New Fish Hobbyist Here

[SwordtailLover]

Okay, so I guess the verdict for tonight is to medicate until I see the fish are better, and will continue to medicate after. In the readings I have found on Ick, it says to treat even after the parasites are not visible, because they could be reproducing and in return, coming back 10 fold, which I definitely do not want. Also, I have read that if the fish do survive the Ick infection, they will be less likely to acceptable to the disease in the future.

As stated before, I do not mind doing checks and water changes on my tank frequently, to keep the Ammonia/Nitrite levels in check. I will be keeping a log at home in a notebook just for records, for when I decide to move to a larger fish tank. Next year, I plan on starting a 55 gallon fish tank, in which I will be doing a fishless cycle. For now, however, I am staying focused on my 10 gallon, and these lovely Swordtails. : )

Thank you all for you help!

 

[fatheadminnow]

Ah, so the carbon that is already in the water, would keep the medication from taking its course. But because I removed it, it should hopefully start to work soon. I did a water change after removing the filter, and then added the medicine after putting new water in. I believe that that may have been accidental timing, but good timing at that. Hopefully that will speed up the medicine, and in return, help my fish recover. They're beautiful and I am kind of upset with my LFS after discovering the Ick today.

I say that your water is free of carbon, and that the meds should of started working immediately. How long have you had the filter pad removed from your tank? Just throw some fish food in the bucket. Also, it may be hard to keep the meds in the tank, just because you have to do water changes to keep the ammonia down since you do not have the filter going. A good upgrade for a filter in the future would be an 20 gallon Aqua Clear power filter. There are three parts in this filter that are separate from each other. First there is a foam insert, then a carbon insert, and then a bio-max insert which helps speed up the biological filtration of your filter. So if you ever add meds again in the future with this filter, you could just remove the carbon insert from the filter, keep the other two inserts in there, and keep the filter running the whole time.
-FHM

 

[SwordtailLover]

I might actually go out and purchase a better filter tomorrow. I will be cautious about the size, and I'd rather ask people on these forums what they would recommend versus what the pet stores would suggest. The people are very friendly in the stores, but many of the employees don't know much about fish. One tried to sell me a red tailed shark, and I asked, "Is it really a shark" knowing full well it's a type of catfish. In the end, he told me it was, indeed, a shark and it wouldn't grow much larger than it already was. It was about half an inch long.

 

[dcarmor927]

I have read that if the fish do survive the Ick infection, they will be less likely to acceptable to the disease in the future.

As stated before, I do not mind doing checks and water changes on my tank frequently, to keep the Ammonia/Nitrite levels in check. I will be keeping a log at home in a notebook just for records, for when I decide to move to a larger fish tank. Next year, I plan on starting a 55 gallon fish tank, in which I will be doing a fishless cycle. For now, however, I am staying focused on my 10 gallon, and these lovely Swordtails. : )

Thank you all for you help!

When you upgrade you dont actually have to do a whole fishless cylce, you can use the media grown from the 10 gallon filter (but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it lol) its a good idea to keep a log, just for reference...

Hope all works out!! Good luck and once more, Welcome!

Edit:

I might actually go out and purchase a better filter tomorrow. I will be cautious about the size, and I'd rather ask people on these forums what they would recommend versus what the pet stores would suggest. The people are very friendly in the stores, but many of the employees don't know much about fish. One tried to sell me a red tailed shark, and I asked, "Is it really a shark" knowing full well it's a type of catfish. In the end, he told me it was, indeed, a shark and it wouldn't grow much larger than it already was. It was about half an inch long.

HAHA wow, red tail sharks get to 5-6 inches and red tail cats, well i wont even try to guess, REALLY big tho lol

Also on my ten gallon tank i have a marineland penguin bio wheel 100, its super quiet and works great, the only thing is that the filter pads for this filter have the carbon in them already and are a pain to remove, but since i havent had to medicate that tank (knock on wood) its been ok

 

[TheguppyKing]

Hello all,

Also, I have some question about the female sword. The reason that I am so reluctant to believe that she is, in fact, a she, is because she chases the male around like crazy. He seems to just want to relax, and when he slides on over by her, she chases him to the other side of the tank. The male is about 2 inches long excluding the tail, and the female is smaller, about an inch and a half. I had read that it takes about a year for their tails to form sometimes, so could she just be a male in waiting?

Thank you all for your help, and I cannot wait to hear from you. : )

i have sword tails to 1 male 3 female and mine is the opposite my male chases the females all day long this is a sign for sexing (she wants him)

 

[fatheadminnow]

I might actually go out and purchase a better filter tomorrow. I will be cautious about the size, and I'd rather ask people on these forums what they would recommend versus what the pet stores would suggest.

Like I said, I would recommend a AquaClear power filter, and I am sure other people would agree with me. The smallest size filter AquaClear makes is a 20 gallon filter (which I have on my 10 gallon tank and works absolutely amazing!) and is best used on a 5-20 gallon tank. But to get every point of view on the topic; like you said, start a thread on here to see what other people recommend. Other than that, I would at least try to get a filter that you can add separate inserts, so when changing out inserts in the future you can keep the others in and not loose a significant amount of bacteria.
-FHM

 

[SwordtailLover]

this is a sign for sexing (she wants him)

I hope not yet. I'd rather they hold off on this whole sex thing until things get going a little more smoothly lol