Black Ich and Tail Rot combo ;(

[Broham]

So i have 4 african cichlids. Similar size. 1 is not displaying any signs of problems yet. 2 others have tail spots on them and 1 has tail spots along with black ich on head and around face. I raised the temp to 82 degrees and will put in 1tsp of aqarium salt per gallon. I plan on getting Maracyn since i heard malafix doesnt work as well. I dont have a quarantine tank and dont believe this condition to be severe but I plan on doing water changes. The carbon has been removed from the filter as well. what has worked for you all in treating cichlids with black ich and tail rot at the same time. I dont want to overmedicate:huh:

[wataugachicken]

black ich? i have never heard of such a thing in freshwater fish, the ich parasite is always white. might be hole-in-the-head disease. . . .

[Broham]

I thought hole in the head is only for oscars? these are africans and if it is tail rot as displayed by the fish ill use maracyn, does any one else know what these black markings can be? a worm or parasite may be my guess, if so maracyn should do the trick right? along with water changes?

[Broham]

Wow, i mustve misdiagnosed because i read that black spots on african cichlids are scabs from fighting or digging in gravel and not to be confused with black spot disease. Either way ill do water changes and still treat for fin rot clearly displayed in other fish with maracyn, when its all said and done ill post the tank with fish pics

[Broham]

THe tail rot was not tailrot, the black ich was not black ich all a misunderstanding. mod please close thread "thanks"

[jm1212]

can you provide a pic?

[Star_Rider]

FYI, HITH/LLE
is not for oscars only.
it is a problem that can occur in many cichlids.

[Broham]

i didnt know star rider, thanks for the info. all this time i thought it was for oscars only. ill take some snapshots when i get home and post in a few hours. thanks guys

[rivd]

I am battling Black Ich at the moment. Black is a type of flat worm(I believe).
I have tried using copper at very high levels (off the chart) for 3 wks. It didn't work. I am now trying a combination of copper and formalin.
On other sites it says that you should do formalin baths and move all fish to a diffrent tank while the parasites die of in your main tank, but I have a 210 gal. and a 10 gal hosp. tank and have no space to be dipping and transferring all these fish in my small apt.
As far as fin rot is goes I had 4 Sterbai cory cats with a serious face rot, I tried medicating but these guys are very sensitive and one died within a couple days. So I ended up using aquarium salt and did 50% water changes every day to every other day (in a 10 gal. hosp.tank). It took almost about 3 wks. but now their cured.

[Broham]

Nice job rivd, I understand it can be stressful at times. For the most part, fish illnesses can be cured by aquarium salt and water changes, mixed in with good maintenance of aquarium water parameters. Other cures may require specific medicine like melafix for sores and bruises. I am buying a 10 gallon hospital tank for 10 dollars at petco. using a simple sponge/heater setup. This will always be up and running in the case for ich/fungus diseases. If this case occurs increasing the temp helps sometimes along with aquarium salt. Results are quick and can be maintained if you totally clean the other tank as well before you return the fish. I recommend 1 more week of aquarium and water change after the fish seem healed so no more parasites linger.