Mr.Ich paying a visit....

[Welsh197]

I need the help from the PROS.... Pls HELP:

I just notice a few early spots of ich on two of my oscars, I think I got it from a candy stripe pleco I bought at a LFS just recently.

I have a 5 week old 75 gal. w/ 2 tiger oscars (2.5 "), 1 jack dempsey (2"), 2 convicts (2"), bushnose pleco (3-3.5"), and a candystripe pleco (1.5").
-The tiger oscars are the ones that have the ich at the moment.

STATS on tank::

PH-6.6-6.7
Ammonia-0.5 ppm
N-rite-10 ppm
N-rate-0 ppm
Temp- now up to 80, i had it around 76-77 but since the ich I've been raising it 1 degree ea 12 hrs.
-Will all the fish be able to tolerate the 87 degree temps for a week or so???

-Should I start to add salt to my tank?? If so what kind of salt and how much??

The last water change (40%) was like 3 or 4 days ago, but I didnt notice the ich till 2 days ago.

Leme kno if I am doing everything I can, I was considering ich medication, but I would like to first try to naturally get rid of this disease.

Thank you for your help,

WelsH

 

[Menagerie]

Ammonia-0.5 ppm
N-rite-10 ppm

That is too high. A healthy tank should have those parameters at undectable levels. You need to do a 50% PWC ASAP. This may have lead to your fish being prone to getting ich.

It looks like you are in the midst of cycling with fish and ich! Continue to raise the temp to 86F and get some aquarium salt (sold at all LFS). You do not want marine salt, but aquarium salt You can move the degrees up 1 degree per 3 hours and it should not furhter stress the fish. As for how much salt, start with a teaspoon per gallon. Watch the reaction of your plecos--some of them do not like salt. Have a QT tank ready to go just in case. There is also an article about QT tanks in the articles section. In the future, QT all incoming fish (although, I think this break out is due to poor water parameters)!!

You should also read about the nitrogen cycle in the articles section, so you understand what your tank is going through while it is cycling. If you know anyone with an established tank, get some bacteria from them to give the cycle a push!

 

[Welsh197]

Menagerie ,

My mistake, the N-rate is 10ppm, and N-rite is 0.

Alrite, Im going to do the 50% WC this afternoon.

The ammonia was constantly raising and I have been trying to keep it under control. ( I think your right - I need to do some more reading about the nitrogen cycle figure out what I can do to lower the N-rate and ammonia.

I'll start with the salt tommorow.

Thanks for the help,

WelsH

 

[Menagerie]

My mistake, the N-rate is 10ppm, and N-rite is 0

Then that's okay. Most fish are fine with nitrAtes up to 40 ppm. There is no need for that kind of massive water change!! However, since the ammonia is registering, do a 25% PWC.

What kind of filter are you using?

 

[Welsh197]

I just finished the WC actually, I ended up doing a 30%.
I just added a 2nd bubble rod for better aeration in the tank.
and just tested the water:
Ph:6.8
Ammonia:0-.1ppm
N-rite:.25ppm
N-rate:5-10ppm

Im raising the temp every three hours as you said.
Should I raise it to 87 or 88, and for how many days does it need to be this high to kill all of the annoying buggers?

I am using a Penguin 330 filter.

WelsH[/quote]

 

[Menagerie]

86F is the "magic" number I believe. Once you no longer see the ich, continue treatment for an additional two weeks.

You are under filtering your tank--that is why your parameters are not the way they should be. The stats on your filter are:

Provides mechanical filtration to screen out dirt and debris, chemical filtration to remove dissolved organic compounds, and biological filtration to eliminate toxic ammonia and nitrite on contact. It silently filters 170 GPH for freshwater or marine tanks. For aquariums up to 50 gallons. Use two on a 100-gallon aquarium and three for 150-gallons.

For your messy fish--the oscars and plecos especially, you need a flow of 10x your tank size. Your filter only filters 170 gph and you really need 750 gph. I suggest that you look into a canister filter. I use them on all my tanks 29 gal and up. My 80 gal has a ViaAqua canister and I'm very happy with it.
FWIW~your fish will out grow that tank. Oscar keepers recommend a minimum of 50 gals for one oscar, 75 as the minimum for two oscars. I know your fish are small, but it's something to think about for the future.

 

[Welsh197]

I had a feeling I would probably be needing a stronger filter.
Alright, I will look into the canister filters, see what I can scrap together from my finances.

What is the GPH for the canister on your 80 gal tank??
Yea the ViaAqua canister look good, the highest GPH I could find was 211, but they are a good price.

If I had the 211 GPH canister and the power filter I have now, that should be plenty sufficient to clean my 55 gal, don't you think?

Yea I know, Im selling my car very soon so I'll have money in a month or so so I can get a larger tank, still searching newspapers and yard sales for the "never seen before deals" tho. I figure the fish I have in there now can stay in the 55 gal for another month or so.(Hopefully Ich-free).

Just wonderin- what fish ya got in the 80gal?

Thanks for the help Menagerie ,

WelsH

 

[Menagerie]

What is the GPH for the canister on your 80 gal tank??

Hmmm. I'm not sure.

Definately check eBay and the on-line stores for a canister filter. Canisters are great because you can put all ceramic media in them and allow lots of bacteria to grow.

Keep looking in the newspapers and Bargain Finder type papers--something will come up and you have time!!

The 80 has our African cichlids--you can see the tank and some of the fish in my gallery

 

[Welsh197]

Yea those canister filters sound convenient. Do you know about how much you spend on maintaining your AquaPro(ViaAqua) canister filter per month? Not including the electric bill, just on filters and media?

Im thinking if I get the canister I can use the power filter on a 30gal or less

WelsH

 

[Menagerie]

Do you know about how much you spend on maintaining your AquaPro(ViaAqua) canister filter per month?

$0
Once you are done with the start up costs, it runs itself. I rinse the media when the flow is slowed and rinse the large sponges that are in it.