Whats going on ? Ich ?

[Mikey214]

So two days ago my fish were fine and swimming around the tank happily.
This was my stock in a 29 gallon tank with a 50 aquaclear HOB filter.
1 white skirt tetra
4 cherry barbs
5 black neon barbs
7 candy cane tetras
1 bristle nose pleco

Within the last two days I'm lost 3 cherry barbs , 1 black neon tetra , and 7 candy cane tetras.
What's going on ? Do I have ich? Attached is a picture of my last cherry barb

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

That looks like Ich to me, I just finished treating a really bad Ich infestation in my 40 gal tank. If it is Ich, you should act fast because it spreads really quickly. Raise your temp to 82 degrees and go get some Ich medicine at the pet store. I used API Super Ick Cure and it worked wonders and saved my remaining fish. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[Mikey214]

My water parameters.
Ph ~ 7.4
Ammonia ~ 0ppm
Nitrite ~ 0ppm
Nitrate ~ 10ppm

Any thoughts anyone ?

 

[Mikey214]

That looks like Ich to me, I just finished treating a really bad Ich infestation in my 40 gal tank. If it is Ich, you should act fast because it spreads really quickly. Raise your temp to 82 degrees and go get some Ich medicine at the pet store. I used API Super Ick Cure and it worked wonders and saved my remaining fish. Hope this helps, good luck!

Tomorrow after work I'm going to stop at my lfs and pick up some medicine ! Will this harm my BB in the tank ?

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

I'm sorry, what do you mean by BB? Are you talking about your bristlenose?

 

[Mikey214]

I'm sorry, what do you mean by BB? Are you talking about your bristlenose?

It's ok! Beneficial bacteria.

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

Oh ok, I honestly don't know, I'm kind of a tank newbie so I really don't know how it affects the bacteria. It did hurt my plants pretty badly, but that could also be because I used salt to help combat the infection and my plants really suffered probably from a combination of salt and harsh medicine. Also, I read that scaleless fish like plecos can be sensitive to ich medicine so I would be wary of that. My pleco survived but I had to move him to a different quarantine tank because he looked like he was hurting from so much salt and medicine in the water. He is doing fine now though.

 

[Mikey214]

Thanks for the help though! Anyone else have any thoughts on this problem???

 

[jlk]

It looks like ich. You can try treating with heat if you don't want to use meds. Gradually over 2 days increase the heat to 86-88f. Add lots of extra aeration as warm water holds less oxygen. Do good gravel vacs along with water changes every other day (daily if there is any spike in toxins). Maintain the heat for one week AFTER the last spot is gone then gradually reduce it to normal. The ich may become worse before it starts to improve so do not panic! Heat alone is usually effective in treating ich but there are a few strains that have been documented that are heat resistant (up to 95f) so if you do not see improvement after two weeks, you may need to consider meds. Scaleless fish (pleco) do not tolerate ich meds well so use them with caution if you consider this route. Good luck!

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Mike...

Just about all the problems that can happen to a tank are the result of poor water conditions. The tank water gets a bit dirty and stresses the fish and parasites that live in most tanks can infect them.

Large, frequent water changes will help. Start changing out half the water a couple of times a week and do a good job of vacuuming the open areas. Parasites will be living in the gravel.

Raise the temp to 80, but no more. Aquatic plants don't tolerate warmer water. Cut way back on the food. Sick fish don't generally eat and you don't want uneaten food to foul the water even more.

Add a little standard aquarium salt to every 5 gallons of the new water, a teaspoon should be enough. Fish pathogens don't tolerate even a trace of salt in the tank water. The amount however, won't damage any plants you have and promotes healthy skin and gill function.

Turn the lighting off in the tank and dim the lights in the room. Parasites locate a host by sight.

Follow these steps until you see improvement. Just one reporter's opinion, though.

B

 

[Mikey214]

Ok just an update, Friday I started treating my tank for ICH. And since Friday I have lost 3 black neon barbs and another cherry barb. I only have my white skirt tetra in the tank along with a bristle nose pleco, what the hell is going on ?

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

Were the dead ones covered in white stuff? If so, that's just the nature of the parasite, it's really aggressive. I had 8 fish when I got the parasite and I have 2 left. If they didn't have white stuff all over them, then you might have something different.

 

[Mikey214]

Were the dead ones covered in white stuff? If so, that's just the nature of the parasite, it's really aggressive. I had 8 fish when I got the parasite and I have 2 left. If they didn't have white stuff all over them, then you might have something different.

They had white spots on their tails but they were not covered in white stuff.