Preventative Measures? Help!

[juliethegr8t]

A few nights ago I was watching my 6 gallon tank, and one of the cories was flashing. I thought maybe it was just him, but then this morning my platy was rubbing on the plants leaves. There aren't any external signs on any of the fish, so I don't know what to do. I don't want to wait until things get bad, there are a lot of fish I love in that tank. The other problem is, my other platy died yesterday. He had been just fine, and I found him dead with no signs. He wasn't old, either.

Soooo I don't know what to do! I'm thinking ich, maybe? It's coming, or something. Perhaps I should get some Rid-Ich II (I think that's what it is, safe for catfish? I've got a pleco, cories, and ottos in there) and start treating? Something is obviously wrong, I just don't know what, and I want to catch it as soon as I can. Help!

 

[WILDER]

How many fish do you keep in the six gal, if you hadn't got cories i would of said add some salt and turn temp up for now,if it is itch they should tell you on the box if it can't be used on certain fish, usually half dose on scaless fish.

 

[White Whale]

I use Prevent Ich at least once a month and whenever I get new fish. I hope you might find this to be of use.

 

[sylvia]

That's a lot of fish for a 6 gallon - the best method of prevention is under-stocking and good water quality. If it weren't for the catfish, I'd say to add a little salt. However, you can try some ich mediaction instead and, if that has no effect, melafix can also be used as a general medication.

 

[freshmike]

Let's not get into the over-stocking issue. ( I myself, SUPER overstock at times ) Almost EVERYONE overstocks, some of us just do it incorrectly and dangerously, Julie, NOT being one of them. Anyway, if it is ich and you are seeing them flash and scratch before any visible signs, I would say you have done an awesome job already and will have no problems treating it. On to the meds. I have never read that any ich meds are bad for cory cats, seems to me that the only concern for the ich meds, is that you should use half dose for teras and scaless fish and double dose for marine. I know you don't want to adjust temp, so I would just go ahead and use the meds. Also, I wouldn't bother with Melafix....seems like a load of crap to me (the product, but sure smells nice )....Aquarisol would be better, but, argh, the plants. Good luck with the fish, I am sure they will all be fine ....sorry about the lost platy though.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Thank you Chris. Sylvia, I am aware my tank is overstocked, but some those fish are in there only temporarily, not to mention my tank is definitely over-filtered and I perform twice weekly water changes. The nitrates in that tank are under 10, good water quality is a check.

I would add salt, but obviously that's not gonna happen. I think I'll go get some either Rid-Ich or Ich-Cure II I think it's called, they are both supposed to be a bit better for sensitive fish. I've got tetras in there too - eek! So hopefully that will do the trick.

 

[sylvia]

Scaless fish includes cories does it not? They have plates but not exactly scales.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Yup, catfish are scaleless fish.

 

[freshmike]

Hmmm....I have never had a prob with medicating cories at full strength....I know for a fact that tetras don't like it at all...

 

[Sorrell]

I agree with Itty that you should use a preventative ich medicine, I also am in agreement that Melafix is crap, great for everyone who likes it...but I've never seen it do jack

Overstocking is a concern for newbies who don't understand filtration, cycling, and water changes. I've seen Julie's tank in person and it is immaculate.

 

[Bignose]

Do not just assume that scratching = ich. It is certainly a possibility, but it could also be gill flukes, or nitrite irritation. Or I am convinced every once in a while one of my cories gets a peice of sand stuck in there and furiously tries to get it out -- he goes crazy for like 20 seconds, but after watching for an hour I never see him do it again.

When I first started, I had fish (tiger barbs) that started scratching and after a month and a half of ich medications it helped but never eliminated the chronic scratching. Well, the formalin/malachite green combo is effective against gill flukes, but the concentration has to be upped to work. I was using as the bottle recommended. Anywho, I then got some praziquantel -- the most effective and safe fluke medicine -- and it cleared it right up. It seems almost every fish I get from my LFS has these flukes, so almost all of them gets a dose of prazi now. Hikari makes a liquid Prazi-Pro nowadays so you dont even have to struggle with getting the darn solid to dissolve.

So, there are many possibilities. If you wanted to do the 1-2 punch, a combination of ich medicine and prazi may just do the trick.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Thanks for your input. I'm not assuming the flashing is ick, but it seems to be the best possibility. My nitrites are at 0, I don't have sand, and they aren't rubbing their gills, but rather their sides. Seems to fit the profile for an external parasite problem. I've never heard of the medicine you mention for flukes, so assume it isn't common around here.

I'm going to go ahead and try to treat for ich to see if the flashing disappears. Off to the store now!