Caligo'sKeeper

Hi,

I recently added some new live plants to my newly set up (0 Amonia, 0 nitrite, 10ish nitrate, Temp 80, moderately soft water) tropical tank which has only one resident, a blind cave fish. I noticed last night he has a two or three very tiny spots on his fins and he's seems to be a little freaked out (he's kinda swimming fast and furious, not like usual) it's hard to tell b/c he is white and the spots are pretty microscopic... but I'm thinking he might have ICH... Sorry I can't post a pic he's too fast and it's too small and doesn't show up with my camera. What do I do? I have some organic ich treatment... do I take out the biofilters too? do I take out the plants or leave them in? I've never treated ich before... help please!

Thanks!


Pic Added

eiginh

It doesn't seem like it's real serious yet so no need for meds. Up your temp to 82-84 for 2 weeks and see if it goes away. Allow 2 degrees per day. When you also do a w/c make sure you vacuum the gravel for any spores. Do not vacuum all the gravel during a w/c as it may make you go through a minicycle. Gravel half or a third at a time. But first make sure it's really Ich and not something else. I know it's hard to tell since your fish is white but does it look like salt all over the fish?

peacemaker92

Hi Caligo.

Great advice from eiginh. Hope everything gets resolved soon. Good luck!

Caligo'sKeeper

Thanks, I uped the temp two degrees just now... it's a couple of tiny tiny dots on his fin, I don't really see anything on the body but it's hard to say. I did notice the plants roots were sorta slimy with a white film when I got it-- I wiped them off... but could that have been ich spores? ... should I treat the plant-- it's potted in the tank.

eiginh

White film?? For future advice whenever you buy plants it's best to clean them. Some use solutions to dip them in but I just rinse it off with tap water.

Caligo'sKeeper

Here's a pic-- I enlarged it and circled the spots in red...

Caligo'sKeeper

I had rinsed them in the sink when I got them, but I decided to pot the plant yesterday because it kept floating free and that's when I noticed the slime...
what do people generally use to treat the plants before hand? I've never done live plants before...

eiginh

Here's a good thread on dipping solutions.

Cleaning plants before putting in tank

Caligo'sKeeper

Thanks for the link! I raised my temp again today and I threw out my floating duckweed (besides the ich, I seem to suddenly have snails now and the most recent thing that was added was the floating plants and I'm thinking now that was likely the source.) I feel bad for my poor fish though he's swimming in circles (very fast!) how long does it take for the ich to die and let go of him? he only has a few spots as yesterday... I also added a little garlic juice to the water... I read on another site that was good to keep away secondary infections... is there anything else I should do besides raising the temp? it's currently at 84, 2 degrees up today and 2 degrees up from yesterday...

PS. Does the pic look like Ich?
Thanks

Sarah

eiginh

Yep, but if it gets bigger and look like cotton it might be fungus. The other thing to do is vacuum the gravel at least 1/3 or 1/2 at a time daily or every other day to clean up for spores. Wait two weeks and see if they are still any.

aquarist48

Hello Caligo.

Leave your temperature at 84 degrees for two weeks. If it is ICH it may get worse before it gets better so try not to worry too much. Ich cannot reproduce in temperatures over 82 degrees so they die off within the two week period. Warmer water requires more oxygen so you may need to add an air stone if you don't currently have one. Do 2 gravel vacuums each week to remove the spores that fall off the fish and into the substrate/gravel. Even if you see no sign of ICH before the two weeks are up, do not reduce your temperature until after the two weeks.

Garlic juice is good. It's an immune booster and food enhancer as well.
Best wishes!
Ken

Caligo'sKeeper

Thanks! I put the an extra bubble bar in there I don't see any spots on him today... hopefully he doesn't end up with more, but I have the temp up and I'm gonna keep it there

oh and I vaccumed 1/2 of it last night

Thanks for all the help!