Help! Sick fish! Ick?

[Bettadan2486]

Hey all, I need help ASAP. I got permission to clean and take care of my boyfriends parents fish tanks. The one I need help with is a 55gal freshwater tropical mixed tank. With angels, Cory's, plecos, tetras, and other fishies I'm not sure what they are, and a snail. Everything has been going fine, but I've been saying and saying the tank is overstocked and I can do ten water changes a week and I can't keep the nitrates down. So I keep telling them to get rid of plastic plants. But no. So what I have to deal with is what i got. I'll have pics of entire tank. But two days ago ONE of the x-rays tetras looked about dead. All of the other fish always look healthy. He has like, white spots all over, but they are IN his skin, so I don't think it's ick, plus only two of the fish have it. It's a x-ray tetra and a glow tetra. The lips of the x-ray seem to be like ate off, and the skin seems irritated, not only the skin, the veins and gills seem to be too. But the glowie has a bump on the top of his head, and a cloud bump on his eye and his side fins seem to be sore. The fish aren't itchy, they seem to be hurting. I added a lil overdose of stress coat, and I dosed it correctly for the prime. Hopefully that will help. But please any info I would GREATLY appreciate. IM SO STUCKKK
I added a pic of the healthy X-ray tetra, and the entire tank, (ALL THE OTHER FISH AND TWO SNAILS ARE HEALTHY/SHOWING NO SIGHT OF BEING SICK)
55gal
9 or 10 small fish
Double tetra filter
Water parameters 0ammonia 0nitrite 8.0 ph and HIGH nitrates.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I agree that doesnt look like ich. More like abcesses.

Are you able to remove the fish to a quarantine tank? A tote box with heater and airstone?

When you say high nitrate, what exactly do you mean? How high?

 

[Bettadan2486]

I am not able to remove him���� I don't have a tote or a tank that would house him. Plus it's the other glow tetra as well. I don't have an extra heater or air stone, someone said to add salt but I can't cause I have snails.
nitrate is >80 ppm

 

[Aiken Drum]

I would never recommend treatment in a display tank unless we are talking about ich. Too many things can go wrong and simply make things worse.

Any treatment, either medication or aquarium salt is stressful for fish and inverts, so why treat otherwise healthy fish along with your sick fish? Many fish and inverts arent tolerant of medication, especially the effective ones. Any medication that is genuinely antibiotic wont discriminate between the bacteria you are trying kill off and the beneficial bacteria responsible for your cycle.

If you want to risk it though its up to you. Look for a broad spectrum medication. Different countries have access to different medication. Here in the UK we dont have access to antibiotic pet medication, so i cant make a recommendation on "the good stuff" from first hand experience.

Aquarium salt is an option. Most inverts are OK with the low levels of salt you use when medicating, but again its a risk. Salt is harmful to FW creatures, its just more harmful to bacteria than fish and inverts.

Melafix, pimafix or something like Esha2000 are general medications that are generally safe to use in a display tank as they arent really antibiotic. But they also arent all that effective.

If i couldnt isolate and treat a fish, up the water changes to 50% per day. Clean water will assist fish with their recovery. I might try something like Esha2000. It would be more in hope than expectation though, I wouldnt expect any recovery though and the treatment could be to the detriment of the other inhabitants. Some aquarium salt should be ok, but again its at your risk.

Personally i wouldnt want those fish potentially infecting other fish. If i couldnt isolate and had no real hope of treatment i would euthanise.

Its up to you though. I cant tell you how risk averse to be. The best thing to do would be get to the store and put some kind of QT together.

Longer term you need that nitrate down. Up the water changes, reduce numbers of fish.

 

[Bettadan2486]

Thank you! I'm not able to take the two affected fish out as I have no hospital tank. I am not going to treat he entire tank. I am stuck at the moment. I'm doing a 75% water change today to try and work on the nitrates cause It might be the cause. I'm not gonna add salt, cause my two snails. Thank you!!!!

 

[Bettadan2486]

UPDATE!!
I went to Walmart got a 5 gal tub. Filled it 50% tank water and 50%new. Got a nitrate remover pad for the big tank, and added aquarium salt.
QT TANK
is filled has a nano heater and a air stone and some fake plants for hiding. I put the two affected fish in there and the glow tetra is not enjoying it. He is swimming diagonally and up and down the corner of the other. IS IT OKAY TO USE AQUARIUM SALT AND MELAFIX TOGETHER?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Yes its ok to use melafix and aquarium salt together. Melafix is just teatree oil and has no real antibiotic properties however. Think of it more like a herbal remedy rather than medication.

 

[Bettadan2486]

Thank you! Sadly I think it was too late for the white fish. He passed very peacefully. Now onto the alive ones. When pink neon is doing well with the treatment. Now. Should I salt the entire big tank. Cause it looks like maybe one of the other fish are getting the fuzz, I'm cleaning the tank big-time today