Nitrate RED. 2 new rainbows have ICH. Help!

[FFEMT58]

ok so the story goes..

I bought 3 turquoise rainbows a few days ago and one died the day after. Then just yesterday i noticed the 2 remaining rainbows had a few spots that im sure is ich. When i bought them they all looked healthy however i have been trying to get these rainbows for about a month from my LFS and they wernt avaiable because they all had ich. So i dont know if they cured the rainbows for ich then sold them or if they were a new batch of rainbows.

When my rainbow died i went and bought an API test kit. My Nitrates are Gatorade Red. I have only ever tested for ammonia in the past and there has never been a problem.

So back to the rainbows i used a half dose of coppersafe and raised the temp in my tank from 79 to 84 over a 12 hour period. I also dissolved aquarium salt and put into my tank water. Also have and air machine in the water.

And just now i did a 35% PWC with vacuum clean up. I used just under the emergency dose (4x) of Seachem Prime in the new water.

My tank info:
75 Gal Freshwater
1 Festive
1 Rhino Pleco
2 Clown Loaches
3 Odessa Barbs
and now 2 Turquoise Rainbows

I am managing the ich and it seems to be getting better after 1 day so far (ich was very minimal)

What else do i need to do to get my nitrates down?

Please help i do not want to lose my fish.

Here are some water tests i have done of water before PWC and regular tap water.

 

[Hholly]

Basically you could do 2 back to back 50% water changes. Then another the next day. That should get things under control. You may want to test your tap water first, to see if that's part of the problem. When you gravel vac, do you mash the vac well down into the gravel? If not, it might help.

 

[foster53]

Water changes are what will bring the nitrates down. Live plants will use some of the nitrates also. FYI Rainbows are very adversely affected by nitrates that are above arond 10-15 PPM. They need pristine water conditions, and a varied diet, including fresh veggies to do their best.

 

[FFEMT58]

one of my clown loaches is very pale and loss of color. he has not been like this ever since tonight. I have been leaving the tank light off for most of the day about 20 or so hours (another user recommended it for ich) Is this possible something related to the ich or high nitrates?

 

[Wolfsblood]

Probably from the extremely high nitrate level. Do what Holly suggested then test again. From here on you really need to do more frequent water changes. Your nitrates should never be that high unless your tank just cycled.

 

[FFEMT58]

Probably from the extremely high nitrate level. Do what Holly suggested then test again. From here on you really need to do more frequent water changes. Your nitrates should never be that high unless your tank just cycled.

ok i did a 35% PWC around 6pm. And just did a 50% PWC now at 2am. I will check the nitrate levels in the morning and see if it is getting better.

 

[foster53]

Just keep water changing until the nitrates are low. You need to treat for ich also before it gets out of hand. If you decide to use meds for the ich, if it has malachite, or victoria green in it only half dose with the clown loaches.

 

[librarygirl]

+1 on the water changes, that's the only way to bring them down quickly. The loaches are likely the problem as they are rather large fish with a high bioload. How large are they now? As they grow they'll need a much larger tank.

 

[FFEMT58]

+1 on the water changes, that's the only way to bring them down quickly. The loaches are likely the problem as they are rather large fish with a high bioload. How large are they now? As they grow they'll need a much larger tank.

The loaches are about 4 inches each. I also checked the nitrates today and it is getting better but still red. I will do another water change now. What should a good color be for my nitrates?

 

[Dreadz]

As foster53 said your loaches are sensitive to ick meds but I would go so far as to say don't use meds at all. All you need to do to cure ick is gradually raise the tank temp to 31C (88F) and leave it there for at least a week after the last spot disappears. No meds, no salt, nothing else. The raised temperature is all you need.
The water changes you'll be doing to bring your nitrates down will help as will giving your substrate a good vac in the process as in doing so you'll be removing parasites from your tank

 

[FFEMT58]

i have raised the temp to 86 and used very minimal coppersafe. My clown loach seems to be doing better as he is not as pale anymore. The two rainbows that have ich are also showing less of it. almost gone actually. I did a 50% pcw today and tested the nitrates just after. still red but not as red like in my earlier post.

 

[Wolfsblood]

You want the trates to be at least under 20ppm

 

[Hholly]

Sounds like you about have it licked.

 

[FFEMT58]

I hope so. What media should I be using in my canister. I'm using a sponge at the bottom then carbon filter the ceramic on top. Could any of this relate to high nitrates?

 

[Wolfsblood]

It shouldnt unless you never dump the water out of it and rinse the foam.

 

[FFEMT58]

It shouldnt unless you never dump the water out of it and rinse the foam.

What about my carbon. Iv had that in there for about 5 months without changing.