I have a serious ich problem. Need help!
- Thread starter duragon
- Start date
Things seem to be going ok. It looks like all the spots are gone. I haven't done a water change in about a week, so I'm going to do one today. All the water measurements are in good standing. One of the mollies is still very pale however. I hope he will get better.
The Ich
Identifying Ich
White spot cysts, each containing an active trophont, appear as small white nodules on the skin, gills and fins, giving the fish the appearance of having been dusted with salt. In a confirmatory skin scrape the trophonts appear as dark round objects slowly rolling around. The trophonts vary in size, up to 1mm and are considerably bigger than most fish parasites. Other features sometimes seen are a lighter, horseshoe shaped nucleus (seen in the top photo) and short cilia covering the entire body (seen in the movie clips).
In the early stages of the disease, fish are likely to flash and rub against objects because of the irritation. At a later, advanced stage they will become lethargic and spend most of their time sitting on the bottom.
My own experience is that Ich commonly affects koi - but in the early stages the characteristic white spots are very difficult to spot. They are probably there but not very noticeable. This is one reason why it is best to do a skin scrape when parasites are suspected - so that you know exactly what you are dealing with! Even finding one trophont warrants immediate treatment.
Treatment
It is only the free-swimming stage of the parasite that is susceptible to treatment; neither the trophonts under the epithelium or the tomont cysts can be killed. So any treatment plan has to be carried out over a period of time in order to kill the emerging parasites. This in turn depends on temperature. At 7oC the life cycle will take six weeks, whereas at 25oC
Identifying Ich
White spot cysts, each containing an active trophont, appear as small white nodules on the skin, gills and fins, giving the fish the appearance of having been dusted with salt. In a confirmatory skin scrape the trophonts appear as dark round objects slowly rolling around. The trophonts vary in size, up to 1mm and are considerably bigger than most fish parasites. Other features sometimes seen are a lighter, horseshoe shaped nucleus (seen in the top photo) and short cilia covering the entire body (seen in the movie clips).
In the early stages of the disease, fish are likely to flash and rub against objects because of the irritation. At a later, advanced stage they will become lethargic and spend most of their time sitting on the bottom.
My own experience is that Ich commonly affects koi - but in the early stages the characteristic white spots are very difficult to spot. They are probably there but not very noticeable. This is one reason why it is best to do a skin scrape when parasites are suspected - so that you know exactly what you are dealing with! Even finding one trophont warrants immediate treatment.
Treatment
It is only the free-swimming stage of the parasite that is susceptible to treatment; neither the trophonts under the epithelium or the tomont cysts can be killed. So any treatment plan has to be carried out over a period of time in order to kill the emerging parasites. This in turn depends on temperature. At 7oC the life cycle will take six weeks, whereas at 25oC
I just did my first water change in about a week and a half. The water was beginning to be a bit cloudy. Now that I've changed the water, its still cloudy. When cleaning, I took all the plants off and cleaned them, and scrubbed the algae off with a brush/scrubber thing. Any reasons for this? I haven't taking water readings yet today, but when I did yesterday, everything was tip top. I sure hope they dont spike.
As for the fishies, they are doing fine. I haven't seen any spots on them in about a week, but I will count this as the first day without spots, just to be on the safe side. The salt is still in the tank, and the temp is still up.
Also, when I scrubbed the walls of the tank, I noticed a bunch of algae spots starting to form, so I guess I need to start thinking about getting some new type of algae eaters. I was thinking ottos, but I dont know if I can fit 3 in my tank (as they are supposed to be had in 3s or more). Any ideas?
As for the fishies, they are doing fine. I haven't seen any spots on them in about a week, but I will count this as the first day without spots, just to be on the safe side. The salt is still in the tank, and the temp is still up.
Also, when I scrubbed the walls of the tank, I noticed a bunch of algae spots starting to form, so I guess I need to start thinking about getting some new type of algae eaters. I was thinking ottos, but I dont know if I can fit 3 in my tank (as they are supposed to be had in 3s or more). Any ideas?
Ok. I haven't seen any spots for a while, about 2 weeks. I've been doing water changes, and taking readings. Everything is looking good.
However, my heater died, so I went to get a new one. And while I was there I picked up 2 little little little ottos. So they are in the tank munching away. They are cute little buggers! I had plenty of algae, so they should be fat for a while. I have been having trouble keeping it in check. I will scrub it off and the next morning its back 10 fold, so I hope they get working on it!
However, my heater died, so I went to get a new one. And while I was there I picked up 2 little little little ottos. So they are in the tank munching away. They are cute little buggers! I had plenty of algae, so they should be fat for a while. I have been having trouble keeping it in check. I will scrub it off and the next morning its back 10 fold, so I hope they get working on it!
Wow, Duragon, were those Otos quarantined. I would hate for you to have just gotten over this bout with Ich only to have another outbreak or some other problem introduced to your tank.
When you can, once you know your tank is healthy and the new Otos are healthy I would add about two or three Otos to your two, but quarantine first, unless you get them from Msjinkzd. She has some really healthy Otos that she's had for quite a while and she could sell you a few and ship once the weather permits.
Keep a close eye on things. I hope all will be OK.
When you can, once you know your tank is healthy and the new Otos are healthy I would add about two or three Otos to your two, but quarantine first, unless you get them from Msjinkzd. She has some really healthy Otos that she's had for quite a while and she could sell you a few and ship once the weather permits.
Keep a close eye on things. I hope all will be OK.
DISASTER! I've had a disaster! I've lost 2 fish in 2 days and I have no idea why! Everything looked good for 2 weeks. I got 2 Otos, and they are doing fine, their bellies are very fat. Then yesterday I lost a platy, and today I lost a glofish! I checked all the water, and everything is fine; 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates, 7.6 pH. I still do not see any spots on any of my fish, and I've been looking hard. These 2 fish simply stopped eating, then died a day later. Now one of my mollies is looking very bad. It just loafs in the middle of the tank with its tail and bottom and side fins just sort of hanging down and is extremely pale.
I just changed the water, and there wasn't that much filth in the tank. I also did not add salt to the refill water, just a healthy dose of prime. I also put the carbon back into my filter. I don't know if this will affect the salt content in the water as I couldn't find any information on it.
Any ideas? I just dont know whats going on! It seems like everything I do is bad... They get better for a while, then in a day or twos time die...
I just changed the water, and there wasn't that much filth in the tank. I also did not add salt to the refill water, just a healthy dose of prime. I also put the carbon back into my filter. I don't know if this will affect the salt content in the water as I couldn't find any information on it.
Any ideas? I just dont know whats going on! It seems like everything I do is bad... They get better for a while, then in a day or twos time die...
Duragon... this is puzzling. Could you post pics of your sick Molly? I'd like to see pics of your Otos, too.
