hooxeii

Ok, just lost one of the tetras to the ICH. I swear to god the stuff just popped up this morning... never seen a single parasite on any of my fish before.

To make matters worse, my cory cat, who's been seperated from the tetras for a little while now, was flashing earlier today. No visible parasites, no sudden temp fluctations, no bad water parameters...

Should I put the cory in isolation I haven't seen him do it before, so...

aquarist48

Hello Hooxeii. Until you know something is definitely wrong I wouldn't isolate the Cory. If you've only seen him flash once he may have just had an itch. If he's flashing over and over then there very well may be a problem. Why is he separated from the tetras? If one fish has ICH then the entire tank is infected and there is no need for quarantine as the entire tank will have to be treated.
Sorry to hear you lost one of your tetras
Best of luck.
Ken

hooxeii

I apologize for not being clearer, the cory and the tetras were together at one point but I moved the tetras to their own tank.

Now my female betta is flashing a lot as well. The oto and ghost shrimp seem fine so far... I raised the temperature and put a tiny bit more aquarium salt in. I heard cories were sensitive to the salt so it wasn't much... also did a partial water change and small gravel siphon. My filter already has an airstone, but I plan on buying another.

Melissawater

Sorry about your tetra I hope your other babies are okay. Keep a good eye on the tank and keep us updated, I am sure you will get very helpful info here.

Shawnie

the flashing is probably from the salt....the warmer temps for 2 weeks will help with the ich..salt will irritate them even more and cause more stress...salt and cories/bettas dont mix well at all

hooxeii

really? I've used aquarium salt all the time I've had bettas... and the cory has been in the tank too... granted, I've never added the recommended amount of salt per gallon (always seemed like a lot), but there has been some in there... will the salt hurt the betta to the point of getting sicker?? If so, should I do a water change asap?

How often should I be changing the water regardless of salt? Is every other day sufficient, or should I do every day? And what about air stones? My filter has an air stone in it, but should I add another? I bought another but the apparatus broke ( -___- ) and I don't know if the fish are getting enough Oxygen... granted, bettas and cories are labyrinth fish, but...

To clarify, by never adding the recommended amount, I mean I usually only drop a few crystals in per water change. That's way below the recommended salt dosage :/ Added a bit more due to the ich, but only a few more crystals than usual.

I merged your two posts. Thanks!
Ken

hooxeii

Lost another one of the tetras :C

hooxeii

Got ahold of an air stone just to be safe, fish are doing ok, no more tetras lost.

How warm should the water be to fight ick? It's at about 81 right now.

Tony G.

the temp shoulf be 84ºF, the parasite will not live in anything over 84

hooxeii

Ok, thanks, I'm trying to increase it gradually so as not to shock the fish

Lucy

I'm sorry about your fish
For ich, slowly raise the temp to 84F, leave it there for at least 2 weeks.
I see you've gotten an air stone, good, add that because there's lass oxygen in the warmer water.
Do frequent and thorough gravel vacs to pick up all the ich spores.

Just so you're aware, stress causes the fish's immune system to work hard. While it's busy fighting off one stress factor, it makes it harder for fish to fight off another.

Best of luck, I hope your fish feel better soon.

hooxeii

I've checked the parameters and they seem fine, so I'm not sure why the fish were stressed in the first place :/

How often should the water be changed when treating ich?

Tony G.

you should be doing 2 gravel vacs a week, so the water changes are done with the removed water.

hooxeii

Cool, thanks

Lucy

Is your aquarium info up to date?
What fish are in which tank? What are your exact readings?

hooxeii

The readings are up to date as of Friday last week. I'll be getting the water tested again tomorrow.

The tank currently houses 1 female betta, 1 panda cory, 1 oto, and one ghost shrimp.

Tony G.

according to your aquarium info your tank isn´t cycled. you should be seeing nitAte readings... do you have any live plants in the tank?

Lucy

I see. I missed post #3 where you said everyone was.
Thanks for clarifying. I couldn't find info on Bio-Boost. Who makes it?

hooxeii

I do. Jungle val and duckweed

Bio-boost is like the LFS' version of prime. It's a water conditioner and has the nitrifiers in it as well.

Lucy

Nitrifiers, as in it claims to help the cycle?
Sorry, I know this is off topic.

hooxeii

Claims to actually have bacteria in it. I normally use stress-coat for water conditioner, but I stupidly changed the filter cartridge and was worried about a mini-cycle. So I went to the LFS, who told me that their bio-boost product was just like prime (they do not carry it). Anyway, I've only used it the once. I normally use stress-coat.


Lily is still itchy (rubbing on plants, etc) but seems to have calmed down some... panda cory was flashing last night, but doesn't seem to be now. It's odd because Lily doesn't really look like she's sick other than she is rubbing her belly on the plants and acting even more hyper than usual :/

Lucy

Be really careful of any product that claims to contain bacteria. Most are not aquatic and die off quickly not allowing your tank to cycle properly.
Usually the instructions say you have to add it weekly. Once you stop using it, the ammonia builds back up.
Does it also remove chlorine?
Prime is a water conditioner that makes your tap water safe, it also detox's ammonia for 24 hours.

hooxeii

*nod* I have only used it once. It does remove chlorine, as well as detox ammonia.


I definitely see some spots on Lily now, in the right light. Thing is, there's all these little particles in the water, and they almost look like those... but those wouldn't stick to her, or make her itchy...

I tried to film her itchy behavior, to clarify what she was doing exactly, but being the wee prima donna she is, she wouldn't rub against anything while my camera was out.

I am getting the water tested tomorrow morning, will update the tank parameters then

Lucy

LOL, Darn Bettas will wiggle and dance until you want to take a pic!

hooxeii

Oh, she wiggles and dances all the time for the camera. She just won't rub on the plants.

Shawnie

they are stressed because of the salt is making them over produce slime coat as its an irritant......thats hard on a fish when they have to do so and salt doesnt disapate (dissapear) and just keeps building up each time you add it....

hooxeii

If it is the salt, should I do a water change now? And how much?

Shawnie

the only way to get rid of salt is water changes..so yes is the answer.. every time you added the salt, even if in smaller amounts, it never goes away without changing out the water

do you have some prime or stress coat around? id do a 20% change every day for at least a week to get rid of any salt

hooxeii

I have stress coat... would the salt be mimicking ich symptoms? I'm pretty certain she has spots on her, but even still...

Shawnie

ich can probably have arisen from them being stressed so much ....and using salt will make them flash allot as its an irritant to them....I think I have mentioned in one of your threads before (I apologize if it wasnt yours) that ich is ALWAYS present in all tanks but doesnt show up or come out of its stagnant stage if the fish arent stressed or under improper circumstances..its like the common cold virus in humans..as long as we eat good and take care of ourselves, we wont get sick ..