Ich or something else?

[duanes]

Each ich spot on a fish, hatches out into numbers of new cysts that rest in the substrate for a short time, then infect other fish.
Pops suggestion (beyond simply improving water quality), of doing a water change, with a thorough gravel vacuuming, helps to remove many of those infectious cysts.
I would vacuum discarding old water just before adding medication, even if its every other day.
And just because the cysts are not visible on the fish, does not mean ich is gone, it usually takes a few weeks to rid a tank of ich.
The cysts are protected by an impermeable cell wall, and immune to medication while dormant (in the substrate and on the fish), and only become vulnerable to Tom's excellent Malachite/Formalin suggestion, when they hatch out.

 

[davis101]

This just seems different from my past run ins with ich. I left the temp up, did a water change and added 2 mls of cupramine. I will add another 2 mls in two days. All the fish seems to behaving strange, so if this is something other than ich (I'm mostly concerned it may be velvet), hopefully this will take care of it relatively quickly. I don't see the clown loaches lasting long if this continues. They are becoming almost completely covered in spots within a very short time, and they are definitely struggling to function.

I know cupramine will treat ich too, so hopefully it will take care of it either way.

 

[davis101]

I've never had an outbreak anywhere near this bad, or this fast spreading.

 

[davis101]

This loach is around 1.5"

 

[davis101]

Ugh scratch the cupramine. I added carbon to remove it as I dosed the tank with prime during the water change. I will have to wait two days to begin dosing with cupramine as it becomes toxic when combined with prime.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Thats ich. I'd almost bet on that. And a nasty outbreak at that. You need to dose that tank with ParaGuard (malachite green more or less) and triple sulfa ASAP. Salt and heat is fine if you have the time and small enough stock to deal with ich in that way. But in your case you need meds and quick. Keep the heat up, dose with malachite green and triple sulfa and water change every 3rd day. Thats how I cure ich every time. Water changes are to help remove the protozoan cysts and are in your substrate as well as the water (though once waterborn they are looking for a host so this is when the malachite green is effective) Its going to a neccessary thing in your case since your outbreak is so bad.

Also as overstocked as your tank is, twice weekly water changes are going to be a neccessity anyhow, unless you have that 45 hooked up to a biiiiiiiig filter and sump lol.

 

[viejafish]

Cupramine is copper treatment,, a heavy metal that cannot be completely flushed out of the system by WC because some will remain absorbed into the substrate. Malachite green is very powerful anti parasiticide, and being organic, it doesn't stay long in the system and will biodgrade itself. I am sorry to say that your CLs are probably too late to safe because the infection is too advanced. I have never been able to save CLs if I don't administer MG treatment in the first sign of infection.

 

[davis101]

Well I just kept the temperature up and everything seems to be clearing up. The spots are almost all gone, and I will leave the temperature raised for another week just to make sure it is all gone. Fish are behaving normally now (no itching or twitching movements)