2 Tanks & Ich

HI all,
Super new with aquariums - started a 25 gal mid-August which was a nightmare due to awful fish advice. All died within a few weeks except my male Betta which I removed beforehand into a vase temporarily. I have real plants and got 2 Molly’s. I soon found those invasive snails so got a nerite snail which hasn’t really helped the issue. So then I got a clown loach. There was only one at the store so I just got the one to start.
2 days later I got 3 more. I floated the bag and before I added them, saw ich spots on the loach and treated my tank right away.
Meanwhile I had set up a 5 gal divided tank for my Betta and added a female as well. So I added the 3 new loaches to that tank while treating the larger tank.
After a day, the new loaches started showing signs of ich so I started treating it as well. So I’m doing daily 1/3 water changes with times plus a salt treatment. Today my female Betta died and the ich seems to just be getting worse on the loaches but no sign on the male betta on the other side. It has an automatic heater so unable to adjust but the large tank has an adjustable heater.
Please help! I’m starting to feel defeated and am so sad to see the fish die.
Btw water has been checked and all is good.
Thank you!!

 

Inch is like cold, it’s much easier to be affected when the fish is weak. Check water quality, water flow, temperature and remember to acclimate before put in. Try some Paraguard, it works like a wonder for me. And of course, cycle the tank.

Also, maybe add some plant or hiding spot to reduce stress.

 

Are you doing a substrate vac every time
when performing the PWC's?

I would bump temp up to 86f, do 30-50% PWC's with substrate vac every 3 days, treat with salt and medicate with Kordon Ich Attack.

Also, why do you have 4 clown loaches in a 25 gallon tank? When fully grown, they reach 12" in length or more.

When you said water was checked, are you testing it or the fish store?

 

What treatment are you using?

What are your actual water readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

There are three basic ways to treat ich, and they're all effective. You can use the temperature method, the salt, method, or other medication. I've had to treat ich a few times over the years and used different methods. Whichever method you're using should start showing signs of improvement almost immediately. Sometimes fish will die because ich is present before you can see it, but if you've been treating for a few days and it's getting worse, the treatment is not working.

Since you can't adjust the heat in all your tanks, I'd recommend medication. Any name brand should work. I've used Jungle Ich Guard, and Ich-X with good success.

I wouldn't recommend combining the treatments. Raising the temp a few degrees can help because it speeds up the life cycle and you can rid the tanks more quickly. If you're going to use the temperature method that's fine, but don't combine that with another method. Any of the methods will cause stress for your fish.

 

Ich is always present in the water and only attacks fish when their immune systems are down due to poor conditions.

To treat it effectively, you'll need to turn the heat up to 86-88 degrees for 2 weeks. Add a few extra air stones as warm water contains less oxygen and its believed fish die from suffocation due to ich attaching to the gills. Every single day do a great gravel vac and change out 50% of the water. Do that for 2 weeks and it should clear up.

HOWEVER, why did they get ich in the first place? Id return the Clown Loaches immediately. They get HUGE and aren't able to live in such small tanks. They should be in a 100 gallon tank at least.