One Week Old Tank

[cubster]

Desperately looking for answers!!are my fish doomed?

Tank size:10 gal
pH:6.8
ammonia:was told it was high at lfs they did not give me a number
nitrite:
nitrate:0
kH:
gH:
tank temp:78 farenheit and rising gradualy on an hourly basis until 82 degrees farenheit

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):ich has appeared on the female initialy one spot now it is spread out like salt

Volume and Frequency of water changes:daily 25 percent water changes

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:dechlorinator, and

Tank inhabitants:two mollies and three fry one week old. dont worry I have them enclosed safely.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): 3 live plants added the second day

Exposure to chemicals:
I am sure you guys have heard this story before,I have a week old tank with the above fish and it is not even cycled yet!! (The tank was a gift from a friend along with the fish.) The fish so far appear to be energetic and lively. however the female mollie has developed ich. Went to the store and bought a heater and ich medicine. Now i am very confused is it ok to take out the carbon portion of the filter? Will it stop my tank from cycling? How will I control the ammonia? I dont want to lose these little guys they have grown on me. So right now I dont know if these little guys are doomed. Please help how do u advice I proceed? Thank you for any help u can offer.

 

[SouthernCross]

Yes, take the carbon out, it will remove any medicine you put in otherwise. It has nothing to do with cycling.

In fact, I think you'll find most of us on this forum don't run carbon on our tanks at all unless we are removing a med after treating. I read the stuff only lasts a month anyway, so its unnecessary and a waste of money to keep putting it in. I don't, I've filled the space with more sponge.

Your mollies have probably developed ich cos they're stressed from the water quality in your uncycled tank. Only way to control the ammonia until it becomes cycled is very frequent large water changes - until your tank is cycled, at least every second day. You should get a test kit (API Freshwater Master test kit is good and has all the important ones you need) to keep track of this, and then you'll know when your tank has cycled.

Mollies like salt in their water too, and are more likely to get sick (e.g. ich) without it so this could be a contributor too - some salt would be good for the mollies on a permanent basis (as well as for treating your current ich problem). This will limit any other types of fish you potentially want to introduce (e.g. cories) further down the track as some don't do well with salt - unlike your mollies. Plenty of ppl on this forum will argue that mollies NEED salt. I've never had them, just what I've read.

Turning up your temp by a few degrees will speed the ich lifecycle up so your med is effective. What one have you got? Someone might be able to give you some more pointers specific to your med (or tell you if the one you've got is useless ) But you should get that going asap.

One of our disease experts like Wilder will probably have more to contribute.

 

[corey01]

i agree with SouthernCross. give the molly a salt bath and raise the temp...when the ick has cleared up i would start to think about cycling the tank or you will face more problems in the future. have you got a cycled tank set up already so you could put the molly in there until you finally cycle it?

 

[cubster]

i agree with SouthernCross. give the molly a salt bath and raise the temp...when the ick has cleared up i would start to think about cycling the tank or you will face more problems in the future. have you got a cycled tank set up already so you could put the molly in there until you finally cycle it?

First of all thanks for all the help. There is so much bad advise out there and this forum is a godsend.

Ok, purchased super ick cure, by API. It recommends one tsp per 5 us gallon. repeat after 48 hours. wait another 48 hours then change 25 percent of the waterand add fresh act. carbon. Is this advisable?

second, I do not have an already set up tank. I was given these fish by an ignorarant friend who does not think fish need much care .Now temperature is still not at 82 degrees but I am increasing the knob on the heater hourly.

Please explain or link the steps on the salt bath. As I have no idea how to do this?

Also could u suggest how to add salt and how much to add to a 10 galon tank for the mollies.

Do u think I should change more than 25 percent of the water?

Thanks again for all the help

 

[corey01]

i think the rule is 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water..make sure you dissolve the salt in warm water before u pour it into the tank because it will burn the fish otherwise.