Scared about my afericans

[Blueiz]

I have never had good results using table salt, ask my betta that died of body fungus why. I don't know if you are using iodized or non-iodized, but I use iodized table salt as do most other ppl. Although you are right that medicating fish is stressful, and especially with catfish and even more so with pictus cat, it only takes a few days for the ich to become free swimming, and once they infect a fish, it is usually assumed that it is already free-swimming. And I never said to treat with 2 medications at once. Salt is not medicine, it is a water treatment designed to help aid in ridding fish of disease and building slime coat to help protect them. I also recommended doing a water change before switching medication, which is standard protocol when switching medicine.

Hmm, if your theory on salt not being a medicine, why do we use it as one, for fungus and as an antiparasitic. It is used in the place of adding those harsh chemicals to our tanks. I for one put the least amount of stuff in my tank that I have to. There are variants in the amount of time that it takes for ich to go through it's stages, as I already posted. You have posted some misguided information that I hope you take the time to learn from others on

 

[gzeiger]

Iodide won't hurt fish (it's in seawater and aquarium salt too). The anti-caking agents in table salt can be harmful to some sensitive fish in sufficient quantities, which is why I said kosher salt. However for ich you shouldn't be using enough to be dangerous.

86 degree water is not going to kill any of the fish commonly traded for aquariums except some goldfish. Below that temperature, warmer water accelerates the life cycle of the ich parasite, thereby spreading the disease more rapidly. Most strains of ich will die off above this point, so heat can be useful (accelerated life cycle can also be beneficial if using copper or formalin based medications because these only attack the larvae and will work more quickly if adults drop off the fish more quickly). Note that water temperature should not be changed more than a few degrees a day because rapid changes will be stressful to any fish.

 

[Zagz]

For scaleless fish such as pictus, synodontis etc, don't use salt at all or meds. Try the heat method first as it is a natural method for treating ich. As gzeiger said the heat method will not kill any fish. Add an air bubbler or lower the water level a bit will help with the temps up.

 

[An t-iasg]

86 degree water is not going to kill any of the fish commonly traded for aquariums except some goldfish. Below that temperature, warmer water accelerates the life cycle of the ich parasite, thereby spreading the disease more rapidly. Most strains of ich will die off above this point, so heat can be useful (accelerated life cycle can also be beneficial if using copper or formalin based medications because these only attack the larvae and will work more quickly if adults drop off the fish more quickly). Note that water temperature should not be changed more than a few degrees a day because rapid changes will be stressful to any fish.

I agree - at 86 degrees or below, the ich parasite reproduces rapidly. At temperatures above 86 degrees, the ich parasite is killed in all the life stages (on the fish, in the gravel, in the water). I would raise the temperature to 87 or 88 degrees to ensure that you're out of the temperature zone that accelerates the reproduction. Also remember that warmer water holds less oxygen, so aerate water to help raise the oxygen content. You can lower the water level in the tank slightly so that the water return from the filter splashes a bit - the turbulence will cause more oxygen from the air to be absorbed into the water.

 

[crb530]

ok well im not sure if it was ich cause it looked like it was almost gone yesterday and then when i woke up the fish had died now it is my fault probly because i forgot that they are scaleless fish and i put meds in i paniced because i was more worried about the cichlids than the cat the only reason i bought the cat was my brother thought it looked cool and i know they did well with cichlids

no ich is showing up on the cichlids but they are rubbing alot so its scaring me a little i mean they have always rubbed a little but now it seems to be a little more


good news in i got the 60 up and running now just running a mini cycle being i used the substrait from another tank i had in the house and also that filter so i will test it daily till every thing is good then when the cichlids look ok they will be moved in and happy i hope

 

[Blueiz]

A note on the salt with catfish. I have never had a problem with it and the catfish I have (cories, eupterus, banjo), nor with my plants. I would never go over 2 tsp per g with it though. Did you add the salt slowly to your tank? It should take about 24 hours to reach the 2 tsp/g mark.

Whichever method you use, be sure to follow it through to the end or you will risk a recurrence.

Your cichlids probably have it in there gills

 

[Sicklid]

All salt does is relieve the osmotic pressure inside of a sick fish, and helps them feel better, kinda like an aspirin for us... it does nothing to destroy ich. In my experience, Ich is ALWAYS present in a tank, not needing introduction by new additions. It is ALMOST ALWAYS induced by rapid temperature drops or some other physical stress on the fish... what has happened recently, maybe an electrical black out that you didnt notice? Is your heater working, or was it turned off? How often do you do water changes? You say you were doing one when this happened but when was the last one before this one? Many other things can be a factor. But salt won't hurt anything, and the temperature thing is the best treatment.

 

[Tamara0629]

Salt in small quantities will not hurt the catfish, I have an emerald green Cory cat in my tank and I always keep the water a little brackish. In my 10 gallon tank I use 4 heaping tsp in the tank. Also salt does not evaporate or leave the tank through normal filtration methods. It only leaves the tank when doing water changes or gravel vac. Cichlids especially do well in brackish water. Their natural habitat includes brackish water. I think copper and formalin based meds will hurt the catfish though. I have never used those types of medications in my tanks so I can't be sure.

 

[Tamara0629]

Never use more than 2 tsp of salt per gallon in a tank. Also, since the catfish died, are u still medicating? If not, did you perform a water change? And if you did both, did you check your water quality? When a fish dies, it releases a lot of toxic ammonia, which can trigger a spike in ammonia levels and later, a spike in nitrites. Both of which can cause additional stress to the fish and either trigger or worsen a disease outbreak.

 

[gzeiger]

Salt also adds osmotic stress to the ich organism and will kill it at a high enough concentration.

 

[Blueiz]

OT, but relevant. Salt, aquarium salt, NaCl, does not make brackish water conditions, you need marine salts for that.

 

[crb530]

yes i did stop the meds in the tank and yes i did do water changes

sense cichlids are dirty fish i have to do a water change every week and i do a 30% change i match the temp befor it goes in the tank and all that

they all seem to be doing fine now i have yet to add the salt but im going to today so there not as stressed

 

[Tamara0629]

Ok. It sounds like you're going in the right direction. I know what I'm about to say is just common sense, but since you stopped medicating and have done the water change, I just wanted to make sure you put the carbon back in the filter. I know of people whom have forgotten to do this after medicating. Also after you add the salt, don't mess with the fish anymore unless you start seeing telltale signs of ich because they will need some time to recover from the stress of medicating them.

 

[Tamara0629]

OT, but relevant. Salt, aquarium salt, NaCl, does not make brackish water conditions, you need marine salts for that.

I'm sorry if my understanding of terminology was incorrect, but I was told a long time ago by my father, who bred cichlids, that anytime you add any kind of salt, regardless as to the type, that it was no longer freshwater, and at that point, considered brackish.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'm sorry if my understanding of terminology was incorrect, but I was told a long time ago by my father, who bred cichlids, that anytime you add any kind of salt, regardless as to the type, that it was no longer freshwater, and at that point, considered brackish.

almost all, if not all, lakes, rivers, etc have some salt in them... brackish water is only places where saltwater meets freshwater like the mouths of rivers that meet oceans, etc... btw, no cichlids that i am aware of come from such places, especially african rift lake cichlids...(at least none to my knowledge, or googles for that matter)

 

[Tamara0629]

almost all, if not all, lakes, rivers, etc have some salt in them... brackish water is only places where saltwater meets freshwater like the mouths of rivers that meet oceans, etc... btw, no cichlids that i am aware of come from such places, especially african rift lake cichlids...(at least none to my knowledge, or googles for that matter)

Actually, I just double checked what you said about the African cichlids natural habitat by doing a google search and the second link provided after a search for "African cichlids natural habitat" states that African rift lake natural habitat "more closely resembles a marine habitat than tropical freshwater" and that salt is almost always necessary to be added to the water in a tank containing them. Here is the link:

African Rift Lake Cichlids

I just thought what you said was wrong because I remembered reading a book on cichlids once that said something similar and thought I'd double check real fast.

 

[Tamara0629]

Also, the African rift lakes are an exception to that rule about most rivers and lakes because the African rift lakes have unique water chemistry unlike any other river or lake in the world.

 

[crb530]

well that is good to know yes i added the carbon back into the tank and every thing is doing great every one seems happy and fine. the new tank is set up and done with its mini cycle so i think im going to move them in very soon


i was also looking to buy some females cause i only have males but none of my fish stores seem to know how to tell the difference

with the kind i have i was told that males have the dots on the bottom fins

 

[mfdrookie516]

almost all, if not all, lakes, rivers, etc have some salt in them... brackish water is only places where saltwater meets freshwater like the mouths of rivers that meet oceans, etc... btw, no cichlids that i am aware of come from such places, especially african rift lake cichlids...(at least none to my knowledge, or googles for that matter)

if you read what i wrote, i said almost all, if not all, lakes, rivers, etc have some salt in them...

you said

Cichlids especially do well in brackish water. Their natural habitat includes brackish water.

which is wrong...

 

[mfdrookie516]

i was also looking to buy some females cause i only have males but none of my fish stores seem to know how to tell the difference

with the kind i have i was told that males have the dots on the bottom fins

that is kind of hit or miss, especially if they are young... the only sure fire way is by "venting"... here is a good link... what kind do you have specifically?

Male or Female?