ICH with a side of Dropsy -

[dr exum]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

0

If yes, what is your nitrite?

0

If yes, what is your nitrate?

10

If I did not test my water...

...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?

51-60%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Oscar was stressed ? - came down with ICH after 30 days here -

pulled him out separated to another QT tank - treated both tanks for ICH added salt and raised temp to 86 - today is day 7 of ich treatment -

seems the opportunistic dropsy thrives in high heat... lost one asymptotic (no visual signs) Siamese alge eater - 2nd super Dropsy... looks bad, just pulled him....

did a water change yesterday when i saw now dead siamese fish doing death maneuvers...

my ph is also in the gutter 6.0 possibly due to excessive co2 , since rectified

1. on the fence about euthanasia for buddy...

2 . i have 20 or so fish in the ICH/Dropsy tank...

best course to treat rest of the tank? or simply watch - clean water

- at what point could i add or remove fish from this group?

 

[kno4te]

For the ich. 7 days is still early. Gotta keep at it and wait it out. For the dropsy can try kanamycin.

 

[Gourami Swami]

1. on the fence about euthanasia for buddy...
I have found that once the fish "pinecone" they are usually beyond saving. If you do want to euthanize, the best way is clove oil. I have also used tea tree oil though it is not as widely accepted- I found a study that sounded promising for tea tree oil's use as anaesthetic, and gave it a shot on a fish that had advanced dropsy, results seemed the same as clove oil. Of course dose to euthanize is higher than for anaethetic use. Fish slowly stopped gill movement and was dead within a few minutes. No thrashing or indications of stress. The study I found is here; https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1983-21252017000200479

2 . i have 20 or so fish in the ICH/Dropsy tank...

best course to treat rest of the tank? or simply watch - clean water

How does the Ich look? Is it cleared? If it is, I would readjust your temp to normal and do a water change. Then would treat with kanamycin like kno4te recommends to try and clear the dropsy. I probably wouldn't medicate for the dropsy at the same time as treating for ich, too much stress at once can be worse than nothing at all.

- at what point could i add or remove fish from this group?
I would wait until both ich and dropsy had been gone for a few weeks lest you risk infecting other tanks.

 

[dr exum]

For the ich. 7 days is still early. Gotta keep at it and wait it out. For the dropsy can try kanamycin.

wait out the ich with high heat even though the dropsy likes the high heat?

- the oscar was the only fish that showed visible ich - which i removed him immediately

thanks guys!

 

[kno4te]

wait out the ich with high heat even though the dropsy likes the high heat?

- the oscar was the only fish that showed visible ich - which i removed him immediately

thanks guys!

The ich can effect the other fish. Dropsy is affecting only one fish.

 

[dr exum]

started kanaplex.... down to one Siamese alge... 2 gone to Valhalla ? - 3rd guy looks affected but not as bad as the other guy...

does this dropsy live in the substrate or on plants?

i see folks are sanitizing their tanks....

 

[kno4te]

Believe it comes from the fish and aquarium. Once the fish get stressed and diseased then it shows up.

 

[dr exum]

well...

this is the last of 3...

one died, euthanized one... think this guy is in rough shape...

he’s on his second dose of kanaplex -

ideas?

 

[kno4te]

If no change then doubt much can be done for it.

 

[duanes]

Because most most research on ick treatment has been done in the U.S. and Europe for aquaculture, so the strains of Ick common tested are "cool water" varieties, and using heat has been determined to be effective as part of treatment.
But just as there are cool water fish, wouldn't it be reasonable to consider that fish from the tropics, being warm water species, there are also ick strains from warm waters that these same treatments might be less or not effective on.
The first fish I collected here in Panama were mosquito fish, they came from the surface waters with temps in the 90sF, and on some, I noticed a few had Ick parasites, and these parasites seemed unaffected by those 90'F+ temps.

Herein is the problem using heat for ick treatment.
If your fish were wild caught, or pond raised in tropical countries, and carried Ick parasites with them, "heat" may be a useless as treatment, and in some cases may end up to be detrimental.
The reason being most bacteria thrive in high heat, and because each Ick spot is an opening for pathogens to colonize, secondary bacterial infections are common in tandem with Ick. When I'd grow bacterial cultures in the lab, my incubators were set at 35'C +/_ a degree or 2, this is 95'F
So when I treated fish for Ick here in Panama, salinity "without" additional heat was my treatment.
I use 3 lbs of salt per 100 gallons of water, to reach a salinity of at least 3ppt (parts per thousand) which kills any emerging Ick, any lessor concentration of salinity , and Ick is not killed.
I do not use tsps, or tbsps (a volumetric method) because different grain sizes salt may short that end point salinity of 3ppt needed, and allow Ick to go on its merry way (3 lbs of small grain salt, is equal to 3 lbs of large grain salt using weight).
And I treat using that same salinity for at least 3 weeks.
Each Ick spot can hatch up to 100 new microscopic Ick over time which continue to reinfect the entire tank, if salinity is allowed to drop lower than 3ppt.
Below fish that arrived with Ick.

A couple weeks later, same fish after treatment using only salt as treatment, and without raising temp.