Think my son's tank has ICH!!

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polcat

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Aug 11, 2011
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Well think I finally figured out why fish in my sons tank have died. The last betta we got a week ago I found wandering around the tank last night. He had small white spots all over him. I immediately removed him from the tank and put him in a bowl by himself. Did a 60% water change slowly adding the water back to the tank not to stress the other fish, also adding salt to the new water. Using the recommended amount. The tank is a 10g tank and it still has a pleco, 2 danios and a guppy. These fish show no signs of ICH at all, kinda hoping it is a isolated deal but not taking chances. I went to the local petstores to get some Aquari-Sol but did not find any but got Jungle Ich Treatment tablets and liquid. Figure I will put half a tablet in tonight do a 30% water change tomorrow and put the other half in tomorrow and change the water again in 5 days. I don't have a tank heater to raise the temp. Seeing here in South Texas it does not get that cold. This all started after I got a fish from Petsmart that died. Ever since than been having issues. Any advice or suggestion would be appreciated. But so far the other 4 fish so no signs, still think I need to treat the tank though
 
Thanks I found that link after I posted my problem. But the treatment directions are so vague, figure suggestion would help. Funny thing is my other 4 fish show no signs. Just hoping I have a middle case
 
Oh okay...just making sure. :)
Well think I finally figured out why fish in my sons tank have died. The last betta we got a week ago I found wandering around the tank last night. He had small white spots all over him. I immediately removed him from the tank and put him in a bowl by himself. Did a 60% water change slowly adding the water back to the tank not to stress the other fish, also adding salt to the new water. Using the recommended amount. The tank is a 10g tank and it still has a pleco, 2 danios and a guppy. These fish show no signs of ICH at all, kinda hoping it is a isolated deal but not taking chances. I went to the local petstores to get some Aquari-Sol but did not find any but got Jungle Ich Treatment tablets and liquid. Figure I will put half a tablet in tonight do a 30% water change tomorrow and put the other half in tomorrow and change the water again in 5 days. I don't have a tank heater to raise the temp. Seeing here in South Texas it does not get that cold. This all started after I got a fish from Petsmart that died. Ever since than been having issues. Any advice or suggestion would be appreciated. But so far the other 4 fish so no signs, still think I need to treat the tank though

Try adding a little bit of salt and really boosting up the temperature a bit. You could also give it a salt bath in pre-treated water, but only for a litle bit of time.

What are the levels of your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? Ich usually breaks out due to poor water quality.

Also, what kind of pleco is it? Plecos don't really belong in ten gallon tanks...
 
Ok took all the decoration out yesterday, took the carbon out of the filter. Put half a tablet in and all is good so far. Ck the fish this morning all were still alive and doing good. Figure later today will do a 30% water change and put 1.25 ml of the liguid in to help maintain a good level of the ICH meds but not to much. Its just a normal pleco he is about 2 inches long. I add Algea wafers for supplements. My son will be getting a bigger tank by the end of the year.
 
If your "normal" pleco is a common pleco, he can reach nearly a foot in length. He obviously requires a much larger tank.

My treatment for ich:

Raise temp slowly to 86
Add an airstone to increase oxygenation
Gravel vac every 2-3 days to remove spores from substrate
Maintain this schedule for minimum of 2 weeks

Ich doesn't strike one fish, it strikes the entire tank even if some fish don't show symptoms. Treat accordingly.
 
definitely raise the temp.

my favorite medication for ich is quick cure. you have to be careful with dosage depending upon the fish - cichlids take 2 drops a gallon - tetras only one and even then it's not so great for them. Whatever you use remove the carbon from your filter (if you have some) as it will adsorb the medication.

also, I find that doing several pwc helps as it removes a good deal of the swarmers that infect new fish. For a serious outbreak a few pwc a day is not out of the question. Note that the swarmers only appear when the spots burst - but they're bursting all the time. Likewise, the medication will only kill them once they are out of the cysts (spots).

It's not unusual for fish to develop a bit of a resistance to ich in a tank - and when you put a new fish in - bingo! they get it out of nowhere.

It's one of the least nasty and most treatable diseases, but unfortunately the smaller the fish, the more damage the cysts can do. Personally I wouldn't spend a dime on remedies other than quick cure. YMMV.
 
Ok did a 30% water change and added a small amount of Liquid Jungle ICH to the tank to help keep the meds level accurate. Were his tank is it will get up to 82 degrees during the day. As of right now I don't have a water heater so guess I will get one this weekend. His fish are doing fine!!
 
um - what does it get down to at night? tropical fish are a LOT less tolerant to fluctuations in temperature - especially wide ones. A heater is a must to keep things stable. 82 is also a bit high for most fish.
 
If your "normal" pleco is a common pleco, he can reach nearly a foot in length. He obviously requires a much larger tank.

My treatment for ich:

Raise temp slowly to 86
Add an airstone to increase oxygenation
Gravel vac every 2-3 days to remove spores from substrate
Maintain this schedule for minimum of 2 weeks

Ich doesn't strike one fish, it strikes the entire tank even if some fish don't show symptoms. Treat accordingly.

2 feet actually
 
Were his tank normally sits it stays around 70-72 degrees. Moved it to help warm it up and keep it warm till I get a heater. As far as his pleco it will be in a bigger tank at the end of the year. My pleco lived in that tank for 6 months and is doing fine and is now in a 40g tank
 
Oh I did notice the white spots on his pleco tonight though so will keep treating and will have a heater in the tank on friday
 
Well a friend of mine had a 5g tank that he let use over the weekend. I moved his fish to it, while Saturday morning did a thorough cleaning of his tank, rock and filter system. Than all day Saturday and sunday I put his tank, rock and filter outside in the sun to dry. It being in the 100 both days here and the stuff in the direct sunlight. Figured it would kill whatever bacteria was in the tank. I know the fish still on contaminated but figure cleaning everything I could get 90% of it. Put the fish back in the tank Sunday evening using good water from my larger tank. Still plan on medicating all this week. And doing water changes.
 
Did you change out the filter media, too? I'm a little worried that now this tank will go through a mini-cycle and that, on top of the stress the fish feel from the ich, could actually create more of a problem.
 
No I kinda am worried a bout the same. Fish have been in tank since Sunday around 3. And all were doing good this morning still. Active and eating
 
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