New Member/Ich Temps

HI All, I've been reading your forum for a couple of weeks, trying to find out all the info I need.  I did make a few mistakes in setting up my tank, read your forum too late.  I've lost a couple of fish unfortunately.  My newest problem is ICH.  I've read about the 85 degree temps..but here is my concern.  I've read my fish profiles and not many of them like 85.  I have one betta, 3 serpae tetras, 1 pristella (one died today), 2 redeye tetras, 2 dwarf gourami's, 1 redtail shark, 1 rainbow? fish.  I am so worried about cooking my fish in those high temps for 2 weeks.  I have a 36 gal bow front glass tank, a Fluval 205 filter, an air stone for added oxygen, no live plants.
My cycle is not done yet, been almost two weeks, (yes that WAS my mistake), my nitrites have been just below .25, ammonia is ok, ph around 7.6, tried lowering it with no luck.  I did a total of 10 gallon water change over the last two days.
Ok, so my question..isn't 85 too high for fish that like temps around 70-76 degrees? 
Thanks in advance!                          Jackie   ???

 

I successfully beat an ich outbreak in one of my tanks by just raising the temp in the tank to 85 for a couple of weeks. At the time I had some neon tetras, rosy barbs and a redtail shark in the tank and they didn't seem to mind the temporary increase in temp.

 

Thanks for replying..I'm doing the temps now..a degree or so every two hours..Am I correct that the higher temps will disrupt whatever cycling has been accomplished in my tank..that it will kill the good bacteria?
Jackie

 

Definitely bring the temp up slowly. I don't think the higher temp will disrupt your cycle, infact I think it may even help. When I fishless cycled my 55 I kept the temp around 86 as I read on another site that the beneficial bacteria multiply faster around that temp. I can't say for sure if it helped but the higher temp shouldn't cause any harm.

Also remember that warmer water doesn't hold as much oxygen so keep that air stone running and make sure you're getting adequate surface agitation to keep you oxygen level up.

 

Well you see, when the temperature gets higher, the disease organisms multiply rapidly and are easier to kill with medicines. Um... I think I'm not explaining this very well...

 

Hi..thanks for the replies. I started raising the temps, then talked to a few fish people who said 85 might harm or kill some of my fish, that it was definitely too warm..*shrug*. Not that I'm discounting what advice I received here. I am using a med for now. I just lost another pristella tetra..the first one died sometime last night. I'm trying to save my remaining fish as quickly as possible. I'll let you know how it goes over the next few days. I have the temp near or at 80 for now..and am keeping a close eye on the tank.
Thanks again for your help..I'm a coward I guess..and felt meds might be faster.
Jackie :-\

 

Well if you raise the temperature to 85 F and then use the medicine, it will be much more effective. 85 F won't harm them. Remember, they're tropical fish. They live in places that get really hot.

 

Ok..I understand about the "tropical" part...but then, when you look up temps for keeping each species, they all have a specific temperature range, I haven't found any at the 85 degree temp. But taking this theory one step further, I found a site, where an "expert" said, keep it at 90 degrees..YIKES..LOL.
I've found, you can talk to 100 people, and get 99 different ideas..etc. I know you guys have used the 85 degree temps and they worked for you..ummmmmmm..did you put meds in too? I fergit!! *G*
Jackie

 

I didn't use any meds, I just bumped the temp up to 85 for a few weeks and didn't lose any fish. Keep us posted on how your tank is doing.

 

HI again...well..so far so good. I used a treatment called Ick Clear, but I also bought Maracide. The person working there said she prefers Ick Clear, so I tried it, at half the dose because of my tetra's. This morning, no dead fish, but my one Serpae Tetra is still covered with the spots, but all the fish including him, seem to be more active and swimming around.
What I don't know is..should I use another dose tonight, it says to remove 25% water first...but since I only used a half dose..I'm wondering if I could just remove a smaller amount of water.
My temps are around 79-80.
Another question, since my PH is 7.6 and I've used the PH decrease and it hasn't come down, has anyone used Neutral Regulator with any success or is it something I shouldn't use. As I said earlier..you can talk to 100 people..and get 99 different opinions or recommendations..and it's d*mn confusing at times.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated re: the Neutral Regulator and another dose of Ick Clear or should I use the Maracide tonight?
TIA Jackie :

 

If you're not medicating your tank for Ich, and you still have ANY ammonia and nitrite readings, you should be performing DAILY 50% water changes, until both ammonia and nitrite = 0. Even smallest concentrations of ammonia and nitrite in your water can kill your fish or make them very sick. Your fish have Ich probably because of ammonia and/or nitrite presence in the water. This is why it's so important to perform 50% daily water changes in a cycling tank, if you have fish in the tank while it's cycling.

 

I was testing my water every day, barely a trace of ammonia, before the meds my nitrites were .25 and no traces of nitrates. I was doing 2 and half to 5 gal water changes every day. I used the liquid test kits, not strips. My biggest mistake was not reading up before I setup my tank..and finding out it should cycle for a length of time. Now I know..and will do my best to save my remaining fish.
Jackie

 

That's good to hear Yes, the best one can do to save fish, after putting the fish in a cycling tank, is to perform enough and large enough water changes to be removing the accumulating ammonia and nitrite, until they both are at zero. I'd personally perform 50% daily water changes if I had any ammonia or nitrite in my tank with fish. I'd do it until ammonia and nitrite are at zero.

 

I couldn't quite figure out if anyone ever answered but I would stop using the ph adjusters if I were you. It is much better to let the fish adjust to the ph of the water than to try to manipulate it artificially. They have the reputation of being unstable and hard to control and making the ph fluctuate wildly and cause fish deaths.

Rose