Emergency

Speedstreetz · 10-19-2009, 05:42 PM

my tank is a well established 40g. last night I noticed a few white spots on my tetras that looked like sand. then i saw my catfish has a few more as well. Ich is what I assume so I went and got treatment today it turned the water blue. I turned the light out removed the carbon filter raised the temp 2deg added 1/2 tbl spoon salt and 4 caps of stress coat. all my fish are acting 100% different... my eel is swimming around alot...1 of my pictus catfish is just chillin on the bottom panting and looks like hell... my swordtail was biting his back fin... the cat is twice his size. the other catfish is swimming around at the top. neither one would eat the last 2 nights (tried bloodworms, shrimp pellets, flakes, alge, and a cucumber) all of which they normally Go CRAZY for. I had my leporinus in there but i accused home of eating half my femaly swordtail so i took him back. I had my water tested a few times and both petco and petsmart and they said it was all great! If anyone knows whats going on please help. Im pretty worried about my fish!

thanks
william

Judge · 10-19-2009, 06:38 PM

So sorry Speedstreetz. I do not know what your newest addition is or whether or not you used a quarantine before adding to main tank BUT it does sound like Ich. Unfortunately I think in your understandable panic you went a little overboard in the treatment area. I think I would stick with one or the other. I am not a fan of chemicals so if it were me I think I would complete a large water change and raise the temp and use the salt. Have you looked at the video on the subject of Ich. It has all the basics as to how long you should treat etc.
Next I would buy my own water testing equipment, I do not think most of those who work at the big chains have the foggiest idea what "good water params" are. Keep us posted and good luck.

Speedstreetz · 10-19-2009, 07:20 PM

i watched the video. can I use iodized salt?

Judge · 10-19-2009, 08:47 PM

No I would not use iodized salt, it has iodine in it. You can get non-iodized from the grocery store. It would be best.

Speedstreetz · 10-19-2009, 09:19 PM

is there anything I can do for my cats. their not eating at all. i dropped a few ship pellets right next to them. their not doing anything... im scarred as to how much salt to add because I hear that scaleless fish are real sensitive to that kind of thing... I guess im kinda panicking here. I really dont want to loose any fish. I feel like i have the perfect setup here and ive worked hard and put a lot of money which dosent grow on trees for me. thanks for the help.

william

mark razmandi · 10-19-2009, 10:04 PM

DO NOT USE SALT IF YOU HAVE SCALELESS FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you have scaleless fish you need a product called kordons ich attack (not kordons rid ich) it the only product i trust with my scaleless fish...treat for two weeks and your tank will be like new...also raise the temp to about 84-86 degrees...DONT USE SALT OF ANY KIND

Speedstreetz · 10-19-2009, 10:45 PM

the stuff I got is called wardley ich away from wal-mart. there the closest to my house and its all they had. if it wont work I can go somewhere else if i get off in time tomorrow... what can I do for my catfish NOW... they really look BAD!

thanks
william

ZeroSystem · 10-20-2009, 06:08 PM

Yeah, sounds like Ich alright. Usually if you catch early it isn't too difficult to get rid of. I normally am a fan of the Heat and Salt method as well, but if you do have scaleless fish (the eel and probably the pictus for instance) I would avoid adding salt. The medication Mark mentioned (Ick Attack) would certainly be a good option. I've also had success using half the recommended dosage of rid-ich when treating scaleless fish. You might want to use half the recommended dosage of the product your using as well, just to on the safe side. Water changes are usually a good thing to do during this time. Fish always seem to respond well to clean water. Also vacuuming the gravel can be a good way to remove ich spores and some what lessen it's ability to spread to other fish, in theory. Just make sure you add the appropriate amount of medication after the water change. Keeping the tank on the warm side, like 84 or 85 degrees will help as well, but it will also decrease the amount of oxygen in the water (as will most medications!) so keeping the tank well aerated will be important. A power head or an airstone or even just lowering the water level in the tank and getting more splashing from the filters will all help in providing more oxygen. Hopefully you've caught this early enough to nip it quick. Let us know how things turn out. Good luck!

Speedstreetz · 10-20-2009, 09:55 PM

so today i did like a 60% water change and filled it up shy of about 8-10 gallons. I have 2 large air stones and my penguin 200 filter with no carbon running full blast. all my fish are acting OK i guess. I haven't fed them yet and im worried if the pictus in the tank will eat. The other pictus is in a 2-way breeder thing i put in there today (removed the breeder inserts. i had to pull him out of the tank this morning because his fins are all chewed up, his gills are really red, he is panting, his whiskers are like lifeless and he has a nasty looking spot on his side. I used the kordons 100% organic ich treatment and the tank is at 84deg. I guess all that's left is patience unless someone else has any advice?

thanks
William

Speedstreetz · 10-20-2009, 10:40 PM

I took some pictures but the quality sucks... I dont know hot to take good pics inside the tank... anyone know how? I think its a good camera it new and expensive lol