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Okay, copy and pasting what you all need to know to help me diagnois my fish.

Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite (note the I): 0
Nitrate (note the A): 0
pH: 7.6
Temp: 78F
Tank set up on 8/1/04, starting week 3 of cycling.

Tank Size: 20gal (12x14x24)
Stock List (Quantity/Species): 3 platies, 10+ platy frys
Filtration: Not sure - Topfin 20, (new tank kit from petsmart)


Additives
8-1-04 Added salt on tank startup, added stress lyme and stress coat on startup. 8-6-04 Added stress lyme when ammonia spiked, added Cycle on 8-14-04

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SICK FISH

Examples of some physical attributes
Little tiny white spots (only a few) on the clear part of their caudal fin. All three seem to have some of this on them.

Examples of some behaviors
Have been VERY active. Chasing and eratic behavior around the tank. (been fun to watch though)

I added a bubble wall on Saturday nite, but only had it run for a few minutes. Noticed the spots this morning. Also, I have a blue plastic starfish stuck to the wall, been there since I started the tank up (aquarium safe). It appears to have stuff hanging from it. translucent 'fringe' looks like it is shedding it's skin, but since it is fake... not sure what that is.

Should I be concerned, or is this okay?

Thanks

It sounds to me like Ick. The stuff on the starfish sounds like an algae... so perhaps you need to pull it out and clean it, and do a good clean of the tank. You tank parameter's are OK, but it looks like it's not cycling properly yet. That will take time. The Ammonia is getting on the high side. Anything above 0.5ppm is lethal to some fish species. To fix the ammonia, don't add more chemicals, but increase your water changes to 15% every three days, until the level stablises below measurable limits (the test kit wont change colour). You could try adding something like "new improved cycle", but i'd be inclined to let nature take its course. Just stop adding more and more chemicals to you tank. It's really not any good for the fish. Good water quality and close observation are the key to having healthy fish.

For the ick... Don't use anything with malachite green or methyl blue in it. Use something like tri-sulfur or copper safe. Raise the tank temp to 28degC (82degF). This speeds up the life cycle of the ick, and allows the medications to work on it more effectively. You'll need to be doing 15% water changes every three days whilst treating for the ick. Treat until all white spots are gone, and then for between 4 and 7 days more.

Well, taking advice I got from the chat yesterday, I got Rid ich Plus last nite. I took the carbon out of my filter, and tried to raise the temp on my tank. (I have it set on 82, it is only reading 79..grrr)

But, here's the big question, on the bottle it says do the treatment once every 24 hours. But others have said to skip a day. So what is best?

The other big question I have is, I have only had my tank up and running for ... 17 days now, and it hasn't started to really cycle. (No nitrites or Nitrates have shown up at all). So because of the cycling thing, people were saying NOT to do water changes, as I may kill the good bacteria that would help cycle. BUT now with the ich, should I Change the water? I also have...at last count 16+ platy frys.

So, what to do??:%)

Don't worry about killing off any good bacteria...doing 15% water changes won't harm them..they colonize your gravel and inside your filter. As far as your treatment i have never personally used rid-ich so i can't really say too much about it..however i have tried coppersafe which was very effective for me.good luck

[span class="edited"][Edited by jessnick42503 2004-08-17 13:14][/span]

I recall that rid ich has either methyl blue or malachite green in it. Look at the ingredients (active ones) and just confirm that. Hmm.. you'll have to excuse my ignorance, here, but exactly what "platy" have you got?? Is it a catfish (Platydoras costatus) or Xiphophorus maculatus (common name = platy). If it's a catfish, or any other scale less fish, YOU CAN NOT USE methyl blue or malachite green. They are both copper based chemicals and will kill the fish. Use coppersafe or tri-sulfur or something like that.

You can not treat your fry at the same dosage rate as the larger fish. Read the instructions on the bottle, and i'm sure it will confirm this. So, seperate the fry from the larger fish, and treat them seperately. You can use a clean bucket or large plastic tub, but try and keep the capacity around 10G so that doing partial water changes does not 'shock' the fish. Dose the fry at a reduced dose (1/2 of that for the larger fish, or less), and add an air stone and somewhere for them to hide. This is only a temporary arrangement, so don't fuss over it to much. Plastic tubs around the 50L (15G) mark sell for about $10 here in Australia, so i'll bet they are $5 or less US. They make great hospital and quarantine tanks, so i suggest you buy one.

You need to be doing MORE regular water changes while your cycle is starting to control the ammonia level in the tank, if you have fish in it. The cycle will NOT start if you are treating for ich, as the chemicals that kill the ich also kill the good bacteria. That's why it's so very important to maintain and increase your water changes whilst treating for ich. The advantage of increasing the temp in the tank is that it speeds up the life cycle of the ich, and when the ich is off the host (fish) it is more suseptible to the chemicals. Do a google for "ich" and you will find quite a few useful tips on the ich life cycle.

Good Luck

Well, Yes, I believe that Rid Ich Plus has one or both of those ingredients (it turns the water blue). But since I have started using it, I dont want to change now.

As I said, I haven't done any water changes yet, as my tank hasn't really cycled yet. No ammonia spike yet, and have yet to have any nitrite or nitrate readings. (although I think I am close).

And I do have the Xiphophorus maculatus (common name = platy) platies. I did read the bottle and it said it was safe for scaleless fish. Someone else had mentioned that especially with the frys.

The frys are an added 'bonus' to the tank, so I am also not concerned about losing them. Hope that doesn't sound cruel, but I would like them to grow, but if they don't they don't. My next fish will be gouramis, who will only snack on the frys anyway. (Of course I am not adding any more fish until the ich is gone and my tank has cycled).

I think the spots are going down a little, but not much. My heater is not helping...it is set on 82, and it wont even hit 80 yet. May need a new one. GRRR...

Thanks for everyone's help. This is way too complicated, and people have such different opinions...all good...but confusing for us newbies. :%)

Confusing indeed...

So many opinions would confuse any beginner.

I've complained about that for a long time but to no avail.

Follow what you're doing now including the directions on the Rid Ich.

New tanks and fish often suffer from ich. The immune system of the new fish is compromised from stress of netting back and forth and sometimes the parasite is transferred from the store.

If the fish are not temp acclimated that also would stress new tropicals.

Be sure and dose the "New Improved Cycle" to build up a good bacteria population and speed up cycling. All new tanks should be dosed with NIC, an absolute must. Fish (a few) can be introduced immediately after dosing.

The ich parasite cycle is sped up by heat allowing the parasite to be killed by the med. I prefer at least 86 degrees, an effective temp to speed up the process.

Fry are not an issue when treating for ich.

--garyroland.

Thank you Gary. I am continuing with the treatment. And it looks like it is mostly all gone, just one kinda large spot on one left. Will still treat for a while longer.

Thanks again.