Syphoniera
Fish Herder
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- Sep 8, 2008
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Oooodles of excellent advice above...
Speaking as one who knows nothing, but never lets it stop her:
I've treated whole tanks, algae eaters, snails and all, with a half-dose of Quick Cure without any obvious ill effects or deaths.
(Years back figured out the only way to not use q tanks as real tanks was to get a 5 gal.
Then you don't want to cramp, say, 6 new fish in, or not for long enough. Then have ich or worse in tanks.
Learn from my mistakes - somebody has to...)
Whether this would necessarily hold true in all cases, or whether some unnoticed damage may have been done, I can't say - but since I do know that untreated ich can kill slowly and badly, I chose that as the lesser risk.
Moving the betta into the other tank will, as pointed out, almost certainly have infected that tank and molly and both tanks should be now treated for the problem, although prompt action will reduce the time required for treatment, if each hatching is destroyed prior to attachment.
Fin rot meds are not designed to kill parasites, although they may or may not produce a toxic/damaging combination when mixed with ich meds.
I've no idea, but wouldn't mix them or any meds unless I had assurances on tablets of stone in fiery writing that it was safe to do so.
The regular type of fin rot won't kill a fish the way ich will, and the ich needs to be dealt with first, and before it worsens, so best to do a large water change and perhaps briefly run charcoal to eliminate the fin rot meds as far as possible???
Hopefully an expert will advise as to the preferential treatment - what I would do may be far from ideal.
Honestly, I'd treat ALL exposed fish - algae eaters or not - at the half-dose, because the fish removed will still be infected and suffering from this, and because it only takes one to re-infect the rest.
The krib has long been regarded as a respected source of information for aquarists, and their recommendation regarding Quick Cure treatment for scaleless catfish, tetras, etc. is quoted below
http
/www.thekrib.com/Diseases/ich.html
... 4. Pick up an ich medication of your choice at the local fish
mart. Most of the ones that are sold are more or less effective. My personal
favorite is a malachite green/formaldehyde combination sold under the brand
name "Quick Cure". ("RidIch" has the same ingredients.) Note: Most people
recommend halving the dose of Malachite-containing medications if you are
treating small catfish, any scaleless catfish, or tetras.
***** 5. DISREGARD THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!! Use the DOSE
written on the bottle, but treat like this: Treat every 3 to 4 days for 4
treatments, changing 50% of the water before every treatment. Do NOT
treat once or twice, like the directions will tell you! You need to treat
over 12 to 16 days in order to get all the little guys when they are
vulnerable. (See life cycle diagram for explanation) ... (End of quotes)
Based on such information and my own personal experience, I believe it's safe to treat algae eaters at the half-dose - and not safe to leave them untreated to potentially suffer and die from ich.
On the other hand, I'm frequently wrong.
According to the bottles of Quick Cure sold in Canada, there are no warnings against using this on snails; are different ingredients present than described in the article above?
There may well be, I know I was told Quick Cure, because of the Malachite Green, is no longer to be sold in Canada - and gawd 'elp us, every one.
It's always difficult to know on the internet if one's addressing a bright 12-year-old or an adult but the advice given regarding the variety of fish in your tank was both excellent and imperative, as disaster will sooner or later strike.
I'm sure you love the fish and I don't know whether any decisions regarding them are yours, or whether it's possible to plan for a larger tank where the cichlids and Chinese Algae Eaters could be separated, but if not, they really should be rehomed as soon as the ich infestation is definitely cleared.
I do know that many people find great deals in their various areas, through the forum, the newspaper, local fish clubs, etc.
The LFS I go to deals in trade-ins and second-hand equipment, so there may be others elsewhere which do the same.
If this is viewed as an opportunity to start the Multiple Tank Syndrome rolling, you may come to see the ich outbreak as a good thing.
As anything resulting in more and bigger tanks has to be...
Speaking as one who knows nothing, but never lets it stop her:
I've treated whole tanks, algae eaters, snails and all, with a half-dose of Quick Cure without any obvious ill effects or deaths.
(Years back figured out the only way to not use q tanks as real tanks was to get a 5 gal.
Then you don't want to cramp, say, 6 new fish in, or not for long enough. Then have ich or worse in tanks.
Learn from my mistakes - somebody has to...)
Whether this would necessarily hold true in all cases, or whether some unnoticed damage may have been done, I can't say - but since I do know that untreated ich can kill slowly and badly, I chose that as the lesser risk.
Moving the betta into the other tank will, as pointed out, almost certainly have infected that tank and molly and both tanks should be now treated for the problem, although prompt action will reduce the time required for treatment, if each hatching is destroyed prior to attachment.
Fin rot meds are not designed to kill parasites, although they may or may not produce a toxic/damaging combination when mixed with ich meds.
I've no idea, but wouldn't mix them or any meds unless I had assurances on tablets of stone in fiery writing that it was safe to do so.
The regular type of fin rot won't kill a fish the way ich will, and the ich needs to be dealt with first, and before it worsens, so best to do a large water change and perhaps briefly run charcoal to eliminate the fin rot meds as far as possible???
Hopefully an expert will advise as to the preferential treatment - what I would do may be far from ideal.
Honestly, I'd treat ALL exposed fish - algae eaters or not - at the half-dose, because the fish removed will still be infected and suffering from this, and because it only takes one to re-infect the rest.
The krib has long been regarded as a respected source of information for aquarists, and their recommendation regarding Quick Cure treatment for scaleless catfish, tetras, etc. is quoted below
http
/www.thekrib.com/Diseases/ich.html... 4. Pick up an ich medication of your choice at the local fish
mart. Most of the ones that are sold are more or less effective. My personal
favorite is a malachite green/formaldehyde combination sold under the brand
name "Quick Cure". ("RidIch" has the same ingredients.) Note: Most people
recommend halving the dose of Malachite-containing medications if you are
treating small catfish, any scaleless catfish, or tetras.
***** 5. DISREGARD THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!! Use the DOSE
written on the bottle, but treat like this: Treat every 3 to 4 days for 4
treatments, changing 50% of the water before every treatment. Do NOT
treat once or twice, like the directions will tell you! You need to treat
over 12 to 16 days in order to get all the little guys when they are
vulnerable. (See life cycle diagram for explanation) ... (End of quotes)
Based on such information and my own personal experience, I believe it's safe to treat algae eaters at the half-dose - and not safe to leave them untreated to potentially suffer and die from ich.
On the other hand, I'm frequently wrong.
According to the bottles of Quick Cure sold in Canada, there are no warnings against using this on snails; are different ingredients present than described in the article above?
There may well be, I know I was told Quick Cure, because of the Malachite Green, is no longer to be sold in Canada - and gawd 'elp us, every one.
It's always difficult to know on the internet if one's addressing a bright 12-year-old or an adult but the advice given regarding the variety of fish in your tank was both excellent and imperative, as disaster will sooner or later strike.
I'm sure you love the fish and I don't know whether any decisions regarding them are yours, or whether it's possible to plan for a larger tank where the cichlids and Chinese Algae Eaters could be separated, but if not, they really should be rehomed as soon as the ich infestation is definitely cleared.
I do know that many people find great deals in their various areas, through the forum, the newspaper, local fish clubs, etc.
The LFS I go to deals in trade-ins and second-hand equipment, so there may be others elsewhere which do the same.
If this is viewed as an opportunity to start the Multiple Tank Syndrome rolling, you may come to see the ich outbreak as a good thing.
As anything resulting in more and bigger tanks has to be...
happy Christmas! LOL 
(I know it's not Christmas yet) Sorry ReMz 
I guess I didn't know what i was saying. Oh, I don't know how to close this topic so lets pretend it's closed OK?
