Ick, Catfish and Plecos. Oh my!

[PictusCatfish]

I have a 10 gallon tank with a 3 inch Pictus Cat, a 2 inch Shark Cat, a 2 inch Rainbow Shark, a 3 inch Whiptail Cat, a 2 inch regular Pleco and a 3 inch royal Pleco.

I have lost catfish to Ick before so I feel I need some advice.

I bought my Shark Cat, Whiptail Cat and Royal Pleco a week ago and they seemed fine until my Shark Cat began rubbing against objects n the tank. I was worried so I kept an eye on him. These symptoms started three days ago and this morning he and my Pictus had two white spots on them.

When I last lost my ick infected Pictus I believe it was because I used a regular dose of Cure-Ick + rather than the recommended scaleless dosage. I didn't know catfish were scaleless at the time so I felt rather stupid when I learned of that little fact.

I don't know the ammonia, nitrate etc... levels of the tank and I plan to get them tested soon. I have raised the temperature to 82 as opposed to the usual 78-80 and have used one scaleless dose of Cure-Ick+. I also have Aquari-Sol that I have been using as an ick preventative but I don't know how successful it is with curing ick.

If I should switch from Cure-Ick to Aquari-Sol PLEASE tell me and if I need to take a break from medicating the fish between switching from one medication to the other I would appreciate that information too. Also, should I be changing the water during this time? I have already taken the carbon filter out but I am so scared that I will lose my catfish and possibly plecos. (The rainbow shark lived through the last outbreak without so much as a spot so I am not too worried about him. )

Again, ANY information or tips would be useful and I do know that a 10 gallon is too small to be keeping these fish in as they grow but I want to make sure that they will live before setting up the 60 gallon.

Thank you so much for any information you can provide.

 

[IMCL85]

Its ich not ick . raise temperature of ur tank to 82+ to speed up cycle of ich parasite. If ur current brand isn't working try other medicine if things aren't looking good with ur old medicine like more spot. I have treat many ich case with out using any medine at all. I turn my temperature to 86 and the ich clear in a few days. Ofcourse I did alot of water change as well. usually 3 days per 25% water change during this time is a must. Good luck.

 

[Angel Lady]

82 isnt higher enough to kill off it has to be around 85 too do the job.I have some articles posted some where I will try to look them up for you..

 

[PictusCatfish]

Hmm, Ich. That probably would have helped me find more info when searching.

Thank you so much for the advice! I will gradually get my temperature to 86 and then change some of the water in three days. I really appreciate the feedback! Thanks again!

 

[PictusCatfish]

Umm..

My fish are getting worse. They aren't acting any different than when they are healthy but there are as many as 10 white spots on my Shark Catfish, 5-7 on my Pictus Catfish and now the ick is sharting to show up on my other fish.

My temperature cycles between 84-86 and I just did my 25% water change today. I have been following the directions on my Cure Ick+ (the scaleless fish dosage) and it doesn't seem to be doing much.

If ANYONE has anymore tips PLEASE don't hesitate to reply. I'm freaking out.

 

[tttnjfttt]

They say knowledge is power, so how about an article on ich?

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article2.html

If after a few days the reduced dose isn't working, you can try to gradualy (AND VERY SLOWLY) increase the dose, so it doesn't burn the fish.

 

[PictusCatfish]

Thank you for the article I am reading it right now.

Also I will try increasing the dose as you said. Thanks again. I really appreciate the advice!

 

[kimbowee]

Do you have an airstone in the tank? With the higher temperature there will be a decreased amount of oxygen in the tank. You can also try lowering the amount of water in your tank slightly to increase the amount of water flowing in from your filter return. Some people also suggest covering your tank & keeping the lights off to reduce the amount of stress to the fish.

Also, make sure you get your water tested or better yet get yourself a good liquid testing kit. You are more prone to diseases if you have bad water quality.

 

[PictusCatfish]

I don't have an airstone but will be buying one today as per your suggestion. I will also lower the water a little and try keeping the lights off with the tank covered.

Will it stress the fish if the light if off all day? I heard they got intoa cycle or something. I could have heard wrong.

I have been planning to buy my own testing kit for awhile now. I am going to buy one along with the airstone.

Thank you so much!

 

[AngelMax]

Hi

I have just gone through exactly the same thing.....it's stressfull for the fish and duobly stressful for us!!!

I was unsuccessfully treating my tank with Britsih king 5 which I was told was good stuff. But they got worse in fact I lost 3 Polkadot loaches through it. (still extremly sad)

I then brought eSHa Exit which covers White spot, Velvet and a few more less common spot diseases. It is safe for scaleless fish.
I have been treating them just one day and touch wood they appear to be alot happier...at least they are all eating and swimming now.

You can also use eSHa 2000 at the same time with no fear of overdosing. 2000 treats fin rot and other bacterial infections (which I am being told will also accompany White spot etc as a secondary infection).

Coz I changed I done 2 x 40% water changes (over 2 days) and ran the carbon through.

I hope this helps you... and isn't too late for your fish as I am hoping with the rest of my tanks mates.

Good Luck

R.I.P Mr Polka, Neo & Morpheus.

 

[tttnjfttt]

What exactly is the active ingredient in that med? There are so many out there, that half the time it is easier to talk about the active ingredients...

 

[PictusCatfish]

AngelMax, I am so sorry to hear that you lost some of your fish! I am hoping to have a little more luck with mine. They actually do look a LOT better today. The smallest one which had the worst case of ich has ZERO spots on him (GLEE!) and my pictus cat has only a few dotting his fins.

I am switching to Aquari-Sol for now (as per the suggestion of my local aquarium store) and if that doesn't work I will definitely try the medication you suggested. I am just hoping that the high temperatures in the tank take care of the ich that just fell off my fish until 7pm tonight (when the pet store guy said to take out the carbon filter so I can safely change medications without mixing them).

The active ingredients in the previous medicine I was using was Malachite Green and Formalin. Even though I have only stopped the medication for 12 hours (with the carbon filter in to take all the medicine out again so I can switch over to Aquari-Sol) my fish seem a lot happier and the white spot is almost completely gone. I think I might throw away this medicine (Cure-Ick+) and stick to Aquari-Sol if it ends up working.

Good luck with your ich problems AngelMax and thanks for the advice.

Also, Kimbowee, I bought the airstone and my fish LOVE it. It looks nice in the tank too. Thank you thank you thank you! I am getting my water tested today at Fountain's Aquariums by the guy that helps me out every time I go in there (he freaked out for me yesterday when I went in to buy an airstone and told him about ich).

To everyone who has given me advice, you are lifesavers. Now I just get to hope that all my fishies pull through and the white spots don't come back.