Fish has ICK and I mightve messed up

[2teezall]

I have a 60 galloon tank ... I bought this Clown loach 3 weeks and I think it brought Ick into my tank... Thing about it I didnt know what it was because he always hid... Then my biggest Denison Barb died out of nowhere I dont think he had it but he died last week. I cant find my Pleco at all i bought him with the Clown loach he been MIA all week.

****So here is how I messed up....***

I keep my temp at 80 anyway for my fish I waa doing some research via. internet and seen alot of info about aising my tank to 86°F so I did. Today 12/13/14 ... I also had added the API Ick cure medication.
My tank has a blue tint to it, I also did a 25% water change prior to adding the medication and took my Activated Carbon out of my filter but my regular blue filters are still in there (dont that have carbon in it also) someone tell me do I take that out also.

Soooo my clown loach is laying at the bottom he is breathing deeply and I want to take his life for being the culprit.... lol Im just playing but im mad at him. Also will this mess up my live plants I have 11 of em and been growing them since I got my tank 4 months ago. They already was going through this whole brown algae thing, someone help me out please on my situation specifically.

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[ppo8820]

I made this same mistake when I started keeping tanks and ran into ich. With the elevated heat levels, you cant add medication too. The warm water already lacks oxygen and adding the medication lowers it to almost nothing (hence the labored breathing). When you raise the temp and are dealing with scaleless fish (loach, pleco) you cant add salt and do NOT want to use meds, same with plants. I would do a large water change (50%) and put the carbon back in your filter as it will remove any medication. Make sure its a new carbon insert and not one thats now unactive.

Keep the temp up to 86 for 10-14 days and no less. Even if you see no ich, keep the temp up. That is ALL you need to do. No meds, no salt. Also, with the warm water its best to lower your water level so if you have a HOB filter, it can agitate the water more. If you prefer not to do that, adding an airstone will do wonders. I did this and no fish died, but they would have if I hadnt fixed my current warm water, medicated, salted mess I started with. Good luck!

 

[Linwood]

To amplify the above, there are two temperatures that are relevant.

With medicine use warmer water, low 80's (check the package).

Without medicine use (for want of a better term) hot water, above 86 degrees.

Warm water makes ich develop faster and get worse -- the idea is to speed up its life cycle while medicine is in the water.

Hot water (> 86F) prevents ich from completing its life cycle and it dies.

The problem with hot water plus medicine is both rob the fish of oxygen and (especially with them weak from ich) can kill them, even if you are adding aeration. So in both cases having increased aeration is important, but it is important to pick one or the other -- warm + meds, or hot without -- not both.

Heat + salt is a variation but does not change the above advice; use salt only if nothing (including plants) in the tank will be harmed by it.

If using heat (vs meds) it is important to really, for sure, be above 86. Heaters are notoriously inaccurate. If you can find a calibrated thermometer check yours. If you can't, and your fish can handle it, run it up higher -- say 88 or 89. I had real good luck at 88-89 with tetras, shrimp, snails, plants, catfish and angels. Everyone was perfectly happy at those temperatures, but your mileage may vary with other fish.

However, for the reasons implied above, it will make things worse if you get the water (say) 84-85 and only think it is hot enough, as the ich just multiplies faster.

By the way -- using the heat method the ich may get worse for 2-3 days, then start getting better. Don't stop it because they get worse.

 

[fish wrangler]

I cured ich in 2 weeks with just heat. 88 degrees for the 2 weeks and an air stone to keep water oxygenated. I did loose 6 of my 7 ghost shrimp and 1 neon tetra, but the other 20 neons and 10 black skirt tetras where fine.

You may want to get a second heater if you are only running the one so you don't overload the one.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[2teezall]

Yea i have 1 heater and 3 airstones 1 on my dragon 1 in house and an undergravel airtube

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[ppo8820]

So you are set on oxygen with the 3 air stones. Just crank that temp up and wait it out.

 

[aqua_holic]

Good advice given in this thread.

 

[2teezall]

Thank u and my barbs are nit scratching themselves as for the clown loach he died he was the worst one

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[2teezall]

Also do I really need the other heater or can I see if I can make it with the one I have. My heater was like 50 bucks

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[aqua_holic]

Unless you are prophylactically treating the fish for ich in quarantine, chances are you will face it again at some point in the future so it's best to be prepared to take care of it. I'm not saying this to put you down or anything, but fish should never die from ich. The window of treatment is big - key is to begin treatment before the fish are totally infested.

 

[fish wrangler]

I bought a second heater just so I didn't burn up my original one

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[aqua_holic]

I bought a second heater just so I didn't burn up my original one

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

If your current heater can get you to the high 80s then you don't really need an additional heater.

 

[2teezall]

Okay i have it at 86 my thermometer confirmed it, its inside my tank i did use the meds b4 i posted this . But i have 3 big airstones i think they have too much oxygen but they love playing in the bubbles. My angelfish uses it like a treadmill. I still see ick but will give it time. So if i already used meds do i continue to use them i put my carbon back in my filter i had just changed it ... my filters are actually the same. I have an hanging filter it pumps for a 70 galloon tank and has 4 inserts in it 2 for the filter and 2 for my carbon inserts

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[aqua_holic]

I would have gotten the meds out of the tank yesterday...

It's just a waiting game though. You should see marked improvement after about 3 days with the spots seriously thinning out after 5. If that's not happening, you can bump the temp up to 88.

 

[2teezall]

How you get the meds out the tank because im getting another heater in a few my temp in my tank is at 84 now my heater is trying to make it 88

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[2teezall]

Just read the other post so if im at 85 with 1 i should be okay

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy

 

[2teezall]

Unless you are prophylactically treating the fish for ich in quarantine, chances are you will face it again at some point in the future so it's best to be prepared to take care of it. I'm not saying this to put you down or anything, but fish should never die from ich. The window of treatment is big - key is to begin treatment before the fish are totally infested.

I didnt know the white spots was ick at 1st. i heard of ick but didnt know the symptoms, i ran across a thread and was like **** i had ick in my tank for a week already

60 gallon Freshwater tank... Planted featuring 10 Tiger Barbs 3 Denison Barbs 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Angelfish 1 Red neon guppy