Ack! Ich ick ich!!!

[Toki]

I wasn't too worried about my puny 10 gallon 2 month old tank with cheapo fish.

But now the fish from my large tank have ich! Just the kissing gourami so far, and I bought quick cure to put in the tank. My only question is it says to take out the carbon and I don't understand how to do that. I mean, what do I put in it's place? Nothing? The Petsmart guy told me a sponge or a piece of cardboard wrapped in paper towels, which is what I tried with the 10 gallon and that didn't turn out well.


Is it ok to use those green scotch-brite heavy duty scratchers in the filter? That's the only "sponge" I could find that doesn't have some sort of cleaning chemical in it.

 

[Erised]

The reason you have to take the active carbon out is because it will simply filter out the medication you put in before it will have a chance to work. What you put in place or if you simply leave it empty doesnt really matter. Anything thats fish safe will do really. It also really couldnt hurt to just leave it empty.

any clue what caused the ich in your tanks though? Its usually caused by stress, and seeing as both tanks have it at the same time I'm afraid something might be up with the water. Or perhaps the tank temp?

 

[The Mohave Kid]

Maybe cross contamination ??

Good Day ...

 

[noelberg]

What kind of filter do you have? If it's a biowheel, then removing the active carbon is tricky, but I won't get into that unless you have that filter. You can buy filter pads at your LFS and cut them to the size you need. About $5 should get you 4-6 filters' worth.
Quick Cure is good stuff, IMO.

 

[Toki]

I have a biowheel for both tanks and it's definitely cross contamination. I moved a plant from the 10 gallon into the 44 gallon before I saw any signs of ich, because it had outgrown the 10 gallon.


Yeah, I'm an idiot. You don't have to tell me.