The Puffer Forum

So yeah, this is what I get for not quarantining my new final addition to my 55g tank.. 3 SAPs.

I saw the small guy with Ich, so I took him out and put him into my 10g tank .. a few hours later they all (6 total) had spots on them... so out they went into the 10g tank... How strange that my 11 giant danios didn't show any sign of Ich.. but every single SAP got it. I raised the temperature in the 55g to 82 degrees.. Temp in the quarantine tank is 82 as well.. I gradually added the salt mentioned in the FAQ.. a teaspoon every 30 minutes until I hit 2 tablespoons to cover the 10g tank.

I will have to monitor them.. I got my powerhead on the 10g to give the puffers some aeration in that small tank. They were acting real rough after I initially tossed them in there.. sitting on the bottom, breatheing kind of hard... I just called my girlfriend and she said that they were all swimming happily... So normal activity seems to have resumed.

Should I do any water changes or just let them soak the salt in at 82 degrees? That should burn it out... My first experience with Ich, been doing aquariums for about 5 months now only.

When the puffers' spots go away... When should I return them to the display tank? When should I take the temperature down on the main tank?

Any advice is appreciated.. I read the FAQs but I still had a few questions.

Whether or not you return them to the main tank, both the main tank and the QT tank need to be treated for ich as the parasite has been introduced in there and will continue to live and propagate if you don't. Hopefully you are dissolving the salt in declorinated water before adding it to the tank. Otherwise, it can damage the fish if not completely dissolved first.

Main tank is loaded with live plants.

??

The amount of salt used in treating ich won't harm the plants at all.

I just added 11 tablespoons of salt into a 2g bucket and mixed it in until there was none on the bottom and poured it in... Lots of salt, hope this doesn't hurt my plants.

Quarantine tank is at 83 degrees and has the correct amount of salt in it..

Main tank is at 83 degrees as well and now has the correct amount of salt in it.

What should be my next step? A water change in 2 days and a reapplication of salt?

I don't feel safe going over 84 degrees with my fish.. I had the puffers up to 85 for awhile but it doesn't feel good.

Personally, I wouldn't have treated the main tank. Keep a close eye on those plants. SAPs are really sensitive to ich & velvet. When moved, their immune system is put out of wack & they always get it. Every single one I've ever had, has gotten it after purchase.

If I wouldn't have treated the main tank, would the Ich ever have faded away with my giant danios and BN pleco in there for the Ich to latch onto?

The reason I treated the main tank, is that the giant danios are beginning to get spots as well and rubbing up against surfaces...This was probably 4 days after I removed the puffers.

And I don't want to put all my fish into the quarantine tank.. the thing would be overloaded with fish.

IME, I've treated several of my planted tanks for ich and didn't lose any of the plants. I know others on other forums who don't have problems treating their planted tanks as well. Its really not much salt. They should be fine. Just make sure to treat for 14 days after you see the last spot.

So over the past few days, I raised the SAP quarantine tank to 85-86ish... I am not seeing any spots anymore.

The main tank, the giant danios still have spots... temp is between 82-83 and still holds the 1tbsp/5g salinity content......... Should I change the water or just let it continue to go?

The SAPs have adjusted to their high temp and are doing well.. I got a powerhead on full blast in there to ensure aeration.

When the danios' spots go away.. should I wait another week or two to reintroduce the SAPs?

The main tank, planted, appears, so far, to be handling the salinity with no issues.. My main plants are amazon swords, baby tears, java moss, an ozelot sword, and a new crinum natans.

I have been fertilizing regularly, and I was worried about the baby tears being hit by the salinity, but they appear fine so far.

Large water changes (while gravel cleaning) every other day, is recommended to remove the free-swimming parasites.

Ok, well I ran both my main tank and QT at 84-85 degrees for 2 weeks... Changing water and adding all that salt to the tanks... Plants didn't take much of a beating.. A few varieties appear kind of rough.

All the Ich appears to have gone away. I haven't seen a spec on any fish in a week.

However, the SAPs in the QT.. 1 of them looks like he has some white blotches right on his head... His coloration is a bit off compared to others. It is very hard to describe... Maybe he gashed up against something? They are back in the main tank now... 3rd day back in. I put some Melafix in to see if it was just a little wound... Any suggestions?