Holy crap guys! I might as well give up fish forever...

[Iffrat]

For the record and for any new fishkeepers, this is wrong, and horrible advice. Topping off the water does not remove the nitrates, its called a water change for a reason.

again .. you can think what you want .. but bio filtration is what keeps water clean .. not taking water out and adding new in .... its biology .. and the water cycle .. check it out sometime .. you might learn something ...

if this was so bad for fish .. and so bad for my water .. why is it that water test are always good .. and fish are always healthy and growing ..

i have done a lot of research on how i keep my fish ... i dont just blindly follow people on MFK .. because not everyone on this site is a biologist ...

im not saying that you have to do what i do ... but what i do works .. and i know it works .. and i am not the only person who does what i do ... so maybe you should open your eyes a little and accept that maybe things are not the way you see them .. and there might be another way of doing things...

 

[Iffrat]

Well, im not necesarily a bad fish keeper, just that these last couple of days has gone wrong... I usually do about a 20-30% water change a week... (My filter kinda sucks)

On each water change I use API Aquarium Salt (Freshwater), API Stresscoat+ (Only a little drop), and a dose of Top Fin Water Conditioner. Today i did another 25% water change with a full dose of QuICK Cure...

She lost her colors, and is very scared, i cant hardly move now... kinda wanting to sleep in the living room so i dont spook her in the night...

oh chances are your not a bad fish keeper ..

my jags get stressed when they fight .. and loose color .. and get a bit skiddish .. so i know what your talking about ..

the only thing i do is cover the tank with some towels to keep it really dark ... and they always bounce back up .. take a few days ..

i have never added salt .. or stress coat or water conditioner .. (i use prime) to get my water safe for the tank ..

i believe less is more when keeping fish ... you dont find all that stuff in nature .. so i dont add it to my tank ..

again im not telling you to do 100% what i do ... but i would try to keep things dark for a few days .. at least leave the tank lights off .. and since i have never had ick in any of my tank over the years .. i dont know whats needed to treat that .. but i would stick to lupin and people like that doe advice on that ..

 

[FishingOut]

Either way fish poo is going to be converted to nitrates. Nitrates are "less" deadly to fish than nitrites, but only ways to lower nitrates are water changes and plants.
That is a really interesting technique Iffrats, but I wouldnt suggest it to anyone who doesnt test their water frequently. Nitrates dont dissapear or get filtered out. Its biology. Unless you have plants doing the job for you.

 

[Iffrat]

which is why i keep my feeding under control .. and test my water often .. but as long as i keep the nitrates below 30ppm i am happy ..

also .. my water test really low for nitrates before i put it in the tank .. so if you have nitrates in your water before you add it to your tank .. it will take less time for them to build up to a level that is not safe for fish .. and you will have to do more water changes ..

 

[FishingOut]

which is why i keep my feeding under control .. and test my water often .. but as long as i keep the nitrates below 30ppm i am happy ..

also .. my water test really low for nitrates before i put it in the tank .. so if you have nitrates in your water before you add it to your tank .. it will take less time for them to build up to a level that is not safe for fish .. and you will have to do more water changes ..

I certainly dont doubt that your fish are healthy but I dont see how this is even possible, unless the entire inside was coated in algea. I believe the long term exposure to nitrates will shorten the lifespan of your fish upon other weaknesses. 25ppm needs relieved because it will begin to irritate the fish. Im sure your fish have adapted to this high levels of nitrate, but without an ammonia or nitrate remover this just isnt healthy.

 

[Iffrat]

I certainly dont doubt that your fish are healthy but I dont see how this is even possible, unless the entire inside was coated in algea. I believe the long term exposure to nitrates will shorten the lifespan of your fish upon other weaknesses. @25ppm needs relieved because it will begin to irritate the fish. Im sure your fish have adapted to this high levels of nitrate, but without an ammonia or nitrate remover this just isnt healthy.

now think about that ... if water was at 25ppm at the start of the 6 months .. what would it be at the end of 6 months ...

the water is not kept at 25-30 ... it is always below 25-30 .. and there is some algae .. that i leave in the tank .. because it does not bother me in the least ..

but im not going to fight with you about my point anymore .. you can ignore it ... thats ok with me ...

 

[Gatorxxx420]

again .. you can think what you want .. but bio filtration is what keeps water clean .. not taking water out and adding new in .... its biology .. and the water cycle .. check it out sometime .. you might learn something ...

if this was so bad for fish .. and so bad for my water .. why is it that water test are always good .. and fish are always healthy and growing ..

i have done a lot of research on how i keep my fish ... i dont just blindly follow people on MFK .. because not everyone on this site is a biologist ...

im not saying that you have to do what i do ... but what i do works .. and i know it works .. and i am not the only person who does what i do ... so maybe you should open your eyes a little and accept that maybe things are not the way you see them .. and there might be another way of doing things...

Please refrain from giving advice. There are MANY beneficial reasons to pulling 20-50% of that tanks water out and replacing it with new clean water once a week. It put's electrolytes into the water which helps fish in growth. It also removes excess food and poop out of the water which can at any time bloom into problems in your water parameters.

To the OP, follow the advice you were given, I cured ick in all of my fish with the salt, temp above 82 and whenever you replace water, make sure it's as warm or just a bit warmer than what is in the tank. Just be patient with your fish, could be many reasons as to why the fish is skittish. It may take a bit of time for her to settle back down.

 

[PaiLum92]

Alright guys, please argue elsewere, im trying to find out how i can treat this Ick before it kills my fish...

 

[Iffrat]

alright .. well good luck .. since my advice is worthless and i dont know anything about keeping fish .. for the past 5 years .. and my 5 running tanks .. and the fact that i keep range of fish from oscars to rays .. you can choose to ignore it all .. or take bits that work for you and grow ...

again .. i am not telling you not to do water changes every week .. im just saying that there is something to be said for leaving fish alone ...

you want the fish to not be as sketchy .. turn off the lights and see if it works .. its something simple ... and you can go right back to turning them on if it does not work .. it worked for me .. and my jags ... the rest ignore what i say .. my fish are all dull and almost dead .. you can tell from my pics ..

 

[lukester825]

If i were you i wouldn't worry about it too much it usually goes away, just don't freak out and do too much when its still visible in the next hour