Hello! Newcommer ich problem!

[Rivercats]

If you turn up your heat to 86 you don't need meds. If you want to use the med's then follow their directions and don't do a WC until the meds say but this is going to expose your fish to very high ammonia and nitrites which is not good. So IMO stop the meds, use the rule of doing a WC if ammonia and or nitrites rise above .25ppm to protect your fish from ammonia and nitrite poisoning even if you have to do a daily WC. The heat will kill all the ich and will aid in speeding up your BB growth.

 

[Hobgob]

Did it say to remove all your media or just your cArbon. In a planted tank heat is honestly the only way to treat ich. Slowly raise your temp to 86f (30c). 1 degree an hour in Celsius or two in Fahrenheit. Keep it there for two weeks and keep doing everything you would normally.
And like mentioned above the added heat will help your cycle move faster.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Heat seems to be a commonly practiced way to treat ich, I'd never heard of the process until I joined up here, heat stops ich reproducing but it must be maintained above a certain temperature. I used to deal with ich by removing the fish thus breaking the lifecycle of ich, the second free swimming stage of ich must find a fish host with in 48 hours or it dies, heat stops the cyst multiplying in its cell numbers. Medications for ich are only able to deal with the free swimming stage of the parasite.
The cycle is, white spot on fish, free swimming, cyst(multiplies cells, heat stops this), free swimming-this part must find a fish host, back to fish. The circle is complete, the cycle starts all over again.

Momma of 2 educated me on the heat method for which I am very grateful, saves a lot of trouble but I have never tried it, I always cooled the tank slowing the life cycle and treated fish separately. There is scientific papers to back up the heat method. I will use this in the future on fresh water cases.

 

[Jujubee]

Quick update,

Thank you so much peck and cats! You guys are all very helpful and I appreciate your concern. I've still got a toughy on my hands :/

My tap contains a little ammonia but no nitrite or nitrates. My filter for my tap does however have nitrates and nitrites so I will NOT be using that water.

My readings are horrible today I feel terrible for my little guys right now.
No3 40-80
No2 5-10
Ph 8
Kh 80
Gh 180
Ammonia .25

I'm about to do a water change and possibly two more before I even go to bed tonight.

I stopped putting ich meds in about a week ago, all my fish no longer have spots and it seems to have died off with the added heat. My carbon filter is back in the filtration system. I do have biological media in my filter as far as turn over I couldn't tell you :/ it's made for around a 20-30 gallon tank though and I have a 10 gal.
The length is 20 inches
Depth would be 12 inches
If you wanted different numbers it's 2640 for my tank.

I'm wondering if I stalled the cycle or not, ammonia seems to stay consistent and steady but nitrates and nitrites are too high for my liking. Besides water changes is there anything I can do for them or do I just grit my teeth and hope they pull through (still doing water changes of course)

 

[Jujubee]

I was doing water changes every 2nd day prior to this ich to try and get the tank cycled. Do you suggest doing the wc now even though I've just done the 2nd dose of treatment? And should I return my filter media now too? Thanks

I don't have much knowledge on ich since I only have come across it this one time but through lots of helpful advice I got rid of ich within about a week or two. I raised my temp to a steady 84ish and I treated the water every day with ich treatment for 5 days. I made sure the water I was putting in was the same temp as in the tank. I've kept the temp up on my tank since and it seems to have completely gone away. Other people will have more info for you, if you have plants don't use salt treatments I learned that before making the mistake thankfully. I hope all goes well with you tank!

 

[Rivercats]

Continue doing WC's until you get ammonia and nitrites to .25ppm or below. Depending on the ich medicine used you might have killed off some or a lot of your BB. No use worrying about what it did and just focus on getting those levels down via WC's and keeping them down. That is the best thing for them.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

If the ich has gone, reduce temp to minimum amount for the fish. Not sure exactly what the min temp is for the species concerned. Ammonia levels are more critical at higher T'
Less pH = less free ammonia. Reduce if possible.

I looked online and found a 10 gal tank with these dimension. Length and width are important for max stock capacity.

By my maths in inches, 20x11= 220 square inches.

You need 10sq in per fish to allow gaseous exchange to take place without additional aeration, although o2 may help. You can promote gaseous exchange by allowing the filter outlet to agitate the surface.
By that equation you can stock to 22inch fish length before you encounter problems associated with over stocking.

P.s. I hope I'm peck
Janice you are a star, I hope you are smiling because you should be dead pleased with yourself.

 

[Jujubee]

Continue doing WC's until you get ammonia and nitrites to .25ppm or below. Depending on the ich medicine used you might have killed off some or a lot of your BB. No use worrying about what it did and just focus on getting those levels down via WC's and keeping them down. That is the best thing for them.

I honestly feel like I did. I should have been more careful :/ I'm glad everyone is so helpful at least. I'm not sure id still have my little guys if it wasn't for all of the advice!

 

[Jujubee]

If the ich has gone, reduce temp to minimum amount for the fish. Not sure exactly what the min temp is for the species concerned. Ammonia levels are more critical at higher T' Less pH = less free ammonia. Reduce if possible. I looked online and found a 10 gal tank with these dimension. Length and width are important for max stock capacity. By my maths in inches, 20x11= 220 square inches. You need 10sq in per fish to allow gaseous exchange to take place without additional aeration, although o2 may help. You can promote gaseous exchange by allowing the filter outlet to agitate the surface. By that equation you can stock to 22inch fish length before you encounter problems associated with over stocking. P.s. I hope I'm peck Janice you are a star, I hope you are smiling because you should be dead pleased with yourself.

I meant peak! I'm sorry
I do have platys in the tank atm 4 to be exact. I was hoping the bigger filter and the plants (had 9 have 12 now) would help.
I do keep a little plastic makeshift shield on my filter, water hits it to slow the water since my fish seemed to have a hard time swimming with such a harsh flow, do you think I should move it to let more water flow into the tank?

 

[J.Mcpeak]

I meant peak! I'm sorry
I do have platys in the tank atm 4 to be exact. I was hoping the bigger filter and the plants (had 9 have 12 now) would help.
I do keep a little plastic makeshift shield on my filter, water hits it to slow the water since my fish seemed to have a hard time swimming with such a harsh flow, do you think I should move it to let more water flow into the tank?

Don't apologise it made me laugh, that doesn't happen often!
Either turn outlet towards glass panel on side or back or have it above the waterline, this reduces the torrent of water considerably, the filter is the bio bac/waste removal (partial) and circulation element. Plants reduce nitrate to some extent. I should say plants use co2 during daylight. At night time they use O2. Additional O2 after lights out is good practice. I usually use segment timers to switch lights and additional aeration.
The filter return above waterline will make a difference, if it still seems too strong twist it around so the tank corner takes the flow. Try to keep it above or just breaking the surface.

C02 has an effect on ph as does detritus, usually to pH minus as it acidifies the water.

Some people may have different ideas about the filter outlet placement.

 

[Rivercats]

Actually keep the temp up to speed your cycling. Once you get cycled then slowly reduce the temps. With the temp up all you have to do is be sure you have enough surface movement for gas exchange as already said. High temps mean fish need more oxygen. So if you notice fish hanging near the surface then add an airstone till you turn the temps down.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Ammonia Toxicity and pH Changes

High temps speed up bio bac process agreed. The primary concern now I think has shifted toward ammonia. This basically explains what I mean, it is geared towards fish farming but the science is the same for all aquatic environments.

 

[Rivercats]

The higher the ph is over 7 (neutral) the more toxic to fish it becomes just as the lower ph is under 7 the more toxic nitrites become to fish.

That is why daily testing and WC's to keep both ammonia and nitrites at a level of no higher than .25ppm are needed.

Sorry I didn't read the article.

 

[Jujubee]

So ammonia is at a 0 in my 10 gal, nitrites at a 3. I did one water change today and will be doing another (3 gallon) change once I return home again.

I do have one question for my other tank, it's a 2.5 gal with 3 african dwarf frogs and 2 nerite snails. I never had a problem with water conditions until somewhat recently. Could it be the snails? Ammonia is high and I have to do water changes to lower it but it still hasn't hit under .25. I had 3 plants in the tank when first set up, they did die so I took them out and cleaned the water, it's crystal clear. But could the snails some how be adding ammonia into the water? There is a little ammonia present in my tap...could this also be affecting it?
I was thinking of moving the snails once my 10 gallon is under control.

Any suggestions on this??

Thank you again for the help! I will be looking into more info/books about fish health and water details. I'm still a newbie at proper care for fish so I'm doing my best and y'all's help is an added bonus.

 

[Jujubee]

There is a 5 gal whisper filter added in the tank. They were also moved from a tiny "Eco" tank they came in. Felt horrible and had to get them something bigger. Nitrates and nitrites are also 0 in the frog tank.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

All urine waste is ammonia based, counts for us and I think everything in kingdom animalia. I've no experience with frogs I would assume their waste is the same.

African Dwarf Frog Housing and Feeding

This should help.

 

[Rivercats]

Have you tested your ph in that tank? If your ph drops to 6.5 or below biological activity stops and if ph falls to 6 or below biological activity stops and BB starts to die off which means ammonia levels will start rising. So first off check your ph in that tank.

 

[Jujubee]

Have you tested your ph in that tank? If your ph drops to 6.5 or below biological activity stops and if ph falls to 6 or below biological activity stops and BB starts to die off which means ammonia levels will start rising. So first off check your ph in that tank.

Ph is around 7.5-8 it's steady between the two. That's why it's not really making sense to me

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Copied from the link provided for your benefit.

Tank care of African Dwarf Frogs is very simple. Please allow one gallon of water per frog. They are not very messy and they don't produce a lot of waste but their food tends to foul up the water more then they do. They do not need a heater as long as the water doesn't drop below 70. I keep my dwarf tank at 75 and they are happy and healthy. Don't put them in very high and deep tanks. They aren't the best swimmers and it would be stressful on them to be straining to reach air.

Filtration keeps the water clean but a filter is not needed. In small tanks (3 gallons and smaller) i would not use a filter. Most small tanks that size come with internal filters powered by an airstone. This is a bad idea for dwarf frogs since they are sensitive to water vibrations. I would discard the internal filter and just do weekly water changes. In tanks larger then 3 gallons i would use a Whisper powerfilter. It is the quietest of all hanging filters and has least amount of surface disturbance. There is no need to overfilter if you tank is just dedicated to dwarfs (or the occasional snail or algea eater).

 

[Jujubee]

All urine waste is ammonia based, counts for us and I think everything in kingdom animalia. I've no experience with frogs I would assume their waste is the same. African Dwarf Frog Housing and Feeding This should help.

Just read all the info. I'm considering taking the filter out since it does take up some space and does cause vibrations as well as having to unplug it just to feed them. I'm thinking a larger water change on the tank might do them well and really getting in the gravel. I use a baster to clean their water since my tube is too large for their tank. Thank you. Hopefully the water change will help. I may also need to get a heater for them since the weather is getting colder here. As far as ph idk how to lower it :/ it stays between 7.5-8