Ich

[Diggum8]

Ichynewbie

I need help. I recently acquired a 150 gallon freshwater tank which i have been stocking slowly. I have a few sharks, silver dollar, guarma, pleco, blue cats. My girlfriend added a couple of new fish last week, and all of the sudden my loach has what i've been told is ich. I removed him from the tank and treated the entire tank with acriflavine. Now my other fish are showing signs of ich and I'm sort of freaking out. I have a wet/dry system with bio balls. If any one has good advice on possible remedies, I will certainly appreciate it. I am also interested in how to perform a water change for such a large tank, with about 20 fish, and suggestions for a heat source.

 

[OrionGirl]

Raise the temperature to about 85--slowly--to speed up the life cycle of the parasite. Add 1 tsp/5 gallons of water.

Also, it might help if you went to http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/ and learned more about the parasite.

 

[goldfries]

don't forget salt. they're good for your fish.

 

[Faramir]

Salt is good for treating protozoal parasites. It is not "good" for any of the fish listed in general, which are fish from generally low TDS waters.

 

[goldfries]

in Ich cases, salt helps.

 

[Faramir]

Yes, it is. I said that.

 

[Diggum8]

Thank you both for the feedback. It turns out that the help I got from my lfs was incorrect. I have raised the salt levels in the tank according to the instructions on the salt. I have also purchased a tank heater and have been raising the temp. I also bought Maracide, on the recomendations of another lfs. Should I try this other formula after my tank gets back to a normal color. I cleaned all of the filters, and removed the carbon. What next? My other fish are showing signs on the fins.

 

[OrionGirl]

I wouldn't treat with maracide just yet. Getting the parasite cycle completed and removed should be the first priority, and then treating if needed for any bacterial infection. Do lots of water changes, making sure to clean the substrate each time.
The cysts dropping off the fish can be removed before they hatch, helping to prevent or reduce re-infection rates. Maintain the current salt levels and temp until the fish are symptom free for 10 days, then quit adding salt for water changes and slowly reduce the temp.

Just a note--fish can usually fight off an infection if they aren't stressed. It sounds like your tank might still be cycling? Have you tested for ammonia/nitrites? Poor water conditions inhibit a fishes immune system, making infections more common and harder to resolve. If your tank is still cycling, adding antibiotics can be counter productive.

I know your goal right now is to get your fish back to good health, but you might want to do some research on the fish you have in there, and reconsider a few. The only blue cats I've seen for sale are blue channel cat fish, and these are not really appropriate for an aquarium--they can excede 3 feet. Some species of sharks (columbians, silver tips) are not true freshwater fish, and need brackish/marine conditions as they age. The FW sharks, such as red tails and rainbows, can be very aggressive towards conspecifics, especially as they mature. Without knowing more about your fish, it's hard to say if this is contributing to the current problem, but it might cause problems down the line.