*help* My Id Shark Has Some Sort Of Bump

[dannyboy94]

Hi can someone please help me i have a 90litre tank with 3 id sharks and 2 glass fish and 2 algae eaters there was some ICH in the tank and i went to the petstore and they gave me this green medication to put in the tank very 3 days now ive put it 2times and the ICH is not going away. is this normal and how long would it noramlly take to get rid of the ich? i also places some coarse salt in the aquarium as i was told to do so by the lady at the petshop.

that is 1 of my concerns the other is that my 1 id shark has grown a fairly large (in relation to her size) bump on her body and i gave it a few days thinking it was the ich but it hasnt gone down or broken im not sure what to do i was also told to increase the temperature of the water and the ich will be gone faster and the water temp was increased but no sign of change...the shark with the bump swims up to the top of the aquarium as if he cannot stay down...when she lays still she floats up please help ive had them for almost 2 months now and i feed them flakes and blood worms alternatively so they can have a balanced diet i make sure the filter is clean and try my best not to scare them



THERE IS A LINK TO MY twitter PAGE WHERE U CAN SEE A PICTURE OF IT BECAUSE ITS TOO BIG TO UPLOAD http/t.co/xd5wcXO9



please help quick

thank you

daniel

 

[fluttermoth]

Ich does take a few days to clear up. The white spots you see on the fish are actually a cyst, full of the baby parasites. No meds can kill the parasite while it's in the cyst, so the med will only work once the cysts have burst. Keep on adding the meds exactly as instructed on the bottle.

As for the lump; it's really, really difficult to identify and treat those sorts of things in fish, I'm afraid. It could be another kind of parasite, a tumour, or it could have injured itself. Id sharks ar a very skittish fish, and often swim into things and hurt themselves.

I wouldn't feel right if I didn't tell you that a 90l tank is, in no way, shape or form, suitable for iridescent sharks. Depending on species they can grow to between three and five feet long They will also need brackish water as they get bigger; in the wild they swim down river and into the coastal estuaries as they mature.

Your tank may also not be big enough for the algae eaters either, again depending on their exact species; some of them can also grow to around a foot or two long.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but you're never going to get those fish healthy and happy in such a small tank.

 

[dannyboy94]

so exactly how soon should i get a bigger tank? and im not so sure what brackish means and should i start making the tank brackish soon? and what size do you recommend for this type of shark.

 

[dannyboy94]

and will it be ok to put goldfish with the id sharks in a bigger tank? and the glass fish i read somewhere that they need atleast 6 but the 2 i have are abit agressive..the 1 will bum and chase the other around the tank is this normal behaviour? and the algae eaters chase each othe around also

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't add goldfish to a tank with id sharks. The sharks are a very nervous fish, and the goldies would most likely freak them out.

They need a bigger tank as soon as possible. Long term, they'd need (sorry, this is going to be scary) something like a minimum of 12' x 6' x 6' Most people keep theirs in some sort of indoor pond, rather than glass tanks.

There are a few different species of fish known as 'glass fish' and 'algae eater', I can't really comment on them unless I know which species they are (pics would help)

'Brackish' water is water that has salt in it, but is not as salty as actual sea water.; I think they probably need full on marine conditions eventually. I'm not sure when they need the change to brackish or salt water; they're not a fish I've ever been tempted to try and keep.

Try having a Google under their scientific name of Pangasius sutchi, although yours might be P. hypophthalmus

 

[dannyboy94]

ya it is kind of scary th lady at the pet shop told me that they will be able to survive in a tank MUCH smaller than the 1 i have now but they started showing signs of stress and so i bought this larger tank.

well im going to try and get a new tank as soon as possible but until then is there anything i can do to make it easier on them i have them 7 weeks now and already they have ICH and the 1 has a lump my 1 id shark has bumped his nose quite badly it looks abit bloody actually and quite deep I dont have any ornaments in the tank exept some plants and a couple of smooth stones.im afraid to get one of those big rocks incase he hurts himself evan worse.i wud like to expand my tank can u recommend any fish that wont freak the id sharks out because the painted glass fish i have seem to be very peacefull the dont bug the sharks at all.


i also read somewhere that id sharks are not reak sharks...i just want to inquire because the people at the petshop dont really seem to know all that much and im hoping to keep my fish for a long time. and give them the best possible enviroment...

 

[fluttermoth]

It's true they're not real sharks, they're a kind of catfish; related to sharks only very distantly.

All you can do really, until you get a larger tank, is make sure they have plenty of plants, plenty of filtration and plenty of water changes.

Tankmates are a problem. Pangasius are predatory, and will eat anything they can get in their mouths. They're probably best kept as species only, tbh.

 

[dannyboy94]

they also dont seem to be eating very well does that have something to do with the ICH or is it because of another reason

btw thanks so much for your help

 

[fluttermoth]

It's no trouble, I'm just sorry it's not an easier problem to solve!

What are you feeding them?

 

[dannyboy94]

im feeding them tropical fish flakes and bloodworms but i feed them the blood worms at night and the flakes in the morning

 

[fluttermoth]

Blood worms aren't that nutritious, I'd feed them only once a week. Maybe some kind of pellet/granulated food would suit them better? Or you could try chopped prawn or whitefish (like cod).

I never asked you if you've had the water tested and how often you do a partial water change; oh, and how you maintain your filter. Those might help.

 

[dannyboy94]

only did 1 partial water change since i got the tank and its only been about 3 weeks and i did a complete water change on satarday than put some salt and that meds in the water the water hasnt been tested but how do u do that?

i know i sound abit silly not knowing these things but id rather sound abit silly and get all the facts than do something detrimental to their health

do u have fish? if so what type

i live in botswana at the moment so the petshop does not really sell those things. can u just buy it from like the store? or does it need to be a special type of cod is frozen fish ok and what about hake because i know we can get hake very easily

 

[dannyboy94]

uv sterilizing lights? do u think i shud get1?

 

[fluttermoth]

Fishkeeping in Botswana?! That must be a challenge!

Ok, let's try and make things easy for you

You never need to change all the water at once. A couple of times a week, or more often if the tank looks very dirty, suck some of the water out (leaving just enough for your fish to swim upright) with a syphon tube and replace it with new water. I don't know if your tapwater has chlorine in it, but if it does, you must either let in stand for 24 hours before it goes in the tank, or use a dechlorinator (it'll be called something like 'tap safe') that makes the water safe for the fish.

We can easily buy 'aquarium test kits' over here, or some shops will test it, but I don't know what the situation is like over there. I wouldn't worry too much; just change lots of water, and clean the filter out only in old water you've taken from the tank and not under the tap.

Do I have fish? LOL!!! I have lots of fish; corydoras, angelfish, tetras of four or five different kinds, tiger barbs, an oscar, some different catfish...but, I do also have seven tanks

Frozen cod, or hake, is fine.

Normally I'd tell people not to add any salt to the water, but with the fish you have (as long as it's only the glass fish and the sharks) it should be ok to do that.

I'm actually wondering, now you've told me where you are, whether these fish might not be ok in an outside pond or pool. What's the lowest the temperature drops to there?

Of course, you'd have to make certain that they couldn't escape into the wild; they could introduce all sorts of diseases and parasites into the local fish, which would be terrible.

I wouldn't bother with a UV sterilzer; they don't really work very well.

Don't worry about sounding 'silly'; it's always much better to ask if you're not sure about something

 

[dannyboy94]

well i tried feeding them some have i defrosted the hake and ut up some small chunks and put it in the tank they ddnt eat it at all they just swam and swam over it but never ate it

when u said i should feed them 1ce a week did u mean they should only be fed 1 time in the week or oly the bloodworms 1 time a week. the temperature goes to about 12C but the summers get to over 40C so i dont think its good idea to keep it outside

i do have these blue drops that i put in the water before i put the fish in the tanks i also clean the filter out regularly and il start changing some of the water on a regular basis.

well they were not eating so i put some flakes in but they havent seemed to be eating properly for a couple of days is this normal or am i feeding them too much?
i did see a ph level tester when i was in jhb i will see for 1

we have 2 tanks in the house 1 is only filled with gold fish we have 6 (1 gold moor 1shubunkin a fantail 1 yellow one and 2 others they are silver and red) that 1 seems to be ok they do just sit at the bottom together i dont think theres anything wrong with them.