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Ok guys. I'm at almost 3 weeks now with my 5 tetras in a new 10 gallon tank.

Last week I added 2 peppered corys and they seem to be doing ok as well.

Today I noticed a "brown lump" on the back of the extension tube of my hanging filter.

Any idea what this is? Is it something I should be concerned with? I don't want to remove it in case it's beneficial to the tank.

If needed, I can post a photo of it, but it'll be very hard to see as my digicam doesn't take still shots very well.

Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Sometimes those will have a tendency to clump together, and it could easily wedge itself back behind the intake of your filter and rot.

Whatever it is, it is probably not beneficial to your tank. I say take it out. After all, you can always put it back in.

Joe Potato

Well, I think you're close. I've been using flake food, but since I got the 2 corys I started using sinking food. I noticed this morning that not all of it sank, and I think this was just one pellet that had disovled into a lump.

I took the tube out and cleaned it off.

Thanks for the advice.

Just to update on my fish, all 7 are still swimming and seem to be pretty happy. Thankfully I haven't lost any either.

My tank hasn't completed it's first cycle yet. My ammonia levels are still pretty high, but I think it's coming down the last 2 days.

The water has been cloudy the last few days, but I know that's normal for a new tank.

I'm not sure, but I think 1 of my tetras may be developing ich. He has a pale spot on his "forehead" right between his eyes. I can't see any other spots on him or any other fish, so I'm going to give it another day or 2 and see what happens.

Otherwise, so far so good.

Glad we discovered what it was.

However I really must question your adding pepper corys to an uncycled 10 gallon tank.
First off you never ever add fish to a tank in the middle of a cycle. The high ammonia and nitrIte can be bad for most any fish, especially bottom dwellers. Especially when they are added in the middle of the process rather than being part of it from the beginning.

Secondly I would not be at all surprised if the tetras had ich, they're not good cyclers as the whole process is stressful for fish. Look them over very carefully ich looks like salt sprinkled on the fish, you'll know it when you see it. Watch them for a good long time, if you notice any more spots or any sort of 'flicking' against ornaments, gravel, equiptment or the sides of the tank you should pick up some ich treatment and be sure you treat for the full length of time. Ich treatments are often stopped too early by those new to it and it comes back even worse. If it doesn't look like salt, it may be an injury keep a close eye on it, in an uncycled tank that could lead to more serious issues.

Finally, I do hope those corys are going into a larger tank in a few weeks. That 10 is much too small for them and they need to be in a school.

^_^

The last thing I want to do is harm fish. That's why I'm asking so many questions on this board.

The Corys were added because my local tropical fish store suggested I add them. They thought the fish could handle it.

I've got a master testing kit now, so I'm watching all the relevant levels very closely.

As for the ich, I'm still not sure. It's just the one spot on the one fish as far as I can tell. The only other change I noticed is that one of the corys appears to be more pale in color then he was when I got him.

Should I get ich treatment and use it with the assumption that it is ich, or would that be harmful to the fish?

Besides ich, is there anything else it could be?

What course of action do you recommend?

Questions are good, that's how we learn. How'd you think I got a high post count .


I've had ich in a few of my tanks, and in each case I've seen more than one cyst (that's what the salt looking bits are, cycsts that fall off then grow). If you haven't seen any more it may not be ich. Ich treatment can be bad for the bacteria that you're trying to establish.

Here is the best pic I could come up with for ich. As you can see there's usally more than just one spot. Check all the fish. I myself cant think of other illnesses that it could be, LHG might pop in to the thread and know more. As for medication, if you're at the LFS have a look (don't ask for help, I don't trust that store anymore) at what ich medications are available. Most treatments should be for a week of dosing, and you'll want one that is safe bottom feeders as well. Look for one that says 'loaches and bottom feeders' or something along those lines.


I'm really not happy that the LFS said to add the fish so dissapointing...you will need of upgrading the tank soon. If funds are low look towards a 20 or 30 long as that offers more surface area.

^_^

Ok, I had 1 red minor tetra (serpae) that had one of those white spots on his "forehead" right between his eyes. It was a relatively large spot compared to the ones in your picture.

This morning I thought I noticed a couple of other smaller spots on another fish, and one of the corys looked like it might have had some spots as well.

So I went to another fish store in the area, albeit further away, and their people said they weren't 100% sure it was ich, but it sounded like ich.

They recommended a 20% water change and a 1 day treatment with "rid ich" from Kordon.

If everyone seems ok tomorrow (Saturday), follow the directions on the bottle and see if that doesn't make the spots disappear.

They said if the spots don't vanish after a few days, it's probably not ich and I'd have to investigate other possibilities.

So I did the water change and 1 treatment this morning. As of this post, all fish seem fine. I'll post another update tomorrow evening.

Also, if I can keep this 10G going for a few months, I'll upgrade to a 20G. I really don't have the space to get anything bigger then that.

Thanks again for the advice.

20 gallon makes me happier than a 10 gallon for the corys . I can understand about the space issues I had a small house back in the states and didnt have room for much more than a 20. Had to completly redo the living room to put a 50 gallon feed tub in for the goldfish as a pond ...

One day treatment...hmm. Not sure how I like the sounds of that. Ich drops off the fish and most people think that means it's cured. What is actually happening is the cycsts fall off then land in the substrate where they reproduce and then reinfect the fish then drop off ect ect ect. That's a name I recognize, follow the directions and all should be ok. Make sure you remove any carbon!!!

^_^

I live in a 1 room studio, so even a 10G dominates the room, but I can squeeze a 20G in here.

I am following the directions on the bottle. This afternoon will be day 3 of treatment.

How long should it take for the spots to vanish? As I've indicated, I'm still not 100% convinced it's ich.

I have done my best to remove the charchol from the filter, but it's pretty much impossible to get it all. Should I just keep the filter element out until I clear this problem up? Can the filter/charchol only be removed during the actual treatment (when the meds are added to the tank), and then be replaced an hour or 2 later?

I found when I had an ich attach it took me 6-7 days for all the spots to be gone, but I kept up treatment for a week after as a precaution, haven't seen it since

Keeping in mind I did raise the temperature to around 28 celsius, this might get too warm for some fish and isn't really essential, apparently just helps speed the process a touch ^^

And charcol should be removed during the entire course of treating, it pretty much will absorb all your meds making treatment very difficult.

as another note, my male betta has a white spot on his face, it isn't ich just part of his coloring, if the spot grows or looks cottoney in anyway it could be a fungal problem.

Hi gollum,

A single spot would ,if its ich, by now reproduced with some vengeance and would probably be giving the fish an even coating of hundreds of spots, but gold dust disease can also at a glance look quite similar in severe cases, luckily the methylene blue in most meds tends to cure both. In all cases though med recommendations are hopelessly optimistic, none of the protozoan and crustacean parasites that cause spots can be eliminated in a day or two, no matter what the manufacturers claims may be. It always takes 6 to 14 days to catch the cycle of reproduction , and often well beyond that. With that firmly in mind, reinsertion of carbon media isnt a good idea , perhaps for weeks. Medication exposures often need to be long for tricky infections like ich. If the carbon goes in too soon, and the treatment lessened as as a consequence, the ich can bounce back with surprising ferocity.

Having said that i'm assuming nothing. With "spots" its always handy to post a picture of the fish, even if it isnt a perfect picture or entirely in focus, sometimes just a glance tells me all I need to know. There must be about a dozen ailments that cause spots of varying amounts and sizes .

Post me a piccie. A digicam videeo would be fine too if you have the broadband speed to post it easily somewhere like photobucket or youtube, my bb speed is fine to watch a video. Vidcams macros often work better in fmv anyway. A few seconds of footage will be fine.


( sorry for my late appearance btw, I have been so busy my normally complete awareness of whats in the forums was lost for a few days, floods and all that.) I'm still catching up.

I tried making video or taking stills and this camera just doesn't cut it. I can't get the detail you'd need to be able to see what you need to see. I'll see if I can get my hands on a camera this week.

The funny thing is, as I write this, I'm having trouble now identifying which fish has the spot. So maybe it's getting smaller or has fallen off.

Regardless, I'm continuing the medication treatments at least until Wednesday.

If I can get some decent photos, I'll post.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Well, whether it is or it isn't ich, the medication seems to be helping. The spot is now about half the size as it was when I noticed it a few days ago, and I'm not seeing spots on any other fishes.

*scratches head* Hmmm.
If it's shrinking that doesn't sound to me like ich.

Make sure you moniter the tank even closer than I'm sure you already were. The meds are likely to screw around with the bacteria in the tank.

^_^

Just an update....

The spots (ich or not ich) have been gone for a few days now, so today was my last medication treatment.

The filter element will go back in tonight, and hopefully things will continue to stabalize in this tank.

All 7 fish (5 tetras, 2 corys) seem do be doing well, and I hope they stay that way.

Now if I can just get those pesky ammonia levels down.... I think I'm seeing progress in that area as well.

That sounds promising.
You can try adding amrid to the tank. From what I remember of using it you'll still get an ammonia reading, but it's been neutralized so is not harmful to the fish.
Cycle or Biospira are also possibilities to help move the cycle along. They contain benificial bacteria that will speed up the cycle in the case of the first, and do it almost overnight in the case of the latter. Most chain and independent LFS's will have Cycle. However Biospira is often more expensive, and must be kept refrigerated usually only found at an independent LFS.

^_^