My Fish Is Blind!

[lizjamie]

Right, with regard to the water changes, I am doing 25 or 50% every morning, short of making it 50% i dont know what else I can do! The only thing which slightly concerns me was that it was suggested that my frequent water changing caused the stress which caused the ick....


I will go and buy a new filter tomorrow, will a fluval 2 also do when I upgrade to one twice the size? Might as well get one which'll do for both. Also will this affect the tank cycling? (Do I need to do some kind of sponge transfer?

In conclusion (dont worry as a highly paranoid new fish owner who gets upset when she hasnt done everything perfectly, I have been reading extensively on the net for multiple opinions), I need to:
Get a new filter ASAP (does anyone know what pets at home in the UK stock?I am a bit annoyed as the filter came with my new tank(for coldwater fish!))
Keep up my water changes
Add some salt to about 0.3% once the protozin treatment is over to clear up ick effectively

I agree that it is probably my bad water that has caused it, I cant believe I got told I could have 5 fish in that tank (and decided against everyones judgement only to get 2 and that is still too many!)

Thank you for all your posts, they have certainly calmed me down some!

 

[tttnjfttt]

the frequent water changes are not the cuase of ich. They are actually helping prevent it. definately keep up with the daily water changes. Instead of doing 50% at once, do 25% morning and night, as that is alot less stressful.

When you do get the new filter, be sure to keep the other one running. Because you do have nitrites building up, that means the filter has begun to cycle and has some of tne necessary beneficial bacteria in it. Or you can move over the bio spounge to the new filter and run it in there with the other one.

Hope that helps!

 

[fishtank]

Right, with regard to the water changes, I am doing 25 or 50% every morning, short of making it 50% i dont know what else I can do! The only thing which slightly concerns me was that it was suggested that my frequent water changing caused the stress which caused the ick....


I will go and buy a new filter tomorrow, will a fluval 2 also do when I upgrade to one twice the size? Might as well get one which'll do for both. Also will this affect the tank cycling? (Do I need to do some kind of sponge transfer?

In conclusion (dont worry as a highly paranoid new fish owner who gets upset when she hasnt done everything perfectly, I have been reading extensively on the net for multiple opinions), I need to:
Get a new filter ASAP (does anyone know what pets at home in the UK stock?I am a bit annoyed as the filter came with my new tank(for coldwater fish!))
Keep up my water changes
Add some salt to about 0.3% once the protozin treatment is over to clear up ick effectively

I agree that it is probably my bad water that has caused it, I cant believe I got told I could have 5 fish in that tank (and decided against everyones judgement only to get 2 and that is still too many!)

Thank you for all your posts, they have certainly calmed me down some!

ive never had to add salt or never heard of it being done there fresh water fish not marine. definatly stop changing your water everyday, any medium sized fluval will do just as long as you only have a gentle flow.if it is your water thats caused it changing it every day will not help but make it worse. i think all the advice you been getting bout this treatment and that treatment got you going round in circles time to go back to basics i would suggest.

 

[lizjamie]

Oooooh, as someone with little money, is it ok to buy a 2nd hand new filter off somewhere like ebay? Or is it just not even worth going down that road.

There is a Penn Plax Cascade Filter 600 for £19.99 for filtering 120 to 200 litres, this would more than do me now and woudl still be double my tank size when I upgrade?

Or do you reckon Pets at home is where its at, will the few days postage do so much damage to my fish that I should just pay extra at pets at home?

 

[tidytourniquet]

You need to keep up with your water changes, if you dont the ammonia and nitrIte will become deadly and will kill your fish faster then the ich.

What size tank do you plan on getting, that will help decide if that filter is good enough.

 

[Nina]

We have bought a couple of second hand filters and they have all been fine. Just make sure that you give them a rinse first incase they have been sitting around for awhile and are full of dust etc.

I don't know where you live but if you live in Essex there is a shop in Wickford which sells second hand aquariam goods and more often than not there are three or four second hand filters for sale. If you are not in Essex then it is worth asking your LFS if they sell or know anywhere that sells second hand goods. Will save you a lot of money if you can get one.

If you are going to be investing in a second hand external filter (or any type for that matter) then I would suggest getting a UV as well as there are a lot of benefits from having one such as helping to clear Ich....You can get these second hand as well as they are quite costly from new.

In relation to your actual topic title - we have a blind Bala shark who has been with us for about a year. Although he is slower growing than the other Balas he has no problem finding food or looking after himself in the tank so if your fish does end up blind it may not be a bad as you fear.

Hope you get it sorted.