ICH????

[Tumbleweed]

My 100gal tank appears to have an outbreak of ICH, I have already lost 2 of the Clown Loaches and the other 2 are sick as well as a couple of the angels. They all have what appears as ICH "White Spots all over their body", the only difference is that Now one of the angelfish and 1 of the loaches that died and 1 of the living loaches have what appears as white fungus on them as well. The Loaches had it on their body and the Angel has it on his front fins. I raised the water temp to 84F and I am treating the tank for ICH, but could this be something else? I was looking at possible diseases and the closest thing that I found was Velvet. Any Ideas

 

[Isabella]

How long have you been treating the tank? And what medication are you using? Besides, what are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings? How long have you had the 100 gallon tank? How long was it running before you have put the fish in? How many fish at once did you put in there?

If the fish have what looks like "white grains" on their bodies, this may well be Ich. If they have cottony growths on their bodies, this may be fungus. Velvet, on the other hand, shows as an off-white (often yellowish or bluish) film on a fish's body - though you'd have to check with the Disease Chart to make sure. If your fish have only Ich, use a medication for Ich. But if they have more than one disease, Ich medication alone won't help. I am not sure if this advice is correct, but maybe you could use Maracyn I and II if you have multiple diseases in your tank. However, before you even decide to use Maracyn I and II, PLEASE ask someone else on the forum to confirm my advice, as I am not 100% sure about it.

 

[Tumbleweed]

PH 7.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10

Tanlk has been set up and running for a little over a month, but was fully cycled after only 2 weeks. I talked to the people at my LFS and they believe that it is a fungus that just presents similiar to ICh. They told me to use a Bacterial Dip on each fish and then to treat the tank with Erthromycin. So that is what I did this evening. I guess I just have to wait and see what happens now.

 

[Isabella]

Well, I cannot see your fish, and I do not know anything about the treatment the store has recommended to you. But I DO hope it will work and cure your fish. Yes, just observe the fish closely. Keep the temperature elevated while they're sick. Your water is very good. Though you could try and make nitrate to be at 0 during the times when fish are sick. This is because, oftentimes, then fish get sick, once they get rid of the first disease, they may develop secondary infections. That's when it's good to have very clean water.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Well, I cannot see your fish, and I do not know anything about the treatment the store has recommended to you. But I DO hope it will work and cure your fish. Yes, just observe the fish closely. Keep the temperature elevated while they're sick. Your water is very good. Though you could try and make nitrate to be at 0 during the times when fish are sick. This is because, oftentimes, then fish get sick, once they get rid of the first disease, they may develop secondary infections. That's when it's good to have very clean water.

Thanks Isabella. Yeah the dip is a strong antibacterial wash that kills all bacteria and parasites on the fish. It is pretty harsh stuff, but all the fish were sick and I figured a short time to a high stress is better then prolonged stress. Then the Erthromycin is a intank antibiotic to help prevent secendary infection. I have the water temp at 82 and now I will just play the waiting game.

 

[Isabella]

How are the fish doing now?