Is this ich?

[Deadeye]

I did turn heat back to the normal 80F today when I did water change. It was at about 84 maybe a wee lower. I just can’t watch her suffer anymore, so I’m slowly putting everything back to the normal parameters. I was concerned and did a water test today just to check parameters.

I know that ich x has a dye in. It also says that if using a nessler test kit the ammonia readings may be high. I currently use api master kit, which after researching is a sylicate based test kit. My pH is usually around 7.4 to 7.6 today it read maybe 6.4 to 6.6, the colors were not really decipherable. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0 (possible 5 but waay lighter than 5). I am not sure if my pH is really wacked or if the dye is affecting the test. Would a pH change that drastic be hurting the stresses fish?

I don’t think it was the ph that did it, it’s a big leap but not far out of the acceptable range for this fish.
Sorry to hear about him jumping. I don’t think it’s related to the meds or ich though, bichirs (especially ropes) are well known to be escape artists. They can survive out of water for quite some time, even when dry.

 

[Texas1203]

I don’t think it was the ph that did it, it’s a big leap but not far out of the acceptable range for this fish.
Sorry to hear about him jumping. I don’t think it’s related to the meds or ich though, bichirs (especially ropes) are well known to be escape artists. They can survive out of water for quite some time, even when dry.

Yes they are escape artist. It was my fault for not applying new tape to that area. I am seriously considering stopping treatment. The other rope is going on day 6 of non stop swimming up and down the glass. The bottle of ich x does state to stop treatment if stress is exhibited. But its only that one fish that seems affected. Everyone else is fine.

 

[Deadeye]

Different species have different tolerance to certain chemicals. It’s possible that the bichirs are far more sensitive to whatever is in ich-x.
If you aren’t seeing any more spots, than the ich is almost gone. Just ideally needs to go another few days to ensure it is dead. How long does the bottle say to run for?

 

[Texas1203]

I made an executive decision to stop treatment with ich x. I will stop for 48 hours to see if my one rope fish does any better. If white spots appear again I will start treatment again. I just cannot stand it anymore to see my rope so stressed out. I did do a 1/3 water change today. It’s only been 30 minutes and she already seems a tiny bit stressed and not as frantic as she has been the past 5 days. I know the ich may still be present, but she needs a break. The head jerking seems to have subsided in just a short amount time. Not to mention my hubby brought home 6 glass catfish. (It was an extremely loud argument). I acclimated them by floating bag for 15 min then bucket adding tank water over 30 minutes. I am not happy about the new fish (i love the fish, not happy he brought them home when I am treating for ich). His thinking: well your treating and if these fish have anything the treatment will get rid of it.
I really think he was trying to cheer me up after loosing my rope to the jump of death. I will give the rope 48 hours to see if there is any change in behavior and monitor for salt specks. Will continue to post in case anyone else experiences any of this.

 

[Texas1203]

Different species have different tolerance to certain chemicals. It’s possible that the bichirs are far more sensitive to whatever is in ich-x.
If you aren’t seeing any more spots, than the ich is almost gone. Just ideally needs to go another few days to ensure it is dead. How long does the bottle say to run for?

The directions just states to continue for 3 days after last spot is seen. I have treated for a total of 8 days. The only spot I saw was on the fish who jumped shipped and that was I think 2-3 days ago. This one I haven’t really seen any spots. Although with her frantic swimming it hasn’t been easy to get a good look. I really have been trying to be a good fish keeper.

 

[Deadeye]

At this point, the behavior would worry me more than possible ich. Ich is very treatable and one of the less virulent parasites you can get. If it’s possible the meds are tied to the weird behavior, best to stop it.
I wish you luck with the ghost cats, and hope they don’t have any disease!

 

[Texas1203]

At this point, the behavior would worry me more than possible ich. Ich is very treatable and one of the less virulent parasites you can get. If it’s possible the meds are tied to the weird behavior, best to stop it.
I wish you luck with the ghost cats, and hope they don’t have any disease!

Thank you. I am 100% in agreement that the fish behavior is more concerning. Will post in two days to update.

 

[Texas1203]

Day 10: Today I tested water parameters, since I did a w/c yesterday without adding meds. pH is back to 7.4-7.6, ammonia is a tad bit lighter than 0.25 (it’s not quite that dark, but it is a yellow/green), nitrite 0, nitrate again its a little bit darker than 0 (almost dark enough to be 5, but not quite that dark). I tries my best to get a good look at the glass catfish (really hard because they move away as soon as you put your face to the glass). Possibly one has spots, but not 100% sure because it almost looks like a line not a dot, so maybe fin was damaged in transit from store to acclimation. When they first arrived their head areas looked red on some of the fish, this has pretty much gone away, and most of the heads are grayish/silver. I’m hoping that’s a hood sign. All fish are eating and appear healthy, snails are fine, shrimp are hiding a little more, but that’s to be expected with more fish in the tank. My poor rope is still up and down the tank glass. I will say I was able to get her to eat one tiny piece of tilapia last night!!! She was hanging out near the top on floating plants. I hand fed her a tiny piece of tilapia. It was my first time hand feeding a fish. It made me feel a little better knowing she finally ate something, no matter how small.

 

[Deadeye]

Cats all look good to me!

 

[Texas1203]

Cats all look good to me!

The beginning is a little wonky, once she ate the first piece I ran around the house looking for my phone. Of course, it was right next to the tank. I am so glad she has calmed down enough to eat. Fish all-look great with the exception of that one questionable catfish. I am actually glad I decided to stop treatment. Will treat again if necessary, but so far so good. Had to share the video!