Jan

I think that my Red Tail has Ick he is the only one in the tank. Does that mean that the whole tank has ICK. I just noticed it this morning. Could I just put him in a quarantine tank and treat him there? I have carbon in my filter and I am not sure how I would take it out...

Any information would be great thank you

dahly

The "buggers" that causes Ick are in your tank so you should treat the whole tank.* Raise the temp to 80 degrees and add medication.* I used Nox-Ick from Webco, and it worked great.* Three days of treatment and the ick was gone!* The spots fell off the first day, but I continued treatment as directed.* Good Luck!

Butterfly

Since he's the only livestock in the tank I would think you could treat him in either tank. Since ich needs a live host if any are left in the original tank they will die without him in it or the meds will kill it if you decide to treat him in that tank.
Now heres the problem, he needs te be treated for at least 10 days, if you move him to another tank the beneficial bacteria will die in his normal tank without him there to feed it with his excrements and will have to cycle again.
*If the filter on the "Q" tank doesnt have charcoal maybe you could switch filters until treatment is over.
Carol

Jan

Thanks for the information. I have added the medication (Ick Guard from Jungle) into the main tank. Being the newbie that I am I guess this is what killed my balas but I did not see any spots on them so I assumed that they did not have ICK... is this true?

Another question, if I take the filter out of the tank completely, for 10 ten days is this ok?

Thank you again so much for the information!!!!

Butterfly

If you take the filter off and its not on a tank with fish the beneficial bacteria will die. But since you only have one fish then you only need one filter cycled right?
carol

Jan

Hmmm, that makes sense but that leads me to two questions:

1. The filter size depends on the number of fish?
2. I have a sponge in the filter can I just take the sponge out and let it float to maintain the bacteria?

Maybe I shouldn't have fish I never realized how much I DIDN'T know!! Thank you for the information and your time!

Butterfly

The filter sizze doesn't depend on the number of fish, but whether there is bacteria growing in that filter depends on whether there are fish in the tank or not.The filter can float in the water but it would still have to have fish in the water to preserve the bacteria.
Carol

Jan

Thank you again Butterfly for the information. My Red Tail is still doing fine but the ICK has not dropped off yet. I have the sponge floating in the tank with him.

The instructions on the medication say to add the medication every 24 hours but first do a water change. I have increased the temp of my tank to 80. Am I to do a water change everyday for the next 10 days as well as add the medication? I just don;t want to over medicate...

Thanks

Butterfly

I don't think you do anymore water changes until treatment is over. The reason being the meds have to reach a certain concentration to cure the ich.
Carol

Jan

I am glad that I asked as I was getting myself prepared to do 25% everyday... THANKS!

I am sure that my Red Tail is saying THANKS as well!!

Jan

Hello everyone I hope that you had a great weekend. I have another question about the Ick, it is now gone, I will continue until day 10. After that how much of the water should I change and should I do a clean of everything in the tank?

Thank you again!

Butterfly

Do a 23% water change for a couple of days in a row. That will help remove the meds. But don't clean everything in the tank
Carol

newbie101

23%? how do you figure that out? measure it with a medicine spoon? but really....

Butterfly

OH EMMA!!! Your reading my posts much too closely I do appreciate it though I have been sick and so not doing a good job typing or spell checking :P thanks for catching that.
I meant a 25% water change. HUM... medicine spoon... now thats an idea LOL
Carol

newbie101

o ok then i thought you may have typoed it...
i hope you are feeling better though!

Butterfly

Yes much better Emma thanks Since I don't get sick often I have a habit of letting things get out of hand as I did this time
Jan- Hows the fishie doing?
Carol

Jan

Hello! Thank you Butterfly for all of your advice. I am following it to the T...... Even the 23% water change ..... my kids don't like the fact that I am using their medicine spoon though ha ha
I am glad to hear that you are feeling much better!

Now I have yet another question for you.....

We have opened our christmas present early..... I couldn't wait We are now the owners of a 55 gallon tank what a beauty.

My question is.... of course I still just have the redtail. My old tank is cycled, does this simply mean that new one will be cycled if I put the water from the 10 gallon plus the sponge from the filter of the old tank (we have a new filter for the new tank). Plus all of his 'toys'? Or is there something that I should be doing before he goes to his new home?

We have been running the filter now for 24 hours and have the heater in place and a constant temperture.

Also, my redtail seems a bit sad lately, he pretty much just stays in one place all day long is this normal? Could he be lonely now that he is the only one left?

Thank you again for your advice

Butterfly

You will be fine if you move his "toys', gravel and old filter sponge over to the new filter. The water doesn't have alot of bacteria in it so you don't need it. Put fresh dechlorinated water in and let it set over night, then put the filter on and add fish .He will love having so much more room.
Carol