sobersteve323
Aquarium Advice Freak
I recently lost 2 of 3 goldfish to ich last week. Prior to this I had been fighting the parasite for approximately 4 weeks. My main tank became infected when I introduced some new plants purchased at a LFS (my fault for not QTing them). About a week before buying the plants one of my goldfish had stopped eating (was constipated) and soon became the first one infected with ich which then spread to the other two.
I originally started treating with API Super Ich Cure which appeared to get the outbreak undercontrol. Once the constipated goldie stopped showing signs of ich, I removed it to a hospital tank and began treating it with Maracyn and Maracyn-2 just in case the problem was a bacterial infection. After the recommended dosage of API Super Ich Cure (4 day treatment) I then switched to Kordon's Rid-Ich to maintain the treatment until the main tank appeared to be clean. About a week later the ich came back on the 2 fish in the main tank. Now a week later I have 2 dead goldies and 1 happy goldfish in a hospital tank with a healthy appetite.
My question(s): How long should I wait before re-introducing the remaining goldfish back into the main tank? I will have had the empty infected tank at ~85 degrees with 1tbsp salt per 5 gallons for approximately 1 week. Is this enough time to eradicate the parasites? We will be going on vacation in a couple of days and I wont be able to have anyone do PWC on my hospital tank during that period of time (very weak bio filter since it was setup after the fish was sick).
Thanks for any and all suggestions. It has been a pretty frustrating month of doing water changes twice a day and still losing 2 of my fish after all that effort.
I originally started treating with API Super Ich Cure which appeared to get the outbreak undercontrol. Once the constipated goldie stopped showing signs of ich, I removed it to a hospital tank and began treating it with Maracyn and Maracyn-2 just in case the problem was a bacterial infection. After the recommended dosage of API Super Ich Cure (4 day treatment) I then switched to Kordon's Rid-Ich to maintain the treatment until the main tank appeared to be clean. About a week later the ich came back on the 2 fish in the main tank. Now a week later I have 2 dead goldies and 1 happy goldfish in a hospital tank with a healthy appetite.
My question(s): How long should I wait before re-introducing the remaining goldfish back into the main tank? I will have had the empty infected tank at ~85 degrees with 1tbsp salt per 5 gallons for approximately 1 week. Is this enough time to eradicate the parasites? We will be going on vacation in a couple of days and I wont be able to have anyone do PWC on my hospital tank during that period of time (very weak bio filter since it was setup after the fish was sick).
Thanks for any and all suggestions. It has been a pretty frustrating month of doing water changes twice a day and still losing 2 of my fish after all that effort.
