Typical noob stuck with fishIN cycle

[Ghostriderphoto]

Last night tested zero ammo and zero nitrites. I upped the ammo dose to a full 4ppm last night and will test here shortly to see how it is doing. Keeping an eye on the ph as the bacteria seem to be using most of the buffers over a couple days converting the nitrites to nitrates dropping my ph from 8.2 down to 7.6 or lower.

 

[Gonzo1683]

hey so about readings n stuff im treating my water for ick right now im using biospheres maracide and i also tested my water cause i remeber last week i had an ammonia spike n then i saw some nitrites also... so i figured ill do a small water change then to get rid of some of the ammonia.. n now i waited to test the tank this week and these are my readings could it be off cause of the chemical im using for ick or that wont affect the readings?.. also i started treating ick after i tested the first time.. today is the 3rd day im treating ick i caught it early so i know the fish will be alright...i also using aquarium salt cause i heard its better for the fish and the tank has always been set at 82 degrees but these are my readings

 

[LyndaB]

You need to do an immediate water change for those nitrites.

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

hey so about readings n stuff im treating my water for ick right now im using biospheres maracide and i also tested my water cause i remeber last week i had an ammonia spike n then i saw some nitrites also... so i figured ill do a small water change then to get rid of some of the ammonia.. n now i waited to test the tank this week and these are my readings could it be off cause of the chemical im using for ick or that wont affect the readings?.. also i started treating ick after i tested the first time.. today is the 3rd day im treating ick i caught it early so i know the fish will be alright...i also using aquarium salt cause i heard its better for the fish and the tank has always been set at 82 degrees but these are my readings

I'm also battling ich in two of my tanks. I moved a fish from qt before I knew he had ich. I am doing water changes every other day and dosing my salt back each time. I set my temp to 84-86f. I keep up the water changes to minimize, bit not eliminate, nitrates and to suck out ich cysts and floaters. Everything seems to be going well. I'm about a week in.

Definitely keep your nitrite and ammonia levels down... Minimize the stress on the fish to help their immune systems strengthen. Heat and salt should do the trick. Other chemicals could destroy all your BB.

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

I'm also battling ich in two of my tanks. I moved a fish from qt before I knew he had ich. I am doing water changes every other day and dosing my salt back each time. I set my temp to 84-86f. I keep up the water changes to minimize, bit not eliminate, nitrates and to suck out ich cysts and floaters. Everything seems to be going well. I'm about a week in.

Definitely keep your nitrite and ammonia levels down... Minimize the stress on the fish to help their immune systems strengthen. Heat and salt should do the trick. Other chemicals could destroy all your BB.

Update.... Battling ich in all 3 tanks. Noticed the two large koi flashing today. Not good... They were going to their new home ( friends large pond) tomorrow. I don't know if she wants to take them and quarantine them at her place... Would be nice, but doubt that will happen.

 

[Gonzo1683]

thanks for the reply im about to leave for work..but when i get back ill do a water change..good luck in your battle i think i caught mine nice and early.. i thought i saw it on one of my electric blue ram but about 10mins later i didnt see it on him anymore.. but i see small spots on the fins of others so im treating the ram and the others that i saw it flashing on but like i said i got to it early so i think ill be fine hope everything works out well for you

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

thanks for the reply im about to leave for work..but when i get back ill do a water change

Sounds like a plan... Just finished the water change on the koi... And adding salt. I may have to dig a temporary pond just for these guys!

Let me know how it goes for you...

 

[Gonzo1683]

d@mn dude thats crazy.. lol i dont know if i could handle koi id hate to have to dig a huge whole in the backyard and then fill it back in later ...good luck hope they get better fast....

so earlier in the week i was gonna make a hospital tank for the original 1 or 2 fish that i saw it on i used my gravel vac to empty out some water n put it into the hospital tank.. one of my angles saw a floating leaf unfortunately for him it was inside the vac tube... so he experienced a dramatic incident i got him out but it was tuff considering the vac was for my 10gal that i had and i was too cheap to buy a new one for the 55 gal so i added a tube so it was long enough to go from the tank to the bucket...my angle now looks like hes stressed out since then and not swimming as much today hes hanging out inside a plant n using it to keep him afloat i dont think he will pull through but if anyone knows how to help with that please let me know when ever he does swim away from the plants he looks like hes struggling to move or stay in one spot...

oh by the way did the water change and added treatment to the water..i will add some salt to replace what i got rid of from the water change.

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

d@mn dude thats crazy.. lol i dont know if i could handle koi id hate to have to dig a huge whole in the backyard and then fill it back in later ...good luck hope they get better fast....

so earlier in the week i was gonna make a hospital tank for the original 1 or 2 fish that i saw it on i used my gravel vac to empty out some water n put it into the hospital tank.. one of my angles saw a floating leaf unfortunately for him it was inside the vac tube... so he experienced a dramatic incident i got him out but it was tuff considering the vac was for my 10gal that i had and i was too cheap to buy a new one for the 55 gal so i added a tube so it was long enough to go from the tank to the bucket...my angle now looks like hes stressed out since then and not swimming as much today hes hanging out inside a plant n using it to keep him afloat i dont think he will pull through but if anyone knows how to help with that please let me know when ever he does swim away from the plants he looks like hes struggling to move or stay in one spot...

oh by the way did the water change and added treatment to the water..i will add some salt to replace what i got rid of from the water change.

Amazing how fish can get into trouble sometimes... If he is just stressed maybe some stress coat or added salt will help. When my Oscar baby gets stressed I use stress coat/salt, dim or turn off the lights and feed his favorite food to get his mind on something else. I have actually draped a cloth over the tank to settle some nervous tilapia recently.

The koi are actually packed into the 55 gallon tank! They definitely need a bigger environment, but they were only supposed to be here for a couple days. Now that they have ich... The 55 is probably going to do more harm than good. I bought a pond kit today for them... Now to build it and get a better treatment for the ich.

I hope your angel recovers... Definitely want to help re-establish a healthy slime coat on him. Increasing the aeration may help too, but sometimes the noise of an air stone can be stressful too if they are not used to it. We both seem to be having a run of bad luck here lately. Keep the faith and follow treatment protocol for good recovery. Have you found good websites for salt/heat ich treatments? I may end up removing the salt from the koi tank and going with a chemical... Not sure yet.

 

[Gonzo1683]

ill turn the lights off i usually keep it on for like 12 hours 7 days a week so one day wont hurt it ....last time i had ick with the 10gal. tank which i got rid of n put the 55gal up.. i used copper safe stuff and at 82 degrees with that it can kill any live plants so my one plant took a beating when i left it in a bowl of water on the counter but i didnt care much about the plants it was my fish i was more concerned with.. umm i felt like that worked.. i just went by what people say on this forum.. now im trying what my lfs told me cause i didnt wanna take all the plants out this time ... but not all the fish also had ick but i figured if 3 had it then i noticed a 4th i was like F it im treating the tank...ive been seeing a weird spot on my electric blue ram not sure what it is... looks like a growth of some sort or like he was bit and its just scabbing over... n one tricolor shark seems to have a white dot on its head..not ick so im gonna treat the fish with this stuff until all symptoms are gone its good for ick,velvet and other external parasites hope that includes fungal stuff..man i thought this tank was gonna be disease free it was doing good for like the 4 months that i had it up

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

I am considering medication for the koi, but as a last resort. I am going out to start digging a hole in the ground for the pond. At least in there I can add the medication and not have to keep adding medication with such frequent water changes. They really need the larger water volume.

I was bummed when the ich showed up... Thought I was doing pretty good. You sound like you have a pretty good handle on things though... Good job. Consider starting a new thread so you get more input from other users. I bet library girl has some very useful info... Would be interested in hearing what she has to say about your angel...

 

[Gonzo1683]

Yeah before I went to sleep (I work over nights) the angle was laying on the gravel I think it's over for him I'll edit the post when I get out if the shower n check up on him


Update ... Can't find him he might be inside the huge castle worse case scenario if he's dead the filter will pull his corpse out if he's alive he did a bit better considering when I last saw him he was laying against the castle and now he's inside... Or the motion of the water threw him in I'll find him tomorrow

 

[Ghostriderphoto]

Yeah before I went to sleep (I work over nights) the angle was laying on the gravel I think it's over for him I'll edit the post when I get out if the shower n check up on him

Update ... Can't find him he might be inside the huge castle worse case scenario if he's dead the filter will pull his corpse out if he's alive he did a bit better considering when I last saw him he was laying against the castle and now he's inside... Or the motion of the water threw him in I'll find him tomorrow

Fingers crossed he is getting better... Good luck