Bad Ich, bad H2O params, and many dead fish.

by **Zambize4899** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:06 pm

I've tried to handle this myself, but this disaster has gone way out of control. My 37 gallon tank got ich (my first time). I don't think I treated it quickly or thoroughly enough and of the dead are 5 Rams, 4 Oto, and 9 Cardinals. The lone survivors (so far) are 3 Blue Platy and 1 Dwarf Gourami. The stronger of the 2 Platy are no longer showing the white spots so I'm thinking the Ich is clearing up. I did remove the charcoal filters while treating. I'm still treating for the Ich.

Somehow during this process my water parameters have crapped out. Prior to this mess the params were Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10ppm. Now it's Ammonia 0, Nitrites .25, Nitrates 0. A few days ago the ammonia was .25-.50ppm. My guess is a combination of having removed the charcoal, fish decay, sudden drop in the number of fish, being unable to change the water during the medication? I removed the fish as quickly as possible, usually within 24 hours, but there were a bunch, and I never found 1 Cardinal and 1 Oto.

It's a disaster. How can I get my tank back to its pristine self?

Zambize

by **Tmercier834747** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:06 am

I just spent like 10 minutes thumb typing a response on my itouch... And the f'ing thing booted to home screen.. I'll get back to you...

by **Peterkarig3210** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 6:38 am

Ohhhh. Sorry to hear about your tank girl. I'd say just keep up with the ich meds for a few days after all spots are gone and if your tank is cold raise the temp a little bit to speed the ich life cycle. The ich parisites can only be killed in their free swimming form thus the extra 3 days of tx.

I think you already know how to get your tank back in shape so I won't write a huge paragraph on establishing a cycle. Food to a minimum, water changes, I wouldn't worry about the pH too much as I have my 35 gallon planted tank at around 8.0 with no problems, or you could add buffer I guess.

It should repair pretty much by itself with good filtration and minimal food till perams are better. Good luck Z

by **Zambize4899** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:30 pm

Thanks guys....I should hold off on water changes until the Ich is cleared, right?

Z

by **Tmercier834747** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:21 am

Hey Z, sorry 'bout the fish.

Now that Pk's filled in the gaping hole of words I left behind...heh.

J/w do you use aquarium salt? and secondly I'm shocked that your cycle got knocked out of whack with biowheels in the mix..0 nitrates?!

Here's the scoop on the life cycle of ich...

"There are three phases to the life cycle of this protozoan. Ich is susceptible to treatment at only one stage of its life cycle, so knowing the life cycle is important.

ADULT PHASE: the parasite attaches itself under the mucus layer of the skin or gills, causing irritation and the appearance of small white spots. As the parasite matures, it feeds on blood and skin cells. After some time, the parasite breaks through the mucus layer and falls to the bottom of the aquarium.

CYST PHASE: after falling to the bottom of the aquarium, the adult cyst bursts and divides into numerous daughter cells called tomites.

FREE SWIMMING PHASE: after the cyst phase, the free swimming tomites search for a host. If a host fish is not found within 2 to 3 days, the parasite dies. Once a host is found the whole cycle begins again. These three phases take about 28 days at 70 degrees F but only 3 days at 80 degrees F. For this reason it is recommended that the aquarium water be raised to between 80-86 degrees F. for the duration of the treatment. If the fish can stand it, raise the temperature to 86 degrees. Raising the aquarium temperature in this manner will shorten the length of time between the cyst phase and the free swimming tomite stage. It is during the free swimming tomite stage that chemical treatment is effective in killing the parasite. During this time, whatever you use for treatment should be supplemented with daily or every other day water changes and gravel vacuuming to remove as many adult cysts and free swimming tomites as possible."

Quite possibly the best resource I've seen on why temperature is so important when treating for ich. 10 degrees is almost a month of difference.

by **a1k8t31524** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:01 am

i have herd that salt works on ich too

by **Peterkarig3210** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:16 am

Wow T. That's good info. Z, I'd say to go ahead and do the nessecary water changes if ammonia or nitrites are high. I'd just try to judge the dose of ich med to the amount of water you change.

by **Tmercier834747** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:06 pm

I wasn't so much thinking salt as a treatment (though I've seen firsthand it works) as much as a preventative of ich. J/w if Z adds any between water changes. =P

Aquarium salt can do its part to prevent a wide range of problems, but is also not well tolerated by some tropical fish. I generally go a bit under the dosage it recommends since a lot of my fish (including my puffer which is the only fish I've had who got ich --- and I should note was the only tank I WASN'T using salt in) fit into this category of low tolerance. So I've read anyway.

Just to go a bit more in depth cause I'm not sure yet if you have exp. w/salt Z...It should only be added after water changes, as it breaks down in the water and doesn't evaporate with it or get absorbed by carbon to my knowlege. It will however leave deposits on exposed glass and filter areas which can be a pain in the ass to clean off. Nothing compared to saltwater though I'm sure.. So basically similar to minerals/trace elements and such. It'll only get removed with water changes.

Ok, so. Now that I've made myself into a long-winded broken record again I'll shut up. -.-

by **Sumthing_Fishy** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:40 am

I put about a teaspoon of aquarium salt and turn my heater up to about 76-82 with a few drops of ich medication, and it cleared it up. Every water change now, I add a few drops of ich medication for just in case.

by **Zambize4899** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:13 am

T-83, Wow, that's great information to have. I turned up the temp but apparently not nearly enough. I'll move it up as you suggested. I'm only down to two types of fish now so I'll see if they can both tolerate salt. It's one Gourami (who doesn't look good today) and some Platies. I checked the params tonight and it's Ammonia .25, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 5ppm. The pH is really hard for me to judge because the color never seems distinct enough, but I think it's around 7.8. Still not low enough so maybe I should get more driftwood for the tank.

Thanks for all the help. It's hard to watch them go one by one. I sure hope I can save the Gourami, he's such a personality.

Zambize

Bad Ich, bad H2O params, and many dead fish.

10 posts