Ich in my tank
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Ich in my tank
I have recently bought 2 GSP which my LFS told me would be OK in my freshwater community tank. Now almost all of my fish are showing signs of Ich. My tank is only 3 weeks old and i have been concentrating on getting it cycled, i now reaslise i have made lots of poor choices but would really like some help with my problem, oh and also their poop is stringy does this mean they have IP's?
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Boxermom
- Former Staff Member
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New fish should always be quarantined for 2-4 weeks so they don't transmit diseases and parasites. Too late for that now though.
Yes, stringy poop usually means IPs. Read the stickied threads on both ich and IP treatments.
GSPs are not good community fish and should be in a species-only tank. In addition, they need at least 30 gallons each. And they need a fully cycled tank as they are extremely sensitive to ammonia and nitrite toxicity. If you are in the US, try to get ahold of some Biospira. Its the only product that will "instant" cycle a tank. Don't buy any other crap in a bottle, no matter what the LFS tells you.
If you can't find Biospira, you'll need to do big water changes every day, replacing the salt during the ich treatment, until the tank finishes cycling. Use Prime as a declorinator if at all possible as it will help detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so they won't kill the fish.
And welcome.
Yes, stringy poop usually means IPs. Read the stickied threads on both ich and IP treatments.
GSPs are not good community fish and should be in a species-only tank. In addition, they need at least 30 gallons each. And they need a fully cycled tank as they are extremely sensitive to ammonia and nitrite toxicity. If you are in the US, try to get ahold of some Biospira. Its the only product that will "instant" cycle a tank. Don't buy any other crap in a bottle, no matter what the LFS tells you.
If you can't find Biospira, you'll need to do big water changes every day, replacing the salt during the ich treatment, until the tank finishes cycling. Use Prime as a declorinator if at all possible as it will help detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so they won't kill the fish.
And welcome.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
if i do big water changes, will this not ruin the cycling? I am doing 30 - 40% changes every 3rd day and treating the water with serra nitravac.
i realise i will have to rehouse my puffers, but at the moment i am just able to cope with the tank i have. the puffers are still young and only 1 inch. Also can i put salt in with the other fish? I have 1 dwarf gourami, 2 angels and 4 green tiger barbs. P.s. where can i find sticked threads????
i realise i will have to rehouse my puffers, but at the moment i am just able to cope with the tank i have. the puffers are still young and only 1 inch. Also can i put salt in with the other fish? I have 1 dwarf gourami, 2 angels and 4 green tiger barbs. P.s. where can i find sticked threads????
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Boxermom
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 2182
- Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:34 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
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No, it won't affect your cycle. Stop using the Nitrivec, its dead bacteria that's just adding to the bioload.
I highly recommend you start reading up on all of your fish, as they have very different requirements and aren't terribly compatible. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if your angels lose their finage pretty soon. Doesn't matter how small the puffers are, they have a tendency of being rather aggressive even with much larger fish.
Stickied threads are at the top of this forum.
I highly recommend you start reading up on all of your fish, as they have very different requirements and aren't terribly compatible. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if your angels lose their finage pretty soon. Doesn't matter how small the puffers are, they have a tendency of being rather aggressive even with much larger fish.
Stickied threads are at the top of this forum.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
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Puffer Queen
- Mentor
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- Location: Louisville, KY
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