Fish Tank Tutor

105 responses so far ↓

• 1 jolene // Aug 11, 2007 at 4:06 pm

  I dont know much about ich. I know its white spots on the fish and can be treated with medicine to put in you water.But i want to know if its bed to loose scale. m. One of my goldfish has missing scales. He has like 9 missing on the right side and 3 missing on the lft side. i dont know if its a sickness or what?

• 2 Eric // Aug 12, 2007 at 2:47 pm

  Hi Jolene,
  Advanced cases of fish Ich can cause your fish to lose scales. If you see the spots, I would treat for Ich using the methods above. Ich can also cause your fish to rub against rocks and other decorations. That would explain some scale lose as well.

• 3 Carl Strohmeyer // Aug 27, 2007 at 2:21 pm

  Keeping up with water parameters as well is important in the treatment of ich as high ammonia/nitrite levels can lower the fish resistance. Also GH, KH, and pH are important to consider as Malachite Green (which is in many treatments such as Rid Ich or the very popular Quick Cure is more toxic at lower pH and Calcium is not only a good buffer, but a necessary element is disease resistance as well.

• 4 James greensmith // Oct 22, 2007 at 10:09 pm

  Should i make any water changes while they have white spot.

• 5 Eric // Oct 23, 2007 at 9:13 pm

  Hey James,

  Yes, it is a good idea to continue doing water changes while treating any disease. This really addresses the root of these problems by keeping your water quality where it should be.

• 6 Sarah // Nov 7, 2007 at 9:00 pm

  I have a question. Should all the gravel and decorations be taken out and cleaned thoroughly before put back in, does it matter, or can you still use them?

• 7 Eric // Nov 8, 2007 at 8:06 am

  Hi Sarah, No that is not necessary. Once you kill the organism in your tank, you’re in good shape. There’s not a risk of Ich hiding out somewhere else.

• 8 Dee Jean Maxwell // Nov 14, 2007 at 1:51 pm

  I had a new platy that developed ich. It died within 24 hours of any noticeable signs of the disease. I was planning to treat her with medication and had already purchased it. Now that she has died, should I still treat the tank or just make water changes? I have 3 other tetra fish in the tank.

• 9 Eric // Nov 14, 2007 at 9:34 pm

  Hi Dee Jean, I would treat the water to be safe. You don’t really know what stage of the life cycle your Ich is in. It could be free floating in your tank still.

• 10 Biggie // Nov 16, 2007 at 10:43 am

  how often should you feed your fish if your using the salt and raising the temperature method to get rid of ick?

• 11 Eric // Nov 16, 2007 at 11:40 pm

  Hello Biggie, There’s no reason to change your feeding routine. You can feed as normal.

• 12 Rosie // Nov 26, 2007 at 12:36 am

  I been treating my fish for the past 4 days for ick should i go a ahead and change my water how often ? and i took the filter out and I got a new one when should I instaled it? thanks…

• 13 Rosie // Nov 26, 2007 at 12:43 am

  How do I raise the temperature on my fish tank? to speed up the process of ick

• 14 Eric // Nov 26, 2007 at 10:01 pm

  Hi Rosie,

  You’ll need a heater to raise your tanks temperature. You don’t want to change the water completely as it is very stressful on your fish. You should be doing regular water changes however.
  http://www.fishtanktutor.com/aquarium-water-changes-are-they-really-necessary
  I would change the filter after you get rid of your Ich.

• 15 Mary // Dec 9, 2007 at 4:24 pm

  Hi. Well I’m new to the fish world and i noticed my fish has the salt like spots know w/ Ick. I’ve put salt in the tank and I’ve ordered a medication. Should I be worried that the fish will die before the medication comes in the main in a few days?

• 16 Mary // Dec 10, 2007 at 4:38 pm

  My fish just died and I still have a plecos in the tank. Should I clean out the tank before I put new fish in the tank and should I put the Ich Guard in the tank so that my plecos doesn’t get it? I need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• 17 Eric // Dec 11, 2007 at 7:18 am

  Mary, Sorry to hear about your fish lose. Completely cleaning your tank would be very tough on your fish. You would need to cycle your tank all over again. You should raise or keep you tanks temperature high (80-82°F). Go ahead and treat the tank for a couple of days if you do not see signs of the disease in your Pleco yet. The only reason to treat longer is if it’s in your fish and you are waiting for the disease to cycle and leave your fish. Remember it’s the water that you are treating, not the fish. Be careful not to over medicate. The downside to using these chemicals is that they can create other problems by harming your good bacteria. Just use them when you need them.

• 18 Mary // Dec 11, 2007 at 6:43 pm

  Thanks Eric! and I’m sorry too but he got really sick and his fins started to look like thy had Fin Rot. I did notice some spots on my plecos and thought I should get him out of my big tank so I put him in a smaller one. The medication I ordered should be here by tommorow it’s called Ick Guard do you think this brand will be ok for him? I’m just worried about the amout to give him.

• 19 Mary // Dec 11, 2007 at 6:48 pm

  This may soud really stupid but I don’t use or have a heater because I only keep Fancy Goldfish and as much as I know they don’t require heaters. Will I be able to get rid of the Ick w/ out a heater? I’m not sure if this believable but the medication I ordered (Ick Guard) says that it doesn’t require a temp. raise.
  I really would hate for him to die too though.

• 20 Mary // Dec 11, 2007 at 6:50 pm

  I’m sorry for all the questions but do you think it’s a bad idea that I took him out of the tank? Since I took him out should I clean the normal tank or leave it as it is since there’s no fish in it?

• 21 Eric // Dec 11, 2007 at 9:45 pm

  <p>Mary, Don’t worry. There are no stupid questions. The smaller medicine tank is a great idea. It’s a lot easier to medicate without destroying your bio-filter. Ich Guard should work fine if you cut the dosage. Ich Guard II is designed for scaleless fish. The high temperature only speeds up the disease cycle. You can still medicate without raising the temp. I would stick to the directions but it will most likely suggest 14 days of treatment. You should treat the original tanks water even without the fish to kill the free floating organism. Hope that all helps! Good luck!</p>

• 22 Mary // Dec 12, 2007 at 3:52 pm

  Thanks so much Eric! You are such a great help. I’m totally coming to you when ever I have fish questions!

• 23 Mary // Dec 12, 2007 at 4:16 pm

  It says on the medication that to give one teaspoon for every 10 gallons and if Ick doesn’t go away to give ever 24 hours. Does this mean that I only have to give it once?

• 24 Mary // Dec 13, 2007 at 6:49 am

  Eric, My plecos died just died too. I put Ich Guard in the little tank he was in and I put it in my big tank. Should I completely clean out my main tank and dump the water out and clean the rocks and stuff or should I just leave the Ick Guard in? If I should leave the Ich Guard how long should I leave it in before I can try again w/ more fish?

• 25 Eric // Dec 17, 2007 at 10:17 pm

  Hi There Again Mary,
  Sorry to hear about losing another fish. Sounds like it was too late to help them. You don’t need to clean all the rocks and such. Treating the water of both tanks for a week or so should do the trick. I would start with one fish only just to make sure you are completely rid of it sometime after the week. You don’t need to change all of the water, but would probably benefit from a major change. 50% should do after the week of treatment.

• 26 Mary // Dec 21, 2007 at 4:01 pm

  Ok! I’ve treated my tank for ick and I’ve done a 50% water change. I also changed the filter. It’s been a little more then a week and I want to get another fish tomorrow. I was hoping to get another pleco then my friend is going to give me some of her baby mollies when they are ready. My question is : Can I have a pleco in a tank by it’s self until I can get the mollies in a few weeks?

• 27 Eric // Dec 22, 2007 at 10:30 pm

  Mary, sure there’s no harm in that.

• 28 Jen // Jan 1, 2008 at 2:43 pm

  Hi and Happy New Year,

  I got ick in my tank about 3months ago when I bought about 15 tetra/barb/mollies to put in my 55gl tank with my other fishes. I only treated by quaraniting the ones that had spots after 3 died because within a week after purchasing them because some of them had babies.

  Now, I found a few dead last week. I don’t know how to treat the tank because I have 3months, 1 month, 1week, and days old babies. Will the babies survive “ick treatment”? I bought a new heater last night and at max. temp. it’s reading 78.

• 29 Eric // Jan 3, 2008 at 10:28 pm

  Hi Jen,
  You’ll want to be careful with the baby fish if you treat the whole tank. Check out the label on the treatment. You should only treat at 1/2 strength at most with the babies in there. The treatment is a poison of sorts. Another option would be to add the babies to the quarantine and treat the rest. After you are comfortable the Ich is cleared up you could add them back to your main tank.

  Also, looks like you need a bigger heater if that is all the higher you can get it. A bigger one or a second one would do the trick.

• 30 Denise // Jan 7, 2008 at 12:58 am

  <p>Hi, I have a question about the Ick. I currently am for the first time experiencing fish with the ick. I have neons, some diff. barbs and a few diff. mollie species and also 12 diff. colored glo fish. Just today a few more neons passed and the one mollie looks bad. All the Zebras I took back to the store which had Ick. I was told to raise the temp. water to 80 degrees which it is at and was told to raise the salt level to 1.0005 on a Hydrometer scale reading and NOT to medicate at all that it would just cause a secondary infection. Said the increase salt level and raised water temp. would kill the parasites in 4 days but to keep doing this for 2 weeks with weekly parcial water changes. Do you know if this is a good method? The person whom advised me to treat my fish is a Marine Biologist so I hope she is steering me right.</p>

• 31 Eric // Jan 9, 2008 at 9:39 pm

  Hi Denise, The advice from your friend isn’t bad at all. Salt treatments probably deserve a separate post to give all the details around them. This post refers to the method http://www.fishtanktutor.com/dropsy. It’s probably worth a look. Many shy away from chemical treatments because of their side effects. They are however, the most aggressive of treatment options. Coupling the chemical treatments with the salt as mentioned in the linked post can help speed the treatment as well.

• 32 BROOKE BINIAK // Jan 10, 2008 at 1:35 pm

  I have a question we had 2 clown fish and 1 yello tail dansel they died from ikh my only problem is that we have live sand and live rock how do u cure it with that stuff in it. The pet store told me I can due a cold dip or I should turn my heater up to 82 and then add salt to the tank to read 1.026 I’m not sure if that is correct or not. I just dont want my other two fish to die and also my shrimp and emerald crap to get hurt in anyway. Please help this is my first time dealing with this and its a new tank.

  Thanks Brooke

• 33 Zore // Jan 11, 2008 at 12:08 am

  Hey Eric.
  We noticed the white spot on our swordtail fish yesterday.she also has a swollen abdomen. the male looks healthy. we did 50% water change and added 40 drops of Ich treatment (but no aquarium salt)to the 10 Gallon water tank and raised the temp to 82. I don’t have another tank to do quarantine. do you think the female is dangerous for the male or the water is already infected? do you think the female has a chance of surviving the disease?

• 34 Zore // Jan 11, 2008 at 12:11 am

  Do you think I also have to add aquarium salt since she also has dropsy?

• 35 Eric // Jan 12, 2008 at 3:18 pm

  Hi Brooke, You really need to quarantine you fish before treating with given your situation. This keeps you from affecting the live rock and sand. The most common treatment for saltwater Ich is copper. The problem is, the advice given here is specifically for freshwater fish, so I don’t want to confuse things too much as there are more effective treatments than Copper for freshwater fish Ich. I recommend doing a quick search search on Google to find saltwater specific advice, as the recommended treatments are different.

• 36 Eric // Jan 12, 2008 at 3:38 pm

  Hello Zore, If your male has not yet contracted the disease it’s not a big deal. You are actually killing the disease when it is free floating. The male won’t get it directly from the female. It would get it from the water. If you are in the middle of the treatment cycle, the organism won’t live long enough in the water do do any harm to the male. Chance of survival is really dependent on the stage of the disease. If caught early enough, she could survive. Once you start seeing advanced signs, the chances decrease dramatically. Read your particular Ich treatment for any cautions, but using the low level salt treatment coupled with the Ich treatment should not do any harm.

• 37 Stephanie // Jan 17, 2008 at 7:57 pm

  I was wondering… I have a painted turtle in the tank with my two fish that have Ich and I just raised the tempurature to start the treatment, but I’m worried that it might harm the turtle if either the water is too warm or the medication could possibly do something. I don’t think it will but I’d like to make sure just in case.

• 38 Eric // Jan 19, 2008 at 2:20 pm

  Hi Stephanie, Don’t worry about the temperature. I wouldn’t go above 86°F and it will be fine. The medication could affect the turtle adversely. The warnings may tell you this. There are many medications available with many differences so it’s hard to tell. If you can quarantine either the fish or the turtle before treating, I think that is the safest thing to do.

• 39 Stephanie // Jan 19, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  So I should just heat up the tank and use salt? I dont’ have anywhere big enough for the turtle to go but I do have a small tank for the fish.

• 40 Eric // Jan 20, 2008 at 12:41 pm

  Stephanie, Yes, I would suggest adding aquarium salt and stepping up the heat without being able to quarantine. That is your next best option. If you’re catching the disease in its early stages, your chances are good.

• 41 Stephanie // Jan 20, 2008 at 3:26 pm

  I don’t understand how the salt will help. And if I do use it then I don’t need any medication? Also, is this a disease that my turtle could catch? I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m confused about the whole situation.

• 42 Eric // Jan 21, 2008 at 9:06 pm

  Stephanie, Don’t worry one bit about the confusion. Salt would be used as an alternative treatment to medication. I don’t believe turtles can catch Ich. A good starting point is 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. Basically, smaller organisms cannot process the higher concentrations of salt like your fish can. This weakens and eventually kills off the Ich. Your fish are able to adjust to this small concentration of salt even though they are freshwater fish.

• 43 Debbi // Jan 23, 2008 at 10:49 pm

  My barbs have ich. I’ve already lost two. I’ve been using Quick-cure, but I think it’s really stressing them out. They are very sluggish and haven’t eaten in three days (since the treatment began, prior to that the only symptom I saw was a few white spots on two fish..no flashing either) The two fish I lost didn’t seem sick at all before the Quick Cure and showed no symptoms. One of the survivors has lost most of his tail, although I wonder if that’s because his friends are nipping him because he’s weak or if it fell off because he’s sick. I raised my temp from 72 to 74 last evening and from 74 to 78 this a.m. and from 78-80 this evening.

  The question is: can I use salt and the malachite green/formalin based Quick Cure together? Can I discontinue the Quick Cure safely or am I just chickening out on the treatment? How do I know how much salt is in the tank?

• 44 Eric // Jan 24, 2008 at 7:36 am

  Hi Debbi, Yes, you can do salt treatments and malachite green medication treatments together. Malachite green can even be used to treat completely saltwater tanks. You’ll need a hydrometer if you want to test the exact salt level. Don’t worry, sounds expensive but you can find them for a few bucks

• 45 Debbi // Jan 24, 2008 at 8:33 am

  Thanks, Eric! I’ll get one today.

• 46 Mary // Jan 24, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  hi again eric! Thankfully my tank is doing wonderful!!! I have a question though about ick and plecos. If a tank were to get ick w/ a plecos in it how would you go about treating the tank w/ out killing the plecos? Any tips on medicating tanks with plecos in them not just for ick but diseases in general?

• 47 Eric // Jan 26, 2008 at 3:19 pm

  Great to hear Mary! You can find Ich medication specifically designed for scaleless fish (including Plecos). These will be much easier on your Pleco. You’ll want to be careful with Malachite Green/Formalin based treatments. Same thing for using heavy salt treatments. Both of these treatments can be harder on Plecos.

• 48 Ashley // Jan 30, 2008 at 4:51 pm

  I have a fresh water tank and I think my fish have ick but there are no visible signs of any spots. The symptoms of the disease that i have noticed are the scratching on rocks, swimming low, occasionally not eating, and I had a pleco die yesterday. my temp in my tank was pretty cold about 60 degrees. I bought a heater and it is now about 75. I have a blackskirt tetra, convicts, and a pleco. the pleco that died was bought 2 days before it died and it would stay by the water flow of the water pump which was weird because plecos like still water….what do u think is it ick or am i overreacting to the death of this fish?

• 49 Eric // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:48 pm

  Hi Ashley, It’s hard to tell if your dealing with Ich or not. The spots are the biggest indicator that it’s Ich, and you aren’t seeing them. With the behavior your describe, your fish is definitely sick from something. Those are all classic signs. It would probably be best to hold off on treatment unless you see the symptoms progressing a bit further. It doesn’t seem like you are over reacting. Most of the time when fish are lost to disease, it’s because the symptoms aren’t noticed until it’s too late. I would just keep a close eye and raise the temp some to get the disease moving in case you are dealing with Ich. You also should do some water testing to make sure everything is where is should be. Water problems can even promote those signs of weakness.

• 50 Ashley // Jan 31, 2008 at 12:47 pm

  thanks for the advice. today i was inspecting my fish and i did notice a couple spots but they were pretty small and it wasn’t all over the body like most pics i’ve seen and there seemed to be tiny stuff floating in the water that i’ve never noticed. i’m not sure if it was just stuff stirred up from the bottom or what but to be safe i turned the heater up to about 80 and i added some salt to the water but i was sure to dissolve the salt first so it wouldnt dissolve my pleco and i noticed while adding the salt that my fish were almost instantly playin around again. i dont know what to think of all this.

• 51 Eric // Feb 2, 2008 at 10:39 am

  Ashley, That all makes sense. The the only thing I would caution you about is the salt treatments with the Pleco. They are not really fans of the salt. It would be best to dilute the normal salt treatment suggestion some. Typically you’ll add 1tsp of aquarium salt per gallon. I would start with 1tsp per 2 gallons.

• 52 Ashley // Feb 2, 2008 at 10:29 pm

  i thought it was one tablespoon for every 5 gallons that’s what i added and the pleco seems to be doing just fine he seems to be much more happy. and i had another question i was thinkin about puttin plants in my tank but i wasn’t sure if the salt would kill them or not so i havent gotton any yet. I think my convicts are gettin ready to breed but they act like they don’t have a place that is suitable for them.

• 53 Eric // Feb 3, 2008 at 4:05 pm

  Ashley, Sorry for the confusion. One tablespoon per 5 gallons is a fine place to start. My suggestion above is for one teaspoon per 2 gallons. 1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons. That works out to 1 tablespoon per 6 gallons. Some plants are more tolerant to salt than others. You’ll want to do a little research before buying. Just do a Google search for “aquarium plants”. You might first do a quick look at your local aquarium shop. It’s usually easier to find out what you can actually find and then figure out whether they will work. You might even be better off holding off a couple weeks if possible till your Ich is gone. Then you can start diluting your salty water with water changes.

• 54 jessica // Feb 4, 2008 at 11:11 am

  i bought 2 fish at petco about a month ago. i had both of them in a 30 gallon tank and decided to get more fish to fill it up. i bought 2 angel fish and a puffer fish. all of a sudden both of the angel fish died. i know now that i didnt have a heater in it and thats probably why they died. i noticed my puffer fish getting white bumps of it so i bought fish ich cure the next day. its been about 4 days now since i noticed the ich and my puffer fish still seems to be doing very well. i bought a tank heater too. should i be worried that my puffer fish will die too or do you think i have this under control now????

• 55 Eric // Feb 5, 2008 at 9:17 pm

  Hi Jessica, You’ll just need to keep a close eye on your puffer. Ich can move fast. If your fish is showing any other signs of sickness you’ll need to address the problem. Lethargic, always hanging at the top or bottom of tank, & not eating are all sings to look for.

• 56 Ashley // Feb 10, 2008 at 12:08 am

  this isn’t a comment about ick but i was wondering if u knew anything about fish bladder disease. my convict seems to have it he just floats on the bottom of the tank upside down. the other fish have been nipping at his fins so i moved him to a tank by himself. i’m not sure of how to treat it all the other sites tell me not to feed him for a week but i’m afraid i’m just going to kill him by doing that. what should i do? do u have any other tips for me if u don’t know it’s ok too.

• 57 Eric // Feb 12, 2008 at 8:25 pm

  Ashley, Feeding your fish peas, cutting back some on feedings, and most importantly cleaning up the water are the most common treatments for swim bladder disease.

• 58 Christian // Feb 12, 2008 at 8:52 pm

  I had 3 clown loaches, 2 yo-yo botias, and 5 neon tetras. The clowns looked like they had ick but i wasn’t sure because i recently switched my gravel to sand. But then one day the loaches started to itch on the ornaments in the tank so i assumed they had ick. So i went and bought some quick cure put 1/2 the dosage because the loaches are sensitive to medicines, and took the carbon out of my filter. Within one and a half days all my fish were dead except the one yo-yo botia. So what should I do now?

• 59 Sam // Feb 14, 2008 at 2:31 pm

  Are you able to see the floating ick in the water?

• 60 JON // Feb 16, 2008 at 11:01 am

  I have a 72 gallon tank that was home to an array of African Cichlids. Boy o boy did they give me problems. I have had tanks set up my whole life and have never had such bad luck. The whole tank was eventually lost to Ich. I have treated the tank with quick cure for a week and the only fish left standing is my awesome pleco. This is my question. I want to use this tank now for acouple oscars (south american cichlids) because i have never ever had any problems with them and have had a few for acouple years now. Should i break down the whole entire tank and scrub to rid of the ich or just be doing a crazy amount of water changes to reach the lower PH desired by the oscars. I know my pleco will adjust back down to the lower PH if done slowly but and am i risking losing the newly introduced oscars to the ich that killed off my others??

• 61 madge // Feb 17, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  If I’m doing an ich treatment how often do I change the water and add salt?

• 62 Eric // Feb 17, 2008 at 4:13 pm

  Christian.
  You’ll want to continue treating the water for the suggested cycle just to make sure you have killed it all off. Sound like either the disease was too far progressed or there is something else going on in your tank as well. With all of those fish dying off so quickly it would lead me to believe it was something else. I would quickly do some water tests to see what you find.

• 63 Eric // Feb 17, 2008 at 4:20 pm

  Jon,
  Same advise as Christian. I’d treat the Ich through the cycle. That should rid you of the Ich problem. Breaking down the tank completely has some many negative affects that I would not suggest it.

  Take a look here for some pH lowering suggestions. http://www.fishtanktutor.com/be-careful-adjusting-your-aquarium-ph There are also some suggestions in the article and comments.

• 64 Eric // Feb 17, 2008 at 4:27 pm

  Hi Madge,
  Take a look here for water change info.
  http://www.fishtanktutor.com/aquarium-water-changes-are-they-really-necessary

  For salt treatments, there is a lot of info in the comments to this article. Comment #30 talks about it some along with many others.

• 65 madge // Feb 17, 2008 at 7:17 pm

  Okay thanks– I don’t have a hydrometer scale to measure the salt so I didn’t know if there was another best practice for a 4-day aggressive ich treatment, ie: change 25% of water daily for 4 days and add X amount of salt with water change. 4 of my 8 fish have died in 48 hours and the others are just now showing signs after 2 days of the heat/salt treatment, so it’s progressing quickly. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks.

• 66 lilmarge11555108@aol.com // Feb 17, 2008 at 10:17 pm

  How often do you use the ick med. everyday?Have already turned up thermonter.Ty 4 a great site

• 67 madge // Feb 18, 2008 at 1:11 pm

  Great news! My 4 surviving fish have warded off the ich… so the heat and salt treatment apparently does work if you catch it in time. I’m on my 3rd day of treatment (after 4 fish died 2 days ago) and the fish look and act normal again. I will continue to treat for another 7 days (I suppose?) Thanks again for the great information– it really did save my fish:)

• 68 Eric // Feb 21, 2008 at 6:57 am

  Hi there lilmarge,
  All of the meds are different so I wouldn’t vary form the directions on the package.

• 69 Eric // Feb 21, 2008 at 7:01 am

  Great to hear madge! I’d like to take credit, but I think it’s all of these individual stories that help the most.

• 70 madge // Feb 21, 2008 at 12:11 pm

  One last question, will the tails grow back? My fish were fancy guppies with beautiful tails, but now they are short. I’m pretty sure they are going to survive after the treatment because they no longer have the white dots and they are moving around, eating normally. So just curious about the tails.

• 71 Eric // Feb 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm

  Madge,
  It is very likely that it will grow back. Just make sure you are keeping your tank very clean to ward off any infection.

• 72 Stephanie // Feb 25, 2008 at 7:58 pm

  Yes, it’s me again. My ICH problem was solved with using 3 tablets of ICH Clear. This is a very useful fizzing tablet for anyone who is looking to clear their fish of ICH so I would recommend it! But not I seem to have another problem in a different tank of mine. I wasn’t sure where this post would fit so I just decided to put it here. If you know anything about a buoyancy problem called swim bladder I really need help curing my fish. I have read that it could be permanant but there is a cure that may help with my fish. While researching about this it said that I should give my fish one green pea a day that’s lightly crushed. But my fish doesn’t even make an attempt to eat it. I even tried taking him out and putting him in a seperate bowl with the pea. The other fish ate it just fine but I wasn’t even trying to give it to them. D0 you have any suggestions?

• 73 Shawn // Feb 27, 2008 at 12:10 pm

  I just started my first treatment of Ick in my 38 gallon tank. I plan on treating for 2 weeks.

  My question is this. When should I start the the water changes????? How often during the 2 weeks treatment cycle should I change the water?

  It’s normal for the water to be blueish correct?

  Thanks in advance.

• 74 squid // Feb 27, 2008 at 7:34 pm

  Hello Eric
  I have just started a fish tank (been about 2 weeks now).
  I bought 4 shebunkens (excuse spelling) from a shop, and about 3 days after, they started dying. I assumed that (after talking to another fish shop owner) the water in the tank wasnt properly prepared.
  Because my last 2 fish looked healthy enough, I bought a gold fish to keep the them company.
  It wasnt until the 3rd original fish died that I noticed the white spots.
  So…now I have 2 fish with ich and I have been treating the water with ‘Multicure’, and changing 1/2 the tank water every 3 days. Its been about 5 days now and the fish actually look worse.
  If there were spots on the fish to start with, and I treated them, then why wouldnt I have caught the ich in their ‘falling off the fish into the gravel to procreate’ stage? How come I have even more spots now that when I started?
  Am I doing the right thing? I cant heat the water cos its a cold water tank.
  Cheers,
  Bonnie

• 75 Eric // Feb 29, 2008 at 3:39 pm

  Hello again Stephanie,

  Great to hear on the Ich. Swim Bladder Disease can be permanent but it would most likely show up early. Otherwise, it could be caused from eating too fast or bacteria. There really is no way to tell which. You could try skipping a couple feedings and see if there is any improvement. If you have had poor quality water, you should probably treat it like bacteria was the cause with an antibiotic. Tetracycline is one of the most common.

• 76 Eric // Feb 29, 2008 at 3:46 pm

  Hi Shawn,

  The blue is normal with many treatments. I would suggest aggressive water changes during treatments. 20% every few days. This is mostly just to clean up the water. It’s usually poor water conditions that lead to Ich showing its ugly head.

• 77 Eric // Feb 29, 2008 at 3:55 pm

  Hello Bonnie,
  My first suggestion is to stop buying fish until you get things under control. Read up here first.

  http://www.fishtanktutor.com/aquarium-cycling-without-killing-your-fish

  It might not be Ich that is killing your fish. It could be ammonia poisoning.

  Ich is more difficult to treat in cold water tanks. The 50%, 3 day water changes are also very aggressive. Any good bacteria that has been established is getting wiped out. My suggestion is to quickly get some bacteria starter to help establish things. Continue the Ich treatment as suggested by the directions. That is your best hope of saving your fish if they are all affected.

• 78 Shawn // Mar 3, 2008 at 7:17 pm

  Eric,

  I have noticed no improvements in a week since I discovered the ICK outbreak. Have done water changes, ph, ammonia, nitrate tests and nothing has improved.

  How long will it take for the cysts to fall off the fish? I will not have a fish left at this rate!!!!!

  My tank water is 82 degrees also.

• 79 Eric // Mar 6, 2008 at 7:33 am

  Shawn,

  Are you doing partial water changes by siphoning the bottom? Take a look here.
  http://www.fishtanktutor.com/aquarium-water-changes-are-they-really-necessary

  The cysts could take a while. Once you start seeing big blotches of the disease, it’s pretty advanced.

• 80 raquel // Mar 14, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  hi, i have a golden gourami, i got it 2 weeks ago, i feel like something is coming on… he’s moving quickly where the filter water comes out and will hang out at the bottom every now and again.. also will come up quick for air… he was blowing bubbles at the top when i first got him now he is moving around fast. i put some salt in today and raised the temp. anything else i can do?

• 81 Eric // Mar 16, 2008 at 3:27 pm

  Raquel,
  You are probably best sticking what what you have done so far. Medications can be hard on your tank are usually best saved for when you are certain about what you are dealing with. Just keep a close eye on him for now and look for more certain signs of sickness.

• 82 Danielle // Mar 16, 2008 at 6:13 pm

  I’m hoping someone can help me…I’ve read all of the above post and they are very helpful, thankful. I have lost two fish to ICK and Ive been continously treating the tank based on the opinion of an owner of a fish store here in town, however it seems to keep coming and going on the remainder of the fish. White spots around the face and today I’m noticing white spots around the fins of one. Its odd though because when I’m near the tank they are active and looking to eat but when I walk away to the two that seem to show visible signs of ICK seem to be hanging out at the bottom of the tank together, either side by side or the smaller one under the bigger fish. Could this be more of a sign of mating versus ICK? Like I said there are visible signs of ICK but it just seems to come and go. I will add that recently I had to move the tank/fish out of my home due to my house being tented for termites. So partial water change was done when the tank was moved and brought back. The tank/fish are now back in the home but I thinking maybe the fish were caused stress. Any suggestions?

• 83 Eric // Mar 20, 2008 at 8:12 pm

  Hi there Danielle,
  The mating idea would really be hard to tell. They could be stressed from the move or maybe the treatments. The continuous Ich treatments will really eat away at your good bacteria as well. Make sure you are testing regularly to keep an eye on spikes in ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. It’s really a tough balance to kick the Ich and keep from destroying your good bacteria.

• 84 William // Mar 21, 2008 at 9:50 am

  My fresh water shark die from a fungus. but I have other fish in the tank. I brought the medicine for the fungus. It turn the tank green. The direction ask put more medicine after 2 days the tank is still green. will this over medicate the fish? direction ask to remove the filters while I am medicating the fish. How does the green water disappear? or putin on the filter will do the trick and of course, change 1/4 of the tank.

  Thank you

• 85 Eric // Mar 25, 2008 at 8:10 pm

  William,
  Is your green from algae or did it instantly change from the medication? Many medications can change your water color. You should remove your filter ( or the carbon from it) for treatment. With water changes and in short time your green will disappear if it’s just from the medication.

• 86 Katie // Apr 2, 2008 at 9:06 pm

  Hello, my tank has ICH! I first, cleaned the gravel, got the ph & nitrates back to normal. Started treatment with Nox-Ich, now 3 days into treatment my 3 silver dollar fish have died & 1 cicadas. Now on my 4 th day my pleco fish is zipping to the top, my 2 other cichlids are lathargic, labored breathing, not eating & hiding! My other fish, 2 cory cats, 2 fiddler crabs, 2 guaramis, 1 dinasaur eel, & 1 rope eel are left not seeming to be really sick yet. I have increased the temp. & will continue to treat for another 10 more days, am I doing things right and how hard is it to overcome this ICH & the fish surviving this trauma!??? How much further into treatment will we start to see progress? P.S this is a 75 gal. Any more suggestions? Frustrated to the MAX!!!

• 87 Susan // Apr 5, 2008 at 8:25 am

  My fish has ick I only have 1 fish left. If that one dies should I clean the tank before getting new fish? How often should we add salt to the tank if we choose to do that? I added medication yesterday and it says to repeat in 48 hours. Thanks for your help.

• 88 Jeremy // Apr 5, 2008 at 11:58 am

  Hey, I need some help with my clown loaches. There are four in my 30 gal. tank. I got two at the same time, then about 2 months later got two more, so I’ve had them for a while now, my tank hasnt changed fish-wise for about 3+months. My big clown loach is about 2.5” - 3”, the other one i got at the same time hasnt grown much past 1.5” or so, as for the other two, the one is about the same as the last and the one is a bit smaller for some reason. But just recently i noticed the big one hanging out by the heater, not leaving right away to eat as usual. I also noticed some specks on the tail area toward the tip, usually i would suspect ick, but these are almost algae looking greenish/whitish specks. Also the two mid size loaches keep swimming up, they reach the top and just kinda swim at a slow pace but just like looking up. the big one, sits between the heater and the glass of the tank, also looking up but he’s big enough that he fits in there and doesnt really have to swim. Also he sometimes leaves that spot to eat a little, but he gets by the bottom of the heater and does this jerky movement where he very quickly moves from one spot to the other, but its not normal, hes moving from side to side i guess. I’m not sure I just need some help please. thank you.

• 89 Eric // Apr 8, 2008 at 6:13 am

  Hi Katie,
  Ich is tough if it’s caught in its latter stages. Once you start the medication it really should be seen through the end. Most are 14 days. You can also read through the comments for salt treatment tips. It’s OK use both treatments. The only thing that worries me is your Pleco. Standard Ich treatments and standard salt treatments are very tough on scaleless fish like Plecos. You are best to quarantine him if you can and if you have to treat all other fish. You can also cut treatment amount in half as an alternative.

• 90 Eric // Apr 8, 2008 at 8:26 pm

  Susan,
  Rather than a full clean, you are better off just killing off the Ich. If you complete your medicine cycle you should be completely rid of it. If you have started the medicine, and only have one fish, I wouldn’t mess with the salt treatments. Add new fish one at a time to be certain you are rid of it.

• 91 Eric // Apr 8, 2008 at 9:18 pm

  Hi there Jeremy,
  It definitely sounds like they are stressed from something. It could be Ich or some other parasite. You probably want to keep a very close eye. If you have a quarantine tank, you might remove the worst looking and treat it separately for a parasite. If you see improvement, you can then treat the rest.

• 92 William // Apr 11, 2008 at 12:25 am

  Hi ,

  I just brought 6 red parrots. One of them is turn black. Is that normal?

  Thank you

• 93 Eric // Apr 11, 2008 at 8:50 am

  Hey there,

  I have a 37 gal tank and have my share of problems. Recently, I’ve been battling ich for 14 days and followed directions with the medicine. My black molly looks cured, but now I’m seeing more beginning spots on one of my platys and the glass fish (I’m sure they are the bearers of ich…nothing but problems with my tank since they were introduced a month ago), the one that had two spots now has several.

  Should I just do a 50-70% water change at this stage and round up the glass fish and but them in a “special” bowl? Should I continue ich treatment for another 14 days? I’ve removed my carbon filter, but is my bio-wheel completely useless now? Will I have to replace it?

  Thanks,

  Eric

• 94 Jean // Apr 16, 2008 at 8:36 am

  I have treated my tank for ick and the directions say to remove the carbon while medicating…what does that mean? I pulled the filter out-the one with the floss and dropped the fizzy tab and it dissolved…now what? How long do I keep the filter out? When I do water changes (still cycling the tank) do I have to re-medicate?
  I bought a pacu and I think it introduced ick into my other wise healthy tank. If it happens again and the tank was already treated, will the new icky fish benefit?
  I have read about adding salt…I have a water softening pillow in the filter-will that add enough salt to do the job with the ick?

• 95 Eric // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:12 pm

  Hi Eric,
  I wouldn’t worry about separating them unless you can treat them fully in that separate tank. The reason to separate is really so you don’t do too much damage to your established tank. If you still see signs of Ich it makes sense to keep treating. Make sure you are raising the temp to flush it into the water. Your bio-wheel can still be used but the good bacteria is probably in bad shape after continual treatment.

• 96 Eric // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  Hi Jean,
  You can remove the filter completely or just take the carbon out by cutting a slit in the floss and leaving the floss in tack to mechanically filter your tank. Directions probably give you a treatment period. It’s probably 14 days. You shouldn’t have to re-medicate with water changes. If the Ich re-occurs, you will need to treat again.

• 97 Eric // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:45 pm

  William,
  Black would indicate healing if it is stressed out more than the others from ammonia poisoning or some other stress. It could also be the common parrot fish black spot disease if it’s turning slowly.

• 98 Brandon // Apr 22, 2008 at 12:28 pm

  Eric, I have not been home for two days, and upon returning noticed my Raphael stripped catfish with ICh all over and varied speckles of ich on my Iradescent sharks. I will be getting medicine for the water today, but how long does is take for this Ich to kill catfish?

• 99 Eric // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:32 pm

  Brandon,
  It all depends on the stage. You’ll see the signs, lethargic, swimming at the top, etc. I will caution you about the Ich treatments. If you don’t type of treatment designed for scaleless fish, you should cut the dose in half as it’s tough on them. There are also types specifically designed for scaleless fish.

• 100 Brandon // Apr 24, 2008 at 9:26 am

  Thanks for the info. Last night, I returned home to find Captain Spazmo Sprockets (The catfish) was dead. The sharks are not looking too good but are not showing any signs of fin rot, however my orange platty has major fin rot. I think he unfortunately will be the next to go…Good to know about cutting the dosage in half…My black Molly and her babies do not seem to be showing any sign of Ich. Do they have some type of natural immunity?

• 101 Eric // Apr 28, 2008 at 6:13 am

  Your welcome Brandon! Sorry to hear about your catfish. Your Molly’s are just lucky. They don’t have any sort of immunity.

• 102 Angela // May 6, 2008 at 1:08 am

  I have an 8 year old 11 inch goldfish/koi? raised from a ‘feeder fish’… I’ve grown very fond of. Over the years I’ve brought it back from the dead a few times with antibiotics. Usually the cause of the illness was introducing a new fish or placo into his tank (currently at 43 gallons). I finally broke down and bought a little placo to help with the algea. It was also suggested I use “Quick Cure” as a precaution… Considered more-so when I noticed the white spots on the placo. Now, after reading about the harshness of Quick Cure in the above comments, I’m concerned. Annnd, my goldfish, although he seemed fine before the treatment, is not eating now. I’m on the 2nd day. I really really don’t want my fish to die! Please help!

• 103 Eric // May 7, 2008 at 9:42 pm

  Hello Angela,
  Sorry to hear. Are you able to get your goldfish in a separate tank to treat? You could even use a bowl although you won’t be able to raise the temp to speed up the Ich lifecycle. That’s probably your best choice. That way you can treat more aggressively. If it hasn’t gotten too bad you’ll have a chance that way. Treating at half to protect your Pleco just might not be enough to fight it off your gold fish.

• 104 Angela // May 8, 2008 at 10:33 am

  I could have probably done that with the placo for sure. However, I gave them 2 days of the full dose of “Quick Cure” and then cleaned the tank, added salt hoping it would calm it a little and they both seem to be doing well… Although the placo is in hiding, but alive. Crossing my fingers but I think we survived this round! Thank you Scott!

• 105 Angela // May 8, 2008 at 11:16 am

  Thank you ERIC! Sorry! :”>

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