Adding New Fish = Ick

[FishLover66]

Hi all. So frustrating! It seems that every time I add new fish to my tank, there's an ICK outbreak. I don't have an extra tank set up to use as a quarentine aquarium, but I'm always so very careful to be sure the fish I purchase are healthy as well as the other inhabitants of the same tank. Last week I purchased two more marbled hatches to add to the three I already had--they looked awesome and seemed to adjust well up until yesterday. I also just recently (this past weekend) purchased a spiral crypt plant for the back corner of my aquarium. Both the fish and the plant came from two very reputable fish stores. The plant was in a tank filled with healthy looking discus.

My tank is cycled, zero ammonia and nitrites. The nitrates are 5.0 and pH is typically around 7.0. I had purchased several live plants at various stores over the past couple of weeks and they are all doing well--bright green & growing.

I'm treating the tank with AP Rapid Ick Cure which seemed to work very well a month ago, but I didn't have live plants then and I'm worried about their survival now. Would medication to treat Ick or any other illness kill or harm live plants?

Also, what about the beneficial bacteria? Would the Ick meds kill them off? I really am not looking forward to having to cycle my tank again.

Last, but not least, is there a way to prevent illness in fish when purching new ones, other than what I already did. I don't have another tank, so a quarentine tank isn't possible.

 

[sadguppy]

I turned the temp up gradually to 31 and added salt - it disappeared in a few days and my fish, shrimp and plants survived.

 

[Mikaila31]

proper ick treatments take at least two weeks IMO to 100% clear a tank of ich. If you stop treating just because signs disappear it will be back again in no time. I use strictly copper meds when dealing with ich. I've treated new fish many times and its easy to get rid of as long as you keep up treatment for the full time. Typically I treat for a week after all signs are gone.

 

[FishLover66]

I've used salt in the past and it didn't seem to help with the ich. The API Rapid Ich Cure does seem to do the trick. So you would recommend treating for more than the two dosages over the four days?

The meds won't harm the plants or beneficial bacteria?

 

[onidrase]

in regards to prevention, just make sure the fish are acclimatized properly before adding them to the tank. Also avoid buying fish when you see signs of ich on fish even near them or sharing the same water space as them. Ich is very contagious, and chances are if one fish has it, the bundle will have it as well. Don't add water from the fish store to the water in your tank. I always acclimatize, take the bag back out, get a gallon pitcher and a fish net, and pour the fish into the net, then dump them into the tank without letting the net touch the water in order to avoid any contaminates from the LFS. seems to work pretty well.

 

[FishLover66]

Thanks, but that's exactly what I did to acclimate them. That's what's so frustrating. The fish I purchased were beautiful and healthy and were in a clean, bright tank with a few other healthy looking fish. The pet store I purchased them at seemed VERY reputable and the owner was so knowledgeable and honest--he wouldn't even sell my daughter otos because he wasn't happy with the batch he got from his distributor, "too many kills," he said.

Is it possible that Ich could have hitched a ride on the live plants I purchased? I did rinse them off with aquarium water before putting them in (mainly to rid them of snails).

Well, I guess as long as the medication won't harm anything other than the Ich, than I'm fine with it. My fish do seem much livelier today and are eating again, so that's good news. I'll just give them an extra dose two days after the second dose I'll give tonight, and see how things go over the next couple of weeks.

 

[ZoddyZod]

The meds won't harm the plants or beneficial bacteria?

no, but there's a fair chance it will kill your shrimp. Check the ingredients, if there's any copper in it then the shrimp wont tolerate it.

 

[FishLover66]

Thanks. I don't have shrimp, but that's nice to know. I did consider getting some, but if they are that fragile, than I won't.

 

[ZoddyZod]

sorry, it was the 2nd poster that stated shrimp!