Cardinal Tetras With Ich

[cowgirluntamed]

I'm not going to up it too much. Just wanted to do it by a couple of degrees to help speed up the lifecycle of the ich. I'll probably just leave them alone for today except to do the next dose later(though I'll occassionally turn the light on and check on them). I'll keep you updated. I really appreciate all the help.

Good news! I checked on them after that last post and decided to leave the light on for a bit and put a pinch of food in there. They didn't seem interested at first until the flakes sank more to their level but the three that can keep themselves stable and swim better did eat some. The other one is still just getting pushed around by the current my filter(HOB) and air stone are putting out. I'll still leave him in there for the next dosage but I don't know if he'll get better and survive(he's not the one with the gill flap missing either).

 

[Meeresstille]

Sometimes ich settles in their gills, which makes it very difficult for them to breathe, I don't know if that is survivable. There is also the possibility that they are infected with something else. Have you contacted the store where you got them from? If these fish are sick, the ones in their tanks must be sick too. If you lose any of yours to the illness, they should give you a refund!

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Well, that one died about an hour after my last post. Another one is now starting to act like it did possibly but it's hard to tell sometimes. The tank is now 80 degrees and I will do the second dose in about 2 more hours. When I took that first fish back that had died the same day I got it, I told the guy about the ich and he didn't say anything. And he wrote on a business card to give me store credit for it......If I lose more than this last one I'll see if I can get it just cashed out. I don't want anymore from the same tank. (I had bought the last 5 and he had gone to check if they had anymore in to replace it, that's when I told him about the ich and he didn't say a word.) So, I probably just wasted my money going there unfortunately...Next time it's back to Petsmart and hoping they have them in after I get all this ich cleared up.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Last update. Unfortunately the fish didn't make it. I put the second dose in before I went to bed, got up and checked on them and one was stuck to the filter(I was pretty sure it was dead) and the other was not able to keep itself stable and the current was bashing it all over the place. I was hoping it wouldn't last long but I finally had to put it out of it's misery because I couldn't stand seeing it getting bashed so much, then I went to get the other off the filter too and it was still alive but barely so I put that one down too. I'll take them all back to the store in the morning and basically demand my money back because I don't want to take a chance to buy from their tanks again. Anyway, thanks for all the info guys. I'll keep this bottle of quick cure around as a last resort and next time just try upping the heat and doing salt treatment if it ever happens again. At least I know what to look for now. Thanks for all of the support.
 
Just a few last questions. I know that it's fairly easy to get rid of ich without any fish in there by cranking the heat up. My heater goes up to 92 degrees so that's what I put it on(though it seems actual temperature of water may be a couple of degrees cooler than what the heater says). Anyway, how long should I leave it set up this way to kill the ich? And I have a marineland HOB biowheel filter. My friend suggested putting the biowheel into the tank itself to help kill any ich on the wheel. Is this ok to do? And after the suggested time...should I just go ahead and completely empy the tank and put new water and rinse everything off? Except for maybe keeping the biowheel in some tank water so it doesn't dry out and lose the bacteria or should I just completely start the cycle over? (If i need to post these questions on another board just let me know!) Anyway, thanks again for all your help. You guys are awesome!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Heater thermostats do not always match the actual tank temperature to the number guage, even with high end tropical tolerant Cardinal Tetras, I would be wary of letting the temp raise to >32C.
 
Have you increased the water surface rippling (by raising the filter output or lowering the water level if the output cannot be adjusted) since medicating and raising the temp? Both reduce the amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in the water, lots of splashing should help ensure oxygen levels are as high as they can be at >30C.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I don't have to worry about raising the temp(I had tried the med and only raised the temp to no more than 80F). The fish are dead now unfortunately which is why I went ahead and cranked the heat up to kill off the ich. The reason I asked about the complete water change is because of the medicine I put in the tank and if I should do that in case something other than ich was in the tank?

 

[Meeresstille]

Without a host the free swimmers can only survive for 48 hours. Very high temperatures can kill the parasite too, but to be sure I would give your tank at least 4 days until adding any new fish. You also need to check if the meds you used could have hurt the bacteria in your filter. I would keep the filter running on the tank and feed the bacteria with some ammonia you used when you cycled the tank. This will also give you the opportunity to check if the bacteria was killed (if the ammonia disappears the bacteria has survived) and if you need to cycle the tank again.
 
Sorry that your fish did not make it!

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm so sorry for your losses! 

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I didn't plan on adding any new fish for a week or two anyway after this. I'll probably go ahead and do at least a partial water change maybe after the four day period and take the decorations out and rinse really well. (They were growing diatom algae on them and if it's going to be a while before I get any algae eaters then I'll go ahead and rinse it off during the water change). Should I do just a 25% or bigger? I want to make sure the medicine is out too before I get any more fish. I think that's what worries me the most. Also, my tap water has 0.25 ammonia in it anyway and the readings in my tank(with the marineland carbon/ammonia nuetralizing blend) still always say 0.25. Could I do just like a 50% water change with my tap water and not put the carbon blend in and see if the bacteria go down with that? I'm not sure what to do with that. I didn't add ammonia when I set the tank up. I actually did a fish in cycle(with glofish danios that I eventually rehomed).