Will my angel be alright?

[FishEnthusiast]

Hi,

I just had ich break out in my tank. Despite my efforts I had to euthanize a number of fish tonight . Yesterday I had 6 neon tetras, today when I was netting the sick fish, there were only 4. My angel now has a bulging tummy, my guess is those neons made a nice snack for him. All my neons were covered in ich. Will this fact negatively impact my angel? He ate at least 2 that had ich. Throughout the ich breakout he hasn't had one spot. Is there anything I should be watching for other than the normal signs of stress?

My PH is 7.0, Nitrites 0, ammonia 0 and nitrates 0. My temp is 78, but I am increasing it slowly to 85 to try to eradicate any ich that might remain in the tank. In total I lost 3 iridescent sharks, 3 balas, and 6 neons. My angel and my 5 serpaes seem fine, not affected by ich at all. I am not treating with any chemicals right now because the chemicals I was using negaitively affected my fish. I am trying to control the ich using heat and water changes. I will not use salt, because my angel doesn't like it at all. There are currently no fish with spots in the tank. If I do start to see spots, I have Quick Cure which I will start to use right away.

As I said, I am most worried about my angel. What happens to ich if it is ingested? Does anyone know? Thanks for your help.

 

[BettaMomma]

As far as the angel actually eating the ick infested fish, I wouldn't be worried about the angel getting the ick from them, because technically, ick is always present in a tank and fish have to be stressed out and/or have weakened immune systems in order for it to get the better of them.

However, that being said - if the fish with ick were infected with some sort of bacterial infection or parasite it could be a different story.

BUT.... My guess is that it will be just fine, but you will probably want to keep an eye on the angel for swim bladder probls due to overeating - but really the digestion should go pretty quickly.

And yep, if you see any signs, i mean ANY, treat right away with the meds. Maybe try some other ick meds if that particular one is not working with your fishes.

Make sure to keep good aeration going in the tank too.
Good luck!!

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Thank you for your input. I actually have 3 kinds of ich meds. I have tried super ich plus(didn't work) and nox-ich(didn't work). Now I have Quick cure(I really hope it works if I have to deal with it again).

 

[BettaMomma]

Sure, no problem.
I have had success with Maracide - like overnight success!
I'm not sure if you can get it where you live, but it's available at most LFS, and also at places like PetSmart, PetCo, PetWorld, etc.
Give it a try if what you have now doesn't seem to do the trick.

 

[Blue Lobster]

I had an ich outbreak in my tank about a month ago. As you can see I have angels. They took 90 degrees for a week with no problem and didn't mind some salt. Lost 2 balas to the ich before I noticed it.

Balas seem particularly prone to early ich mortality for some reason.

Now 2 of my balas have finrot/swim bladder problems, it's a never ending cycle.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I am trying to raise my temp. My brand new thermometer is turned up to 90. But it seems to turn off at 80 for some reason. Could it be because I lowered the water height for extra oxygen? None of the actual heating unit is exposed, only the temp dial that tells me how high the temp is set at.


I added salt at the beginning of the outbreak, and my angel stressed right out. I did notice some ich on one serpae last night(two spots on the tail), so I added a half dose of Quick Cure. I am going to repeat today and keep my eye on the tank.

I will continue to try to raise my temp, but I don't think the thermometor will let me. I have another one, but it is in another tank. Can my buenos aires tetras go without a heater for a litte while? They are in a 5G with saran wrap for a hood. I could go and get another heater if that would work.

Again, thanks for all of your support and help.

 

[WILDER]

It can take a while to raise to that temp so don't worry for now, cover the tank with a blanket as well.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

The heater actually turns off at around 79 degrees. I will cover with a blanket. I can see how that would work. If the temp doesn't go up I will consider adding another heater

 

[WILDER]

I hate heaters you never no where you are with them, it will click off but the temp should gradually rise it could take a day to get to that temp, good luck.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

OK, I will set my temp to 86(there is a dial on the heater), cover the tank and hold my breath. I will beat this ich if it is the last thing I do B) . I plan on turning it up as high as my fish will allow without stress. What is the ideal temp to kill ich? I have heard anywhere from 84-92. At what temp are my fish going to suffer?

 

[WILDER]

Usually with itch they say to raise temp to 30.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Ok, I have set my thermometor to 86(30). I covered with a big fleece blanket and the heat is slowly rising. It is at about 82 right now. I am going to montior closely and slowly drop the temp if the fish seem stressed.

I have an air stone and my water level is lowered about 1" to increase the oxygen. What else should or could I do to increase my chance of beating this. I am also using Quick Cure at a half dose. How long should I wait to do a water change. I have been doing it daily with a gravel vac, but I think I should wait a couple of days to let the meds work. Is this advisable? I have only one fish with two or three spots, the others are unaffected as of yet. The directions on the bottle do not indicate if I should do water changes or not.

 

[WILDER]

You are doing everything correctly, once spots disappear off the fish when the parasites go to the gravel that the time to do a gravel vac, good luck.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

One more question. How long should I keep the temp up on my tank? I don't want to overdo it. Thanks again

 

[WILDER]

Till you have finnished the med course, then if ok gradually lower it, good luck.