Plecos and Ich...Is There Hope?

[elinore]

...Latest update: the other pleco died. I am so sad.

 

[mel_20_20]

Oh, Elinore.... I'm so terribly sorry to hear that. I know how your heart must hurt right now. Such a tragic loss of a sweet and beautiful little couple.

How is your Betta doing?

 

[elinore]

The betta is really bad. She's still active, always begging for food, but when I turn the lights out she hides in a little cave and just goes limp. She is just covered from nose to tail in little ich spots. I've honestly never seen anything even close to this. I've tried to get pictures, but she's so wiggly begging for food and she's iridescent, so the flash tends to just bounce off. I'll attach the best one I have. You can't see it in the picture, but her body absolutely covered by spots. In person she just looks lumpy. Every day I think it can't get any worse, but every day she's a little more covered in spots, poor thing, but at least she's alive. Honestly, I know how any fish can survive the way she is. If she makes it, it will truly be a miracle.

 

[excuzzzeme]

For Ich on Plecos:

Before you begin increase heat to at least 85 degrees, but not higher than 90. Make sure there is plenty of aeration because warm water holds less oxygen and also speeds up fish metabolism. Therefore, fish need more oxygen from the water at high temps. Also, do a large water change (I prefer 50%-75%), which will improve water quality and suck up many free swimming ich organisms. Good water quality definitely speeds up the recovery process.

• Day 1: dissolve 1T (tablespoon) of salt per 5 gallons of tank water in a cup. (i.e. 2T for a 10 gallon tank.) Pour around the tank (but try not to pour it right on the filter). Also add 1t (teaspoon) of Ridich+ per 10 gallons.
• Day 2: same as day one
• Day 3: same as day one
• Day 4: one t (teaspoon) of Ridich+ per 10 gallons (no salt!)
• Day 5 through (3) days after the last spot is gone (usually 10 days total to be safe) continue to add the Ridich+, and leave the salt in.
  Afterwards, do daily 30% water changes every day to remove the salt. You can add carbon to clear the medication if you want, but the water changes usually do the trick. Do not change more than 30% of the water in a day because the change in salinity will shock and kill filter bacteria.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article60.html

 

[elinore]

Thanks for the info about plecos. Hopefully I'll never have to deal with this ever again, but it's good to be prepared all the same.

My betta is still alive, but now she is beyond covered in spots. She even has them on her eyeballs. It's really not looking good, but she's still lively and eating well. Poor little Henrietta. Argh! I just really don't want to lose her too!!!

 

[mel_20_20]

What are you doing to treat your Betta girl? How is she today?

 

[elinore]

I'm trying to keep the temp high, around 88F, but I don't have a heater small enough for little 2.5 gal, so I just screwed in the incandescent light the tank came with. The plants aren't looking so great after a week of this, but the fish is WAY more important. There is a very small amount of salt in the tank as well, but a very conservative pinch. Since the tank is so small, I don't want to send it out of balance. Water params are perfect. I have an extra airstone in there to keep the oxygen high. She *might* be a little better today! I'm very cautious about getting my hopes up, but it looks like the spots on her body are healing, and the spots on her eyeballs are mostly gone. However, the spots on her fins may have multiplied a bit, there are quite a few around the rims of her eyes, and her fins are as clamped as ever. She's still super feisty and hungry. I feed her in very small amounts twice a day. She gets a rotation of pellets, 2 types of flakes and dried bloodworms, plus little bits of pea a few times a week. I am certainly open to any suggestions!

I've been torturing myself to try to figure out how she could have gotten this, if maybe I messed up and somehow transferred it from the ex-pleco's tank, but then I remembered: At the same time I bought the sick ram, I purchased an Anubias nana and some Java Moss (from a different tank than the ram, but the tank did have some endler's and some kind of little cichlid. They didn't look sick, but then again neither did the ram!) for my betta's tank. I rinsed these plants off, worried about possible algae transfer, but I did not quarantine them. This must be where the ich came from. I have officially learned my lesson! I'm still doubting the betta will pull through, but maybe there's a glimmer of hope?

 

[mel_20_20]

I think she could handle a teaspoon of salt in her water. It will help speed up the cycle and do a better job of killing the free swimmers.

I got Ich the same way one time. I bought some plants from my lfs and saw a small oscar in the tank. I felt a little uncomfortable seeing him in there as she didn't usually have a fish in the plant tank, but I rinsed the plants and used them and there ya go.

I had to treat my tank for 30 days at 87 degrees with 3 teaspoons per gallon of water. I had Otos, snails, Brochis splendens, and all survived, except a few snails.

Truly, if she were mine I would go with 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, dissolve well, the heat is good.

She sounds like she's strong and is a fighter, for sure. I hope she will recover.

 

[elinore]

Thanks for the tip, and for the kind words! I only have about 1/3 tsp of salt in the water, so I will add more today. She's definitely a little fighter!

 

[mel_20_20]

Bring the salinity up slowly, over a day an a half or two, watching to see how she does with that. Of course, dissolved completely I know you know that but just had to say it.

Also, when you do water changes be careful to adjust the amount of salt so that only the amound removed is replaced. You don't want the salinity concentration to creep up to undesireable levels.