I have a three month old tank, when we first set up we got stupid and added 4 gourmi's, 6 bala's, 4 barbs, and 8 clown loaches. As you can figure we got a serious case of ich and lost almost evey one, only three gourami's lived. But now all levels are back to zero with the Ph at 7.6. So we went and got 5 clown loaches and 5 balas, but the loaches are getting spots so we started treating for ich again. Can somebody help me, why am I getting ich all the time? Every fish seems happy except for one loache that is always hiding and has lost alot of color, but when the lights go out he comes out and eats.
Clown loaches and ich
- Thread starter moparman
- Start date
Are you treating it for a while after the spots go away? Some ick can last for up to month so you should treat for about that long.
can I guess your tank size? I'm going with 20 gallon.
Also clown loaches don't like medication because they don't have scales. So too much medication for them is like burning.
Even though your tank is 3 months old you shouldn't add 10 fish at one time, you should add like 2 loaches one weekend and 2 the next and so on.
I've only had one fish have ich once and that was 4 years ago when I first started getting big into fish. That fish died so I'm not going to give you advice on how to cure your fish since I can't.
But I will say that adding 3 times the amount of fish you currently have in a tank in one day is recipe for disaster. There is only enough fish pee removing bacteria in a tank as there is fish pee to "eat" so the bacteria has to try and multiply to keep up with the sudden triple amount of waste to process.
Also clown loaches don't like medication because they don't have scales. So too much medication for them is like burning.
Even though your tank is 3 months old you shouldn't add 10 fish at one time, you should add like 2 loaches one weekend and 2 the next and so on.
I've only had one fish have ich once and that was 4 years ago when I first started getting big into fish. That fish died so I'm not going to give you advice on how to cure your fish since I can't.
But I will say that adding 3 times the amount of fish you currently have in a tank in one day is recipe for disaster. There is only enough fish pee removing bacteria in a tank as there is fish pee to "eat" so the bacteria has to try and multiply to keep up with the sudden triple amount of waste to process.
There is a reason that the myth "every tank has ich" lived for so long! Many ppl have a mild infestation of ich and don't know it. It can infect the gills and you can't see it. The fish scratch once in a while, big deal. Then something stresses the fish and you get a full blown assault!
As OldVamp said, ich can last a long time (more so at lower temps) and if you don't get all of it, indefinitely. Check out www.skepticalaqaurist.com for good info on ich.
Clown Loaches can handle full strength meds, just acclimate them one day with 1/2 strength. As long as they're not already on the death bed, they'll be fine.
Ich is so prevelant at lfs (at least around here) that I treat every fish for ich even if I don't see symptoms. Once you read about it, you'll see why.
If you're going to stock your tank so full so suddenly, plan on doing 50% water changes every other day to keep ammoia/nitrite in check.
You can also search this site for awesome info on everything about fish! And most of it won't be from me!
Good luck!
As OldVamp said, ich can last a long time (more so at lower temps) and if you don't get all of it, indefinitely. Check out www.skepticalaqaurist.com for good info on ich.
Clown Loaches can handle full strength meds, just acclimate them one day with 1/2 strength. As long as they're not already on the death bed, they'll be fine.
Ich is so prevelant at lfs (at least around here) that I treat every fish for ich even if I don't see symptoms. Once you read about it, you'll see why.
If you're going to stock your tank so full so suddenly, plan on doing 50% water changes every other day to keep ammoia/nitrite in check.
You can also search this site for awesome info on everything about fish! And most of it won't be from me!
Good luck!
My tank is 46 gal. I'm doing 20% water changes every other day, nitrite and amonia are still at zero. All thats going on is about three spots on two of them, thanks for your help.
If you took any negativity from my earlier post I take it back seeing you have a 46 are are changing water, Sorry. Sounds like you got the right idea and must just have a little bad luck.
wow, i hope you upgrade your tank in the future.
You CANT use regular ich treatment on clown loaches or they WILL die.
Slowly raise your temp to 80 - 84 degrees (maby 1 degree every hour) and put salt in your tank.
the ich should be killed off after a while.
When all of your fish are full grown, you will need at least a 100 gallon tank (for the balas) and each clown loach will get about 7" so your tank is overcrowded with just the clown loaches being full size.
You CANT use regular ich treatment on clown loaches or they WILL die.
Slowly raise your temp to 80 - 84 degrees (maby 1 degree every hour) and put salt in your tank.
the ich should be killed off after a while.
When all of your fish are full grown, you will need at least a 100 gallon tank (for the balas) and each clown loach will get about 7" so your tank is overcrowded with just the clown loaches being full size.
What is "regular ich treatment"? Some use salt and heat as the regular treatment, this will kill them? Personally, I've used Rid Ich (by Kordon) at full strength, Formalin at full strength, and salt up to 2tsp per gallon without them dying. FYI, I use formalin and salt as a "regular treatment" for ich, full strength on clown loaches, yo yo loaches, Hillstream loaches, zebra loaches, orange finned loaches, and a number of tetras (supposedly only require 1/2 strength meds too) without killing them.
The temp I have seen sited for effectively killing ich is 84 and above (usually to 86).
When you treat for ich, you should treat for 10-14 days to be sure you removed all the tomites. I'm sure you know this after visiting the skeptical aquarist.