Emergency Please Help

[NomNomTiger]

I came home 1 night and my fish had 3 white spots so I took the carbon out of the filter. Cleaned it all in hot water. Added pimafix and melafix. Turned the heat up and added some salt. Then it got worse the next day and I cleaned the tank out more and removed the plants. Then this morning I come in and she has popeye. It started 2 nnights ago and less than 2 days ago. I put her in a new tank. Clean. No carbon in the filter. A small bubbler. Im raising the heat and added the pima mela and a pinch of salt and she started darting around the tank and now she wont float or move at all. All the other fish are fine. Ph was good. I'm not sure if she's dead or not. How does it happen so fast? In less than 48 hours she showed signs then died. I'm so confused and heartbroken. Nothing like this has ever happened. The worse I've had was a few nematodes in a seperate tank. Before she got this my one male randomly died. Showed no signs of a fight or anything bacterial related. Atr properly everything. I came home. Removed him and cried. And then this happened a few days after. I think my angel died as I wrote this.

 

[jeffadams]

Try using maracyn or maracyn 2 they worked really fast with my fish, Good luck! Sorry about your fish

 

[SarahR]

If you have ich in the tank you have to treat for it.  Neither Pimafix, Melafix, nor the Maracyn products treat ich.  Extra cleaning or removing plants won't help and a pinch of salt is not enough to have any effect. Overcleaning the filter can destroy the bio-filter which is the last thing you want.  If you do use heat or a heat/salt combination the temp has to be high enough and maintained long enough and aeration needs increasing.  Melafix or Pimafix definitely should not be used with heat as they also decrease oxygen levels.  Carbon can be left in with heat/salt treatment.
 
If you use an over the counter ich remedy it needs to be specific for ich, and you need to follow the directions on the product to the letter.
 
Yes, infected fish can indeed succumb rapidly and without obvious symptoms which is why an accurate diognosis is so important.   Shotgun remedies or guess work waste valuable time.
 
Melafix/Pimafix are not effective treatments they merely possess mild anti-bacterial / anti-fungal properties. They may (at best) have some small value as preventatives or adjuvant therapies but certainly not as first line treatments for any disease.  
 
You need to determine as best you can exactly what your fish are suffering from in order to effectively treat them.  Again, best of luck with your fish.

 

[NomNomTiger]

Sorry I got really panicked. The pet store told me to use those! I'm done with them. I read lots on it and people say salt wont even help. I added to small handfuls of salt to my 55g. Is that enough? The temp is usually high so it's at 84 right now. What if I wake up to them all dead? I'm too terrified to go to sleep.

 

[SarahR]

As I mentioned, everyone has their preference on treating.  With angels I would almost lean toward heat only treatment, which means you have to slowly raise the temperature over 86° and maintain it for a minimum of ten days.  88° or even 90° is probably better to ensure there are no cooler spots in the tank- only one parasite needs to survive to start the cycle all over.  It is believed the parasite cannot reproduce in temps above 85°, though a resistant strain is possible.  You absolutely have to greatly increase aeration if you raise the temperature to increase oxygen, and observe the fish for distress.  
If you combine heat with salt, the dosage recommendations vary quite a bit, but usually between 2-5 tablespoons per 5 gallons.  Raising the temperature to 82° - 84° will speed up the parasite's life cycle to get it in the free swimming stage when the salt can kill it.  You should measure the salt and dissolve it in a container of water before adding it, don't put it directy into the tank dry.
I'm not sure if you still have an active biological filter due to the cleaning.  Be sure to check ammonia and nitrite levels.  If you need to do water changes, you can, but will need to resalt just the amount of water you change and also carefull match the temperature- you don't want it to be cooler.  
You can also go with an ich remedy, then follow the directions exactly- don't combine it with high heat and or salt. 
Again, I can't say which treatment is best for your situation, just that if it is ich you need to do one of them. Best of luck. 

 

[DoubleDutch]

First be 100% sure it is Ich, before starting all kinds of treatments at the same time. . Not every white spot is Ich, which isn´t lethal so fast. Think it just might be all the different kinds of treatments at te same time that might be a problem. For instance  If it´s an bacterial issue, the bactria will love you for turning up the temp. They will grow like .... and will in combination with other stuff kill you fish !!!