Ich - pleco missing an eye etc

[courtnee]

When it rains it pours. I know this is long but its an update on all I have done this weekend.

I noticed Friday a clown loach rubbing himself on the gravel. I saw a speck or two on a bleeding heart tetra so I thought maybe it was ich. I did a 50% pwc and a massive gravel vac to prepare for the dealings of this. I rinsed out only one side of the filter and let the other be because of the massive gravel vac. Dont need a mini cycle at this time.

Water has remained well over the weekend. I raised my temp over the weekend to 86F (completed it today) and Friday I also added 5 tbsp of salt. (55gl tank)

I worked all weekend 12hr shifts so as much as I wanted to raise the temp faster I did it through the weekend when I got home and let it go 12hrs as I slept etc and was home I could watch the fish. I didnt raise it before work as I wouldnt be here 15hrs or so to watch them.

Today I got it up to the 86F finally. The bleeding hearts are pretty spotted, a few serpae tetra. My pleco and pictus cats seem fine so far. clown loaches a few of them have a few spots but only a few....

How long before I see results?

Also my pleco I noticed today is missing an eye. I assume it was the spotted pictus they are terrors. Fight a lot and my fourline pictus are mellow even though they are the ones as big as the pleco. They dont bother anyone.

I am not sure when it happened. It appears healed up and he is eating fine and going all over the tank.

I am in more of a hurry to get my 75gl for the pleco now, He is small yet but I dont want him to lose his other eye. I am not even sure what happened. Poor guy!

I also today added another HOB filter so now I have 2 of them (30-60gl)

The side of my tank with out a filter just didnt get enough movement. The pleco poop and food settled over there often. This last gravel vac I was amazed at the gunk so now a second filter should help out.

How often should I do PWC during this ich ordeal? I dont want to lose any fish. This is my first ich outbreak so this is all new to me. Does PWC help?

My water is good though ammonia and nitrIte are 0 the nitrAte is 20 and the ph 7.

Im trying to avoid meds because of the clown loaches (5 small ones) and my pictus that wont tolerate the meds.

 

[rich311k]

Within 3 or 4 days the spots should go away. Pump the temp up a few more degrees. 88 is better. Leave the temp up for 2 weeks after the spots are gone. Good luck.

 

[courtnee]

ugh im stressed.

Not all fish are bad enough to SEE the ich on them but some are pretty bad.

My bleeding heart tetras are the worst. They are just covered in it. Looks like I rolled them in salt! 1 spotted pictus is covered 2/3 as bad as the bleeding hearts. My two fourlines were out and I got a good look, cant see a speck on them. A serpae tetra is pretty covered but most of the other 7 are not.

My pleco has one or two spots, he is really dark so it shows up easy on him but he barely has anything.

I got my temp it 87f going up another degree today.

How often do I add the salt? does it stay in the water and not filter out? Do I just replace it with a pwc?

Also I notice a huge change in activity. The tetra race around and act like they are ADHD! I have never seen my tank so active. The spotted pictus that ALWAYS hide are even out. They seem stressed.

 

[rich311k]

They are more active because of the temperature, their systems are running faster. Are pictus scaleless fish? I don't know how well they will react to salt? I have never had them.

Change water often, nothing helps fish like clean healthy water. Vacuum the gravel well you will be sucking out ich cysts. Replace the salt with the PWCs but I really don't think you need the salt.

Did you add extra aeration to the tank?

 

[courtnee]

I already have two bubble curtains along the entire back, I also added another HOB 30-60 gallon filter so it now has 2 filters of that size. The water line is just below the trim so the filters pushing water out is really breaking up the surface. You can see the water being pushed to the front.

A pic of how my tank is set up. This was before the extra filter that I plan to leave one the tank. I plan to use the filter media in it to seed my 75gl that I will put a xp3 on. I figure the tank could use the extra filter as that side of the tank gets stale. The filter is on the left so each side has a filter.

Yes pictus are scaleless. I have clown loaches and pictus that are all scaleless and the pleco (but at least he has more protecting his skin then the loaches and pictus)

This is why I am trying to avoid meds. I read on a sticky that loaches and plecos fair well in the salt but tetra do not. I have several various tetra. They seem to be tolerating it so far pretty well. The pictus I am not sure about. the largest one the white pims are still calm. The spotted pictus are more active and seem a little stressed. They are not stressed to bad yet as they are not going the up and down the tank constantly on the side and rapid "talking" but I can tell they are stressed.

 

[rich311k]

I would hold off on the salt. Just let the heat do its thing. I can tell you that clown loaches are very suseptable to ich. I will be pulling for you and your fish.

Pretty tank.

 

[courtnee]

update: tank is at 88f and things are not for the most part getting better

Yesterday I added ich guard II because the pictus were really bad off. I figure I didnt have much to give up at this point.

I woke up this morning to

all four spotted pictus dead - didnt shock me. I can never pull a spotted pictus out of ich. They had a fungus infection starting too.

1 bleeding heart tetra and 1 serpae tetra died later this morning.

1 more serpae in rough shape, pulled it and put it in a 1gl tank with some meds. It is hanging in there and doing better with out the strong current of the 55gl.

my clown loaches are all struggling. at the top of the tank a lot and stressed out.

1 bleeding heart tetra is pretty bad yet, the other one (only have two left now) seems to be clearing up. Not sure yet.

Pleco is stressed out and his color is not the best but he is hanging in there. He is active yet.

four line pictus cats look really good and still normal so far.

the rest of the tetra are hanging in there and seem relaxed and doing well, for now.

I had ammonia for the first time today, it was about .25 almost a little higher. I did a 80% PWC to drop it. That is the LAST thing my fish need to deal with. Figure it was the fish deaths I had to bump that up.

Just tested the water

ammonia = trace
NitrIte = zero
NitrAte = 10
PH = 7

ugh .... i just feel there is a second infection bothering them and I am at a loss.

last night I put in some jungle fungus tabs. I only put in 2 of them instead of 4 1/2 so I went half dose.

Today I only added the ich guard II

What else can or should I do?