pahansen
Fish Fanatic
Hi. I am pretty miserable today because my Gold Nugget Pleco died this morning, and now I know it was because of Ich. He had been losing color, but otherwise seemed to be in good health. Unfortunately, I'd placed a new light in the tank last week, and I wasn't sure if he was losing color or if the new light just made him look more pale. I briefly considered that he had ich, but there were no white spots and no other fish seemed to be affected. The color loss looked like it was from the inside. I also considered that he was just getting paler as he got older, since plecos sometimes change from juvenile to adult colors that are not as striking. Anyhow, he was dead this morning, and I'm pretty devestated, since he was the only fish that I really "loved" in the tank. (The rest are pretty to look at, but not really special to me.)
All right -- all grief aside -- now I know it was ich, because this morning one of my cherry barbs was covered with white spots as well (which, incidentally, were not there yesterday). I am guessing that the SAE has been affected for the past week or so (when I changed the light and coincidentally noticed that the pleco was paler) since he's been swimming in big loops for that length of time. Today he's exhibiting a few white spots too.
About three weeks ago, I bought a small school of diamond tetras from the LFS. None of them are exhibiting ich, but I am sure that they brought it into the tank. For personal reasons, I did not quarantine them before adding them to the tank first. PLEASE DO NOT RUB SALT INTO MY WOUND by telling me I should have quarantined first. I knew that. I think my husband will be amenable to getting a quarantine tank now that we've had an infested tank and have lost a favorite fish. I'm just sorry that my favorite fish had to die to illustrate this point.
I have changed the water, bumped up the temperature, and my husband is picking up treatment on his lunch hour, so I will treat when he gets home this evening. I have some questions that I can't remember anyone addressing before:
1) The new fish still seem healthy, so am I correct in assuming that they were asymptomatic carriers? (I have not added anything other than plants, treated with potassium permangenate, to the tank in the past year.)
2) For future reference, if they were asymptomatic carriers, would quarantining them have made any difference? In other words, would (or how would) the ich have manifested itself in a quarantine tank? (I assume that I would probably have quarantined them for a week or two, have noticed nothing wrong with the fish, have added them to my regular tank, then have noticed an outbreak of ich just the same.)
3) What do I do with the fish now? If these diamond tetras are carriers, will they continue to infect any fish new to the tank (in the future), or will they stop carrying the disease once I've treated the tank? How will I know that the fish that live through this outbreak are not also asymptomatic carriers?
4) How do I know if the ich is gone from my tank? Will it be eradicated with treatment, or will I forever have the risk of ich resurfacing? In other words, have I ruined this tank forever?
5) I will call the LFS to tell them that these fish were carriers, but do I have any right to be angry with them? In other words, is this a failure on their part, is it impossible for them to keep their fish free of ich, or is it a matter of the fish turning over so quickly that they wouldn't know?
I am inclined to call now, while I am upset, to alert the store of the ich in those fish and to tell the fish store that they have lost my custom, but I don't want to be unfair to the store if these problems are beyond their control. This is one of the better fish stores in the Pittsburgh area (not a chain), but I have had mixed experiences with them in the past and have given them the benefit of the doubt. I would appreciate any responses from people with experience with ich and/or with LFSs. Thanks for your time, all.
--Pamela
Plaxico the (Black and Gold Steelers) Pleco
Oh, and one more question:
6) I have wood and live plants in the tank. Do I need to do anything special to treat them, or do I need to get rid of the wood or plants? (I'm assuming that my plants may be killed or affected by the treatment, and I can live with that.)
All right -- all grief aside -- now I know it was ich, because this morning one of my cherry barbs was covered with white spots as well (which, incidentally, were not there yesterday). I am guessing that the SAE has been affected for the past week or so (when I changed the light and coincidentally noticed that the pleco was paler) since he's been swimming in big loops for that length of time. Today he's exhibiting a few white spots too.
About three weeks ago, I bought a small school of diamond tetras from the LFS. None of them are exhibiting ich, but I am sure that they brought it into the tank. For personal reasons, I did not quarantine them before adding them to the tank first. PLEASE DO NOT RUB SALT INTO MY WOUND by telling me I should have quarantined first. I knew that. I think my husband will be amenable to getting a quarantine tank now that we've had an infested tank and have lost a favorite fish. I'm just sorry that my favorite fish had to die to illustrate this point.
I have changed the water, bumped up the temperature, and my husband is picking up treatment on his lunch hour, so I will treat when he gets home this evening. I have some questions that I can't remember anyone addressing before:
1) The new fish still seem healthy, so am I correct in assuming that they were asymptomatic carriers? (I have not added anything other than plants, treated with potassium permangenate, to the tank in the past year.)
2) For future reference, if they were asymptomatic carriers, would quarantining them have made any difference? In other words, would (or how would) the ich have manifested itself in a quarantine tank? (I assume that I would probably have quarantined them for a week or two, have noticed nothing wrong with the fish, have added them to my regular tank, then have noticed an outbreak of ich just the same.)
3) What do I do with the fish now? If these diamond tetras are carriers, will they continue to infect any fish new to the tank (in the future), or will they stop carrying the disease once I've treated the tank? How will I know that the fish that live through this outbreak are not also asymptomatic carriers?
4) How do I know if the ich is gone from my tank? Will it be eradicated with treatment, or will I forever have the risk of ich resurfacing? In other words, have I ruined this tank forever?
5) I will call the LFS to tell them that these fish were carriers, but do I have any right to be angry with them? In other words, is this a failure on their part, is it impossible for them to keep their fish free of ich, or is it a matter of the fish turning over so quickly that they wouldn't know?
I am inclined to call now, while I am upset, to alert the store of the ich in those fish and to tell the fish store that they have lost my custom, but I don't want to be unfair to the store if these problems are beyond their control. This is one of the better fish stores in the Pittsburgh area (not a chain), but I have had mixed experiences with them in the past and have given them the benefit of the doubt. I would appreciate any responses from people with experience with ich and/or with LFSs. Thanks for your time, all.
--Pamela
Plaxico the (Black and Gold Steelers) PlecoOh, and one more question:
6) I have wood and live plants in the tank. Do I need to do anything special to treat them, or do I need to get rid of the wood or plants? (I'm assuming that my plants may be killed or affected by the treatment, and I can live with that.)
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