IS THIS ICK!?

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
She seemed to get better, all the spots had disappeared but I continued treatment, well today I noticed the spots were back.
Hello; keep in mind that the ich parasite has a series of stages. Treatment needs to be continuous until at around 10 to 14 days after the last spot is seen. The eggs lie in the substrate and will continue to hatch out over several days and will reattach to a fish. The only stage that can be killed is the larvae just as it hatches out and before it attaches to a fish. Once attached (the white spots you see) then the whole thing starts all over again and the clock resets to zero.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

Com3backKid

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2017
79
11
13
26
both are at zero. All of the spots were gone. I noticed some spots on her gills like in the original pictures. And advice on getting her to eat?
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
23,253
24,111
1,660
Ohio
both are at zero. All of the spots were gone. I noticed some spots on her gills like in the original pictures. And advice on getting her to eat?



If you have a Nitrate reading of 0 ppm your aquarium is not cycled. This will cause issues like stress.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kno4te

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
23,253
24,111
1,660
Ohio
both are at zero. All of the spots were gone. I noticed some spots on her gills like in the original pictures. And advice on getting her to eat?



If you have a Nitrate reading of 0 ppm your aquarium is not cycled. This will cause issues like stress.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kno4te

Com3backKid

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2017
79
11
13
26
Uhh.... this tank has been running for over a year now. I’ve always been to believe the goal is 0 nitrates in an aquarium.
 

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
Uhh.... this tank has been running for over a year now. I’ve always been to believe the goal is 0 nitrates in an aquarium.
Hello; while zero nitrates is a goal, my take is few can achieve this in a closed system such as a tank. I guess 0 can be approached with massive and continuous WC. The more common case of 0 nitrates in this forums posts is a tank that is not yet cycled.
If you indeed do run your tank with 0 nitrates I am interested in learning more about this after the disease issue is cleared up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

Com3backKid

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2017
79
11
13
26
Well I’ve done daily water changes since I started treatment. That could be why I’m getting 0. Wouldn’t it be hard to have a tank that’s been running for a year or so with out already have been cycled within that time?
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
23,253
24,111
1,660
Ohio
Well I’ve done daily water changes since I started treatment. That could be why I’m getting 0. Wouldn’t it be hard to have a tank that’s been running for a year or so with out already have been cycled within that time?

The daily wc's removed the Nitrates and yes .
 

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
Well I’ve done daily water changes since I started treatment. That could be why I’m getting 0. Wouldn’t it be hard to have a tank that’s been running for a year or so with out already have been cycled within that time?
Hello; Without getting into the weeds too far there have been several threads about tanks not being cycled after several months. The common estimate is often that can take 6 to 8 weeks when starting from scratch.
There is an argument which sounds right that large frequent WC will slow down the cycle process. The thinking being that the WC removes and dilutes the ammonia which is the food for the beneficial bacteria (bb). Tank keepers do the WC because they want to reduce the toxin (ammonia) so that it does not harm the live fish that are in a tank.

Lots of live plants might be a factor in keeping the nitrates down.

A large tank with only a small fish and very light feeding is one.

May be the more common thing when unusual test results happen is that there is some thing not right with the test kit chemicals or with the testing procedure. I do however think the issue in these cases may be a too high reading of nitrates. This test is the one where folks may not shake the vials enough.

It is also somewhat common for the power filters to gradually become what is called "nitrate factories". That is why I am interested in your setup and how you run it as keeping nitrates low is a goal rarely achieved by most of us. From my reading of posts it is a struggle for many to keep nitrates below 40ppm. Many are satasified if they can keep them down to 20 ppm.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store