I don't understand what's going on =/

[Zagz]

The loach is getting relief from the bubbles I believe. I think it must be like scratching an itch to them. My loaches did the same when they had ich.

 

[i3k]

Both of them are now swimming against the air stone bubbles. with the second heater the temp. jumped to 89 degrees within 2 hours. I took the second heater out and the temperature came down to 88 degrees over 2 hours. Hopefully my one heater can keep the temp. at 88 degrees. I don't see any fish gasping, so 88 should be OK.

I really hope the loaches show improvement tomorrow...hate seeing them like this.

Should I do another PWC tomorrow?

 

[An t-iasg]

I would do a PWC every day while you are treating for ich. The PWC will remove the ich that is in the free-floating stage - the ones swimming though the water that you can't see. The water change won't remove them all but hopefully by continuing your PWCs you can get some out of there before they have a chance to return to the gravel and reproduce again. I hope you see improvement tomorrow too - you should begin to see a reduction of the spots on the fish but remember to keep your temps up for two weeks after you see that last spot.

 

[i3k]

I definitely saw less spots on the rainbows today. I'm not sure if the loaches have any visible spots as they just wont sit still for me to see. Still some flashing going on but looks like things are getting better slowly. a stubborn case?

Anyways, the water is at around 88 degrees right now and they seem to be OK with it. no gasping. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for them.

Thanks.

 

[i3k]

Looks like today was a better day for all the fish. I didn't see any spots on the rainbows. The two bigger rainbows are now at the bottom right under the filter current. My guess is that the ich is no longer in their gills but might still be on their body as they are not as active as they used to be. The smaller rainbows are looking better too. no spots, and swam around more then yesterday.

The loaches are doing much better as well. I've only seem them flash a few times today. They got pretty excited when I fed them except for one of the bigger rainbows, he didn't really feel like eating for some reason. Maybe the high temperature is stressing him out?

I did have my carbon out of the filter since I did dose the tank with RidIch 3 days ago. Should I wash it and put it back in the filter?

 

[An t-iasg]

If you want to run some more carbon, I would throw away what you had in the tank and put fresh carbon in. The ich won't live in the carbon - it needs a fish host - but you never know. You may be introducing some ich in the cyst state back into the aquarium. This is probably unlikely but again you never know. Carbon isn't expensive so I would use all new carbon.

 

[Zagz]

I agree use new carbon. The rainbow may be stressed from the ich and the high temps. It sounds like the tank is on the mend. I am very happy to hear it.

 

[i3k]

Just wanted to update everyone. Today every fish seems to be normal. Every fish is swimming around at the level they are supposed to be swimming around. The loaches stopped flashing and are now swimming around and chasing each other just like they used to =) I fed them today and they attacked the food like they haven't ate for days.

I'll continue to keep the water at around 87-88 degrees for a while since they seem to be doing real good in this warm water. Should I continue to do partial water changes every couple days, or should I now return to normal schedule, every 10 days.


Thanks AquariumAdvice!!!

 

[Zagz]

I am so glad to hear that everyone is recovering. I would do a couple more extra water changes then go back to normal. If you are able to do pwc's once a week rather than 10 days that would be a good thing.

 

[An t-iasg]

That's good to hear - good work!

I agree with Anne. Do a few more extra water changes and try to schedule your regular water changes once a week rather than once every 10 days. We all get busy and occasionally doing a water change a few days past your regular schedule is ok, but for the health of the aquarium and your overall ease of maintenance, you should do a water change every week.