PERFECT !!!! fast help with ich please

jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
3,754
42
81
california
Dang it, I haven't had ich for over 10 years or more, actually I dont even remember having, anyways.

Ok some guys have been helping me in another thread with some new geos I got. One of these fish swaps or something brought me the ich, anyways whats done is done.

So, Ive been dealing with the geos seeming to breath slightly heavier than other fish, so Ive had to post all my water paremeters for guys in another thread, all is good.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NOW--------couple of the geos had been flashing, today I saw the ich, not too bad yet, did water change, temps are now around 86 degrees. Added salt through the day and now the spec gravity is about 1.007:irked:

I think its only supposed to be 1.002

The fish are all breathing kinda fast and deap, still wanting food and active, I added Prime as well about 30 minutes ago.

Is thier too much salt now, oh I got pleanty of 02 as well.

Too much salt or what????????????????

Any tips or should the Prime-salt-temp all start working together??????????

Thanks guys.
 

jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
3,754
42
81
california
Well I got scared and did another water change and brought the salinity back down.

Sent from my XT1080 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

Drstrangelove

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Oct 21, 2012
2,693
1,227
164
San Francisco
I don't have saltwater fish, but since you mentioned geos and since I've never heard of using specific gravity in reference to freshwater fish, I think you perhaps said specific gravity when you meant salinity. Salinity is related to salt content and can be expressed as ppm using identical weights. So 35 grams of salt in 1,000,000 grams of water = 35 ppm. (1 liter = 1,000,000 grams of water.)

Specific gravity is not weight to weight, but weight (density) to volume (of pure water). And since the volume of water changes with temperature and air pressure, there is no one "correct" specific gravity. The specific gravity for water depends on air pressure and temperature. (There's also an issue with the water itself, but I'll skip that.) Specific gravity is certainly an issue with many salt water animals.


Fresh water fish have varying tolerances to salinity. Moreover, many FW fish can gradually become accustomed to higher levels of salinity over time. Adding a lot of salt all at once can kill fish that would have survived had the same amount of salt been added gradually. Salt (by itself) can eliminate ich at a rate of 1 tbs per gallon. Salt (with heat) will be effective at lower dosages (1 tbs per 2.5 gallons.) Keep in mind that 1 tbs per gallon is about .3% salinity, or 3 ppm. That would generally be the most desired towards eliminating freshwater ich, although it can work at lower levels if heat is added.

Unless you are able to measure the salinity, you will need to be careful on the amount of salt added and withdrawn, or you may end up with too much salt in the tank (might kill the fish) or too little (which will not eliminate the ich.) Regardless, if the fish are showing stress or respiratory problems, the heat and/or the salt is likely causing a problem.

In the other thread, I see that you've had other issues as well. IMO, unless you can accurately determine the current salt content, you might be better off doing enough WC to drop the salt to very low levels (less than 1 ppm), then going to just heat to handle the ich. The fish are likely stressed from all the activity (WC), meds and salt, so I'd go for the least stressful cure. One person suggested "pure water" and I tend to agree. That plus heat should handle the ich.
 

jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
3,754
42
81
california
It reads specific gravity and salinity at the same time. I just happen to say specific gravity since I typed in specific gravity for freshwater ich and everything said 1.003. Mine was 1.009 ish.

So I changed the water and brought it back down to recommended, less actually.

So heat is at 86, I see more spots today. Royal pleco is breathing fast.

now what?
 

Drstrangelove

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Oct 21, 2012
2,693
1,227
164
San Francisco
Make sure you have good aeration--lots of surface breaking bubbles or point powerheads/discharges directly at the surface. If you have plants, keep the lights on as they will use precious oxygen in the dark. Try a quick vacuuming of the substrate every 12-24 hours as you may be able to remove some ich tomonts (egg cases) before they hatch. Be sure to sterilize or dry out any nets, hoses, buckets, etc. that water from the tank may have gotten into.

If the tank is at 86+, normally the ich parasite will not have time to compete it's life cycle, so the quantity of parasites will decline, but that will take days, so to be sure the next few days could get worse. Give it an extra 4-5 days of treatment after you see any flashing behavior by any fish or any ich on any fish.
 

jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
3,754
42
81
california
Thanks, yeah theirs plenty of aeration. 2 aqua clear 110s, big bio sponge with air stone and a power head.

Geos seem to be breathing more normal now but pleco still fast.
 

jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
3,754
42
81
california
Hey so the pleco is still breathing rapidly, ich showing all over my silvers now too, should I do a water change and light gravel vac now????????????????????

Also, is the rapid breathing from the pleco likely from the heat??????????????????????????????????????????????????
 

ecoli73

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2010
3,867
8
0
Sunnyvale, CA
Make sure surface area is well disturbed. If there is a problem with oxygen, you will find your fish dashing to the surface a lot. If not most likely it means there are ich in his gills.

Heat and salt, properly administered will get rid of ich. I have also used celated copper with good results.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store