My 20 gallon tank is undergoing it's second day of ich treatment. I followed the advise posted here and gradually raised the temp to about 83-84 F, and slowly introduced salt at about 1 tblsp per gallon. But what prompted me to start in the first place is my smallest cory, which was not swimming well, laying on it's side, gasping for breath, etc. When I saw him like that, I immediately checked his tankmates and found ich spots on several of the other cories, which were also acting listless with clamped fins. I started the treatment Thursday evening, and there's been a bit of improvement in all my cories except for my little one. It's still very weak, and he does look a bit emaciated.
I've done 2 water changes since Thursday of about 20-25% percent, and the ammonia level seems to be around .25 still. I'm doing a massive water change again today, with the salt, but I'm really afraid of putting the fish through so much stress. I'm puzzled about the ammonia, as well.... no nitrites or nitrates at all, just ammonia. Could the filtration be inadequate? I'm using a penguin bio-wheel that's supposed to be for a 20 gallon.
As you can see, my tank's chock full of issues right now, and I can't seem to get a handle on the exact cause . Facts to know-due to a heater malfunction a few weeks ago in my 10 gallon, I temporarily relocated my betta and 4 otos to the 20 gallon until I can get a better heater. The otos died due to an ammonia spike. ( I suspected, but now I'm thinking maybe not). Another factor- I decreased the amount of water changes to combat brown algae at roughly the same time I relocated the fish. That was dumb. Ammonia spike and ich and a weak, sick cory. It seems like a major domino effect.
I'm pretty confident that I can fix the ammonia problem and the ich, but the sick cory concerns me a lot. I would blame his behavior on the salt treatment but this started before I noticed the ich. The other fish- the red phantoms and the betta- are acting fine. My other four cories are much better, behavior-wise. But this little guy is failing. Should I quarantine him? What manner of illness should I research?
Also, this is a bit unrelated, but it does tie into my issues- my tank has always had a great deal of organic debris from the plants and driftwood. Is it possible that I need a stronger filter? Everytime I do a water change, I clean the gunk off the intake and do a vacuum swish to suck out all the "stuff". ( this includes strands of CAT HAIR!!!). I know I don't get it all- could that be contributing to the ammonia as well?
Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty discouraged right now. I've never had any major problems with my water perimeters or my fish until this. Sorry for the rambling post... it's just really frustrating! any help would be greatly appreciated!!
~ncg
I've done 2 water changes since Thursday of about 20-25% percent, and the ammonia level seems to be around .25 still. I'm doing a massive water change again today, with the salt, but I'm really afraid of putting the fish through so much stress. I'm puzzled about the ammonia, as well.... no nitrites or nitrates at all, just ammonia. Could the filtration be inadequate? I'm using a penguin bio-wheel that's supposed to be for a 20 gallon.
As you can see, my tank's chock full of issues right now, and I can't seem to get a handle on the exact cause . Facts to know-due to a heater malfunction a few weeks ago in my 10 gallon, I temporarily relocated my betta and 4 otos to the 20 gallon until I can get a better heater. The otos died due to an ammonia spike. ( I suspected, but now I'm thinking maybe not). Another factor- I decreased the amount of water changes to combat brown algae at roughly the same time I relocated the fish. That was dumb. Ammonia spike and ich and a weak, sick cory. It seems like a major domino effect.
I'm pretty confident that I can fix the ammonia problem and the ich, but the sick cory concerns me a lot. I would blame his behavior on the salt treatment but this started before I noticed the ich. The other fish- the red phantoms and the betta- are acting fine. My other four cories are much better, behavior-wise. But this little guy is failing. Should I quarantine him? What manner of illness should I research?
Also, this is a bit unrelated, but it does tie into my issues- my tank has always had a great deal of organic debris from the plants and driftwood. Is it possible that I need a stronger filter? Everytime I do a water change, I clean the gunk off the intake and do a vacuum swish to suck out all the "stuff". ( this includes strands of CAT HAIR!!!). I know I don't get it all- could that be contributing to the ammonia as well?
Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty discouraged right now. I've never had any major problems with my water perimeters or my fish until this. Sorry for the rambling post... it's just really frustrating! any help would be greatly appreciated!!
~ncg