Ich or Fungus?

[rykitten]

Hi,

I am new to this fish stuff. My boss bought a tank about 2 weeks ago and we're both sort of learning as we go.
We have a 26 gallon fresh water tank, heated to about 78 degrees. We have 2 swordtails, 1 black platy (had 2, one passed this morning), 1 marble platy (had 2, one went bye bye), and two silver dollar looking fellas that are protecting a nest of eggs, a catfish, a chinese algae eater, two snails and some orange fish (I don't know what they are!)
When we came in Monday morning, some of the smaller orange fish were covered in what I assume to be ich and our marble platy was dead. They were fine on Friday. I increased the water temp to 83 degrees and started medicating with Quick Cure. This morning when we came in the black platy and a little orange guy were dead. I have a feeling we're going to loose more.
A couple of these guys are missing parts of their fins. One fish is missing an entire fin, and still swimming around. There is a stringy gauzy substance trailing off their fins. And they still have the little white dots on them.
Can anyone tell me what's going on??? Is this something other than ich? I haven't been able to find any info. linking ich and fin rot. I am not sure what to do besides what I'm already doing.
Also, can anyone tell me about recovery? Do fins grow back?
Thanks!

 

[Cian McLiam]

Hi rykitten,
The fins will grow back, but only if the water is of ggod quality. Do you have test kits to test the water? Ammonia, nitrite and PH results would be helpful to determine whats wrong, as would general info like how long tank is set up, how is it filtered etc?
If its a new tank, it will be going through the process of cycling, which is very tough on fish. One of the first things you learn when you get fish for the first time is that they need clean water to survive, they will be effectively swimming in their own excretion so good filtration and regular water changes are essential.
Read some of the articles in the beginners forum for info on cycling etc.
Quick Cure is as good as treatment as any for Ich but no treatment will be effective until the tank water is healthy for the fish.

Ken

 

[rykitten]

The pH level is in the 7.8 range. According to the chart we have, that should be okay, right? We've had the tank for a little over 2 weeks. We've had the fish for a week and a half. We only let it "cycle" for a few days.
Would you recommend water change or should I just let it do it's thing for a while longer?

 

[Cian McLiam]

I would do 15% water changes daily, the tank will only start cycling when there is fish in it to produce the waste ammonia the bacteria need to start colonising the filter. In the mean time, add aquarium salt as recommended on the packet.
You need to test ammonia and nitrite to see how the cycling process is progressing. First you will have an ammonia spike because there is no bacteria in the filter to consume it, then you will have a nitrite spike as the ammonia is converted into nitrite by the developing bacteria. Unless nitrite readings start increasing, your tank has not yet begun cycling so toxic ammonia will have a very negative impact on the fish. You may lose some more, if not all. Dont be too put off by this as it has happened to about 95% of the people on this forum and is a learning process that is an important first lesson, without it people often dont have the respect for the process it deserves.

Ken

 

[pmoyniha]

Hey Ken, I jsut wanted to say thanks. I have been reading on here a bit now and you have been very patient with people and gave some great advise.
Thanks again,
Pat

 

[Cian McLiam]

Thanks Pat!
Well I for one wish I had somewhere like this to go when I was causing more fish kills than a rusty oil tanker. I am grateful I went through bad times because you cant replace the expierience you get and the sense of achievement when you finally get it licked. Some useful advice along the way is priceless so I am glad to help if I can. Of course not every treatment will work for all people all the time and the best thing about forums is you get to hear alternative opinions and expieriences that you wont find at your local pet shop!

Ken

 

[rykitten]

Ken,

Thank you for taking the time to help me!
I will get test the nitrate & ammonia levels tomorrow.
So do you think that the ich and decaying fins are from the ammonia level?

 

[Cian McLiam]

Hi rykitten,
Fish have a very strong immune system, but ammonia and other toxins in the water can weaken them and leave them vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. So while Ich and fin rot are the symptoms of the illness, the cause is usually the water quality. This is why excellent water quality is a neccesity for the fish to recover. Water changes are the best way to achieve this, as well as adding appropriate medication. The Ich will be cured with the quick cure and raised temp and the fin rot will cure itself with water changes, you can speed this up by adding a product called melafix but its usually unnecesary unless the ragged fins are really bothering you.
BTW, be sure to get a NitrIte test, a nitrate test will be useful later on but the nitrite one is critical in a new tank.

Good Luck!

Ken

 

[rykitten]

Ken,

Again thanks a bunch!
One more question . . .
Since the filter collecting bacteria to level out the ammonia level is crucial, should I follow the instructions on the Quick Cure bottle and remove the carbon filter?

Thx,
Riley

 

[Cian McLiam]

yeah, remove the carbon, you should still have some sponge material in there I hope! Also, I would just use half the dosage of Q.C. the fish are having it hard enough already I'd say!!

Ken

 

[rykitten]

Good morning Ken,

I bought the kits last night and tested this morning. The ammonia test I fear may be incorrect because the color chart says "saltwater" at the top, but the box reads "Freshwater/Saltwater."

Ammonia level: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm

Both Mickeys were dead this morning

I don't understand what's happening to our fish . . .

 

[Cian McLiam]

Hi rykitten,
Sorry to hear about the fish
The test results are a little odd alright! I would have expected at least some ammonia or nitrite. Im not familiar with saltwater test kits but I do know that ammonia is more toxic in the high PH of saltwater tanks so if the test is showing negative ammonia, its a good sign. I could be completely wrong tho, maybe the saltwater kit wont work so I'll put this topic back to the top and hopefully someone else can give you more help.
I think it would be worth reading the topic about fishless cycling in the beginners forum, its definitely the preffered option if you can get your hands on some ammonia. Else you could try some hardier fish like danios or white cloud mountain minnows. I have found the minnows to be almost indestructible but you need more than ten to get a good cycle going.

Hope this helps,

Ken