Ich problems... again

[David]

As some of you may know it has been two months since my tank "contracted" ich, and it's STILL there. Now only one of my fish has it, my newest angel. Seems like the ich is a little initiation thing in my tank. Every new fish has to go through it. Anyway despite my efforts of raising the temp to 86 and using my usual ich medication the whole fish is literally covered by little white dots, it's by far the worst ich infestation I've ever seen. Strangely enough it's handling it better than any other fish I've had with ich. Still swims around happily with his angel buddy, still eats like a pig, still forages for food around the tank, never scratches, etc. What do you think is going on? Why isn't the ich going away, and why does it seem to be having no effect whatsoever on the fish?

 

[White Whale]

The new fish you get can be carrying ich from the shop tank you bought it from. Do you have a quarantine tank? You could try Prevent-Ich when introducing new fish to your aquarium.

 

[black angel]

i had this problem too. i was told to keep medicating for 48 hours after the last spots are seen. i am having to do this now as its my second dose of ich. i have also been told that the meds i use - protozin- can safely be doubled even trebled. i dont want to treble so i have doubled the dose and it seems to be working.

 

[canarsie11]

Keep on treating the tank. How is the other fish dealing with the temp of the tank?

 

[David]

Just got home. It's even worse now... I'm almost too disgusted to look in the tank; the original coloration of my angel is kinda hard to make out through the spots, that's how bad it is. I'm at a complete loss for what to do. My other angel had it too, but wasn't as bad and got over it in a couple of days, as did my other fish. This one just progressively gets worse. Meds are doing sh**. So is temperature. I am forced to conclude that since the ich has been there for 2 months now, it has developed a resistance to the medication and cannot be wiped out. This really pisses me off as I don't want to lose all of the fish I add to the aquarium.

 

[canarsie11]

How is the 5 gallon doing?

I will make a suggestion , I still beleive that you should continue to treat your tank .

However, it has been 2 months . Either you are doing something wrong or you have a powerful case of ick .

It may be time to think of starting from scratch, new gravel, clean out everything and starting over!

If you decide to keep on goiong with set up, DO NOT add anymore fish for an extended period of time.

Keep us posted!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi David

Have you added salt to your tank too? If not, continue the heat and meds and add one Tablespoon of aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of water. I would also suggest treating for a week after you stop seeing any signs of ich. It's persistent and always hard to get rid of.

BTW, is your heater and thermometer accurate? If not, it would be a good idea to invest in a new one. Outbreaks of ich are often caused by temperature fluctuations, so rule this out.

When you add a new fish to the tank, be sure to slowly let it adjust to the temperature of the tank water while it is still in the bag to avoid sudden changes which can bring on an outbreak.

 

[canarsie11]

Maybe invest in a small aquarium thermometer (very cheap), and double check your heater setting through that............

 

[David]

I already tested my thermometer and it's accurate, so that can't be it. I raised the temp gradually to 86, that's where it is now. This afternoon I did a 20% W/C and vacuumed. Angel is still acting normal and I just fed some discus formula and everyone pigged out, the ich-infested angel more so than the healthy one
Anyway I'll keep it up with the meds but I'm running low... and I'm not gonna go out and buy another bottle for nothing. I want to try salt, but I don't want to spend any more on aquarium salt, as I am flat broke. I have like 5 bucks in my wallet. Will table salt work? Hope it works out. Cross your fingers for me. Don't worry I won't be adding fish for at least 2 weeks until the last signs of ich disappear. I can't really start from scratch, I already wanted to do that but

1. too much work
2. Too attached to fish I already have, and as most are healthy why get rid of them
3. LFS won't take fish back

So I'll just keep it up and hope for the best. I have changed my water change/vacuuming schedule to 20% twice weekly as opposed to 40% once a week, maybe it's less stressful for them and more effective in removing the ich. On a lighter note the discus is doing great It's really coloring up nicely and it's eating well too, has grown quite a bit. I love it sooo much.

 

[David]

How is the 5 gallon doing?

The 5 gallon is doing fine, the new betta is really happy. No diseases in there, at least for now.

 

[canarsie11]

I'd say no more fish for 4 to 6 weeks

 

[FishDan]

I am forced to conclude that since the ich has been there for 2 months now, it has developed a resistance to the medication and cannot be wiped out.

Ich is present in every aquarium, all the time. It can not be "wiped out" no matter what you do. All that can be done is treat the symptoms and try to keep conditions in your aquarium that are unfavorable to ich's development.

If you are having repeated bouts of ich you need to look into whats stressing the fish, as a stressed fish is the fish that's going to get ich. It could be your new angel is just over stressed and that's why it is the only fish currently with symptoms.

Good luck! Hope your fish get rid of the ich soon.

\Dan

 

[David]

Yeah I kinda figured that as every new fish I added immediately got it, with the exception of Charlie, my betta, who was in there from the beginning and wasn't stressed at the time it was introduced. Also he is invincible. But anyway the angel is still in pretty crappy condition, I will continue medication today.

 

[canarsie11]

There must be something that is stressing your fish out. Is your tank in high traffic area? What is your water test results?

 

[David]

Angel is gone now... Before death, for some reason the discus kept picking at the white spots on its skin. Mmmmm, ich Anyway, the other fish seem to be deteriorating so... I really am going to start from scratch. I'm taking the remaining "healthy" fish back to any LFS that will take them, and if not petco as I doubt they give a crap what condition their fish are in. I will clean the whole thing tomorrow. *sigh*...