Can I put 2 fish with itch together in the same isolation tank? more?

[jjc09]

the title says it all

Hello everyone I'm new here. Just today after I arrived home from the gym around 10 PM I spotted 2 female swordtails with ich all over. I hurried up and first of all moved the 2 fish in 2 different smaller quarantine tanks. One was an old 2 gallon plastic crappy tank and the other one is some plastic transparent removed all decorations, did a 50% water change with bottled water (the old water is also bottled), even shook the gravel and got a sieve to remove many of the fish waste. Suddenly 2 white white platies or mollies, i really don't know which species theyre just pure white, all of a sudden died. One I saw struggling and then eventually passing away while after that counting fish I noticed another one was gone on the floor. The rest of the fish in the tank are 3 female gouramis, a small pleco, a male swordfish and a baby female swordtail which is up in a small confined net because shes too small and can be sucked by the filter. It's too late to get any medication, oxygen rock or whatever and anything else. I really want to hep my fish and don't want the others to die!!

I read that medications are bad for plecos, so what should i do? The 2 infected swordtails are in 2 separate quarantine tanks, and the 2 dead white mollies/platies are gone and out of the tank.

Where do i continue? I can't do anything until tomorow around 10 where all stores open. Are my 2 female swordtails gonna suffocate overnight because of the lack of oxygen in the filterless, oxgenrock less quarantine tanks? Should i lower the temperature to slow down the cycle so its better for begining treatment tomorow? Should i return the infected swordtaisl to the main tank until tomorow morning so they can get oxygenated water? or put them together? help!!!

update: noticing spots on male swordfish should i separate him to in yet another quarantine tank all by himself??

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

If you can post a pic i would, but i would also recommend going for a medless approach. Assuming the ich isnt way bad, just raise the temperature to 86 and leave it there for about 6-10 days. Keep some things in mind while doing this though, when you raise the temp in the tank it will take your oxygen levels down so youll need to make sure you have an airstone and if you do make sure its on with a rapid bubble. Also you need to make sure you dont raise the temp to fast so when i did mine i turned my hydor heater a click every 2 hours. My ich went away in about a week and a half.

two fish with ich being treated the way i suggested wont have any ill effects. I had one fish with ich and one without and treated them in the same tank and they were fine.

 

[dkpate]

+1 for Bronco
Is your tank cycled?
Your white ones might have also had ich, but you couldn't see it. It would be much easier to keep them in the same tank. If I were you, I would put them back in the main tank and treat them all, because as the ich falls off, it becomes a cyst in the substrate, and then explodes into thousands more, which means your pleco will probably already have it. Better to be safe than sorry.
The high heat will kill the ich in it's free swimming stage, and make it reproduce faster, so you won't have to put any meds in there, it will die off eventually. Make sure you don't just turn the temp back down after you see the last spot, keep it up for a few days after that.

And welcome to AA!

 

[jjc09]

i found another white one dead this morning, so far my 3 swordtails all have ich and are currently in separate tanks so will put them in the main one... so far only one white one left which just in case will be quarantine, given that they were the only ones that have died. Poor thing. Anyways I have university on saturdays so I got to go to class and it wont be till noon or something that I can come home with the meds and everything. My tank has an air pump with buubles do i still need an air stone?

 

[jjc09]

btw im also buyng a thermometer, i live in the dominican republic which has a tropical climate sio a thermometer really isnt necesary as ambient temperature will keep water always over 21˚ c. So far the 4 remaiain fish in the main tank: the 3 gouramis and the baby swordfish none have any white spots over their bodies, and the remaining white one is still alive in its quarantine container, once i move the sick fish back to the tank will settle him in the bigger 2 gallon plastic aquarium where one of the sick ones is currentlyt

oh i forgot i also have a small snail in my tank, i suppose the meds will automatically kill him, so ill remove him. Do they also get ich?, cause if not he could make company to the quarqantine fish and not have so much diferent contrainers with water and change them so much

update: the food i sprinkled this morning in all quaratine tanks none have eaten its all on the floor

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Again i would just get a heater and thermometer and raise the temp. It will kill all levels of ich. You have to act as fast as you can because ich is a battle of time.

 

[jjc09]

i put back all fish in the main tank, i already added half a tablet of ich remover, i hope it doesnt harm my pleco it says add a dose of one tablet per each 10 gallons, but due to the presence of the pleco ill just add half a tablet now and another half later, as if it were for 10 gallons, in other words half the dose. I also bought a heater and a thermometer, my current water temp is at 25, so ill get it raised to 30 celcius (86 f) in the course of the day. Does 30c affect gourami's mollies/platies and swordfish?

 

[DragonFish71]

Smart move at using the medication at half a dose. That's how I use meds when I have to do any treatments. Less stress on the fish, inverts and bacteria. Treatments can kill the bacteria as well as whatever else.

As is stated above, the heat treatment works well for most people. Slowly raise the temp though, don't just crank it up. I personally haven't used this method, but I've heard of good results.