amanda51

im after a bit of help ive been runnig a tank set up for 2 years now 9 mths ago we got some silver sharks, 7 mnths ago we got a larger tank and everything has been fine,
approx 4 weeks ago i went to my local fish shop where they had some redline torpedo barbs something i have wanted for ages they looked visably ok but were not on sale as the worker thought they could have white spot,
1 week later i went back and all was ok so i brought 3,
my silver sharks now have tiny white spots all over them more on there body and much more noticable in the light, ive only ever grown up with goldfish and there white spot has been much bigger,
my tank has always been a steady 72-74 f 22 -23 c and my live plants thrive ect ect
i have read a few threads about increaseing the temperature to 82 i have now turned my heater up to 26 c to increase the temp,
i done a half tank water change approx 4 weeks ago and when i do this i always vacum my gravel, i also got heavily invaded with snails and was worried that they may have spread the disease, i must note that none of my other fish appear to be ill
any help would be great
thanks all
amanda

kieley

do you have any pictures? maybe the barbs are nipping scales off
if it is ick then a temp of 82 and vacuuming the gravel is the way to go but you should do it every couple days instead of once a month! good luck!

Shawnie

Hi amanda..welcome to fishlore!! if its ICH, which looks like grains of salt, turning up the temp to 83f for two weeks should kill the cycle of the ich...gravel vac twice a week to get all the ich spores up and add some extra airation as warmer water has less oxygen...the silver sharks, or bala's are tropical fish and require temps around 77-80 so maybe keeping the temps up to at least 77 will help in the future....goodluck and share pics if you can

amanda51

thanks so much for the replies, i am trying to up load some photos as i type,
my barbs and sharks actually swim together really well i havent observed any fin or scale nipping , and i kinda spend all day watching them :-)

Shawnie

balas are so amazing and get along with everyone..they are in the catfish family not the shark family..they are named for their appearance but are very submissive...also, do you know they can get up to 15 inches ? (35 cm) it takes awile but just keep that in the back of your mind...63 gallons wont be enough eventually

amanda51

hi ive uploaded a few photos into my gallery / album there not brilliant,
yes i know that the tank will eventually be to small , we are going to go large next year :-) twice the size

Shawnie

your fish babies are beautiful!!!

from your first pic of your bala, it does look like ich...its hard to tell for sure but you can look and see if it looks like grains of salt...goodluck with them!

amanda51

thanks shawnie i love my balas and torpedos ,so if i keep the temperature up and vacum the gravel 2 twice weekly,
what about water changes should i do a 50 % water change a couple of times during them 2 weeks to try and get rid of the spores,
do you recomend a water treatment or would the natural process be better i dont want to have to add chemical if i dont have to but i dont want my sharks to suffer
thanks so much for all your help,

Shawnie

im into the natural as most meds will kill your cycle...and seeing how he is the only one with it for now, the highertemps should do it...water changes are great and the extra airation will do wonders also...like a bubble wand or something..not to mention some fish love the bubbles....make sure the water you are changing is the same temp ...you dont want to shock the fishies...and prime water conditioner makes them feel better ...goodluck and thanks for sharing your pics!