Long battle with Ich...I need help

[chefkeith]

I'm glad to hear the loaches are eating other foods again.

Large TDS changes can make loaches sulk for quite a long time, so be very careful the next time you start removing the salt and do it much slower next time.

The ich should be completely eradicated by now, but you have been cross contaminating this tank with the snail tank, so I'd be on the cautious side. The recent fish death would raise my suspicions that the salt dosage isn't high enough and that ich may still persist in the gills of the some of the fish.

The recent fish death can only be tied to 3 different causes- osmotic shock, ich, and/or poor water quality (nitrites). You need to stay concerned with all 3 possible causes.

[Tay690]

I did it very slowly...i dripped it over 12-16 hours (can't be exact I was at work) and went from approx 1.75 tsp per gallon to about 1.5 tsp per gallon ... that was about a month ago though

and my plans to reduce the concentration are as follows

I have a 7 gallon bucket that I've been adding 7 tsp to each time I change the water

So I figure this sunday I will add 6 tsp to the bucket...next week WC I will add 5 tsp per bucket

I think the 4 fish I got from the LFS have a strange internal parasite that was not only making them feel horrible inside...but also stressing them out and not allowing them to eat

I think the other fish in the tank were picking up on the fish's stress through pharamones and it was causing all of them to be stressed in turn

the fact that the first one to die was swimming irradically and the 2nd was also doing the same thing further solidifies my assumption

none of the other fish have shown symptoms like this for the past 2 weeks so I'm very happy

the 2 babies that came with that batch are still alive and eating very well...so they're either still infested with the same internal parasite...or not infested at all

I'm going strictly on the fish's behaviour for my assumptions here...as fish are usually a better indicator that something is wrong rather than parameters or numbers

and to see them eat after 3 weeks of morning feeding and evening siphoning of the food they refused to eat...it makes me happy beyond belief...even if the tank is in a mini cycle

they will die much faster without food

the ich is visibly gone (thank god) and they are eating...what else can I ask for right?

do you think it is too soon to start dropping the concertration keith? should I wait a little longer? I'm also hesitant to bump up the salt concentration again just due to the fact that they might not eat if it gets too high and they get too stressed again...and not eat (3 week with barely touching any food whatsoever before this also)...they really didn't enjoy the 2 tsp per gallons at all...and remember they've been in the tank with about 5 weeks of high concentration of salt...which alone has to be taking it's toll on the poor fish

so what do you think?

[chefkeith]

That plan should work. I don't have anything more to add right now. I hope everything goes well.
Thanks for keeping us updated.

[Diana]

I'm going strictly on the fish's behaviour for my assumptions here...as fish are usually a better indicator that something is wrong rather than parameters or numbers

But recording the test results and watching for a trend can alert you to conditions getting a little questionable before they are bad enough to affect the fish. A tiny bit of corrective action while the problem is just barely a problem is much easier on you and the fish than waiting to see the fish stressing then running for the test kit.

[Tay690]

thought I would throw an update in:

The loaches are eating anything and everything I put in the tank...no matter how much and how often (and no I haven't been overfeeding...just happy to see my old loaches back again )

The ich is definitely gone and has been gone for more than 2 weeks now

they're outside searching for food and are starting to go back to the surface to get those few blood worms that don't sink

I'm so happy words can't even describe

the big loach is even bigger now and all the loaches pinched in bellies are starting to fill back out again

they're eating the frog pellets above anything else (even hikari bloodworms lol) and they're eating the vegetable pellets again

not really touching the kelp flakes...but they might be expired or something

tried some shrimp pellets with them and they love them also

I'm moving in exactly 2 months from now hopefully inside the same building so moving the fish shouldn't be too stressful

then i'll get to setup my brand new 55g i got sitting in my kitchen (I so want to set it up now but I honestly don't have space at all)

the 125g I bought and repaired I don't really want to chance using...so I'll finish fixing up the silicon...test it for leaks and make sure I'm not selling something that won't hold water and try to get my money back at least

but otherwise I haven't been feeding them any snails from the guppy tank for a very long time and will not do so until I treat that tank for ich

everything is looking good now and again I want to say thanks Keith

you were more than helpful throughout this ordeal

[chefkeith]

Excellent!!

[Tay690]

I think this justifies a happy dance