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Heres the situation, I started my tank awhile back and all of the fish died because of ick. I then cleaned out my tank and started over with a Electric Blue Johannii and a clown loach. My loach died of ick. I have been treating them with rid ich plus raised the temp to 80 but still nothing. Well my EBJ has this yellowish color around the edge of all of his fins that wasnt there before? Does anyone know what it is and how do I know if the ick is out of my tank. I feel like my tank is a death tank. Thanks. Also one more question, what causes ick?

Okay before we can help you much, we need to know the following:

Tank size

Temperature (and how quickly you changed the temperature when u raised it to 80)

PH

Ammonia readings

Nitrite readings

Nitrate readings

How long the tank has been set-up

Anything else that you think might be relevant.


Also, Ich is caused by stress on fish. It is basically always present, but never really gets a foothold until fish are really stressed. Loaches and other bottom-dwellers will get ich when it is strong in a tank very easily due to the life cycle of ich having the eggs of ich on the bottom of the tank and then hatching and swimming up to a fish.

Alright my tank is 10 gallons, i raised it to 80 in about 4 hours or so it was at 76-78 before. The ph is 7.6 but i dont know all of the other stuff as far as amonia and nitrite and nitrate. The tank has been there for maybe 2 weeks this last time and maybe 2 months before. Let me know if you need to know anything else.

Tunerman,
Ich is always present in tanks. The fish are only suceptible to it when they are under stress. Unfortunately by raising the temperature 4 degrees in that short of time, you may have added to the stress in the tank.

I do not know what the yellow tinge is. You need to continue treating the ich for about another week. Do a 20-30% water change. Also take a sample of water to your local fish store and have them test it for you, this way we will know where you tank's chemicals lie. I suspect that you tank is not fully cycled and that could be causing you a lot of your problems.

It is not a death tank, it is just not knowing and that is what we are here for is to help.

OK recap:

1. take water sample to lfs for testing (small ziplock bag, you will need less than 1 cup)

2. continue treating with ich meds.

3. leave temp in tank alone.

4. do a water change.

I really don't think your tank is cycled, and your ammonia is probably sky high...add a bubble stone to help with this...

Best of luck, Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Which Rid Ich product are you using? Plain Rid Ich or Rid Ich Plus. Plain Rid Ich will kill clown loaches. Let us know how things are going. So sorry to hear about your loss

Ick can't survive indefinitely without a host - the only way it could persist in a tank permanently is if there was a constant low level infection.

If you clear it up with methylene blue, malachite green (whatever) it should never show up again unless you introduce new livestock or plants that are contaminated.

Geesloper, ich basically lies dormant forever, kind of like worms in dogs. A perfect example of this is when bettas get ich after being perfectly healthy for months and even years.

Last edited by Daniel at 20-Feb-2005 17:47

I could be wrong :-)

But as I understand its life cycle, the tomite needs to find a host within a week or so at most. I also understand that ick is particularly adept at targetting the soft tissues of the inner gill, thus obscuring its presence.

My reference is an article in Aquaculture Magazine (Jan/Feb 2003 issue) by Claudia Harper. Quote: "Tomites have approximately 48 hours in 75°F to 79°F water to find a new fish host otherwise they die."

That's why its important to obliterate the infection totally - then you shouldn't have any problems.

I understand your reference, and I completely understand the life cycle of these things, but I do believe that they go dormant to some degree, perhaps in the lower layers of the gravel, and return when the fish are really weak.

I'm always open to new information - could you point me towards a reference on the subject? I do realise there are many and varied opinions on the subject.

I went to petsmart and they said all of my levels were fine except my nitrites. They said it was a little high. I think she said my amonia was a tad high but nothing to be too worried about. I got some "cycle" bacteria stuff to est. some bacteria. I hope this works thanks for all of the help and if you have any more advice Id like ot hear it.

Ich is a stress induced condition.

The only acceptable level for ammonia and nitrites is "zero". This would be the case in a tank that is cycled, stocked properly and well maintained. Anything other than zero creates a stress situation, thereby lowering immunity. Rapid drops or rise in temp also cause stress and this generally means to try to keep temp changes within 1-1.5F in either way during a 24 hour period. That is optimal to prevent temp stress.

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The question we ask with deaths in a tank with ich is, "Did the fish die of ich, or from the cure?". Fish infected in the gills can die with no other outward signs or warnings. With scaleless fish and some tetras, meds need to be used at half strength. With meds containing formalin (formaldehyde), temps should not be raised, especially without considerable change in the amount of water making contact with the atmosphere where more o2 can be pulled into the water. It can be deadly.

When using Rid Ich Plus, or similar products, you may want to start at half strength and keep the temp where it is at. But don't drop it drastically. Only notch it down 1-1.5 daily. Whatever you do, don't switch to any product containing copper. It is best to stick with one routine. Products like Pimafix can help ward off infections that commonly afflict bite wounds.



Last edited by Cory_Di at 21-Feb-2005 00:04

But how long til the darned spots fall off after beginning treatment? I have been treating 6 days now, still have spots.