Maybe Ich? Maybe Stress from Other....

[MatthewLaw]

Greetings All- I have had my two (2) SAPs for 3 days (since Sunday evening). The SAPs have been eating and I frequently see that them being chased by a few of the TBs in the tank. I think one of the SAPs has Ich due to a few of those 'salt-sugar' looking dots on him. Could the TBs have done this to them?

The other SAP likes to hang out in the top of the tank, do a few barrel rolls down and then swim back up. I have caught both puffers playing in the current from my BioWheel 350 filter and additional air pump.

I have a 15g cycled tank and am considering moving some of the TBs to that tank. OR should I move the two SAPs to that tank?

Thanks for the help! -Matt

[The Bruce]

they are probably "playing" in the current to get relief from the ich, if you don't have live plants you should treat with salt, as soon as you can because my SAP died of ich very rapidly, and the 3 dwarfs that were in there never even showed signs of ich and are still with me to this day

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the help. i have moved the puffers to another tank and they're a lot more responsive and active.

do you recommend a specific 'ich cure' method? natural (raise temp to 86 degs?) special ich-tablets?

Thanks!

[The Bruce]

what works for me every time is marine salt, do not buy any "ich cure" or other stupid magical potion, some people use copper but it's too easy to overdose and it is toxic to the fish, raising the temp only speeds up the life cycle of the ich parasite so unless you have started a treatment don't raise the temperature it will only help the ich, look in the puffer library or do a google search to learn the procedure

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the help. i have never 'tangled' with SW tanks.

just to clarify, the salt that is referred to is NOT conditioning salt for FW tanks, right? This marine salt, as in the same salt used to make ur tank brackish/marine???

[The Bruce]

i've never tried "aquarium salt", i use marine salt like instant ocean or oceanic, you can buy a little bag of oceanic or a little box of instant ocean, the ones that make 5 gallons.

[MatthewLaw]

Got it..... and then just follow the directions from the article?

I would be using the salt with a 15g tank (quarantine tank). Since I would be doing water changes every other day (as recommended in the article) then should I get the larger 'bag' although not the HUGE bin? I am calculating I would be using about a cup of marine salt (approx 15 tablespoons = 1 cup)

[The Bruce]

well the article says to use 1 tablespoon of salt for every 5 gallons, so a 5 gallon(2 1/2 cups) mix of instant ocean will be enough for a month, but to be honest i never went by that article, i used to refractometer to get the right salinity. but i assume that dose is correct or it wouldn't be posted on this site

[Pufferpunk]

You need to treat in the main tank--the TBs could be carriers & the ich will still be in thewater.

[MatthewLaw]

Thanks again!!

Thanks for the recommendation pufferpunk. I will need to treat both tanks!

The 'ich puffer' looks a lot better this morning; a lot fewer dots. I will still treat both tanks but I wonder, is there a risk of treating the tank(s) for ich when the puffer(s) did/do not have it?

Ultimately, I want to put the puffers in my large 60g tank. Has anyone cycyled a new tank AND treated it for ick? The Tbs from the 60g would be split between two (2) 15g tanks. One 15g is cycled (current being used for puffers) and the other is brand new. So basically part of the barbs would be cyling and being treated for ich in the new tank. is this too much, even for barbs???

[Pufferpunk]

Is the QT the puffers you are treating in, cycled? They were never in with the barbs?

[Agnate]

He said his puffer QT (the 15 gallon) is cycled, but the one he wants to use as QT for the barbs (the other 15 gallon) is not cycled.

To cycle the other 15 gallon, you can just use the old sponges/media from your already-cycled 60 gallon tank. Just make sure the sponges/media have been in the filter for at least 2 weeks.


So, you're moving ALL of the fish from your main tank (where you first saw ich) into QT tanks (your two 15 gallon tanks)? If you leave some in the 60 gallon, ich is still going to be present in the tank. You have to leave your main tank fallow (fish-less) for 4-6 weeks (wait for verification on this length of time).


Also, make sure you're using 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water! Above, you made it sound like you'd be using 1 tablespoon per 1 gallon, which would be WAY too much.

[MatthewLaw]

I have two cycled tanks (15g and 60g) and am purchasing a third 10g tank (never used = never cycled).

Ultimately. I want the 60g tank to have puffers and other fish that will not harass the barbs (passive rainbow sharks and a 'nice' bala shark).

The 15g for tiger barbs. Uncycled 10g tank will have a few barbs in it too. I know that all contents in the 60g may be contaminted with ick and therefore 60g and 15g need to be treated. Since i will be putting some 'contaminated' barbs in the new tank, I will treat it while it is cycling.

I was at my LFS this afternoon and the store had 'Aquarium Salt' but not marine salt. The people there said they did not have marine salt BUT this 'aquarium salt' references using it to treat fish disease.

I did not purchase this salt since it was NOT marine salt. Was I wrong??

Finally, can i purchase other SAPs and as a prophylactic treat them for ich?

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!! -Matt

[Pufferpunk]

Table salt is fine to use. I don't think I've ever purchased a SAP tthat didn't develop ich, so yes, I'd treat them right away.

Balas are schooling fish.

[MatthewLaw]

table salt? realy??? i thought it had to be 'specific' marine salt!!

is conditioning aquarium salt 'bad' to use? i am going to petsmart this evening so i will hopefully know what salt to buy (and what NOT to buy).

i thought for balas (like barbs, rainbow sharks, etc) work best with either 'one' or at least 3 (for schooling).