Newcomer About To Stock Is Tank

[b3cca]

Hiyaa,
 
Obviously don't add any more fish until you have a stable tank again.
 
Initially I think just general flashing for the first few days could simply due to different parameters in your water to what was in the LFS water.
Hardness, P.H, nitrates etc could all be slightly different from your supply.,
When I first put cherries in they always seem to flash quite a lot for a few days even though I acclimatised them for a good hour first. always seems to happen for me with cherries but never with any other fish.
 
Never had mollies but they should be fine with cherries, as long as you keep over 6 the cherries will just bother each other just make sure you have more females than males or have all the same sex.

 

[Klonoa50]

Hi b3cca!
 
Yeah, I figure that's outta the question for a while.  : )
 
Good to know!  Unfortunately it's pretty clear they also have ich at this point ( salt grains all over the two cherries).  Yeah, the plan is to build up to 6 cherries over time (wanted to add 'em in slowly to make sure I didn't cause a mini cycle).  Was planning on getting two a week over the next three weeks, though that will go on hold now that ich's out n' about in the tank.  Thanks for the advice!  : )

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm sorry to hear that they seem to be getting worse!
Most definitely make another thread if you want to get some more opinions on how to treat them.
 
I know they're different meds but when using QuICK Cure which also turns the tank water blue, the coloration went away. I was not using carbon either, I think it's normal for it to do that.
 
Glad the mollies are alright at the moment

 

[Klonoa50]

Just realized I failed to answer like half of Ninjouzata's post because I was too busy listing off the ich stuff.  *laughs*  Sorry 'bout that.
 
Good to know on the Nitrates... would explain the difference, certainly.  : )  And your information is more then helpful, and definitely more reassuring then me doing this all by myself.  I'm fairly confident the ich won't be a major issue (since I caught it early and it appears to be the least horrifying of the tropical fish diseases, though I know it can become a nightmare from what I've seen).  That and I tend to be fairly optimistic in general.  even if the worst case scenario happens, I probably won't get too down.  It'll definitely suck, but I know I'm doing everything I can this go-round, and sometimes life just happens.  That being said I don't forsee this going that far south at all.
 
Yeah, I don't plan on it... I like a very peaceful tank, so any aggression would stress ME out.  *laughs  That, and as I said, I don't think I'm experienced enough for it.  If I can do well with all the basic hardy fish maybe I'll tro to add a betta with some other guys someday. For now I'll keep it simple. 
 
Also I got a closer look at Lunetta, and she's definitely still ich spotted after all.  She found just the right spot of light to swim under.  : P  On the bright side she definitely isn't acting sick (or flashing).
 
 
I'll go ahead and make a new thread then, since opinions are always a good thing!  Thanks again for all the help, and I'll keep updating here on how stuff goes (this is gonna turn into a journal after all, isn't it?)  *laughs*

 

[Ninjouzata]

That's alright as I can't think of much else to add! You are a lot more positive than I am.
Sorry to hear about Lunetta. I hope this clears up soon. Also hope you get some responses on your other thread

 

[Klonoa50]

Hey all!  Made a thread for more information as recommended by Ninjouzata and did a LOT more research, and came to the conclusion she suggested, which is either salt + heat or heat + meds, but not both.
 
I'm back to doing daily water changes to remove the medications (and since many think it helps the fish and removes some of the "baby ich"), and am gradually upping the salt levels in the tank.  I'm not sure exactly how high to go with them yet. I know the "minimum" recommended amount for an infection is 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) per gallon which will also be my minimum.  I've seen values much higher then that, and am now asking in my "sick" topic what levels everyone else recommends.
 
The good news is the mollies both appear to be doing great, with no visible change in attitude.  I did discover a single trophont-ich thing on Lunetta's fin, but I can't find anymore for the life of me, so I'm hoping that's it.  Nitro is completely clear.
 
The cherries however have taken a drastic turn for the worse.  One looks like she went into a light snowstorm, and is coated pretty heavily in ich.  She's semi-active, going from healthy and happy to listless in the blank of an eye.  The other one I think I might lose.  She spends most of her time listless in the water, then violently swims around the tank and floats again.  She also appears to have lost some swim bladder control, floating up or down slightly instead of just stalling out.
 
My stats are still perfectly fine (whole bunch of 0s and 10ish Nitrate before the water change).  The flashing has stopped, which I imagine is a bad thing at this point (guessing it means not enough energy to bother flashing).  The mollies aren't flashing either, but I assume that's good, seeing as they seem otherwise healthy.  The one upside to all of this I suppose is that I can pretty much guarantee my tank is established bacteria-wise, and that I have some hardy lil' mollies!

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm glad you were able to find some answers!
 
Gravel vacuuming does take out some of it, or at least that's what I've heard. Unfortunately I have no idea how much salt to use.
 
So sorry to hear that the cherries are getting worse! But I am glad that the mollies are mostly unaffected.
 
This is why most recommend having a QT tank, although I still don't one either Keep doing your best!

 

[Klonoa50]

Yeah... I'll hopefully get some answers on the salt soon-ish.  That being said I have a "minimum" amount to shoot for now, and I'm trying to add it in slow and steady, so i imagine I won't have it done until the night's out at the earliest.
 
Yeah, I'm really glad the mollies are OK.  : )  I'd be pretty devastated if I lost either of 'em... yay first fish attachments and all that.
 
Yeah, I've heard a lot about quarantine tanks, and if I'd had a fuller tank I would definitely say this is a prime case for it.  Since I only have the mollies as "collateral" at the moment and they seem somehow immune to this whole debacle I'm not sure a QT tank woulda made things any better, but is something I'll definitely need to think more about in the future.  My biggest problem will just be funds... getting tanks started up ain't cheap unfortunately.  Anywho... here's hoping things magically change for the better during the night! 

 

[b3cca]

Awww hope you get things sorted out soon at least you care a lot about them which will give them all a good chance to pull through.
 
Thankfully I've never had ich in my tanks so can't offer any help with that at all

 

[Klonoa50]

Will keep this short today (or try, last time I tried that I kinda failed), since it's late and I wanna go to bed.  : P
 
Things appear to be about the same yesterday.  One cherry is worse off, floating at about a 60 degree angle with her head facing down.  She has long bursts of listlessness followed by extreme flights of activity, and she's tried jumping out of the tank at least once now.  I'm worried I'll lose her unless something magically changes.
 
  I unfortunately didn't get any info back on the amount of salt, but based on my research the minimum appears to be 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, the extreme appears to be 1 tablespoon per gallon.  The most common number I see is 2-3 tablespoons per 5 gallons, so I think I'll slowly start buidlng to that (I'm at about 1 tablespoon per gallon right now).
 
The

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm sorry to hear she's looking worse
Also sorry you're not getting many responses..I really hope she makes it through this!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Sorry I didn't respond, for some odd reason it wasn't showing that anyone had commented 

 
I've never had to deal with ICH (thankfully) so I can't really comment much on that, but from what little research I have done, you're on the right track.
I really hope things start to improve for you!
 
In terms of quarantine tanks, most people use second hand cheap 5-10G tanks. You can get some really good deals on the likes of eBay and other auctions sites. Sometimes you can get complete setups super cheap! It is always worth looking, especially in the future when you're looking at adding more fish.
 
I'm sorry, what was your stocking question? 
I saw Ninj mention something about it earlier.....
 
Sorry I don't have anything more to contribute, but I hope things start to improve

 

[Klonoa50]

Hey all!
 
It appears we've reached the turning point, and I think the ich's finally going away.  I haven't noticed any new spots on the cherries the last 2 days, and the number of spots on them appear to be slowly dwindling.  I keep hoping to wake up and find they have all magically have fallen off.  I have the tank up to 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons, and am holding steady there.  The cherries are still very listless, but are moving around a bit more today they they were yesterday (and are actually staying together, as opposed to just hiding on the bottom). Hopefully that's a good sign.  I'm also noticing now that I have a clearer view of them that their tails are slightly frayed.  I don't see any of the other symptoms associated with fin rot (blacking, etc), so I'm hoping it's just form the constant flashing they were doing against the gravel.  The mollies are still doing fantastic, and as far as I can tell are leaving the cherries alone.
 
I also got the cherries to actually eat food today, which will hopefully help as well.  The tank parameters are still fine.  I don't think the cherries are out of the woods yet by a long shot, but I'm hoping with any luck the two of 'em will make it through this.  If nothing else I've figured out how to deal with this in the future (not that I'm planning on having that problem).  : P
 
I'll have to start looking into that, especially since I'll eventually get back to stocking the tank.  How would you keep the bacteria alive with no fish in it?  Do you just constantly provide ammonia?
 
I was hoping to get an idea of what fish I should stock my tank with and if the research I'd done was any good.  I currently have 1 female balloon molly, 1 male golden panda lyretail molly, and the two cherries.  My current plan for the tank was something along these lines:
 
6-8 cherry barbs
1 pearl gourami (depends on what people say about their aggression... I've heard a lot of conflicting reports, and would prefer a very peaceful tank)
 
The rest of the space I'm still undecided on... I was thinking along the lines of:
Another 2 mollies (probably golden lyretails as well... the current one "glass-surfs" a lot, which, from what I can tell, means he wants company)
 
Maybe some cories... I think their adorable, but I know they can be hard to keep and I have rock gravel instead of sand.  Not sure if I'd be setting myself up for trouble.
 
Some other schooling fish (only other one I know of that isn't into really soft water is rhasboras, which I think are "meh").  My water is, according to my LFS, "mildly hard", whatever that means.  I've tried to figure out how to measure it myself on the internet without much luck.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Do you have a pH testing kit? You could ask your LFS to test it for you, make sure to ask for the exact results.
 
In terms of the quarantine tank and keeping the bacteria alive, what you do is place the media into your main tanks filter, placing it into the quarantine tank when needed. This keeps the bacteria alive while aiding in your filtration
 
Good to hear the ICH is almost gone!

 

[Ninjouzata]

So glad to hear it seems to be clearing up! Lots of clean water should heal their tails over time, I think.
 
That's great that they're eating!
 
Sorry I havn't had much to add lately :c