Nox-ich toasted my tank?

[MentalUproar]

I just finished an ich treatment, lost a cory during it, but the ich is completely gone. I treated with nox-ich at half dose and bumping the temp to 80 degrees for 3 days.

Fish behavior is normal, except for the glolight tetras, which seem to be avoiding eachother. Their insides are poofy and white as well. No clamped fins, still eating. My cherry barb has scales pointing outward slightly, but only pronounced on the top between top fin and the eyes. He's still eating and energetic. The keyhole cichlids have lost definition in their patterns. A cory is behaving strangely, in that rather than hanging out at the bottom of the tank, he's swimming into the fake plants and resting on their leaves. A female zebra danio has her eyes protruding from her head too.

The angelfish, harliquin rasboras, moonlight gourami, black neon tetras, lemon killifish, and clown loach are all fine, as well as the zebra danios cory cats which aren't showing any symptoms like their peers.

I also notice a very faint grey coating over the sick fish. It's very difficult to see, but it's there.

I'm assuming I really messed things up with the nox-ich. Is there anything I can do, or should I just let the temps slowly lower to normal and see how they recover?

 

[excuzzzeme]

Sounds like serious bacterial infection has taken over the tank. I would try a very large water change and then treat with erythromiacin.

Many of the ich treatments needs to be half-dose as you did but I wonder if that was too much. I would leave the temp at 80 even though it might be a bit hard on cories and tetras. If they don't settle soon I would slowly lower to 76-78.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

if it is a bacterial infection then the temperature wants to be lower than 80. bacteria thrive in warmer environments, so i'd look at cooling the tank down to 76 to 78 if possible.

perhaps run some carbon in your filters to help get rid of residual medication, and do large water changes to keep the environment clean.

i can't comment on the erythromiacin, never used it. but i do know that meds are much more effective when dosed every 24 hours with new water.

 

[Cerianthus]

Hmmm! Sounds like possible reactions to medication and/or it's effects on bio activities.. Although never used Nox-Ich, used malachite green for many yrs. Very potent stuff, imo.

Have you check for pH/NH3/NO2 for possible disturbances caused by Nox-Ich?
If tests are positive, you probably know what to do.
Malachite green may cause loss of both BB or just one type over another depending on your tank's water & [Nox Ich].

Carbon should remove residual med but should perform small but frequent wc in case you need to perform wc as testing reveals.

Wouldnt do drastic wc causing large shifts in water chemistry which can pose further stress on sick fishes, even rest of the fishes, UNLESS test results direct toward such drastic changes.

Can you q/t sick ones?

Maracyn and EM tabs (if still avail) are erythromycin.
If need to med, do so in q/t for sick ones UNLESS all fishes are affected.
Hope all goes well!

 

[MentalUproar]

I dont have a QT tank, nor a way to test the water chemestry like that.

 

[stephcps]

I would not treat these fish with anything right now. Meds are very hard on them. I agree with some carbon in your filter to get rid of residual meds. I also would decrease the temp slowly back to wherever you notmally keep it. I, however, would do frequent water changes. I would do daily until or unless I saw something more that definitvely told me I needed to use a med. Clean water in my experience goes a long way.

 

[MentalUproar]

I decided to salt the tank a bit, over the course of a few days. I finished yesterday, and coloration on the cichlids is MUCH better, and while the glolight tetras still look more like white clouds, they are improving (very slowly.)

Then I found an injured cory yesterday. A scale (or plate or whatever it is on cories) was protruding a bit and bright red. It's still red today, but he doesn't seem bothered by it. hungry and active as cories tend to be. Today I found a von rio tetra dead and stuck to the filter intake.

The cory still has that red scale (plate?) and is pale, but active, hungry, no clamped/torn fins or bloating. (Just that one scale was protruding, and its looking like it's flattening out again.) The dead von rio looked perfectly healthy! No bloating, discoloration, torn fins (which is odd since I thought the others would try to eat him.) He wasn't listless or anything last night either.

NOBODY is bullying anyone now. The small white angelfish was nipping my killifish in some unpleasant places, but that seems to have stopped now. The keyhole cichlids are terrified. I turned on the light and one jumped out of the water after trying to escape the light by swimming into a corner at full speed. He did this twice. I'll have to get some caves for him.

Should I still get the medicine, or give things more time?