fitza

After a fairly rough two months of accidently plunging a mature tank into a full cycle (friend watching fish over xmas wanted to be kind and exchanged filter, cleaned gravel, plants and water!!!), the water parameters are perfect now. But have ICH on three of the clown loaches and two tetras.
As clown loaches are so sensitive to medication I have already increased temp to 84F and added extra airstone, but want to hold off on ich med until a more experienced person can advise on dosage. LFS has failed on many counts and even specialist fs more intent on sales than fish health/happiness..(that's how I ended up with 5 clown loaches (all still 1 1/2 in) in a 11gl tank and now need to save up for a monster of 100gl+)
Have INTERPRET Anti white spot treatment which is Formaldehyde 4,500mg and Malachite Green Oxalate 50mg/100mls.
Doing gravel cleaning every other day and 25% waterchange every week.

Shawnie

depending how bad it is, the higher temps and vacuuming should do it ..you are doing everything you should be...great job!!!..but it does need to be consistent for 2 weeks...after 5-6 days of consistent 84 temps, you should see some of the spots going away and kind of flaking off...if not, then id attempt to find a proper med ...I cant help with that as ive never had the need for meds...but many have so they will help im sure

fitza

Thank you for your fast reply, Shawnie!
Wondered if I should take out the plants and some of the decor to ensure I get to all the gravel and -if I do need med-to avoid killing and staining them respectively?
It's always a head ache as I do not want to stress fish any more than neccessary and the med may kick off another cycle.
By the way, the last time I cleaned gravel it looked as if I HELPED the ich by agitating the substrate. The fish were in their ich-off phase and then BOOM each was covered in at least 6 spots each.
I am so grateful for your help...without it I would surely drive my husband and kids totally crazy with my constant fish stories.

agabr123

clown loaches are definitely more susceptible to ich than a lot of other fish, and also the fact that they are in a 60L tank probably isn't helping things. unfortunately, clown loaches generally get way too big for most home aquariums, just one needs at a minimum a 75 gallon tank, but since they need to be in groups much larger than that is necessary.
http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus

Butterfly

Raising the water temp over 82F, added bubble stone ,more frequent water changes(warm water holds less oxygen) and gravel vacuums for at least 14 days. You are well on your way to well fishes. Clown loaches need highly oxygenated water so a continuation of frequent water changes after the Ich is gone wold be beneficial Good luck and keep us posted please You are definitely on your way to MTS(Multiple Tank Syndrome) with Clowns in a tank that size
Carol

froglover1982

Hi everyone, i found these posts in a search to see if i was attaching my ich problem in my clown tank properly. I am doing the temp raising and have also been slowly adding aquarium salt, as my research lead me in that direction. Have any of you used the raising temp and salt method combined? I understand the salt is supposed to decrease the stress and improve gill function for my clowns.

agabr123

hi

this will definitely get more attention if you start your own thread, or you can ask one of the moderators to move it for you.

what temperature are you raising your tank to and how much salt are you adding?