how to treat tank with meth blue (how long ect)

[bluesue]

hi everyone
yesterday i noticed that my two clown loachs have white spots on them you can only see a few on the tails they appeared after i got a second loach 2 weeks ago. i have got meth blue today but it doesnt really tell you how too user it ok i t says how much to treat the tank with but for for how long .
i have a 3ft tank my son says it is 25 gallons
it is well planted with live plants bogwood caves .
my son told me to do a part water change of aprox 6 ltrs a day to keep the ph down as it is a very hard water here .
i have maintained a ph of 7.2
nitrate of 0.50
i use api kit to test the water.
any help you can give me to save my fish as i love to watch them swim around the tank when my asthma gets bad helps to releave stress
sue

[mickthefish]

hi Sue, the first thing to do is take all the plants and bogwood out MB will stain every thing in your tank even the gravel to a degree, then dose as recommended.
there are better treatments for ich on the market than meth blue though.

mick

[bluesue]

hi mike
thanks for the reply i will do that is it correct that the bug that causes this problem can attach itself to the plants and wood i have worked out the dose as a lot of people have recomended only put half the recomended dose in for loach but how long do i leave it in the tank for and how much water do i change .
sue

[mickthefish]

it's years since ive used MB, first i recomend that you raise the temperature betwwen 78-80 f, do a 50% water change and add the MB when it's first added all you see is a blue tank for a good few days but it starts to decrease about a week after adding giving you a chance to see your fish properly, once there is no sign of the ich start doing water changes again.
as i said in the last post there are treatments in your lfs that are good but also do not stain your tank in any way.
when Emma gets on she'll give you the brands that have worked the best IHE.

mick

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sue,

Sorry to hear about your laoches.

You'd be much better of using Waterlife's "Protozin" at half dose. This is one of the best treatments for whitespot on the market in the UK, and I feel that you'll be wasting valueable time using meth blue alone.

If you manage to get the loaches through this (time will be of the essence), then they are going to require a much, much larger tank, plus more of their own kind: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus

This post on whitespot (ich) may also be of help: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599

Be sure to increase aeration during treatment and follow the manufacturers instructions for using the medication with scaleless fish.

Good luck,

Emma

[bluesue]

hi emma and mick
sorry for spelling your name wrong mck.
thank you for your post localy i only have pets at home and meth blue was the only thing they had when i described the symptoms.
in a few weeks i will be getting a new tank 5ft long 2ft wide and 18 inches high.
but i have to wait for my friend to get his new tank and filter and all the other bits. then i will make my 3ft a quarantine tank for when i buy fish i only have the 2 clown loach and 5 endlers in the 3ft tank.
your advise has been agreat help

[starsplitter7]

To increase oxygen in your tank, lower the water. That will help too. Make sure you increase the temperature like Emma said. That speeds up the life cycle of the ick, and makes it fall off faster, then you can vacuum it up.

[bluesue]

hi to all
i got in touch with my local pets at home and they say that it will take a week for them to get this protozin treatment and advised me too treat with meth blue until they can get this one in for me .
i have done as you all advised .raised the the temp and took some water out and added an air stone.
my son named the clowns sid and marty after the lion and zebra from the film in the wild(disney) marty seems to be swimming a bit better and sid just hides behind the air stone.
i will keep you all posted.
thanks again for all your help
sue

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sue,

Where abouts in Buckinghamshire are you? All branches of Maidenhead Aquatics should carry Protozin on the shelf and I would think there should be a branch fairly near you: http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/. Unfortunately, I think you are taking a bit of a risk waiting a week for Pets at Home to get the treatment in for you (assuming it turns up with their order) as time really is of the essence when treating whitespot. Let us know how you get on,

Emma

[bluesue]

hi emma
i am in aylesbury there is a maiden head aquatics near me that is where i bought the second clown loach from i am dissabled and carry oxygen when i go out and my son cant drive it is a 40 min bus drive .
so it is difficult to get there
i noticed tonight the endlers are starting to show signs of the same white spots now .

[LoachOrgy]

i did a meth blue treatment for 10 days and it worked! 100% success. the loaches were scratching every few minutes and wouldn't stop for days. i didn't see any other visible signs but i was afraid they had oodinium. this treatment did work but it turned all the sand and filters blue and it took about a month of water changes to fully get the blue out of the tank. all the live plants in the tank were removed before treatment but they ended up dying.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sue,
You know you can always send me a PM if you would like our shop (Maidenhead Aquatics @ Peterborough) to post you out a bottle of Protozin. Or you are more than welcome to ring the store and speak to my other half Steve who part-owns the shop. The number is 01733 211825 and I have told him that there is a possibility you might ring up (we can do the transaction over the phone and you can tell us the address to send it to) and then I can take it to the post office tomorrow afternoon so it would get to you Tuesday. Of course I understand if you would rather wait for Pets at Home, but whitespot can take a hold quite quickly and waiting that long is a bit of a concern. Whilst LoachOrgy had success with meth blue alone, I don't know of anyone else that has done and there seems to be some virulent strains of whitespot about lately, hence I would not take the chance with a treatment that may or may not work. Let me know what you think, it would honestly be no trouble.
Also, one other question, what temperature is the tank water?
Best wishes,
Emma

[bluesue]

hi emma and all
this morning (monday) i got up to find one of the loachs the last one i bought laying on the bottom of the tank it had no colour and was motionless. on inspecting, the other loach has got even more white grains on it they remind me of salt grains i added the meth blue as recommended half dose i could could see these grains sticking to the glass of the tank and some floating in the water the only way i could see them was with a maginifine glass sorry about the spelling mistakes.
the other fish have it as well now.
emma thank you for for very kind offer i dont have the funds at the moment till the middle of the month so i am between a rock and a hard place.i am gonna try to get some funds and go on the bus to my local maidenhead aquatics .

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sue,
Not to worry, it was just a thought and the offer still stands if you need it.
Can you check what temperature the tank is for us please.
Many thanks,
Emma

[bluesue]

hi emma
i spoke to steve today and he put my mind at rest to a lot of things you both have been very helpfull .
steve went through a few things tank temp and so on what to do and not do .
i am so thankful for all the advise and help i have been given through the forum.
as a new comer to keeping fish tanks the info has been great and i have learned a lot through reading the other post.
sue