German blue rams ich???

[Av3206]

Hello I got a shipment with 3 blue rams yesterday and it appears like they might have ich. I am not sure bc I am new to blue rams. I grabbed two pictures will post. I upped the temp to 84 and dosed ich-x just Incase. they are eating and very active so maybe from the travel? Tank never had ich before. Worried about my angel fish in the tank.

 

[Colin_T]

It looks like whitespot.

You don't need chemicals to treat it. Just raise the temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks.

The following link has information on how to treat whitespot with and without chemicals. It's worth a read.

What is ICH?

This is a common question that is often asked, what is ich and how is it recognisable and what causes it? The real term is ICHTHYOPHTHIRIASIS. OR commonly known as white spot. It is an extremely comon parasite that affects aquarium fish. It is highly infectious and potentially lethal and...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Naughts]

Increased temperature will cure most cases of ich. Make sure you increase aeriation. Regular substrate cleans and water changes help clear the parasites.

 

[Byron]

I concur with raising the temperature for two weeks, and to 86F minimum. Rams and angelfish will not have problems with this. Also agree to increase surface disturbance which will increase oxygen content in warmer water.

On the temperature, are you aware that for the blue rams it must be no less than 80F permanently? This is higher than ideal for tank-raised angelfish (unless you have wild caught angelfish) but the rams need the warmth.

 

[Av3206]

Yes I am aware of the temp requirements I was planning on keeping it at 81-82 I have panda Corys and some Plattys will they be harmed from 86? I also have two air stone working now. I was planning on changing on air stone to a ziss bubble bio. It’s. 75 gallon tank. The angels are farm raised from Florida.

 

[Byron]

Yes I am aware of the temp requirements I was planning on keeping it at 81-82 I have panda Corys and some Plattys will they be harmed from 86? I also have two air stone working now. I was planning on changing on air stone to a ziss bubble bio. It’s. 75 gallon tank. The angels are farm raised from Florida.

The cories cannot be at that high a temperature on a long-term basis. And Corydoras panda particularly so because they inhabit cool water mountain streams in the Peruvian Andes and their metabolism will be hard hit with temperatures at or above 80F. They can handle temporary increases such as dealing with ich, but not going forward.

Platies have a temperature range of 20-28C/68-82F. This like all ranges does not mean they can thrive at the lower or higher ends long-term; these fish are better at temperatures in the lower to middle part of the given range, say 72-78F/22-26C.

While we're on that, the angelfish will be healthier in the range of 76-78F/25-26C as these are tank-raised fish.

Temperature is critical for fish because they are ectothermic and the water temperature drives their metabolism, and each species has evolveed to function best in quite a narrow range.

 

[Av3206]

The cories cannot be at that high a temperature on a long-term basis. And Corydoras panda particularly so because they inhabit cool water mountain streams in the Peruvian Andes and their metabolism will be hard hit with temperatures at or above 80F. They can handle temporary increases such as dealing with ich, but not going forward.

Platies have a temperature range of 20-28C/68-82F. This like all ranges does not mean they can thrive at the lower or higher ends long-term; these fish are better at temperatures in the lower to middle part of the given range, say 72-78F/22-26C.

While we're on that, the angelfish will be healthier in the range of 76-78F/25-26C as these are tank-raised fish.

Temperature is critical for fish because they are ectothermic and the water temperature drives their metabolism, and each species has evolveed to function best in quite a narrow range.

Thanks for the info should I bother with the tank going above the 82-84 range and not use ich-x or just spike the temp. Not sure what the best course of action is. I know my mix of fish is probably not ideal.

 

[Byron]

Thanks for the info should I bother with the tank going above the 82-84 range and not use ich-x or just spike the temp. Not sure what the best course of action is. I know my mix of fish is probably not ideal.

These are two very different issues. Raising the temperature to 86F/30C for two weeks will (or should) kill the ich and the fish will be fine. Increase surface disturbance via the filter which helps oxygen get into the water. I did this in my cory tank with some 50 wild caught cories including pandas and they were fine, and the ich killed.

As others also said, do not use medications for ich. Some do nothing, many will harm fish, some kill them. I can assure you that the rams and the cories will find ich-x way more stressful, and it might finish them off. The rams are already highly stressed or they would not have ich, so any additional unnecessary stress is a serious issue for them. And cories are quite intolerant in general of chemicals/preparations in the water. The heat is far less stressful; I have even had to use salt once, plus the heat, and the pandas and other cories got through that fine. Stress is the direct cause of 95% of disease in aquarium fish, so keeping it minimal is always better.

Going forward, you have to decide on what is best for the fish, and obviously removing the rams to their own warm space is what should be done here. Rams maintained below the 80F will never live their normal lifespan because of the effect of too low a temperature. And increasing temp for the other fish also weakens them because they are then literally working too hard to maintain ordinary life-essential processes.

 

[Av3206]

These are two very different issues. Raising the temperature to 86F/30C for two weeks will (or should) kill the ich and the fish will be fine. Increase surface disturbance via the filter which helps oxygen get into the water. I did this in my cory tank with some 50 wild caught cories including pandas and they were fine, and the ich killed.

As others also said, do not use medications for ich. Some do nothing, many will harm fish, some kill them. I can assure you that the rams and the cories will find ich-x way more stressful, and it might finish them off. The rams are already highly stressed or they would not have ich, so any additional unnecessary stress is a serious issue for them. And cories are quite intolerant in general of chemicals/preparations in the water. The heat is far less stressful; I have even had to use salt once, plus the heat, and the pandas and other cories got through that fine. Stress is the direct cause of 95% of disease in aquarium fish, so keeping it minimal is always better.

Going forward, you have to decide on what is best for the fish, and obviously removing the rams to their own warm space is what should be done here. Rams maintained below the 80F will never live their normal lifespan because of the effect of too low a temperature. And increasing temp for the other fish also weakens them because they are then literally working too hard to maintain ordinary life-essential processes.

Ok thanks I have two other tanks at home this one is at my work So once they are cured I will move them to a new tank. I will raise the temperature and not use any more ich-x and I will start with water changes tomorrow. I actually did a water change yesterday when they arrived. Thanks for the info.

 

[Av3206]

These are two very different issues. Raising the temperature to 86F/30C for two weeks will (or should) kill the ich and the fish will be fine. Increase surface disturbance via the filter which helps oxygen get into the water. I did this in my cory tank with some 50 wild caught cories including pandas and they were fine, and the ich killed.

As others also said, do not use medications for ich. Some do nothing, many will harm fish, some kill them. I can assure you that the rams and the cories will find ich-x way more stressful, and it might finish them off. The rams are already highly stressed or they would not have ich, so any additional unnecessary stress is a serious issue for them. And cories are quite intolerant in general of chemicals/preparations in the water. The heat is far less stressful; I have even had to use salt once, plus the heat, and the pandas and other cories got through that fine. Stress is the direct cause of 95% of disease in aquarium fish, so keeping it minimal is always better.

Going forward, you have to decide on what is best for the fish, and obviously removing the rams to their own warm space is what should be done here. Rams maintained below the 80F will never live their normal lifespan because of the effect of too low a temperature. And increasing temp for the other fish also weakens them because they are then literally working too hard to maintain ordinary life-essential processes.

Should I feed the fish some more during this?

 

[Byron]

Should I feed the fish some more during this?

Not more than normally. I don't know the normal feeding schedule, or the foods fed, but I have continued my normal feeding during ich treatments. I have two fast days each week, but the quality of the food is important.

You mentioned starting with water changes. When I decide ich is bad enough to warrant intervention (usually it goes away by itself if the fish are not stressed as they can deal with it) I do a major water change and raise the temperature a few degrees via this, then increase the heater setting to achieve the rest. I do the next water change one week later. More frequent water changes probably won't hurt, and some do and some don't with these. Clean water will always aid in overcoming problems for fish but I have preferred to given them peace and quiet in between quite large changes (75%).

 

[Av3206]

Not more than normally. I don't know the normal feeding schedule, or the foods fed, but I have continued my normal feeding during ich treatments. I have two fast days each week, but the quality of the food is important.

You mentioned starting with water changes. When I decide ich is bad enough to warrant intervention (usually it goes away by itself if the fish are not stressed as they can deal with it) I do a major water change and raise the temperature a few degrees via this, then increase the heater setting to achieve the rest. I do the next water change one week later. More frequent water changes probably won't hurt, and some do and some don't with these. Clean water will always aid in overcoming problems for fish but I have preferred to given them peace and quiet in between quite large changes (75%).

I feed sera products flake both tropical and color then a few Sera cichlid. I feed in the am M-F and then normally not on weekend unless I come to the office and in these times it’s not often. I do toss other things in from time to time like blood worms and sera great mix. What’s is your target temp and what temp is the water you change your tank with?

 

[Byron]

I feed sera products flake both tropical and color then a few Sera cichlid. I feed in the am M-F and then normally not on weekend unless I come to the office and in these times it’s not often. I do toss other things in from time to time like blood worms and sera great mix. What’s is your target temp and what temp is the water you change your tank with?

Assuming you mean water temps for this ich issue, I would raise the temp of the first water change by a couple of degrees, say from the normal tank temp of 26C up to 28C, then the heater would increase the temp to 30C. After the two week treatment (one week might do it, but being safe is not harmful) I turn the heater back to normal and let the tank cool on its own.

On the foods, watch the bloodworms; this is not a healthy food, and should only be fed once a week maximum. The fresh frozen bloodworms are better but only once weekly. The freeze-dried I would not use, they are risky.