ICK has killed everything, now what?

[Chuck_S]

My 7 year olds tank (2-weeks old) has finally been completely wiped out. Honestly I think the bags of fish were not at the proper temp before I released them into the tank. I did let the fish tank run for 24 hours prior to purchasing fish (added the water treatment too).

I was treating with that dreadful blue stuff, all looked well after 4 days so I stopped treatment. 3-days ago I restarted treating, and now I am fishless.

What do I do at this point? I have read that increased temps will generally kill the ICK. I could crank the water up to 90 and continue to treat for 2 more days. Any suggestions on when I could repurchase fish?

We had neon, platies and the like; nothing real fancy.

Thanks,
Chuck S

 

[Angel Lady]

Hi Chuck, Welcome to the forum also. I think the ich didnt kill off your fish. I am thinking it was due to high ammonia due to fish waste and leftover food. You need to go to the newbie section of the forum and do some reading on cycling your tank before you buy anymore fish. here is a link http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=26 see if this helps you out some. And sorry to hear about your fish...

 

[Chuck_S]

I appreciate your respose. The fish were covered with white dots, are you saying the fish died due to not cycling in addition to the ick?

This seems so odd to me, in High School I had lots of aquariums. I do not understand how 20 years later that I cannot raise fish.

I remain stumped if these white dots were not the fate of my fish.

Thanks again,
Chuck

 

[Angel Lady]

Fish cannot live in their own waste, it it highly toxic and makes them get ill, bacteria in the water break down the waste products and produce ammonia deadly to fish, then that gets turned into nitrite harmfull but less deadly and then Nitrateharmfull in large amounts. Even though ich will kill your fish to I think Ammonia was a big factor. was they staying at the top gasping for air???

 

[jkun17]

Hmm... neons probably aren't a great cycling fish. They're pretty fragile, they're kind of like the canaries in my community tank; if my tetras start dying off, I know my tank's developing a problem.

If you just started the tank and it hasn't been up for at least two weeks, I suggest using feeder fish as cycling fish. They're inexpensive and pretty durable.

In terms of the ich, let your tank run empty for at least a week before you put anything in there. That and raise the water temperature to about 86 degrees F. Keep the tank cycling, but do that to kill off the ich.

I would also suggest not buying fish from that store again. Most locally owned stores will do a better job of watching their fish than chain stores. Moreover, locally owned stores are more concerned with satisfaction than profit, so giving you healthy fish is a plus for them.

Just to be extra sure, make sure you ask if there has been any kind problems with the fish in their store before you purchase. Most locally owned stores are honest about that sort of thing; while places like Petco just have people there to net fish and aren't necessarily trained in looking out for disease.

In my personal opinion, chain stores are only good for getting cheaper supplies. For quality fish, go to a Localy owned store.

 

[FishDan]

I agree with the above, it probably wasn't ich that did your fish in, ich is usually not so fatal so fast (though things like the neons are a little more fragile). The ich may have contributed, but I think cycle issues are what really did your fish in. Of course, there is no way for me to know for certain, unless you say you didn't cycle and/or we get some results of water tests (primarily ammonia and nitrite). If you had a largeish number of fish, and added them all at once, especially to an uncycled tank, some or all (depending on the indivdual hardiness of the fish) would have died in fairly short order. Try fishless cycling, or if you really feel you must have a fish, try getting a couple fish that are more hardy. Though fishless is really the way to go. In either case, make sure you have test kits for ammonia and nitrite at the minimum and test often during the cycle.

Now, as for ich, it is always present in the tank. However, most fish are quite able to resist it until they become stressed. Then the symptoms manifest and treatment should begin. This is much like the cold for is. It is always present, but mostly we are able to fight it off without issue. But if we get tired, overworked, stressed, etc it is far easier for us to "catch" cold. Same with ich.

Read up on how to cycle (if you haven't already) and go slowly. A lot has been learned in 20 years about better ways to care for our fish. Good luck!

\Dan

 

[Chuck_S]

Thanks everyone, this is quite a caring forum.

This is what I did/did-not do. I set up the aquarium on Saturday, and purchased 12 fish the next day. We had:
3-neons
2-red glow tetra's (I know this is not there name)
2-Platies
4- of these other tetras.

Everything looked great for Chris's (7 year old) b-day. 2-days after the fish, the tank became real cloudy. I turned up the filter (siphon tube can draw more water depending on its' level in the filter). Water became clearer again, but by that point the Ick had first appeared. I began treating 2-days later.

At this point I will be much more slow in the fish insertion.
1- Should I continue treating the tank with medicine?
2- Should I remove 1/2 the water?
3- Should I purchase a new filter fluff and charcoal (integrated) filter cartridge?

Tanks again everyone,
CS

 

[FishDan]

1- Should I continue treating the tank with medicine?

No. The medicine won't remove the ich. it is primarilly to take care of the symptoms as they affect the fish. As I said, the cause is always in the tank, so medicating will just waste money.

2- Should I remove 1/2 the water?

As it stands, I think I would leave it. If you added 12 fish (way to many at any one time) there is probably a good amount of ammonia to start your cycle with. Since changing water won't remove the ick, I'd let the ammonia start your cycle. Again, read up on cycling to get a handle on it.

3- Should I purchase a new filter fluff and charcoal (integrated) filter cartridge?

Nah. It doesn't sound like it's been running long enough to need replacement. And very often just rinsing the media is enough to keep it serviceable for longer than the manufacturer tells you (of course, their goal is usually to sell more). When you change water, just rinse it in the water you remove from your tank.

I am glad you will be slower adding new fish. As I said before, try to pick fish that are fairly hardy (if you choose to cucle with fish) and add only a few. Keep on top of testing your water for ammonia and nitrites. While you cycle try to keep them as low as possible for health of the fish. After your cycle is complete you want both to be 0. This is accomplished by regular water changes. These may need to be done daily, depending on which and how many fish you use. Once you get readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrate without needing to do a water change, you can then start to add more fish. Again, add an average of 3 at a time. You can add more if they are smaller fish, and less if they are larger.

Hope we helped! Good luck with your new fish.

\Dan

 

[kev_kb]

Read the articles on this forum about cycling and buy yourself a test kit. Then I would raise the temp to 30C and run the tank for one week, maybe two. Then buy two fish, maybe replace the Platies. Then feed sparingly and monitor the levels of Ammonia & Nitrite, keep them to 0.5ppm max by water changing as needed and they should be fine. Once the Ammonia & Nitrite has spiked and returned to 0ppm and you have readable Nitrates you can start slowly adding the other fish you want.

 

[fufanu360]

1- Should I continue treating the tank with medicine?

No. The medicine won't remove the ich. it is primarilly to take care of the symptoms as they affect the fish. As I said, the cause is always in the tank, so medicating will just waste money.

2- Should I remove 1/2 the water?

As it stands, I think I would leave it. If you added 12 fish (way to many at any one time) there is probably a good amount of ammonia to start your cycle with. Since changing water won't remove the ick, I'd let the ammonia start your cycle. Again, read up on cycling to get a handle on it.

3- Should I purchase a new filter fluff and charcoal (integrated) filter cartridge?

Nah. It doesn't sound like it's been running long enough to need replacement. And very often just rinsing the media is enough to keep it serviceable for longer than the manufacturer tells you (of course, their goal is usually to sell more). When you change water, just rinse it in the water you remove from your tank.

I am glad you will be slower adding new fish. As I said before, try to pick fish that are fairly hardy (if you choose to cucle with fish) and add only a few. Keep on top of testing your water for ammonia and nitrites. While you cycle try to keep them as low as possible for health of the fish. After your cycle is complete you want both to be 0. This is accomplished by regular water changes. These may need to be done daily, depending on which and how many fish you use. Once you get readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrate without needing to do a water change, you can then start to add more fish. Again, add an average of 3 at a time. You can add more if they are smaller fish, and less if they are larger.

Hope we helped! Good luck with your new fish.

\Dan

umm i think ur wrong about the meds. they usually work very well. i do not think they are a waste of time, with out meds how will the ich cycle be defeated, temperature doesnt always work

 

[Angel Lady]

1- Should I continue treating the tank with medicine?

No. The medicine won't remove the ich. it is primarilly to take care of the symptoms as they affect the fish. As I said, the cause is always in the tank, so medicating will just waste money.

2- Should I remove 1/2 the water?

As it stands, I think I would leave it. If you added 12 fish (way to many at any one time) there is probably a good amount of ammonia to start your cycle with. Since changing water won't remove the ick, I'd let the ammonia start your cycle. Again, read up on cycling to get a handle on it.

3- Should I purchase a new filter fluff and charcoal (integrated) filter cartridge?

Nah. It doesn't sound like it's been running long enough to need replacement. And very often just rinsing the media is enough to keep it serviceable for longer than the manufacturer tells you (of course, their goal is usually to sell more). When you change water, just rinse it in the water you remove from your tank.

I am glad you will be slower adding new fish. As I said before, try to pick fish that are fairly hardy (if you choose to cucle with fish) and add only a few. Keep on top of testing your water for ammonia and nitrites. While you cycle try to keep them as low as possible for health of the fish. After your cycle is complete you want both to be 0. This is accomplished by regular water changes. These may need to be done daily, depending on which and how many fish you use. Once you get readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrate without needing to do a water change, you can then start to add more fish. Again, add an average of 3 at a time. You can add more if they are smaller fish, and less if they are larger.

Hope we helped! Good luck with your new fish.

\Dan

umm i think ur wrong about the meds. they usually work very well. i do not think they are a waste of time, with out meds how will the ich cycle be defeated, temperature doesnt always work

All you have to do to rid your tank of ich is raise the temp to 85 degrees for a week or so this is the best way since he doesnt have any fish in the tank. The parasite cannot survive this higher temps. The ich medicine is so stressful on those poor little fish.

 

[FishDan]

umm i think ur wrong about the meds. they usually work very well. i do not think they are a waste of time, with out meds how will the ich cycle be defeated, temperature doesnt always work

I never said that the meds won't work. They won't work to rid the tank (ie water, decor) of ich. The are for treating the fish, not the tank. Since there are no fish in the tank using meds would be a waste of money. If my post was confusing in this regard, I apologize.

\Dan