Cardinal Tetra disaster!

I have a 90 litre tank, currently stocking 1 angelfish, 1 pearl gourami, 4 silvertip tetras, 1 siamese algae eater and 1 bristlenose pleco. PS. i am aware of the size being small for an angel, currently setting up a larger tank to house them. 2 weeks ago i bought a batch of 6 cardinal tetras as after some research i found they could thrive with larger fish, after getting them they settled in beautifully, angelfish and the gourami would never bother them. Until today where i found one cardinal tetra with what seems to be ick as it has white spots and all the other cardinals dead. I have quarantined the cardinal and all the other fish seems absolutely ok?

Ick was introduced with the new fish, due to lack of quarantine. Ick is in the tank whether you see it yet or not. Separating individual fish won’t help any, need to treat the whole thing. Good luck. Hopefully a learning experience about quarantine.

After running tests it turns out there is no ick in the tank, the only tging that’s happened is that the angelfish has seemed to sustained damage on his fins

johnstatron said:

After running tests it turns out there is no ick in the tank, the only tging that’s happened is that the angelfish has seemed to sustained damage on his fins

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What kind of tests?

Slaphppy7 said:

What kind of tests?

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Curious too.

Yes, I'd be interested in how one tests for ich. Fish flashing is one sign, but the spots are in the gills initially and unseen. Fish with several spots is also evidence. But ich can be in an aquarium for months if not years without the fish succumbing, until they are stressed by something.

Aside from that, the fish listed in post #1 are not compatible when together. The angelfish fish in the photo may well be getting fin nipped, or it may be some disease issue. Silvertip Tetras are known to get nippy in groups less than 10, and sometimes even then when placed with sedate fish like gourami and angelfish. The siamese algae eater also needs a group or it can get nasty, not to mention its large size if it lives. And a 90 liter tank is not sufficient space for angelfish and gourami which should never be together.

There are no tests for Ich.

They are parasitic animals that swim in the tank seeking new hosts, and if the cardinals were carrying them, start watching for the cysts they create while they feed on your fish to appear. As each cyst bursts, huge numbers of these creatures swim out. In nature, they don't always find hosts or do much damage, but inside the glass walls of a tank, you need to dose malachite green asap.

Byron said:

ich can be in an aquarium for months if not years without the fish succumbing, until they are stressed by something.

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I've seen a lot of ich over the years, but it always arrived with bought fish, flared, and vanished. I have never seen it lurk or pop back up later That might be how I treat it, with dyes and not with heat.