hopeless

I have had nothing but problems with my 29 gallon tank. I had a big problem with ich for awhile but managed to get rid of it for about a year by taking out the heater. Then i had another problem killing all of my fish and i just fixed that by putting more air in the tank but now i have ich again!!!!! I can not keep this tank healthy to save my life. Ive used the medicine before anf it did nothing except kill my algae eater, dye my tank green and all the fish died anyways. So im wondering what else to do? If one fish has spots does it mean all the others are sick to? If they all die will the ich die, will it be safe to put new fish in sometime?

sranieto

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about your problems , i found this site helpful and had use the salt and heat method successfully, hope it works for you as well.

Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

ahill3780

Welcome to FishTankForums!

Ich has a definate life cycle and will die out after time if it does not find a suitable host to continue its reproductive cycle. If one fish is showing signs of Ich then you should assume that all others are infected as well.

Freshwater Ich is MUCH easier to deal with than saltwater Ich, so take comfort in that.

You should try using the salt cure mentioned by sranieto.

HTH,
Aaron

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hopeless

i have a goldfish is that treatment ok for them?

mmh123

i think that treatment should be fine for the goldfish, BUT wait untill someone else replies because I'm not 100% sure. I am sorry to hear that you have had such bad experiences with fish keeping, but it can be alot of fun so I encourage you to keep trying

hopeless

i was also just told that tetras have a hard time with this method too is that true do you know?

Jay

IME it is usually scaleless fish that have some difficulty with the salt treatment.

That is why I advise to start conservativly at 1 tsp. per gallon over 8 hours, and then increase the salt gradually up to 2 tsp. per gallon if you need to.

I think all fish have difficulty with radically altered water parameters, but they have even more difficulty with imprecise use of pharmaceuticals.

Just my $.02

Regards,
Jay

thewebpop

Hopeless....
It is not hopeless. I just went thru all you have mentioned. I too had an incomplete Cycle as well as "Ich" at the same time.

This forum and Jay helped me thru it and all is fine now. I lost my Clown Loach during this but I feel it was more the "Incomplete Cycle" stress than Ich that killed him (This was all my fault for not doing things right the first time) but I am learning to not make the same mistakes again.

Please follow the "Salt Treatment" directions just as Jay has listed. After a few days is the problem (white spots) are still not going away then increase the salt as directed.

This worked for me and my tank is now Clean Cured and yes the "Cycle" has completed to. I have a nice happy health community of fish because I followed the directions provided by these forums. Hang in there! It will get better!
Later, Pop's

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Newbie with this stuff!
My Aquariums--> http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k106/popspics2006/
20 Gal Tropical with Heavy Live Grass, Driftwood and Natural Rock.
4-Neon Tetra's
5-Serpae Tetra's
1-YoYo Loach
20 Gal Tropical with Live Plants, Driftwood and Natural Rock.
2-Diamond (Redeye) Tetra's
2-Black Kuhli Loach's
1-Fiddler Crab

Tommy Gun

Correct me if I am wrong, but it is impossible to 'rid' a tank of Ich completely and every tank will have it. The trick will be to ensure that it cannot get onto a host so it can complete its life cycle.

I agree with everyone and wanted to chime in because maybe the more people who say this, the more hope you can gain. Salt and raising the tank temp will really help you alot. I have begun adding some salt (about a half dose or less) everytime I introduce a new fish to the tank and I have not had any problems with Ich since I started out.

You could also look into fish that are less susceptable to Ich than others to help your confidence in this tank. Buying fish like glass fish or dyed, painted, or tattooed fish are almost like inviting Ich into your tank. Fish with no scales, like mentioned above, will be harder to treat, so stay clear of clown loaches, for example.

Also, you can go a long way to help avoid Ich if you simply stock your tank correctly. Stocking your tank with fish that are going to be bullied or otherwise stressed out makes a good host for Ich. Overstocking could be the same since your fish will not be as strong and thus more easy prey for Ich. Making sure you maintain your tank properly will also help. Over filtration is always good and doing water changes BEFORE your tank really needs one is the best way to go.

Lastly, and this is definately the last resort, but I had to do it once myself, is to just start all over. If all your fish are lost to Ich, do not restock right away. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the 'medicine', but it is basically like a nuclear bomb for your tank and will kill everything in the tank, INCLUDING the good bacteria (there is a catch to everything, right?) Then simply recycle your tank and get off on a better foot. I found this is a good way to defeat 'old tank syndrome' as well for those who pick up everyone else's tanks when they dont want them, like I tend to do.

Jay

Tom this is an aquarium keeping myth. This is dead wrong

Please read the sticky on Diagnosing and Curing Ich.

This is just not so..! All fish are susceptible to Ich. Fish with no scales are easy to treat.

This in IMHO is terrible advice!!
We may lose a few fish to Ich, but IMO, and IME never resort to this.

Regards,
Jay