annabel1066
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi, everyone, I'm hoping the experts out there will kindly give me some sage advice to help me help my fish
I'm still pretty new to fishkeeping, and I'm battling The Mighty Demon Ich for the second (or likely still the first) time.
Here's my setup:
15g column
penguin 150 with biowheel, added ceramic media and second filter cartridge
air pump rated for 15-20g with airstone
fluval heater (100 watts set at 80-82 degrees)
gravel/small rock substrate
plastic trees and plastic bamboo which floats on top
4 harlequin rasboras
3 albino cories
(had a male crowntail betta in there, moved him to his own 5g tank)
So we had ich and it appeared to be gone, I stopped treatment and now it's back. Sooo, I've resumed treatment, Seachem Metronidazole and the green malachite ich stuff, which I now realize I stopped too soon and, I'm gradually raising the water temperature. I use Tetra EasyBalance once a week to add some aquarium salt to help with healing... Other additives are Stability every other day to get the bacteria up to speed, and Prime when doing pwc's... I'm also using AmmoLock to protect the fish from ammonia til I get through the mini-cycle I'm in from the pwc's?? (ammonia at .5ppm today, nitrites and nitrates at 0). I feel like I'm bombarding my fish with chemicals, but I don't know how else to to deal with the various problems I'm having... [sigh]
Questions:
1. How high should I raise the water temperature? I've heard 82 degrees as well as 86 degrees...
2. How can I treat the ich and not risk another mini-cycle from water changes?
3. My cories occasionally go streaking up to the top, and then turn right around and barrel back down to the tank floor. They seem to be active and healthy otherwise. Does this mean anything, or is it just cories having a good time?
4. One of my rasboras is a bit smaller than the others, and doesn't seem to be as healthy overall. Is he being picked on?
4. Any other advice? Things started out well, but now I'm frustrated and feel like I can't keep a stable environment in my tank for more than a few days at a time I'm starting to dread coming home because there are so many problems for my little guys
I so want to do the right thing for my fish and keep them in a healthy environment. I read and research and try to find out all I can, but it seems I still have a lot to learn...
Thank you very much for your help!
I'm still pretty new to fishkeeping, and I'm battling The Mighty Demon Ich for the second (or likely still the first) time.
Here's my setup:
15g column
penguin 150 with biowheel, added ceramic media and second filter cartridge
air pump rated for 15-20g with airstone
fluval heater (100 watts set at 80-82 degrees)
gravel/small rock substrate
plastic trees and plastic bamboo which floats on top
4 harlequin rasboras
3 albino cories
(had a male crowntail betta in there, moved him to his own 5g tank)
So we had ich and it appeared to be gone, I stopped treatment and now it's back. Sooo, I've resumed treatment, Seachem Metronidazole and the green malachite ich stuff, which I now realize I stopped too soon and, I'm gradually raising the water temperature. I use Tetra EasyBalance once a week to add some aquarium salt to help with healing... Other additives are Stability every other day to get the bacteria up to speed, and Prime when doing pwc's... I'm also using AmmoLock to protect the fish from ammonia til I get through the mini-cycle I'm in from the pwc's?? (ammonia at .5ppm today, nitrites and nitrates at 0). I feel like I'm bombarding my fish with chemicals, but I don't know how else to to deal with the various problems I'm having... [sigh]
Questions:
1. How high should I raise the water temperature? I've heard 82 degrees as well as 86 degrees...
2. How can I treat the ich and not risk another mini-cycle from water changes?
3. My cories occasionally go streaking up to the top, and then turn right around and barrel back down to the tank floor. They seem to be active and healthy otherwise. Does this mean anything, or is it just cories having a good time?
4. One of my rasboras is a bit smaller than the others, and doesn't seem to be as healthy overall. Is he being picked on?
4. Any other advice? Things started out well, but now I'm frustrated and feel like I can't keep a stable environment in my tank for more than a few days at a time I'm starting to dread coming home because there are so many problems for my little guys
I so want to do the right thing for my fish and keep them in a healthy environment. I read and research and try to find out all I can, but it seems I still have a lot to learn...
Thank you very much for your help!