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mcalbreeze1

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 2, 2003
Messages
9
Location
Florida
Our 30 gallon tank is about 2 months old. Finally we have the water levels on target. We have a continuing problem with ick! I have a algea eater, that has had ick for as long as we have had him. Last night I added 6 tbls of aquarium salt, 60 drops of ich cure with formalin and raised the tempature to 85 degrees. This morning the algea eater looks better but still has spots, I put the carbon filter back in because the water is cloudy. I am unclear about the filter and whether or not I need to leave it out. I understand I am suppose to do a 25% water change in 4 days, and add more ich cure. My filter has the carbon attached, do I need to get a filter without the carbon? If so, when do I put the carbon filter back in? Now, should I be worried about the cloudy water? Help!
 
Hiya mcalbreeze1 and welcome to Aquariumadvice.

Couple brief comments, then I strongly suggest you read the ich article I wrote (link below) as it will answer all your questions, even the ones you haven't thought about asking yet *grin*

Just to clarify, you need to leave the filter in and just remove the carbon. If the filter comes with the carbon inside it, cut a slit in the side of the filter media and dump the carbon out; the carbon will remove the meds from the water column which defeats the purpose of treating if you leave it! However, do use fresh carbon once treatment is finished to get the meds out of the tank.

Cloudy water isn't really a major issue IF the water parameters are ok, just unsightly. What are your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels? Do know the ich meds will most likely kill off your nitrifying bacteria colony and cause ammonia spikes; you'll have to test your water regularly to be sure and water change if it does happen.

Lastly, proper treatment of ich means you will NOT have a problem with it again, barring bringing it into the tank again with new fish or with items from an infected tank. Once its gone, its gone. Not to be too gross, but its kinda like lice. If treated properly, one can't just break out in lice again without being exposed to em again by wearing someone's hat who has lice, or sleeping on their pillow or something like that.

The link to the article is here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
 
One more thing

Thanks for the quick response. I took the carbon out of the filter, it was in the tank for about 3 hours. Do you think it would have removed too much of the medicine? I am planning on leaving the tank alone for three more days and then do a water change and add more medicine. Do you think I need to add more medicine sooner? The water levels are still in the safe levels. The Dwarf Gourami that has ich is spending a lot of time lying at the bottom of the tank looking like she has died and then she will race to the top and gulp air and head back down. Do you think I should hold out much hope for her or is she doomed?
 
Was the carbon new? Or had it been in the tank a while? If its old, chances are the carbon was full and not able to absorb too much of the meds. I hate to say add more formulin; most of the ich meds are actually poisons and its easy to overdose, especially with scaleless fish like the algae eater.

Understand I'm guessing here, but either there is not enough surface agitation for O2/CO2 exchange, or the gourami has ich blocking her gills and is trying to get enough oxygen thru the labrynthian organ. Keep an eye on her (are you sure its a her btw? Most dwarf gouramis sold are male; they're more colorful).

And thanx William :) You flatter me! Have a coupla kudos *grin*
 
The filter

The filter was about a week old. Do you think that was too new and maybe removed too much of the med?

:? You could be right about the gourami being male. He/she is all blue and has some very light red bands. Someone at the pet store said they thought it was female since it didn't have as much red. So, I was going along with it. Either way very pretty fish and I hope it survives.
 
Yeah I've 3 dwarf gouramis and I think they are georgeous! If the dorsal fin comes to a point at the back, its most likely male.

A week. Ack. I *think* after a week carbon is pretty useless, but I'll defer a definite answer to someone who may have more info. In the meantime, just keep things status quo.
 
You are right

:) You are right, he is a male. The fin does meet at a point in the back! Mystery solved. And tonight he is eating and swimming around a lot more than yesterday, but still has ich all over. I will leave things alone for a couple of days.

Thanks for your help and I will let you know the outcome. Keep your fingers crossed!
 
Alga eater has a brown spot on his nose

Tonight I did my 25% water change and added more ich medicine. Then I noticed that the alga eater has a velvety brown spot over his nose. Doesn't appear to be raw or raised, just a light brown. Not sure if this has been there and I could'nt see it for the ich or if it is a new development. Do you think I should be concerned? It doesn't seem to be the same as the other lighter brown spots that seem to be his coloration. Maybe I am paranoid. The gourami is doing better!
 
Hard to say what that brown spot is without seeing it; can you get us a pic? As plecs get older their color can change, as well as changing to match environment (my guy started getting what looks like spectacles on his head when I changed substrate; boy did that freak me out LOL). Hard to day if thats what it is without seeing it tho. Have you noticed any change in behavior?

And thumbs up on the gourami! Glad to hear some good news :)
 
Alga eater has a brown spot on his nose

His behavior had changed in that I think he is more active which is probably due to the decrease in ich covering his body. I took a couple of pics, but they were not small enough to attach, so I changed my camera settings but he doesn't like the paparazzi and is a little shy! I will try to take more later.......
 
LOL typical fish. I try to take pics of my fish; whatever I'm TRYING to take pics of hides, and the ones I'm NOT trying to take pics of get in the way.

As long as he is not becoming less active, breathing heavy, not eating or showing red marks/streaks, chances are hes ok.

I've a coupla pics of my plec in my gallery; if you look carefully you can see the lighter blotches overlaying the pattern on his skin.
 
Good luck with your tank, mcalbreeze1! I must be very lucky because I have never had an outbreak of ick.


Allivymar said:
A week. Ack. I *think* after a week carbon is pretty useless, but I'll defer a definite answer to someone who may have more info.


I've never looked into this and I guess I really should have thought of it. Does this mean we need to change carbon weekly??
 
If you need to use it, changing it every 2-3 weeks is usually recommended. It depends on how much DOC (dissolved organic compounds) is in your tank, as thats what carbon removes. It is used up/fills up rather quickly. Thing is, carbon really isn't necessary unless you are looking to remove medication or clearing up tints such as yellowish water caused by wood tannins. I rarely use carbon in my tanks; never been an issue. I suggested mcal change the carbon as it had been used for a little while, and its impossible to know how full its become.

Theres an article here about it if you're interested: http://www.marineland.com/articles/16ActivatedCarb.asp
 
Thank you very much, Allivymar! That article explains a lot to me. I never did understand exactly what carbon does, what type to use, etc. Now I won't feel guilty for not changing the carbon all the time :wink:
 
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