need help - ich

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

well, she does not have any spots on her now,  she is eating and moving around normally, i guess now pop eye bandit will get it from her, we shall wait and see, the other fish are still spot free, but i guess it will take a few days for the life cycle thing to kick in full gear, i am ready for the worse, but hope for the best

i won't do any treatment (salt or temp) until i see more ick on the rest of the fish

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: need help - ich

You shouldnt wait for the next outbreak. If i were you id gravel vac the tank thoroughly, then add salt.

[Mzungu]

Re: need help - ich

2) add salt as i increase temp - do i add all salt (1 tablespoon for 5 gallons) at once or do that gradually as well (meaning half dose one day and half dose the next)?  or should i wait until after i have reached 82 degrees to add any salt?

You can add it all at once or gradually, your choice. If it was me, I'd probably add it gradually over a couple of hours. Just make sure to dissolve the salt before putting it in the tank. I usually take a plastic cup or something with tank water or dechlorinated water and add the salt to that, then pour it in the tank. You don't need to wait until the temp has reached 82 to add salt.

Still crossing my fingers the tank doesn't get ich!

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

thanks for the tips guys, i will gravel vac and add salt and raise temp starting tonight or after work

now, i don't have much area in the tank that is open because of plants all over the place and the large bogwood (large for my tank), i have never really gravel vac'd either, for some reason i don't have the capability of siphoning (i do have one of those cheapy petco gravel vac device)

now i can take out the bogwood easily and gravel vac, but that would still leave some areas around the plant roots that won't get cleaned, plus, the two large nana's are barely held down by a rock on the substrate (rhizome not touching ground), so i don't want to disturb that too much - i am getting new leaves from them once every other week - so i like that

so the question is - will not a thorough vac help?  plus when you vac, do you take out the water with it?  i am sorry for the STUPID questions

[Spot86t]

Re: need help - ich

There is no excuse for anyone to not have room for a QT.  Come on folks, it doesn't have to be a "fish tank"!  Go to walmart or academy and get a minnow bucket.  Handy as they have a place on the lid where you an hang an air pump and the inner bucket has slots so you can drop an airstone in the very bottom.  They have a vented lid to keep jumpers in and lighting down for a less-stress environment.  The depression in the center is great for a sponge filter.  It's a good idea to always have a sponge filter running in one of your other tanks so you can drop it in the minnow bucket for an "instantly cycled" situation.

The only downfall to a minnow bucket is that you can't see through it.  That's when you put a mirror in a ziplock (rocks behind mirror will make plastic snug across the front of it) and drop it in the bucket so you can reflect light off it and have a good look at your patient.  I've never tried one of those magnifying mirrors - that might even be better if it doesn't distort so much you can't make anything out.

Now, no more whining/excuses about not having a quarantine tank!  

If you had a sick child with a potentially deadly, contagious disease and no spare bedroom, I'm sure you'd come up with 'SOMETHING' so the other children weren't put at risk!  Our fishies are trusting and counting on us to keep them alive and happy!

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

well i do have the 1.5 qt tank, but that's where my pop-eye bandit and now lady green (green neon) are living, so if i buy anything else new, i don't have a third tank to QT them, i guess i could use my buckets and change water everyday - i guess, for now i will refrain from buying anything (hopefully all logic does not go out the window when i am browsing a lfs next time)

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help - ich

Man I keep getting this 403 error permission crap

[Mzungu]

Re: need help - ich

I wouldn't raise the temp or add salt until you know they've got ich.

When I vacuum the gravel, I just do it in places where nothing is there but gravel. Sometimes I'll move some wood or rocks around if it looks like it needs it, but usually just the open areas. If it's totally planted and there are absolutely no areas, then many people don't vacuum.

for some reason i don't have the capability of siphoning

Not sure I understand what you mean.

And yes, gravel vacuuming is usually incorporated into a water change, so you'll be taking the water out as you vacuum.  8)

[szidlon]

Re: need help - ich

The salt may cause a couple of plant problems.   As long it's not a lot of salt or for an extended time they should be okay.

[Somefishguy]

Re: need help - ich

I use a rubbermaid plastic container from walmart and a small airpump. You can make ur makeshift QT for like 15$

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help - ich

Yeah, the rubbermaid tubs work good too!

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

well, maybe i can go get the pigmy cories from fish gallery and qt them in a rubbermaid thing, but lately i am afraid of getting anything from fish gallery, so many of their fish seem to be sick or dying or dead!!!  anyone of you buy the pigmy's from there?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help - ich

I think Spot bought some already.....I will be checking them out and Mzungu said she is getting some too.

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

i went to fish gallery yesterday and saw the cute pygmy cories again, but there were so many dead one's all over the tank too, it was kind of disheartening, is it just me or does it seem like fish gallery now a days don't even bother taking out the dead fishes from their tank, they get eaten by the other fish, it seems like so many of their fish are just doing horribly, they recently got some moonlight gourami and almost 4 or 5 of them were dying yesterday, also saw a BAD breakout of some disease in a tank full of dwarfs, there were several laying in the bottom dead and they don't bother to take those out, i don't know, they are becoming petco/petsmart like with some of their livestock

btw, my green neon is still doing alright, she seems to be moving around normally and eating but have a lot more white spots on her now, the pop-eye bandit does not have any yet, but it is probably a matter of time

[finfan]

Re: need help - ich

well, an hour ago noticed the fish rubbing against the plants/wood, upon close inspection a few of them have one or two spots of ich, so i guess my hope that the green neon was isolated was wishful thinking, well, i took the easy way, went to the closest petco and got rid-ich, we will see how many (if any) make it through this episode, lesson to self - ALWAYS QT new fish :aua: