H. Inspector has ich - Please advise.

[joolicious]

Well mr. inspector came out of his grotto once the light went out and has been hanging out near a piece of watermelon. so at least i don't think he is starving himself. guess i'll find out tomorrow!


Here's the latest test results, after doing 1 water change earlier today:

@11h40pm - Ammonia: 0.25 Nitrite: 0.5-1 Nitrate: 5

Ammonia in tap water: 0.25-0.50

How long should I wait between water changes as to not stress out the fish too much?

Re: Ich, I will definately go and get some Rid Ich + first thing tomorrow morning. Will grab some AmQuel as well. Thanks alot for linking that article, I had read many already but hadn't come across that particular one.

I've had someone from planetcatfish suggest moving the inspector into a treatment tank, since the rest of the fish aren't showing any symptoms; apparently it could be something like Chilodonella?

Also said to set up the tank bare bottom, raise the temperature to 84-86 , treat for ich, gill flukes and internal worm parasites and feed live black worms and frozen blood worms.

Any thoughts on that?

 

[LeahK]

Well mr. inspector came out of his grotto once the light went out and has been hanging out near a piece of watermelon. so at least i don't think he is starving himself. guess i'll find out tomorrow!


Here's the latest test results, after doing 1 water change earlier today:

@11h40pm - Ammonia: 0.25 Nitrite: 0.5-1 Nitrate: 5

Ammonia in tap water: 0.25-0.50

That's really high. Try using a dechlorinator like Prime or Amquel that will neutralize the ammonia in your tap water.

How long should I wait between water changes as to not stress out the fish too much?

As long as you match the temp in the new water to the tank water, and dechlorinate the new water, you can pretty much do as many big water changes as you need to. Don't worry about the water changes stressing the fish--they'll be more stressed by the ammonia and nitrite levels.

Re: Ich, I will definately go and get some Rid Ich + first thing tomorrow morning. Will grab some AmQuel as well. Thanks alot for linking that article, I had read many already but hadn't come across that particular one.

I've had someone from planetcatfish suggest moving the inspector into a treatment tank, since the rest of the fish aren't showing any symptoms; apparently it could be something like Chilodonella?

Also said to set up the tank bare bottom, raise the temperature to 84-86 , treat for ich, gill flukes and internal worm parasites and feed live black worms and frozen blood worms.

Any thoughts on that?

Wow--I don't know. I'm not the expert on all this by a long shot, so hopefully someone else will chime in, but I'd hesitate to treat for illnesses when you don't have a clear diagnosis. The medicines themselves are potent, and can harm or stress both the fish and the filter bacteria, so I would try to determine exactly what's ailing your inspector, and then use meds for that.
Do you see symptoms of gill flukes and internal parasites? If you can, post a pic of the fish. Maybe someone here can help diagnose. If it really is ich, then I see no reason to throw fluke and internal worm meds in the water. That said, many ich meds are used to treat chilodonella, as well.

 

[joolicious]

inspector died

Well, inspector died this morning.

I wish I had been able to keep you guys updated until now but there's been so much going on lately.

After my last post, I went to my LFS where I purchased the fish to get some Rid Ich+. It's a reputable place and I was a bit upset to find out that all of their inspectors were sick, and they hadn't even realized until I pointed out the tank.
I guess that will teach me to always quarantine regardless of where I purchase my next fish, reputable place or not.

The clerk explained the difference between chilodonella and ich and after looking closely at their inspectors, he determined it was most likely ich. Because of that he suggested I treat the whole tank.

I left with a malachite green solution since they didn't carry Rid Ich+.

I started treating the whole tank at half dose, keeping the light off and cutting back a bit on feedings.
I had been keeping up with the daily water changes, treating it with Prime and the ammonia and nitrite had gone down.

A day after, our pl*co already looked better. He was out and about, sucking on the windows and hanging out on the driftwood as he should have been from the beginning. He also started to eat again, although my attempt to feed him frozen blood worms failed because the minnows went for them first.

He was good for two days and then it looked like the infestation got worse, and he went back into hiding.

Today would have been the 5th day of treatment.

I'm pretty sad and a bit at loss. I'm not sure what went wrong, could it have been already too late?
I keep thinking I aimed too high by picking a more exotic pleco right away.

One thing is for sure, I learned alot from this experience. I was already planning on separating the minnows and pl*co to give them both a more appropriate habitat. I've purchased a secondary 6G tank, and I'll be researching carefully before deciding what to do next.

The minnows are still fine by the way, and I had taken the zebra nerite out before starting treatment.

What should I do now with the main tank that was being treated? Do I keep up the treatment just in case? Do I need to clean out everything?

 

[LeahK]

I'm so sorry for your loss! Don't feel too bad, though. You did everything you could do.
I had almost the same experience when I was first starting to keep fish. I bought three loaches, who ended up showing signs of ich within a day or so. When I went back to the store to buy the ich meds, I saw that the whole tank of loaches had it. I pointed it out to an employee, but when I was back in a few days later, the loaches were still sick and still for sale. It took several days of me calling the store before some employee finally confirmed that they were treating those fish.
That's when I learned to quarantine, too....
Anyway, if the minnows are doing fine with the treatment, I'd probably keep it up for a few more days. Ich can hide in the gills and be difficult to see. If you still don't see new symptoms after about 3 more days, then stop treating. Then do a big water change and run some carbon for a few days to clear the meds out.
Also, rinse all of your equipment (buckets, water vac, etc.) very well, after each use. Ich cannot survive being dried out, but it can live in water droplets on your equipment and then be reintroduced into the tank.
Again, don't feel too bad. Who knows how long that fish was traveling in that shipment of sick fish, and how long it was with the same sick fish in the store's tank? It may already have suffered gill damage from the ich before you ever got it.
Good luck with restocking!

 

[joolicious]

Thanks LeahK! I really appreciate all the help you've provided. This is an awesome community.

I just noticed that there are only 3 minnows left (still looking perfectly healthy).

Is it possible the pleco could've eaten one before dying??

I'm almost certain there were 4 yesterday. I see no sign of dead fish or remains anywhere...

What a crazy day :x

 

[LeahK]

.

 

[LeahK]

Yeah, AC is great. This site has pretty much solved every aquarium problem I've ever had.
I don't know whether plecos are carnivorous.... but if one minnow died, it's definitely possible that its minnow buddies ate the body.

 

[joolicious]

I think I may be going insane. When my boyfriend came home yesterday, we had 4 minnows again. I just looked now, and can only see 3 again.

I only have gravel, a couple plants (really not enough for one to hide in there) and driftwood....