tank in trouble

[jamesward76]

Can someone give me some advice on some good ick meds. I have a 75gal tank and so far i've killed 4 bala sharks, 2 tin foil berbs, 4 pangasus catfish, 2 albino oscars, and 2 red oscars. All of wich I owened onlyb for a week at a time. First the tropical fish then the cichlids. I also have an 8in peco, who's been in the tank the longest. I have 5 cons now (3females and 2 males). They have already began corner swimming, and rubbing there sides on the gravel. Aside from that they have no noticable simptoms. Oh yeah they don't spread there fins, they just keep them close to there body. Is this normal.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You have all of those fish in the same tank?? You have enough fish in there to fill up a 300 gallon tank!

However, since your problem is ich I'll move this to emergencies. Your stocking levels and choices are another matter, yet you should keep in mind that improper stocking leads to stress, which leads to disease.

 

[jamesward76]

No i'm sorry for the confusion, I only have the 5 cons and the pleco in my tank. I bought the sharks about a month ago and killed them, then I bought the catfish they died, then I bought the barbs, died as well, last I bought the oscars they died also. all the fish were never in the tank at the same time. cons are brand new.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Oops... missed the 'killed' part of your post )

Convicts are tough guys, and don't easily get ich, but ich has many stages, so it could be your first case of it still giving you problems. Did you sterelize the aquarium at any point after your previous fish had died?

 

[jamesward76]

I'm not sure what you mean by sterilize the water. but about 3 days before I put the cons in the tank I did a complete water change, and my pleco is looking better.
I am currently using Maracyn buy mardel, does these meds tend to make the water cloudy, because an hour after i put it in my tank got extremly cloudy.

also i have a 125 gallon tank with 4 malawi eyebitters in it, and they have killed 2 parahna's i tried to put in there with them. Are there any fish that are compatible with the eye bitters.

 

[harried_mom]

Following your story here...not sure if you question is about the eyebitters, which I cannot help you with or the ich in the 75 gallon tank, which I might...

I'll address the ich. I had a bad case in my 75 gallon, which I had a very hard time with until I moved all fish to a new hospital tank. I figured I saved more than enough money on not having to medicate the 75 gallon to justify the 10 gallon hospital tank addition.

After all the fish were out of the 75 gallon, I cranked the temp up to 85 to kill off the ich. After 4 days, I vacuumed the heck out of the gravel and changed about 50% of the water. I also changed 1/2 of the filter media. On the hospital tank, I increased the temp as high as the fish would tolerate, then gave them a salt bath. My plec tolerated the salt bath, but I now understand you are not supposed to do that to them. (sorry plec!) Perhaps he's stronger for it...

You can treat with another ich cure, e.g. Rid-Ich+ by Kordon, recommended to me by my lfs. Please be aware that most ich cures contain ingredients that will stain your silicone seals turquoise (which I found out the hard way). Another great reason for a hospital tank!

Good luck!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

you gave me a scare there!
i thought you had all of those fish in there at once!
that would have been 217" in your 75gal AND the iridescents (pangasuis) would still be growin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
phew!
i need to breath again..........

 

[Nina7777]

Hey there,
I've had great success with the combination of quick cure and melafix. Alternating days. for a period of 14 days.

I have a convict who since the first day i bought her (over a year and a half ago) likes to rub against the gravel and rocks. Although everytime she does it i can't help to think of ich, I now realize that she just likes to do it. Haven't had an ich breakout with my older fish in over a year and she still does it to this day.

Although the part about their clamping their fins worries me! Try the quick cure with melafix.

Good Luck!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

also i have a 125 gallon tank with 4 malawi eyebitters in it, and they have killed 2 parahna's i tried to put in there with them. Are there any fish that are compatible with the eye bitters.

D. Compressiceps is a very aggressive predator, and while you can fit other large, aggressive, predatory Haplochromines in with them you are best off keeping it a species tank.

By sterilize I meant anything to make sure all signs of ich have disappeared - this could be by heating the tank up or using meds. In your situation I would have heated the water to 90° and left it like that for a week before adding any new fish.

 

[crazie.eddie]

Fish scratching could be other things, besides ich. They will also do this if they have an itch. If it's constant, then also ammonia can cuase this or if it's near the gills, some kind of fluke.

What type of filter are you using? If you have an insufficient filter, your filter may just be able to support the load currently in your tank, but no more. This may be why new fish are dying.

What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrITEs, & pH)? Do you test for chlorine, becuase too much chlorine is also a sign for scratching.

Also, how do you acclimate your fish? If a fish is not acclimated properly, they could not last long in a tank.

 

[jamesward76]

Thanks for all of the help guys I'll post later to tell you how they are doing.

 

[tsr770]

Makes me wonder, why did all of the other fish die? Thats a lot of dead fish in the last month, something must be wrong with the water! Whatever caused their deaths could be coming to the cons...........