Is it ICH and other queries

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

I'm so sorry I feel like the naggiest newcomer.

I think 3 fish have ICH. They are all doing some rubbing on ornaments, especially the Anubis leaves. Some small white dots on fins.

One pregnant platy who dropped 10 fry today. One male platy who looked a bit pale last night but colour good now. And one neon Tetra.

Tank is mid cycle. 4 days of 75% water changes. I'm doing daily 75% water changes. Would a 30 degree Celsius (86F) temp be ok for the fry & my Plecos?

Tank is 58L 60cm long (16 US Gallon 24 inches)
5 weeks. 4 with fish.

Stock
10 platy fry
3 platys (one laboured today, 1 pregnant, 1 male)
4 neon tetra
2 bristlenose Plecos

Plants
Anubis
Moss Ball
Salvinia

Ammonia is 0
Nitrate 8
Nitrite 0.2
PH 8.1
GH 12
KH 20
Chlorine 0
CO2 5

Metalhead88 · Aug 8, 2020

It looks like the start of ich, but it is hard to tell at this point.

Your fish will be fine for a short period of time at 86. Temperature is by far safer than doing nothing or medications. Be ready to bump that temperature up if you notice any more spots.

Make sure you have good surface agitation as higher temperature causes oxygen to leave the water faster.

The mid cycle makes things a little tricky since the fish are already suffering from tough conditions. Your tank however appears to be very close to being fully cycled.

PheonixKingZ · Aug 8, 2020

You’re not Nagy, everyone has questions.

Picture #3 looks like the fish has a start of fin rot. Preform daily water changes (40%+) each day for a week, or until things get better. These water changes will also help with the ich. (Make sure to preform substrate vacuums as well. Ich can live on decor and plants)

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

Yeah I'm doing 75% daily changes trying to cycle the tank. Do you know if pleco and fry will manage higher temp? Or how slowly to raise temp?

I'm really hoping not to lose any more fish :'(

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

I mentioned fin rot to LFS but he insisted more likely the male is nipping her or stressing her and it'll grow back.

I've stopped asking him questions

AdoraBelle Dearheart · Aug 8, 2020

AilyNC said:
Yeah I'm doing 75% daily changes trying to cycle the tank. Do you know if pleco and fry will manage higher temp? Or how slowly to raise temp?

I'm really hoping not to lose any more fish :'(

I've raised the temp for ich treatment with fry of all ages, and they handled it just fine. I've never done it with a pleco (just because I don't have one) but if the fish is healthy, they should be able to handle it just fine for the course of the treatment. Remember there are hot and cold spells in the wild too. We aim to keep them comfortably in the middle over the long term, but raising the temp for a short while is just like going through a summer heatwave, and will be better than having ich.

Sorry you're having such a rough start! My first few months were rough too. Ich, worms, some guppy fry got sucked into a canister filter, heater blew three times (in winter! they survived!) and I popped an airpump because I didn't know about air return valves. Having a tank sometimes leaves you feeling like you're cursed. But ich is super common and very treatable. You'll get through this too.

Byron · Aug 8, 2020

Forget the fin rot, it probably is more likely connected to the ich or nipping by other fish. The pleco will be fine with the higher temporary temperature, and fry likely but even if the fry are not, it is less of a loss than losing the tank of fish.

You asked how to increase temp. First, do a major water change of 70-75% of the tank volume. Clean well in to open areas of the substrate. Fill with warmer fresh water; you can increase the temp by this method for 2-3 degrees. Then adjust your heater to 86F/30C or a tad above, but no less. The heater will finish the temp increase. You can use the W/C to achieve most of it, and as you are doing more of these, each one can increase the temp a couple degrees.

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

Thank you so much @AdoraBelle Dearheart You've been my tank guardian angel

I'll raise the temp a bit tonight & more tomorrow too + with 2 weeks of 75% changes hopefully all will be well.

It's really sunny all week so my garden plants will appreciate the water changes :rofl:

silver linings!

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

Byron said:
Forget the fin rot, it probably is more likely connected to the ich or nipping by other fish. The pleco will be fine with the higher temporary temperature, and fry likely but even if the fry are not, it is less of a loss than losing the tank of fish.

You asked how to increase temp. First, do a major water change of 70-75% of the tank volume. Clean well in to open areas of the substrate. Fill with warmer fresh water; you can increase the temp by this method for 2-3 degrees. Then adjust your heater to 86F/30C or a tad above, but no less. The heater will finish the temp increase. You can use the W/C to achieve most of it, and as you are doing more of these, each one can increase the temp a couple degrees.

Brilliant thanks! The tank is 27.5 at the minute so won't be too much to get it to 30.

Byron · Aug 8, 2020

AilyNC said:
Brilliant thanks! The tank is 27.5 at the minute so won't be too much to get it to 30.

I wold do that in one W/C, then make sure the heater keeps it no cooler.

AilyNC · Aug 8, 2020

Will do in the morning :thumbs:

30 degrees and 75% daily changes for 2 weeks, right?

Next tank round I'm glad I can avoid all the fish in cycle stress :book:

good to have the knowledge now :fun:

Byron · Aug 8, 2020

AilyNC said:
Will do in the morning 30 degrees and 75% daily changes for 2 weeks, right?

Yes. The more frequent W/Cs are the cycling issue, but for two full weeks make sure the water temp is at 86F or slightly above. Feed sparingly too, only once a day, missing a day or two a week is not a problem either, but feed sparingly to keep the organics lower which will allow the cycle to settle.

AilyNC · Aug 24, 2020

Arghhhhhhhh! The ICH is worse now. The poor tetra have lots of whites dots on fins & baby fry has some and flashing too.

As suggested here I raised temp to 30.5-31 Celsius. I was doing daily water changes anyway cycling the tank. I took all decorations & plants out (put them in dirty water bucket) and gave gravel deep clean. No flashing, no dots and I was 9 days doing this all going well.

Then the power cut hit and the water dropped down to 23 Celsius for 36. Once power was ba j I raised temp again. Too late. The ICH has returned with a vengeance.

So I'm back to day a 2 week high temp treatment. Good gravel cleaning during WC.

Will I keep my air bubbles going at night to increase oxygen? The tank is nicely planted but I saw @Colin_T advice includes increase air bubbles. The bubbles have been off so maybe I leave them on??

AilyNC · Aug 24, 2020

Pics - can't get the worse tetra in shot.

Essjay · Aug 24, 2020

The power cut meant the temperature dropped and if any cysts opened during that time, the temp would not have been high enough to kill the free swimming parasites. And the stress of no filter plus a drop in temp would have stressed the fish so they would be less able to fight off a new parasite attack. I'm afraid you are back at the start of another couple of weeks of high temps.

The warmer the water the less oxygen it can hold so anything that churns the water up ore will help to get oxygen into the water. Air stones are a way of churning up the water which is why many people say to sue one while treating for ich

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