Emergency...catfish Have Ick....still Alive

[becketlady]

Hi All, 
 
I am totally new here and all look so confusing in here. I posted two things yesterday and have no response. uh! 

 
I ran into two problems....red gills and ick

 

 
I tried all I can to add fungus med and ick med....malachite green and added api salt...raised temp 82-84 in a 55 gal..with air aerators too....others were put in a quarantine too. I lost my beautiful clown loach...had it two months. it was ick and having a hard time breathing. Lost 4 guppies, a black molly, baby black mollies too being born while she was in her 3rd stage of ick. Next is my bumble bee catfish. 
Show red gills and look like salt like grain-ick. It almost died on me until i raised the temp... put med in and air aerators too. It is going ok. I can't afford to lose this one. I had him/she since spring as a baby. What shall I do? It is in a quarantine still. Am I doing it right?
 
other tank i have with other fish are:    55 gal  (catfish came from this tank)
 
Zebra danios-3
Leopard longfins-3
4 guppies and 3 baby guppies
1 algae eater(doing better and recovered on its own in this tank) eating good
maybe some snails.....most have been removed as I don't know if it will  carry ick.
This tank had temp at 84 degrees, water change, salt added as of yesterday. They are doing well. 

Please let me know if there is anything I need to know.

Thanks Becketlady
 
 
 

 

[becketlady]

Also, I forgot to add.....
 
The water is O ppm for Ammonia, O ppm for Nitrates and wide range ph is always high to blue. 8.5-9.0. It used to be light green. Its show well water is slightly high.

  

 

[Meeresstille]

Hi Becketlady,
A cycled tank should show readings of Nitrate. Or did you mean your tank is 0 Nitrite? If you haven't measured your Nitrite, and they are high, that could explain the red gills.
 
If your catfish has a harder time with the warmer temperatures try lowering them again to see if that improves it. If the ich parasite has settled in his gills there is nothing you can do but wait it out. The meds and salt will only kill the free swimmers, the heat will speed up the parasite's cycle so they will fall off sooner. Do daily gravel vacs to get as many of the cysts that have buried into the substrate. By doing this you will greatly reduce the amount of free swimmers once they hatch. Less swimmers, less chance of reinfecting the fish. 
 
Any free swimmers will either succumb to the meds or the salt. You have to wait 14 days after you've seen the last grain on any of your fish, then you can discontinue treatment. If you've been using only the half dose of salt, you need to treat a little longer.
 
ETA You should try to avoid using more than one treatment at the same time, it can make things harder on the fish, not to mention what happens to the effects of different meds mixed together.

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi All, 
 
I am totally new here and all look so confusing in here. I posted two things yesterday and have no response. uh! 

 

 

to the forum. I agree wholeheartedly with the advice that Meeresstille has given you. Regarding not getting a response from posting two things yesterday, I assume you are talking about the similar thread by 214Jay, and both your posts were answered.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/423576-help-lost-12-fish-to-ich-in-new-tank-what-could-i-have-done-diff/?p=3582947
and
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/423576-help-lost-12-fish-to-ich-in-new-tank-what-could-i-have-done-diff/?p=3582992

 

[becketlady]

Hi All, 

 
Sorry for being away for a few days.

 ..not on the pc lately. Thanks for the posts.

  
Finally, I found the quick cure at a pet store which I had to drive 45 mins and followed the instruction from a fish person who is very knowledgeable for 40 yrs of experience. I had to put the catfish back in the tank and treat all of them at the same time. To my surprise the catfish is still alive. All of the fish seem very happy and very active. I did not lose any more fish.

  This is my 3rd day of treatment. I shall do a water change tomorrow....correct? Can I go another 3 days of treatment or this could harm the fish?
Should I keep the temp at 82-84 still and be sure that salt is there. I just want to make sure they are healthy and free of ick. I can't afford to lose all my fish. 

 
Also, I wanted to get another baby clown loach as I missed it terribly due to ick. How long do I have to wait before adding another one? I will be buying from the person who sold me the bottle of quick cure. I have never seen this place so clean in all the fish tanks and very healthy. I won't go to Petco which a lot of the fish are dying and I have mentioned to them about taking care of them etc....I bought the Bettas for the first time in the spring and lost a few......I managed to save some from the fungus they had. I have 3 now. All of them came from Petco. 
 
 
About the Nitrate in the previous note.....yes the nitrate is light blue and is zero for this tank. I never have nitrate problem. I do watch for Ammonia in my koi/gold fish tank as it get up there if overfeeding and they are dirty fish. They never got sick or  expose to any diseases. 

 I change the water weekly. 
 
Again thank you for getting back to me. 
Becketlady

Ok....I got it....from the above note. I have to wait 14 days and yes I am down to one med and that is quick cure. The temp. is on 80 still and the catfish is doing well. I checked him last night and he/she was swimming. About the salt, can I continue to use it? I used 1 tablespoon for every 5 gal. (55 gal tank). Thanks

 

[ncguppy830]

NO dont get anymore fish until you get this sorted out and CERTAINLY dont get a clown loach because one there schooling fish and two there WAY unsuitable for your tank.

 

[becketlady]

ok explain a little more please about the loach. Thanks

 

[ncguppy830]

oh sorry abou that there minimum is around 100 to 125 gallons and for a school IMO 175 gallons.

 

[becketlady]

The reason why I had loach is to eat up the snails as they produce lots of babies. ugh! I only had one loach in the 55 gal tank. I had him for two months until the ick issue. 

 

[ncguppy830]

well im just saying theyll get stunted in a tank that size.

 

[becketlady]

ok...I got it. Thanks. 
 
Have to go to work, catch up later all. thanks again. Becketlady

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The advice not to mix ich treatments is a good one. Quick Cure is good stuff, but it should not be mixed with salt. Raising the temp helps with either method for treating ich- using meds or using salt.
 
Actually, the reason for not having one loach is they are very social and need to be in five or more. Lone loahes become "crazed." Then there is the catch that they get really big
 
The SAE at the rear of the pic is between 5 and 6 inches

 

[becketlady]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeee. They are gorgeous. Ok don't make me get started

 . LOL

 

[becketlady]

Ok I understood that I can't mix quick cure and salt in the same tank. So when I do the water change tomorrow. I will use salt and keep the temp the same for how long? Thanks.