ICH or not? Just switched to sand,

[pnyklr3]

I just switched to sand using the pinned method by thewolf. Everything went fine...up until today. My 2 of my clown loaches have a few (3-6) spots on them. They have been very active, I haven't noticed any flicking, and if anything, seem happier. They have the best color I have ever seen them have (they would sometimes be pale )!

I was wondering if it could be sand on them. Does ich get on fins, or just the body? They have a few spots in their tail fins, along with only a few on the body. No other fish have any spots on them, and I've never had ich in my tanks; even when bringing the clowns home for the first time. The only difference between these and the other fish, as of late, has been HOW they were removed during the substrate change. While all of the other fish in the tank were netted out, the loaches were hiding in a large piece of fake driftwood. They were placed into the "decoration bucket" instead of the "fish bucket." That's really the only difference that I can think of....all of the water was tank water...the "decoration bucket's" water was a little dirtier, but there was MUCH more water in it.

I guess I can watch them, but the main thing right now is, does ich show up on fins? Sorry this was so long )

 

[WILDER]

Yes it does show on the fins, whitespot look like they have been sprinkled in salt, the spots look like grains of salt.
http/www.badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article2.html

 

[pnyklr3]

That is not good to hear! Is ich always present in the water, but it only infects fish when they are stressed? I think that perhaps they got a little chilly during the switch -or- the pH went up too much when I added in tap water.

Now that I am checking out the whole tank, I see a few tetras with a spot on their tails *sigh*

Next question: What can I treat with that will not harm my clown loaches, rope fish, bristlenose pleco, and cockatoo dwarf cichlids? I think that these would be the most sensitive ones in my tank. Thanks for the help so far. Oh, and if each fish only has between 1 and 10 spots, is it a relatively small "outbreak" (ie. semi-quick to cure)?

 

[WILDER]

Yes it lives in the water only takes a stressed fish, and tempreture to cause and outbreak of it.

 

[pnyklr3]

Okay, I ran out and bought some Rid-Ich. Says that it is okay for scaleless fish and the like, and it has malachite green. Should I treat for the 3 days the bottle says, or for an entire week to be sure? Also, what should the tank temp be set at to speed up the lifecycle of the ich?

 

[tttnjfttt]

Turn your temp up to 84, and make sure you remove any carbon in your tank. Knowing how long to medicate fish for ich can be a tough one. I would start with the three days and see how your fish are doing. If you are still seeing spots, then keep medicating. As for how easy or hard this outbreak will be to stop, that is really hard to say.

Have you checked your ammonia and nitrite levels, just to make sure you aren't in a mini-cycle from changing to sand? (ammonia and nitrite should be zero).

 

[pnyklr3]

I have been testing daily to make sure that I haven't hit a mini-cycle, and my ammonia and nitrites are still at 0. I will slowly take the temp up to 84. I am pretty confident that I'll get rid of the ich fairly quickly....it's just very hard to think that my fish are "sick" when they seem so happy! Ah, well. My only reservation is that my dwarf cichlids are said to be "intolerant to medications" ; but I really have no choice. They seem to be acting normally, and are showing no signs of ich themselves.

 

[tttnjfttt]

If the dwarf cichlid is intollerant, AND if he isn't showign any signs of ich, do you have a hospital tank you can keep him in while everyone else is getting medicated?

 

[pnyklr3]

Not an empty cycled one...that was taken up by a co-worker who was keeping 3 clawed frogs in a 2-3 gallon tank. These frogs are about 4 inches each. I can honestly move the frogs back into their old tank...or try to clone my 10 gallon and put the cichlids into that. That can only happen tomorrow at the earliest because the smaller tank is in my classroom. I'll double check in the New World forum if anyone else has medicated them for ich.