I am glad I found this forum. I actually was searching the web for help with my "little" problem when I came upon this forum. Seems like a great place! I have a 55 gallon tank with various fish. Unfortunetly, I have come to realize in the past couple of days that I have ich. :sad: Sighhhhhhhhh.. I am going to go and gets meds tomorrow, however, I am worried about my loaches. I only have two clown loaches right now. Sadly they seem to be the ones with heaviest infestations even though I have had them for several weeks. One of my newer fish must have brought them in? I guess my question is: What is the best medication to use for ich without harming the loaches? I also have 2 angels, 2 bali sharks, 2 irridescent sharks, 3 guppies, 3 black skirted tetras, 2 lyretails, 3 other tetras (not sure what type offhand) and 3 goldfish (original starter fish when I set my tank up to make sure it was good to go.) I hate to inadvertantly kill some fish while trying to save them. What is the best thing to do??
Ick!! I have ich!! Helllp!!
- Thread starter love_my_loaches
- Start date
Many people do different things from chemicals, to salt/raising temps, to just raising temp.
i just noticed one of my fish with it and started to raise the temp. it is now at 86*.
the day i noticed it, i put a 1/2 dose of malachite green (1/2 by what the directions recommended) as i have scaleless fish in there. that would apply to you to having the tetras. also, with a half dose my water didnt become blue.
after 48 hrs from the first treatment, i will be doing a 25% water change, and the new water will have salt. i'll keep the treatments up for 10 days, and keep the temp up for 2 weeks. hopefully that will kill it all
i just noticed one of my fish with it and started to raise the temp. it is now at 86*.
the day i noticed it, i put a 1/2 dose of malachite green (1/2 by what the directions recommended) as i have scaleless fish in there. that would apply to you to having the tetras. also, with a half dose my water didnt become blue.
after 48 hrs from the first treatment, i will be doing a 25% water change, and the new water will have salt. i'll keep the treatments up for 10 days, and keep the temp up for 2 weeks. hopefully that will kill it all
Dan the Moose
dan the moose
well, first thing is, decide do you want to keep gold fish, or do you want to keep tropical freshwater. they are not good species to keep together. bring one of the species back to the store, but wait till you cure the ick, or get a new tank. now, since you have gotten ick from a new fish, i am assumoing that you dont have a quarenteen tank. which would be a good thing to get right now. since if you plan on using meds, they will probably throw off your water balance, and it would most likely be like youre re-cycling your tank from scratch. also, most meds, BURN the ick off of the fish. which isnt plesant. if you have plants in there, its probably not so great for them either. so, there are a few things you can do. set up a QT tank, and treat them in there with the meds, OR by simply reducing the amount of likght they get (even blacking out the tank for a bit with a sheet) raising the tank temp (wich will probably kill the goldfish) and adding some salt. wile you are treating, remove the carbon filter, and do a water change (25% daily) when you are done treating, a few days after all the ick is gone, than do a large water change, and make shure you wash the gravel (or vacume the gravel, how ever you call it) then change all the filter media. this is generally how i treat ick, although there are some people who would go against this,
http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=27
go to that site, there is another method, which will work and is very detailed.
http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=27
go to that site, there is another method, which will work and is very detailed.
Thanks for the help!! I have a 20 gallon tank but I do not have any accessories to go in it. ie: heater, filter, etc. I would probably have to keep the fish in there for several days correct? I will definitely start quarantining fish before adding them to my aquarium from now on. It is just such a hassle and I can tell that my fish are none to happy when last week they seemed to just be doing fine. I just really really don't want to lose any fish if at possible. I am going to the fish store tonight. NOT the place that I have been getting my fish at since that is obviously where I have acquired this problem in the first place.
Do gold fish do okay in a tank without a filter? I know that they can handle the lack of a heater per se. I have a tank that I could use for them. I hate to get rid of them because I have gotten kinda attached to the silly pigs. They are growing at a rapid rate due the size of the tank, lol.
Thanks for everyones help!!
Do gold fish do okay in a tank without a filter? I know that they can handle the lack of a heater per se. I have a tank that I could use for them. I hate to get rid of them because I have gotten kinda attached to the silly pigs. They are growing at a rapid rate due the size of the tank, lol.
Thanks for everyones help!!
Dan the Moose
dan the moose
well, it would be a good idea to move the fish. also, i wouldnt really blame the lfs, i work at a reputible store, and when we get new fish, they sometimes come with ick, it happens, especially since they are usually mistreated. any ways, no matter where u get your fish from, QT THEM.
For the sake of your clown loaches please read this before treating:
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599