Now it's ick

[ostrow]

Well, the Ick is progressing so fast I decided to start another thread.

I have a test kit and heater coming. The water is around 72 right now. Been treating with Aquarisol every day for 3 days to no avail, which is why I ordered the heater. But it gets worse.

So I broke down this morning, took out the carbon filter, and added Maracide to the water. I hate doing that, but my platies and variatus are covered and starting to "pick" at each other. Hope I'm not too late.

When the heater gets here I'll crank to 85 and go back to just Aquarisol, which other sites rave about. They also say you don't have to raise the temp, but that report is mixed.

 

[Macquatic]

You should remove all carbon before adding medication as it will adsorb any chemical added to the tank. One of the reasons your fish contracted whitespot is the low temperature, it should be a stable 77f. As was said before, do a water change with dechlorinated water, add the whitespot medication at the correct dose and get the temp. up. Do not use carbon until the treatment is finished.  Mac.

 

[pete]

DO NOT put a heater in your tank and crank it to 85 straight away as this is a sure fire to to temperature shock and kill your already stressed fish :0

Instead gradually increase the temp over 3 or 4 days until the desired temp is reached as this will give your fish time to aclimatize to the new temp

And as for the carbon........always remove it before adding medications etc to your water as otherwise the carbon will soak up the meds before they can get to your fish

Any more probs please let us know mate and i hope you get the ick cleared up soon, although it can take a while to fully get rid of it sometimes :what:

 

[ostrow]

Thanks folks. Removed the carbon before putting the Maracide in. Had left it in before as all the info on Aquarisol said carbon doesn't affect it.

I was going to lower the temp to about 54 and then raise it to about 88. Shouldn't do that, huh? Will take it slow but probably won't even have the heater until Wed or Thurs. Odds are I won't have fish by then either (but that is another excuse to go shopping again :grin:

 

[Davy Reynolds]

First thing I ever do is rase the temp.

I dont see why they don't recomend it, they must be lasy and only like adding chems

 

[Macquatic]

Ichthyophthirius
Whitespot or Ich has a 3 stage life cycle
1. Growth, spent on the skin and visible as small white dots.
2. Cyst, when it drops to the bottom of the tank protected by its covering.
3. Infectious Stage, when pear shaped zoospores seek a new host. The cyst can divide into as many as 1000 zoospores which have 70 hours to find a new host.
Medications work by attacking the 3rd free swimming stage.
By raising the temperature you speed up the life cycle of the parasite, helping the medication to work in a shorter time. Mac.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Yep, Thats what my article says

The med only works when the ick is outside the fish and the temp incresses how often it's out there

 

[ostrow]

I still say if I dropped the temp to say 45 or so that would kill the Ick too

Until heater comes, gotta just keep putting the meds in and hope the fish last until it does come.

And then it seems the consensus is not to "crank it up" right away and boil the poor guys...

 

[Macquatic]

:what: Please don't drop the temp, this will slow down the life cycle and prolong the outbreak of the disease. Tropical fish live at tropical temperatures and dropping it will do more harm than good. When you started this hobby were you not told about the proper care of this type of fish? Mac.

 

[adeyc]

If you drop the temp the ick will become dormant. the metabolisim of the ick will slow down increasing it's life cycle. To lower the temp enough to actually kill the Ick you would kill the fish long before any damage would be done to the ick. By increasing the temp slightly you raise the metabolic rate thus speading up the life cycle. and increasing the amount of chances any meds added to the tank can do their thing.
It's not a change in temperature that kill the Ick it's the meds that do the work.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Thats my thinking to

 

[ostrow]

tis called humor, mates.

i don't plan either on deep freezing or on boiling the fish.

heck, i went to the trouble of finding an internet forum on tropical fish because my fish were lethargic! what'd ya think i was gonna do?!?

8)

 

[ostrow]

Hey, things are getting worse I fear. The fish are all pecking at each other.

Should I sit tight with the Aquarisol and Maracide and continue to use as per instructions, or do people usually combine with Maracyn 2 to prevent infection, etc? I hate to pump in multiple meds but some of the tails have pronounced wounds (or so it looks to me ... tan round spots bigger than the white dots of ick were).

I need that test kit so I can test for more than ammonia, I know, but that and the heater are coming soon. I'm wondering if I should just keep doing what I've been doing or if I should put an antibiotic in there too. I presume opinions will divide on this but the arguments will help me decide.

Thanks to all for your help. This is a great forum for beginners like me who really want to do well at this hobby!

Cheers all.

Joel

 

[adeyc]

Joel, apart from what you've already mentioned are the fish showing any other signs or behavior. The way they swim scraping against things etc?.
If thing's apear to be getting worse it may be time for some drastic treatment. are the grains still on the fish or have they dissapeared?
Maracyn: Antibiotic (Erythromycin) tablets recommended for the treatment of body fungus, fin and tail rot, popeye and gell disease and Maracyn-Two: Antibiotic (Minocycline) tablets recommended for the treatment of popeye, gill disease, fin and tail rot, dropsy, septicemia, secondary and internal infections. You should be able to use both together. Do a major water change first. It's vital the tank water be kept as clean as possible.

If everythings a lot worse and no sign of getting better you could try giving the fish a bath in either
Forma-Green
USE: External fungicide, external protozoacide and ectoparasites, mongenia, hirudinea and crustacea. Can be used as a dip or for longer baths according to parts per million.

DOSAGE: Use 2 drops per gallon in aquarium or pond water. Treat one time and leave in the water for 5-7 days.

or you can try this Malachite Green (Zinc Free) Powder 100%

USE: Ich, fungus, oodinium (velvet), mouth fungus and some fungus eggs.

DOSAGE: 28.4 grams makes 1 gallon. Then use 1 drop per gallon. 28.4 grams 1/2 pound 1 pound 1 pint mixed


A dip is putting the fish into a premixed med solution at the same temp ast the tank water. usualy not more than 5 minutes a bathe is exactly the same but usualy of a time between 5 and 60 minutes.

try the other meds first but you still need to raise the temp slightly to speed up the cycle of the ick. It can only be effective at certain times in it's life cycle and as the temp increase speeds it up you get more chances of treating it at the right time.

Keep us informed as to how things are going.

 

[ostrow]

The spots seem more tan than white, and they are still on the fins, mostly the tails but on one platy definitely on the body too.

So I can use Maracide, Maracyn and Maracyn 2 all together? After doing a "major" water change -- which I presume means what, 50%? I just changed 20% a few days ago. There was not much waste in the water -- I don't overfeed at all and have only fed once since the change. Trying to feed less while medicating.

I don't see much scraping action. They do seem to pick at each other a bit. They are lethargic though not alarmingly so. Not floating or sinking really. But not happy.

This happened too to my goldfish which is what made me punt on goldfish. Frustrating.