My Fish Are Starting To Freak Me Out

[barb-e]

I discovered that my fish had Ich this morning. I reseached treatments and choose one called the heat treatment. I've raised the temperature 4 degreesF in the last 3 hours. My fish haven't been acting normal since I got them (5 days ago) and I can know blame this on the Ich. A couple of minutes ago I was watching them and they were swimming really fast at the top of the tank and across the front (which they never do). I can't really tell if they're gasping for breath because they are swimming so frantically. I don't know what to do.

 

[barb-e]

Hello Emergency here.
I'm stressing out and I have absolutely no help.

 

[TerraDreamer]

Hello Emergency here.
I'm stressing out and I have absolutely no help.

What is the current temperature? Also, do you have plenty of aeration or other water movement? High temperature will reduce oxygen levels dramatically, you need decent water current on the surface. Water surface friction brings oxygen to the water. How big is the tank, what type of fish, how new is the tank, what are your ammonia and nitrite levels? The temperature recommended for treatment of ich is 86F (30C). Can your species tolerate this temperature?

 

[stargirly1208]

buy coppersafe and put some in!! always saves my fish

 

[Rhiannon]

I would go for a medicated treatment. Go down the LFS and they should help you.

If you are worried about cost or anything, medication is not very expensive at all.

 

[barb-e]

My tank is ten gallons with 3 cherry barbs. I lowered the water level so the filter would cause more friction to create more oxygen. The temperature is 80 d F. I wanted to start treating the Ich immediately, as I can't go to the pet store until this weekend.