after a fresh spawn. I added 1 teaspoon per 10gal of water . I have them in a 29gal tank. I added three teaspoons. I hope I am doing this correctly. It turned my water a dark blue. Is this normal? Will it destroy my biological filter? These are a few questions I have about this. It has made me nervous. How long do I leave the meth. blue in there and how do I get it all out? After I am finished do I clean my sponge filters real good? I also have a eco system that I used on my marine tank filtering the discus tank also. Do I break this down and clean it too? Please give me some advise as I have never done this before. Thanks, Jim

[greyhoundfan]

Andrew from Green Country Discus does the same thing. I don't know what his regiment is and it does turn his water blue.. I'm sure he'll chime in on this.

[discusdave]

I have a pair of wild browns that spawn regularly but eat the eggs or the eggs always fungused. I bought some methyl blue the last time they spawned and they actually have about 10 free swimming fry right now. The dose was 1 drop per gallon but 1/2 strength for eggs, so I added 15 drops to a 30 gallon tank, a lot less than you did.

I don't know if the MB triggered a change in their parenting behavior or if it was just coincidence? Interesting either way though.

[Pat]

My best luck has always with mb But I do it a little different I use a syringe with 2cc of mb and put it right on the eggs so they turn blue. the trick is to coat the eggs with it. This has never failed me yet and it does not over do the tank. Then I will do normal water changes after 24 hours Pat

[Alight]

MB can reduce or kill your biofilter, so make sure you measure ammonia and nitrites for the next few days, and be prepared to do water changes if they start up.

You can remove it with carbon in you filter. Takes less than 24 hours to get rid of it.

I used it many years ago, for discus eggs. In the last few years, I tested with and without MB, and found no difference in the % of eggs that hatched, so I've discontinued using it.

It may depend on your water. With some water conditions, fungus appears sooner and grows more rapidly than with other conditions. I ascribed this to phosphates, previously, which I, thankfully, do not have in by current water supply.

[Green Country Discus]

Stiver, we use 2 drops per gallon ( some use more). We have never experienced a bio loss. We monitor this by observation of our fish closely. If there is a prob we test as per what Alight suggests. so far we have not had to test ;) . Water change will remove the blue. Keep it up with fry. They need it and keep your filter and tank spotless!!
HTH

[Stillwater Aquatics]

1/4 teaspoon per 10 gal for eggs, sometimes less- it doesnt take much. never had bio probs with it, maybe thinking of MG?

:D

[1977]

This is all going to depend on which brand you use. I use a liquid form fosters and smith which I add 3 or 4 drops per gallon. I have never had a problem with my filter. What you need to do is put the mb in the tank as soon as you see eggs. Do a 50% wc daily and the mb will slowly be diluted. My tank is usually very dark blue and you don't need to be concerned. The only bad thing is it permantly turns things blue like tubing and some silicone but whatever it takes to get a successful spawn. I find there is still a blue tint to the water for a couple weeks sometimes!

[billeagan]

Agree with 1977,,, different brands have different directions. The stuff from my LFS is 2 drops/gallon. The stuff I get from Jehmco is 1tbsp per 10 gallons.

Deep blue is fine. You should not have an issue with your bioload, but should keep your eye on the tank.

I would run a sponge filter in your other untreated tanks as backup to be safe.

[stiver james]

Thanks for all the advise. I used the mb as directed and it seems to be working. I don't think my male is fertilizing the eggs because they are starting to turn white again. This is the second day of the spawn and a lot of them are turning white. Some are still semi-dark in color. There should be some movement after 50 hrs correct? I am just not confident that my male is fertilizing these eggs. Again I did not see this spawn and don't know if he did or did not. I am almost 100 percent sure this is a male and female. If they all turn white again is this a sure sign that they are not fertile? He's guarding the eggs along with her like normal. If they all turn white again should I remove him and put my male BD in with her and see what happens? I know for sure that the BD is a male. Do you guys think this would be the right thing to do? According to the strips my water parameters are as follows, amon. 0, nitrate 0-20ppm, nitrite 0, gh 75ppm, kh40-80ppm, ph6.9 These water parameters look good to me. Correct me if I am wrong. With the eggs turning white like this it only leads me to believe that they are not fertile. Please any help or suggestions? Thanks, Jim

[marilyn1998]

Jim,

my pair spawned last nite again too. A day or two before they spawn you can see the tube of the female lowered. The male lowers his just be the female lays. His tube is not as thick and blunt. It is more pointed. IF your male is young then it is very possible he didnt fertilize. Most of my eggs turned white in the first hours. I had very few today that were still translucent. This means most werent fertilized. (if any)
Someone pointed out to me that my spawning site was very close to the filter and the pull of the intake could "wash away" the sperm. I dont know how soft the water has to be either. Your params look very close to mine tho.

Someone else will have more to say. Good Luck!