Ich?

[vividdingo]

I have 2 yoyo's several Barbs, and Danios, Tetras etc. I believe I have ich in my tank because most of the fish are flicking , and scraping. Sometimes I see them at the top of the tank gasping. I have adequate circulation, and air stones. Also my water quality is good. I treated initially with salt , and heat because I didnt want to use chemicals with my loaces . That didnt work, so now I am using an ich treatment, and it doesnt seem to be working either..am I treating for the wrong disease..anh suggestions? All the info I seem to find with the flicking, scraping, gasping etc points to ich. I havent actually seen any white spots though..so Im very confused.

[chefkeith]

After starting a salt treatment you probably shouldn't have stopped it. Removing the salinity from the water too quickly can cause osmotic shock and do damage to fishes gills.

These scenarios usually don't end well. I wish I could help.

[vividdingo]

Well, I followed directions from a loach breeder. His instructions were to slowly raise the temp of the tank ( no more than 2 degrees per hr up to 85 f) which I did to speed up the life cycle of the ich. Also, I only added half the salt of a normal treatment as recommended by him. I left the salt in the tank for 10 days, then slowly lowered the temp back to 77 F . I did 2 partial water changes for a total of 50 % which would leave 50 % salinity in the tank. This should suffice wouldnt it to reduce shock?

[mistergreen]

scratching/flashing doesn't necessarily mean ich.. Did they have spots that look like salt grain?

[Ashleigh]

Two things that I can possibly thing of;

Velvet-Turn off all lights and shin a flash light over the fish. If you see a golden sheen its more than likely velvet. Fish will gasp and flick but its difficult to see in normal light. You will need to raise the temp, lights out and treat accordingly. It is possible to clear it up, but it can e pretty stubborn in some cases.

What are the readings of your water params I know you have said they are good but any fluctuation will cause fish to flick in discomfort and 'gasp'...... High nitrate... possibly a pH flux??

Right now, I would go with option one. But then it may not be that-check it out and if not we can go from there.

I doubt its ich, you should see grains of 'salt/sugar appearance' over the body at some stage-how long have the fish been displaying symptoms for? Have you added anything new into the tank (plants/fish etc) before symptoms started to show??


Ashleigh



Edit for typo

[vividdingo]

Ive only noticed some small white spots on one fish which are no onger present, I understood that early signs of ich may be flicking/scraping...

Hmm well, I didnt see any 'velvet' I think what started all of this is about a month to 2 months ago my heater went on the fritz and my temp rose dramatically . I kep turning the heater down before realizing that the heater wasnt responding properly. I know that hi temps can cause stress, and increase bacterias, and or fungus. One of my fish had sores on its side, and the other Barbs were nipping at it before it died. One of my Barbs now is bloated and having trouble swimming upright. My smaller fish (glowlight tetras, and Zebra Danios) seem un affected . All my tiger Barbs and my yoyo loaches are scraping , and flicking, gasping etc. my peppered cory catfish also seems un affected. Im not sure exactly what my params are , I use a 6 in 1 test strip for testing, and everything shows normal except my water hardness, but the water is always hard here. Also before I started the salt treatment one of my Barbs was bleeding from one gill which has now stopped ( I assumed it was damaged from scraping) but maybe its actuall a symptom?

[vividdingo]

I should also mention that all my fish were fine until I started this new aquarium as well theyve been in it for about 4 months now. Its a 100 litre (tall) tank, and I found out after the fact that tall tanks (bowed front) arent a good idea because they can create issues with surface area. I spent a lot of money on it, so Im not impressed.

I bought a test kit and here are my parameters
Nitrite=0ppm
Nitrate=40-80 ppm
Ammonia=0
Ph=7.2

[Diana]

Nitrate over 40 ppm can be quite stressful to the fish. I would do daily 25% water changes until it is under 10 ppm and see how the fish respond. Be vary careful that the new water is the same temperature, GH and KH as the tank water.
Concentrate each water change on vacuuming the substrate, too. High organic load in the tank can encourage some microorganisms that might not be good, also.

When the nitrates are down to 10ppm or lower, reduce the frequency of water changes, but test daily. When the nitrates get back up to 15 or 20 ppm, do at least a 25% water change, perhaps more. Aim to keep the nitrates under 20 ppm.
If this means more or larger water changes than you can handle on a regular basis then reduce the fish population.

The flashing and gasping does mean there is something wrong. If Ich spots have not shown up within a few days of you seeing the scratching then it is likely something else, not Ich. Irritation at some water chemistry problem is a possibility, and velvet is another. If you have looked with a flashlight and not seen it, this seems good, but keep checking. It may be early in the appearance and you might miss it the first few times you look.

I agree with you about the bowfront tanks. Some are taller and not so long, and the bowed front makes the depth deceptive: They really do not have the surface area (floor or air-water interface) that a standard tank of similar gallons has. The secret is to stock fewer fish, smaller fish, and keep up the water changes. These tanks are pretty good for plants, though.