Need Quick Advice - About To Medicate Tank

[David J]

Hi

Long story short, I have 7 lemon tetras in my tank and all have white spot. I have bought the medication for it and am about to do it now but upon reading my box of my fluval U2 filter I see that one of the media in it is 'poly/carbon'. I know cardon removes medication therefore know I have to remove that media.

What impact will this have on my bacterial colony and the ability to process the waste?

Can I keep that piece of media somewhere in tank water while the tank is being treated so the bacteria will survive and then put it back in afterwards?

Can the filter run without all the media?

Quick replies would be great as I am hoping to do this now.

Many many thanks

David

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sorry to hear that David!
 
 
First, there are a few ways to combat ich, medication is certainly one.  And it is very effective, but remember that only the free swimming form of the parasite is susceptible to the meds... So, to increase the speed that the meds have to work on the parasite, you want to INCREASE YOUR TEMP to around 29-30C.  This and the addition of the meds will lower the oxygen carrying capacity of the water, therefore you will want to increase the surface agitation of the water to allow for more oxygen to have the opportunity to be added to the water.
 
 
Secondly keeping the carbon in the tank is a BAD idea during this process.  If the carbon is present it will, undoubtedly remove some of the meds.  It would be better to just remove the media from your tank.  Yes, you will be removing some of the bacteria, but your colony can quickly rebound... especially at the higher temp.   Unfortunately, you are probably better off discarding this media, ultimately, because it could be harboring the parasite already, and the risk isn't worth the benefit of the bacteria you would possibly be saving.  I'd use fresh carbon at the end of the meds cycle.
 
 
 
You can do water changes during the medication process as necessary to lower ammonia or nitrite, if necessary, just replace the dose of meds that you remove while doing the water change.  And if doing the water change, thoroughly vacuum the substrate in an effort to remove the cyst-like form of the parasite that multiplies the parasite into a bunch more "trophants".  Removing these is just as effective as killing them with the meds when they emerge.
 
 
Remain patient with the process, and remember that just because you no longer see ich on the fish, doesn't mean that they are all dead.  Follow with the meds for several days to a week after you see the last lesion on the fish.  If even one parasite survives, you can find yourself back to square one quickly.

 

[David J]

Hi eagle

Panic over. Thanks for your very quick reply. I read it before doing anything. Imagine my alarm as I found that each pad has carbon in it. Imagine my delight when I realised the carbon part can be dettached from the foam pad

I promptly removed both carbon pads and replaced the foam. I figure there would've been some bacteria on the carbon but there should be sufficient bacteria in the foam alone. The carbon part is only about 1/3 of a centimetre.

I cranked up the heater last night to about 28. Tonight I have done a really good vacuum and 30% water change then replenised the water and added the meds. My tank water is now a funky blue. I'm just glad I've got it started. I really like the lemon tetras and don't want to lose them. Even my partner says she has become fond of them.

Ill now keep a close eye on the fish and will test the water regularly. This probably is so etching that all you experts find a simple problem but as this is my first tank and my first case if any problem, it feels like a nightmare to me.

Thanks again for replying so quickly.

David

 

[eaglesaquarium]

An emergency in the first person is always harrowing.  It is only when detached from it that you can truly remain calm.
 
What meds are you using?

 

[David J]

I'm using the API one. Only one the shop had so hopefully it's ok.

Will it kill snails? After putting the meds in, I found 4 snails that must've hitchhiked in. If there's 4 that i could see, i bet there are loads more.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

If there is copper in the meds, then it will kill the snails, but more than likely not.  The snails aren't a danger to the fish.  I used to have a few issues with the snails.  I'd just remove them when I saw them during a water change.  They never really bothered me.  Just feed the fish sparingly, and the snails will not have a lot to live on and the numbers will remain low.  If they really bother you, you can get a few assassin snails to clean them up.  They won't get them all, probably, but they will keep the numbers in check.
 
 
If you smash the snails against the glass when you see them, the fish will enjoy the fresh meat.  Its not for the squeamish, but its very effective.  I've done that a few times, the fish seem to really enjoy it.  Something tells me the snails don't!

 

[David J]

Good news tonight. No signs of white spot on any of the fish. Not a single spot. They still looked really bad this morning I know the parasite will be present elsewhere in the tank and I will continue the medication course but I am just so happy to see such a quick recovery on the fish. They look genuinely happy. When I fed them, they were the most lively I've seen them to date.

The bottle states to add another dose after 48 hours, which is tomorrow night, and I will. After that, the bottle states to do a 25% water change after another 48 hours and that's it. Should I leave it at that or do another dose?

The snails are not as visible tonight. I can see 2 attached to the underside of my frogbit. I'm still considering what to do about them. I don't mind a few here and there but don't want the tank overrun. Will wait and see how it pans out. I'm also going to switch to feeding once a day instead of twice. That may help a bit.

David

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, that's the goal with turning up the temp, to get the parasite's life cycle a little sped up, and get the parasite off the fish.. to where the meds can kill it.
 
 
Do it EXACTLY as it says.  As far as a second round of meds after the first one... I'd wait on that.  I'd do the 25% water change and the redose as directed.  After the next 48 hours, I'd do another water change with a THOROUGH vacuuming of the substrate, and then put the carbon into the filter to remove the meds.  The good news is that you didn't need to do half doses of the meds because of the fish you have in the tank.  (Cories and other scaleless fish - require a lower dose of the meds.)

 

[David J]

Still all looking good. Did the 2nd dose last night. No signs of ich. Tomorrow ill be doing the big clean out, thorough vacuum and 25% water change then add carbon.

Can I ask, with regards to lowering the temp again back down to 24-25, can I do it in one go or should I lower it gradually over a few days? It's just that I heard sudden temp changes can bring on ich.

Thanks,

David

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'd just drop the heater setting 2 degrees (F) or 1 degree (C) each day until you have it where you want it again. 
 
They can handle a bit more than that, but no sense tempting fate.  My 110G tank went from 82F to 64F over the course of about 3 days... Then, I raised the temp again back up to 76F in about 12-18 hours.  The fish are fine, but this isn't something I would do on purpose.  The heater went and forced me to do some stuff I wouldn't normally do.

 

[David J]

Great thanks. One more question. I did everything last night and put a bag of carbon in the tank. How long until it will have removed the medication? It doesn't really tell you anything on the box other than to put it in to clear harmful metals etc.

Thanks,

David

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It depends on a lot of factors... how much medicine was left in the tank - what other materials are in the water that could be removed - how much the turnover of the filter you put the carbon in is - how many surfaces of the carbon are exposed to the water moving over it - etc.
 
 
Long story short, a few days from now you can be assured that the meds are all gone.  If you wait a week, you should be able to remove the carbon without any concern that the meds remain in the tank.  That doesn't mean that the carbon will be used up by that time, but that it will have removed all the meds.   The carbon also won't leach the stuff back into the tank - so why remove it?  The reason I remove it is so that I can use that space for more other material for bacterial colonization.  The carbon is not a big deal in the filter ultimately, so having it there all the time is a waste.  It should be used ONLY for the removal of meds in ~99% of freshwater tanks.  There are some exceptions, but I don't beieive any of them would apply to your tank.