Ok, Now What?

[Pam713]

I'm new to fish-keeping - (well not really, I had tanks 10 or 15 years ago, but I've slept since then and apparently forgotten everything I ever knew!). I was recently given a small 10G tank and decided to give it a go.
Three months ago I set up the tank, planted about 6 "easiest to grow stuff" the fish store had and put in 2 bala sharks. I know, I know, fishless cycling is probably nicer. Once the tank cycled, I slowly added 3 tiger barbs, 2 pink kissing gouramis, and a pleco. The pH runs around 6.8, 0 ammonia, 0 nitates, nitrites in safe range.
The gouramis came with a gift of ich I think because within 2 days, they had the dreaded white spots. I used an ick cure with malachite green and formalin and followed the directions on the bottle for amount to use each day and did a 20% water change every day. I also turned up the heater to 85F.
It did not work! After about 4 days, they looked better, but I know ich has a cycle so I kept up with the dosing and the water changes. Seems like everyday another fish got spots and within a week was dead! The last one, my pleco, died this morning. This has been going on for almost 3 weeks.
Now I have a tank of lovely plants and no fish and I don't know what to do to make it habitable for fish again. I don't really want to murder anymore poor critters.
Advice?

 

[WILDER]

Well if you had all them fish in i can understand why they have died, bad water quality and desease, bala sharks even little shouldn't be kept in less than a 75gal as they are a shoaling fish and are fast swimmers, and in that tank size they will have been stressed.
Plus tiger barbs are active fish too and need to be in no less than a 20gal.
Plus what is the name of the plec.

 

[Pam713]

Well if you had all them fish in i can understand why they have died, bad water quality and desease, bala sharks even little shouldn't be kept in less than a 75gal as they are a shoaling fish and are fast swimmers, and in that tank size they will have been stressed.
Plus tiger barbs are active fish too and need to be in no less than a 20gal.
Plus what is the name of the plec.

Stress killed them and not ich?

 

[kimmers318]

Stress can make them susceptible to picking up any disease and not being able to fight it off on their own. Similar to a cancer patient taking chemotherapy....their body loses alot of it's natural defenses to fight off simple colds and such and thus they end up in the hospital having to be treated for infections. I have had 2 cases of ICK, and have never treated with ANY meds, or salt. The 2nd case was on a clown loach I bought KNOWING he had 1 white spot, but wanted the unusually marked loach anyway.....see pic. I check my fish daily, as soon as I saw the dreaded white spot I did a water change...dosed with stress coat and hiked the temp up a little. It hasn't returned in 4 months, the clown loach lost his spot 3 days into living in my Q tank, has been here for 7 days and haven't seen a return yet. He will stay in Q for at least another week.

 

[WILDER]

Thanks for your input, Wilder. I have frozen bloodworms and can get a more varied frozen diet this weekend.

z.

Yes if the tank wasn't cycled, plus you diidn't research the fish, and added fish which shouldn't of been in that size tank, if a fish is stressed to death it will not get well, as that what parasites like so they can do there worst.

 

[Pam713]

I understand what you are both saying and I thank you for the replies. What can I do now that the tank is empty of fish to get rid of any parasites left in one cycle or another of the ick lifespan? I want to get more fish (the proper ones this time), but I don't want to start this cycle again. The tank has quite a few plants - THOSE are doing well!

 

[kimmers318]

When I needed to clear a Q tank from my husbands sick fish of ICK, which led to another illness....I let it sit for 10 days with high temp (took it up to 90) empty, did a massive water change and it was fine. You could seed it with pure ammonia during this time to keep the cycle going until you feel it is safe for fish again, wait until your levels are where they should be (do you have a test kit?) do a water change and start again with fish. Read more on fishless cycling and the ICK parasite because I believe it can take up to 21 days to get rid of ICK parasite. Then again, there are those that believe ICK is always present in your system (which I personally lean towards since MY 1 case of ICK wasn't new fish, but were stressed being in too small of a tank) and will prey on stressed or sick fish. My 2nd case like I said was purchased KNOWING it may have ICK, so I am treating in the only way I have ever and so far so good.