Despite all my efforts, all my quarantining, all my careful planning, ich got into my main 125 gallon tank. It's full of snails and live plants so I can't use any sort of medication so I started cranking up the heat and basically have to pray that my months of work and hundreds of dollars worth of fish don't get completely wiped out...
My tank is doomed...
- Thread starter Snagrio
- Start date
Sorry about the ich.
Heat and salt help a lot with ich, and do not affect (much) plants, except for extremely delicate ones (rather the exception than the rule), and do not affect snails at all.
Also, typical products that include malachite green CAN be used successfully in planted tanks, and even in nail containing tanks. Again, the plants are affected only minimally. At least this has been mt experience.
If the snails are ornamental, take them out into a different container while the treatment proceeds. They can returned to display tanks later after a precautionary period, as they are not carriers of the parasite (if well washed and some time wait time exercised). If the snails are not ornamental, then there are of no interest themselves and good ridance! It is a matter of deciding on priorities.
Heat and salt help a lot with ich, and do not affect (much) plants, except for extremely delicate ones (rather the exception than the rule), and do not affect snails at all.
Also, typical products that include malachite green CAN be used successfully in planted tanks, and even in nail containing tanks. Again, the plants are affected only minimally. At least this has been mt experience.
If the snails are ornamental, take them out into a different container while the treatment proceeds. They can returned to display tanks later after a precautionary period, as they are not carriers of the parasite (if well washed and some time wait time exercised). If the snails are not ornamental, then there are of no interest themselves and good ridance! It is a matter of deciding on priorities.
You can easily pull them out to another container for a vacation. No problem treating for ick!
I'm genuinely regretting having set up this giant fish tank. It's been disaster after disaster and now everything's on the verge of falling apart. Even as I'm trying to service it with a water change the siphon isn't working properly despite me just yesterday getting a new connection part (previous one was cracked and leaking) so the water is moving at a trickle pace. And I'm discovering corpses that I didn't notice till now due to so many individuals in a massive amount of water (125 gallons specifically).
The heaters aren't warming the water high enough to the recommended level to help combat the parasite despite their settings being at the highest possible (highest I can get it is 81, when it needs to be 85+), and I don't think I even have enough salt or medication (probably only salt because there's mystery snails and live plants involved that could be harmed by what I have) to treat the whole tank since the volume of water is so great.
The heaters aren't warming the water high enough to the recommended level to help combat the parasite despite their settings being at the highest possible (highest I can get it is 81, when it needs to be 85+), and I don't think I even have enough salt or medication (probably only salt because there's mystery snails and live plants involved that could be harmed by what I have) to treat the whole tank since the volume of water is so great.
I don't understand how the ich could have reached your main tank, how long were your quarantines? I have never had a sick freshwater fish from ich, but I did have a couple of sick rams from water quality. Basically it's all that you can offer, you have a good tank size, when I suspect that one of my angels could have septicemia and fungal problems all I did was do water changes two or three times a week and add salt for aquariums, the fish improved clearly, this might not work with ich but I would try, also it is possible that Paraguard from Seachem can help here, it's not expensive and I'm sure that with a bottle you can treat your whole tank, if your fish eat and swim well I would medicate with Paraguard, the main tank should never be treated, but read the specifications and you decide, you have your quarantine tank to use as a hospital too, good luck.
Hey so I have live planted with mysteries as well. This really sucks man. I just personally made a mystery snail only enclosure with live plants on the way. Could you put them in to a 10 gallon while you treat? I wonder how it was I ntroduced?? Were the plants from eBay?
"Thats surprising I would've thought salt would dissolve a snail. Thanks!"
Actually the opposite. Shells are made of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). They dissolve in acids (low pH), and are not affected (much) by basic (alkaline) conditions (high pH).
Adding salt will move pH a very little bit towards alkaline, thus not affecting shells.
Regarding the ick situation. It is tragic and unfortunate to allow not combating the ick immediately, because of fears for the plants and the snails (both of which could have gone unaffected or nearly so), and now losing the fish and the balance of the whole tank. I am sorry this happened but it was preventable, and still can be fixed if addressed properly and not timidly.
Good luck!
Actually the opposite. Shells are made of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). They dissolve in acids (low pH), and are not affected (much) by basic (alkaline) conditions (high pH).
Adding salt will move pH a very little bit towards alkaline, thus not affecting shells.
Regarding the ick situation. It is tragic and unfortunate to allow not combating the ick immediately, because of fears for the plants and the snails (both of which could have gone unaffected or nearly so), and now losing the fish and the balance of the whole tank. I am sorry this happened but it was preventable, and still can be fixed if addressed properly and not timidly.
Good luck!
I ordered some Ich-X as I've read it doesn't harm plants or invertebrates, but it won't get here until Monday and I'm afraid the heat treatment did more damage than the parasite... Woke up this morning to a dead neon tetra and corydoras, and all the neon tetras in general look about ready to keel over as they're all cowering, listless and bloated. All the while I've barely seen signs of the ich (I know they attack the entire body including inside the gills but still). The rest of the fish (black neons, apistogrammas, hatchets, plecos and other cories) and mystery snails seem to be doing okay though.
The plants haven't liked the warmer water either as my java ferns have all turned an ugly shade of brown within just a few days with my vallis are also not looking so good. I've made sure to carefully raise the water temperature but everything basically got boiled anyway. I've set the heaters back to a normal mid 70's range and just have to hope what's left survives until the medication gets here.
The plants haven't liked the warmer water either as my java ferns have all turned an ugly shade of brown within just a few days with my vallis are also not looking so good. I've made sure to carefully raise the water temperature but everything basically got boiled anyway. I've set the heaters back to a normal mid 70's range and just have to hope what's left survives until the medication gets here.
