ICH-y clowns!

[tim3d]

Hi,

about a week or so back i started noticing some white spots on the smallest and most recent clown loach. At first it wasn't clear if it was ich and when asking a friends opinion he didn't think so either, then as the days progressed he was looking worse and worse, so i went and bout some NOX-ICH. Ive been treating for 3 days now, and ive noticed the other fish in tank that were mildly affected are clean, however the one clown loach is still covered, and the other two in my tank are also still prominently displaying ich.

Any help on fast cure for ich? I know its a common occurrence apparently because of there scalessness. However that very fact in itself make sit hard to cure as they can only have a "half-dose" of the medication. And because i have other bottom feeders.

So any help is appreciated.

Current levels:
ph: 7
ammonia: 0
nitrites: .1
nitrates: 20

Fluval 205 canister filter, planted 32 gal tank. Fish population listed in signature.

Help!

 

[Goldiegupp]

Isolate the one bad fishy. Add a concentration of 1 tspoon of sea salt (non iodinized) per 1 gallon of water. Keep in mind it takes time to clear this disease - maybe even seven to ten days. But don't worry, it's not deadly unless it's untreated. When a severe case of ich hit my tank, i sadly had to euthanize the fish that would not improve and had the worst case...lets hope you don't have to, but remember it IS worth it to sacrifice one for the good of them all.

Fingers crossed, and
hope this helps!

 

[tim3d]

the ich on all the other fish have cleared, however its just the 3 clown loaches, i want to transfer them to my 20gal for treatment, except that i need to return my Paradise fish to the store. It just doesn't want to get alone with anything, and as nice as it looks, id rather have other fish that get along. He keeps nipping at my gouramis. I should be able to get them isolated by wednsday. My only problem is catching the little buggers. They are fast as all hell, and where i have a planted tank, it makes it hard to maneuver the net quickly. The other problem is i built it to well, and they just swim under logs, or into my rock cave. Clowns to the end.

But im glad to know its not lethal. (unless untreated). ive been treating since friday, and its mildly starting to look better. as i said the others that had some ich (guppy tail, and gourami fins) have cleared up, hoever i noticed my bala sharks have some signs of it on their front body. Im thinking of getting rid of them anyways. (by which i mean exchange them) they tank up valuable tank space, and arent very active or entertaining.... or anything that pretty frankly... i bought them cause a friend told me how his used to come to the front of the tank and great him when he came in the room.... but these two just stay at the back behind the log, and chill.... meh, as soon as the ich is cleared up they're going back to the store in exchange for something more.... exotic... Its great being friends with the shop owners (its family run)

Anyways, thanks for the advice, im going to use some of my freshwater salt as well as the Nox-Ich, an raise the temperature slightly. As recommended by every site i can find. i have an order of new fish coming in on Thursday and i want things cleared up so i can introduce them to my 32. not to mention the 3 fish i already have put aside at the store for me.

 

[tim3d]

well, as an update, i lost all 3 clown, after putting them in the isolation/ quarantine tank, and treating them, i got home Friday evening to find the two larger ones belly up, and the smallest one still alive but sluggish. I lost a bala on net contact from heart attack, and the other one was still infected and i was gonna get rid of them to make more room in the ecosystem. But because of the ich they wouldn't let me bring it back, so i left it with them. He was on the verge of going, he would just give some flaps, and fall, and then give some more and fall.... he wasn't active, sluggish, and just didn't look well... At least everyone else is going good, except for the Betta which i lost today from mysterious causes...

 

[OrangeCones]

But because of the ich they wouldn't let me bring it back, so i left it with them. He was on the verge of going, he would just give some flaps, and fall, and then give some more and fall.... he wasn't active, sluggish, and just didn't look well... At least everyone else is going good, except for the Betta which i lost today from mysterious causes...

You left a dying bala with the fish store?

 

[OrangeCones]

i have an order of new fish coming in on Thursday and i want things cleared up so i can introduce them to my 32. not to mention the 3 fish i already have put aside at the store for me.

I don't think it will be wise to add more fish into your aquariums if you have been treating for ich. Since you moved the sick fish out of the 32gallon and into the 20gallon, both tanks are now contaminated with the ich cysts. You need to do water changes daily with heavy gravel vacuuming to clear them out so they don't cause another outbreak in a month.

 

[tim3d]

I have done some major changes and cleaning since then, and i didnt leave a dying bala with the store, i went there with it in hopes they could help me out, cause i was originally going to be trading in my balas anyway, they were using up too much of my bio load. But then the ich threw that idea out of the window. So in my tank he looked alright, until i brought him to the store and under their light i could see he had ich. He wasn't acting normal, and so i told them to keep it... Only because i didn't want to bring back infected fish. As it stand now i don't have any fish with ich. And im just trying to get my tanks back to normal.

The 32 gal is great, but my 20 is having really bad nits problems.... and its weird cause just a few days ago it was fine. Yesterday i did a water test, and my nitrites and nitrates were off the charts, so i did a water change and added the appropriate chemicals.

I'm going to be changing the layout of my 20. Its currently set up as an artificial tank with clearly fake plants, and stuff, but i don't like it. i like the natural look of my 32 and so I'm going to do the same with the 20. I'm just hoping that seeing as Ive become friends with the pet shop owners son, he might let me return my fake stuff... i meant its like 50$ worth of decor... that could be used to nicely set up a new decor.

 

[lauraf]

Do you have any idea why your 20g tank's nitrites and nitrates are 'off the charts'? If your tank was properly cycled, you shouldn't see any nitrites, but yes high nitrates if you are skipping water changes. And as much as it's fun to change around the tank decor, that is kinda the least of your worries if your water isn't okay.
In your last post you mention a betta that died of 'mysterious causes'? Was it in the 32g?
And hey, it seems like you've had a lot fish deaths recently - maybe the advice here might prove more beneficial than what your friend's parents' store is offering? Just seems like things aren't working well for your fish right now, and I know there are some really experienced fishkeepers here whose advice has almost always trumped what I received from even my most trusted lfs.

 

[tim3d]

(i just finished writing like a 4 paragraph letter and clicked post but it disappeared so heres the revised hopefully shorter version)

Honestly i have no clue why the levels are so high suddenly. 2-3 days earlier i did another test and they were perfectly normal. the nitrates were slightly elevated but the nitrites were at nearly 0. I had the betta in the 20 gal, he was recovering from an overnight squabble which left him with very little lower tailfin. (i went to bed he was fine, woke up he had almost no tail) I suspect the culprits are the gouramies, even tho they hadn't shown any aggression to him all week since i had them) He had been in the 20 recovering and was nearly at 100%. He was also alone in the tank. ( water was still good at this time)

Later that week i bought a opaline gourami, however when i put it in the tank it wasnt getting along with the dwarf gouramies so i put it in the 20 with my betta, and placed the betta in the breeder box / isolation box, so it can finish healing without being disturbed by the gourami. Shortly afterwards i added two algea eaters to the 20 to keep things in check.

On saturday, i walk in the room, only a few hours after seeing him alive, i find my betta dead and stiff as a board. I removed, and immediately did a water test. At which point i found out how nitrites and trates were ridiculously high.

I have since moved the gourami into the 32 gal ( in the isolation box for the moment) so that at least he can live in healthier water. But im left with a murky 20 gal. Its only been just under a month since i started it, and im strongly considering just starting it over. aside from the two Algae eaters (which i can return) it has nothing in it anyways. Plus i dont really care for the look of the current decor and want to start another planted tank. My hope is that it will fair better the second time around.

As for the advice giving, i fully agree with you that coming here give far superior information than any LFS. The only thing i ever ask at the store anymore is compatibility between species before i buy. Anything else, especially when im having a problem i come here. And im always reading other ppls posts even if im not posting myself.

I have to say tho, im very happy i became friends with the family who owns the shop. The son, who is the same age as myself, invited me to go with him to the supplier / distribution center (one of them anyways) that handles pretty much all the fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, rodents for the entire province. Something like over 2000 tanks. in the basement of the warehouse. And i got anything i wanted at cost price and discounted on top of the cost price because my friend does a lot of business with them. I was like a kid in a candy shop. So many species of fish, from fresh to saltwater. What would normally have been a 25$ dollar fish cost me like 2$. I walked out with what would retail for just over a hundred $ (and i only had like 5 fish) and i paid 30$ tax free. suffice to say i REALLY want to get my 20 gal going well so i can go back and start stocking it. Later this year im planning on getting a 75 gal or more. at which point look out fishies, here i come. lol.

p.s. is that your kitty in the picture? or just an image you liked on the web? cause my cat loves to just stare at the tank. i even set up a folding chair in front of it for her, where she just sits calmly and observes, doesn't paw at it, or anything, just sits and stares.

 

[lauraf]

Hi Tim:
First things first: of course that's my cat! All three of my kittehs like to visit the fishez.
Second: it's really cool that you are able to get a price break on fish because of your connection. Wish I had that, but then again, I haven't really had to spend a lot of $$ on new fish, knock wood. But if I could get that kind of deal on plants, well . . . .
Third: I'm not sure that even the question of compatibility is being answered well, unfortunately. Betta plus gouramis? Mixing gourami species?
Fourth: did both of your tanks 'cycle' completely? What are you using for testing your water?
And finally: if you do decide to 'start over' with your 20g, be patient and do a fishless cycle. It will let you take the time to think about how you want to decorate the tank and how best to stock it. Not to be all preachy or anything, but it also gives you a sense of how carefully we need to maintain that ecosystem: we don't have to live in it, but our fish do!
Anyway, just my thoughts. Please keep sharing!
Cheers,
Laura

 

[tim3d]

Hey laura,

1: your kitty is awesome. lol. (im a cat-lover first - fish second lol)

2: I can most definitely get a price break on plants too. I would gladly say hey, ill ship em out to ya, except for a few reasons i probably cant. ( 1 being i dont want to abuse my source, 2 ive never shipped anything to do with aquariums {i.e. fish, plants, etc} and would be too nervous to botch it.) But i can definitely see what i can do if anyone's interested in select specimens. (it will be our little secret.... shhhh *shushs the entire forum* lol)

3: the compatibility thing is somewhat resolved but im having new problems. (which i started a new thread in the beginners and questions section titled Who attacking who?) the original problem was that my dwarf gouramis attacked my betta, i put the betta in the 20gal, (which was cycled) Then i bought a opaline gourami, and placed in the 32 with the dwarfs, but they just antagonized each other, so i place the betta in the isolation box, and let the gourami in the 20 on its own with two algae eaters. however when my betta died due to the mystery cause and i tested the water and realized the levels i quickly got the gourami out of there and placed him in an isolation box in the 32 for now until i decide whether ill keep him or not.

4: yes both tanks had cycled. I did a fishless cycle for both, the 32 gal is still doing perfectly fine, the levels at last check (yesterday) where at:
pH: 7
ammonia: 0
Nitrites: .1 or less
Nitrates: 20

Now originally the 20gal was also fully cycled with great stats, however then it started fluctuating recently. its been acting weird to say the least.

5: I'm pretty sure im going to be restarting it. Fish-less as always. I'm changing the decor, the lighting system, and the stock type, the location, and possibly the filter.

And yeah, that pretty much covers it all i think. Any information i can provide to help my case, just ask. And thanks for your advice, it is greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[lauraf]

Hi Tim:
Kitties are wonderful, indeed. So are fish.
I'll follow up with you on your other thread.