my betta infected

[Rokl33t]

ya so i checked my betta today, and got ich. I think its from the constant temp. change in my lil 2.5 gal. So i went today to by Rid-Ich+. Today is my first day so lets see wat happens from here
if i u guys have any personal specialties for this infection plz help me out.

My treatment: 1/4 tsp of Rid-ich after a 25% water change for 6 days (says the LFS People)

 

[Iggy]

Sounds fine, I would treat the tank for a full 30 day period, Ick will spore and live in the gravel, so you need to treat for a month in order to get it all.

 

[Rokl33t]

dang, but u are the famous iggy. so ill listen to ya and go for the full 30 days like u said. Thx for the help again iggy

 

[Iggy]

k, Coppersafe is what I use, that or Jungle Ick cure.

You might want to pick-up Jungle Anti-Fungus (yellow crystals) for after the Ick is gone, in case he gets some infections and/or fungus from the open sores. Wait till the Ick is gone before treating him.

Also, remember to remove any carbon filters (if you use them) or it will remove the medicine from the water.

 

[Rokl33t]

well day 2 was yesturday (sunday) and the ich was starting to clear up. And now today(besides the fact my betta had a pretty big bubble nest) its starten to clear up alot more

and iggy thx again for the help

 

[Iggy]

No problem... remember, don't stop treatment too early. Ick spores and lives in the gravel, the medicine will not kill the spore or the spot, just the free-floating Ick parasites. After the full 30 days, your tank should pretty much be Ick-free!

 

[Rokl33t]

day 4 now and my fish is completly free of ich, but i am taken ur word for it iggy and im not gonna stop till day 30 lol

 

[Iggy]

K, the spots are gone from his body, but the spores are still have Ick living in your gravel. It can take a few weeks for the spores to incubate then hatch, releasing millions of ick parasites back into the water. The medicine only kills free-swimming Ick, not the spores, that is why you treat for 30 days just to make sure you kill off the parasite.

Another good arguement for Quaranteen tanks, it lets you isolate new fish that may or may not have Ick before you introduce them to the main tank.

 

[Rokl33t]

hey iggy, i jus got some tiger barbs (baby size) and one of em died out of 5. I jus set up my 10 gal tank for em, and its been cycling for 3 days.. People tell me that it takes a couple of days for a water to be fine for fishes to live in. How long do u think it takes to cycle out a 10 gal tank?

 

[AquaticGem]

Cycling usually takes four weeks, give or take. Here is an article on cycling, which should explain the process. Obviously, you're doing a fishy cycle (most recommend fishless), so it's important to keep the ammonia level low, as high levels of this could cause stress, damage, and sickness for your barbs (though, not on day three of a cycle).

Do you have any other healthy established tanks? If so, you could use some of the gravel from one of them to help the cycling of your ten gallon. Also, if you have a trusted local fish store Not chain stores such as Petco, Petsmart, etc), you could ask them to squeeze out the gunk from one of their filters, so that you can add that to help seed your own filter media. Sometimes they'll even give you some of their gravel as well. You just need to be certain the place is reputable, as you don't want gravel, or filter gunk from a diseased tank of theirs.

 

[Iggy]

Like AquaticGem said... you need to learn a bit more about the nitrogen cycle

It takes usually a month or so for cycling a new with fish-in. I would suggest returning those barbs for now (before they die) and using the fishless cycling method first.

Fishless costs less, takes less time, and your fish are less likely to die or live shorter lives.

Here is my recipe:
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13406

 

[Rokl33t]

how long would it take for my barbs to die? cuz these guys look extremely happy in their environment. They are doing wat they naturaly do, swim in schools and chase each other. They eat normaly too. So how long would the strease and disease kick in?

oh and one more thing, if i keep my barbs in there for 4 -5 weeks and they are perfectly fine, do u think i can add other fishes?

 

[AquaticGem]

It depends on the tiger barbs initial health. Personally, I don't know why anyone would want to needlessly risk their fish's health, though. Ammonia can cause damage that can not be reversed.

Iggy's suggestion to return the fish if you can, and fishless cycle is truly the best advice. If, however, you decided to not do that, then do read the article I gave you above carefully, test the water daily (you'll need a couple testing kits), and be diligent with the water changes. That's the only way you'll bring your barbs through this with as little discomfort as possible if you do a fishy cycle.

I don't mean to come across rude in this post, btw, but Iggy and I are giving you advice based on experience. We just want what's best for your fish.

As for adding any more fish; your ten gallon tank is already stocked, IMO, with 4-5 tiger barbs (they grow to be around 3" each). You might be able to add something like 3-4 ghost, or amano shrimp, though.

 

[Rokl33t]

thx again for the help guys, but that article u sent me says as follows "Barbs, Danios and Rasboras are good first choices for cycling a tank."
i don't want to go against ur guys' words, being that u guys have been in this fish business a lot longer then i have. but who knows maybe my barbs will live thro the cycle, and trust me i would not want my fish to die. I love both my barbs and bettas.

Oh again my betta is looken 100% better now thx to iggy.
and we'll see in about 3 weeks how my barbs doin,
ill be posting new things everyday of the cycle
thx again guys

 

[Rokl33t]

scratch that guys, i took ur advice and took out my barbs. I decided to jus replace em with two giant danios. i got about 3 close to 4 more weeks. Jeez its gonna take forever lol