treating ich, killed fish quarantine tank

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Hmontoya93

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 18, 2020
154
91
36
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Have you tested your water?
Yes
If yes, what is your ammonia?
0
If yes, what is your nitrite?
.5
If yes, what is your nitrate?
40
If I did not test my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
Do you do water changes?
Yes
What percentage of water do you change?
41-50%
How frequently do you change your water?
Every week
If I do not change my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
I got some Uarus and giraffe fish online for my quarantine tank which was fully cycled. They got ich within a few days so I treated turned up heat to 86 and added paraguard. Woke up and all the fish are dead and nitrites are high
Ammonia zero
Nitrates 40ish
Nitrites light purple like .5-1
75 gallon quarantine with fx4 that I was using as a grow out before
I changed heaters because the other one wasn’t heating past 80, could they have been schocked? How I’m do I know a heater is faulty, I am so confused

did I starve them of oxygen or something? I just want to know so I don’t do this again :(
This kind of thing makes me want to quit the hobby sometimes,
 
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I just looked and paraguard has malactite green, did that and heat kill the fish oxygen ?
 
The nitrit being measureable propably happened after the fish died.

Lots of medicine lower the water or fishs ability to take in oxygen, so you should try to maximize the airation.

I can't say for uarus as they are more finicky, but most big fish don't need medicine to get over ich, increasing the temperature is usuallly enough, adding salt or humins can help aswell, but not all fish can take salt.
 
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Thank you for the link!

what is your recommended treatment for ich? Just heat?

I love clown loaches and uarus I am afraid I will encounter ich again
 
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Thank you for the link!

what is your recommended treatment for ich? Just heat?

I love clown loaches and uarus I am afraid I will encounter ich again
Did you order the fish from a region where it is cold?
Is it cold where you live?
If so I would wait until it got warmer. Yes most just salt and heat but Clown Loaches should be treated with less salt dosage.
 
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I don't raise the temp with ick, because that often provides a pathway for pathogenic bacteria to infect the lesions the icK create. And most bacteria thrive and grow even more virulent at temps above 80'F. Epistylis and Columnaris are a couple examples of bacteria that prefer heat, and take advantage of the lesions ick create in the fish skin.
Although I have used meds infused with Machite and similar toxic minerals at times, unless you substantially increase aeration when using them, they can (as said above) be problematic, and create anoxic enough conditions to kill certain species, especially if crowded in a QT tank.
And once 1 fish dies in a tank deteriorating water quality, others often follow, and are probably the cause of the high nitrates you found.
I use salt, at a concentration of 3 lbs per 100 gallons to cure ick, and it has always worked for me in past, and is about the least toxic option available compared to certain osmotic pressure increasing compounds (like the malachite, or formaldehyde in some fish meds).
The problem with heat, is that there are strains of ick that are resistant to it.
Here in Panama, the average temp of waters where I collect cichlids is 82'F, and I sometimes will net an individual that contains an ick parasite or 2, happily existing in those 80s+ water temps.
IMG_4141.jpegIMG_9879.jpeg
The thermometer above was used to take the water temp of the Mamoni river

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I don't raise the temp with ick, because that often provides a pathway for pathogenic bacteria to infect the lesions the icK create. And most bacteria thrive and grow even more virulent at temps above 80'F. Epistylis and Columnaris are a couple examples of bacteria that prefer heat, and take advantage of the lesions ick create in the fish skin.
Although I have used meds infused with Machite and similar toxic minerals at times, unless you substantially increase aeration when using them, they can (as said above) be problematic, and create anoxic enough conditions to kill certain species, especially if crowded in a QT tank.
And once 1 fish dies in a tank deteriorating water quality, others often follow, and are probably the cause of the high nitrates you found.
I use salt, at a concentration of 3 lbs per 100 gallons to cure ick, and it has always worked for me in past, and is about the least toxic option available compared to certain osmotic pressure increasing compounds (like the malachite, or formaldehyde in some fish meds).
The problem with heat, is that there are strains of ick that are resistant to it.
Here in Panama, the average temp of waters where I collect cichlids is 82'F, and I sometimes will net an individual that contains an ick parasite or 2, happily existing in those 80s+ water temps.

.
You said you use salt…
what kind of sat are you referring to?
also, glad to see this worked out at Johns Hopkins
recovery was speedy
 
You said you use salt…
what kind of sat are you referring to?
also, glad to see this worked out at Johns Hopkins
recovery was speedy
I use the kind of salt available at hardware stores.
1708274700487.png
As long as the only ingredient on the package says 99% NaCl, its OK.


And Thanx
And yes, I walked out of Johns Hopkins in less than 24 hours after major surgery, hung out in Baltimore a while, and was back in Panama in 10 days.
The surgeon recommended waiting 10 days before taking a flight.
Quite amazing, a great experience.
Nothing but good things to say about Dr's and hospital there at John's.
 
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I use the kind of salt available at hardware stores.
View attachment 1535959
As long as the only ingredient on the package says 99% NaCl, its OK.


And Thanx
And yes, I walked out of Johns Hopkins in less than 24 hours after major surgery, hung out in Baltimore a while, and was back in Panama in 10 days.
The surgeon recommended waiting 10 days before taking a flight.
Quite amazing, a great experience.
Nothing but good things to say about Dr's and hospital there at John's.
Thanks for the info
Best fishes
Be well
 
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