Ich Problem In Fav. Tank

I am so ticked off right now because I just discovered 4 of my fish in the 120 have ick and now I started sucking out their poop from the gravel and whatnot. God this is alot of work it really ticks me off. I used some ick cure thing but it didn't work so I am even more mad now. And my favorite the northern has it. The others that have it are the bass and bullheads. I moved the big bullhead to another tank. I think the ich was brought in from the sheephead so I gave him to my piranhas and they ripped him to pieces (o well he wasnt eating or moving anyways). Can somebody just give me a complete list of instructions to get this tank healthy and fish healthy and keep it healthy.

 

Giving a fish that has ich to the piranhas was a really bad move because you probably just introduced it to their tank as well.

Most times, ich appears when the fish is stressed. And things like poor water quality will easily stress a fish. You need to go out first thing in the morning and buy test kits for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte.

The most important things for keeping fish healthy are monitoring your water parameters and doing enough water changes to keep them at safe levels and quarantining new fish before introducing them to your tank.

As for the ich, which med are you using?

-Chelle

 

Well here is an update....

My Largemouth Bass has passed tonight :cry: My pike has it worse next to the deceased bass. My bluegill and little bullhead seem not to have it as they are eating worms. Pike isn't eating with much excitement (last time he ate was this morning) (Sept. 3) and he only ate 1 fish unlike his usual 2 or 3 sometimes 4. I added ick treatment to the hospital tank where the bullhead is. The ick treatment I am using is called Kordon AquaHerbals Ich*Attack (100% organic for fresh and saltwater). Treats ich, fungus, protozoams, and dinoflageliates. I added the right ammount and I will see what is going on the morning. I have to continue it for about a week and then do a 30% water change after treatment is done. I checked on those nitrate, nitrate, ph, alkinity, etc.... testers and they are expensive for right now so I got something called TetraAqua EasyBalance (the new formula) and it keeps water biologically balanced for up to 6 months, stabalizes pH and alkalinity levels for fish and plants, and also reduces nitrates and phosphate (what more could I ask for lol). I also picked up a little box/package of aquarium salt. Now here are some questions....

1. So how are my selections any good or are they bad?

2. Should I re-think my filtration system for the tank such as my normal canister filter (350 magnum), and add-on a power filter (it hangs on back of tank and filters up to 100 gallons and is relatively small and can have carbon), and add-on an undergravel filtration system?

3. How do undergravel systems work do they suck the dirt and poop out of the gravel or do they just provide bottom air?

4. I took out all the plants in the aquarium and started sucking out the dirt and poop with a gravel cleaner.... should I wash these plants to de-contaminate them and if so how? Also, should I continue the gravel sucking or will this stress the fish more and if I should, should I wait until they are healthy again?

5. Finally, if I have an undergravel filtration system do I need to use the gravel suction hose?

Thanks for the help I REALLY REALLY appreciate it.

 

Oh and about the introducing ich to the piranhas...I might have but if I did I honestly don't worry about it too much because they have had it 4 times in their whole life and it goes away from them during 3 days with no liquid cures or anything. They are very immune to it by now but yeah... that's not my point. I just wanted to say that...I need the above questions answered though.

 

okay,
You mentioned selections and I guess you mean fishes. I really don't think that the fishes you have selected will aclimate to living in an aquarium. bass,bluegill and pike are all big fishes that will usually stress in an aquarium.
Next you asked about undergravel filters. They are over rated and are very old technology. They hold a large amount of filth under the plates and really dont filter. The hang on the back filter does provide some more good filtration and you could look into that.
The under gravel does not eat up poop or provide bottom air. It only privides the good bacteria found in your gravel a little time to work on the ammonia in your water. It does push large waste down and into the substrate where the good bacteria might work on the ammonia. If you use a pump or power head it will provide some circulation.
It doesn't matter about the plants, are they live or plastic. The ich is in the water and on the fishes.
You will always need to use the gravel suction hose regardless of how many or what type of filtration that you have.

I'm sorry your tank has ich, and I hope this helps.
I know that everyone will chip in to try and help you.

Hooben

 

Hello Hooben,

By selections I meant the ich cure I chose and the salt and EasyBalance I chose. Thanks for your answers. That would be very appreciated if people chipped in a little information for keeping this tank healthy.

 

Throwing in all kinds of meds for ich (or any other disease for that matter) won't help much if the root of the problem is your water quality. It's sort of like if you have a car that's burning oil and you just keep dumping in quart after quart of oil but never bother getting the engine rebuilt. Dumping in oil may work for a while, but eventually the engine is goign to give out.

If your water quality is bad, you're just going to continue having problem after problem (and probably lose fish) until you get it taken care of. And you won't know if your water quality is bad until you get those kits. For all you know, your ammonia could be off the charts. Bottom line is YOU NEED THE TESTS. Through Big Als Online, the nitrAte is $4.50, nitrIte is $4, and ammonia is $2. I think $10.50 is a small price to pay to help ensure that your fish don't die.

-Chelle

 

You mentioned that you removed and washed your plants. Are these live or fake plants? If they are live I would reintroduce them to the tank as they will help you fish feel more secure and will provide extra oxygen. If possible (not sure if native fish can handle this) up the temp a bit to 82-84ish and add your salt. IME this is a good remedy for ich if the fish can handle the temps and the salt. As said, I don't know about natives and salt/high temps.

Also, I'd avoid the EasyBalance. Its not going to do a whole lot really. A waste of money IMO. You'd be much better off returning it and exchanging for some test kits. You can get a basic test strip (tests for nitrate, nitrite, carbonate hardness, general hardness, and pH) from wal mart for $10. This would be better than nothing.

As said before, ich is a stress related thing. Find out as much about the natural environment of your fish as possible and replicate it. This will reduce a lot of stress. For example, in the wild do all of your fish live together naturally? Are they living with a natural predator? If it's a no and a yes for answers this is probably causing stress. Find out if your fish like caves and provide them if they do. Use live plants, excellent filtration and do regular weekly water changes to provide a stable environment. If you can reduce stress your fish will not be so susceptible to ich.

 

Alright update.... Bluegill and Bullhead are fine and the northern won't eat anything. The plants are fake but are replicas of their real life ones (maybe I should get some lilly pads). I will go and look for the kits today (did last night and they were $22.97 at wal-mart and $25-76 at Petsmart. I could put in an enormous driftwood cave but they cost so much and my mom is all we don't have any money for that stuff and I'm like whatever better off just getting rid of the fish... The thing is the bigger the northern gets the harder it is going to be to give him his natural habitat but anyways back to the tests. Is there an exellent worldwide ph or whatever used for every fish? What should mine be? Well off to treat the fish and go pick up the tests.

 

In most cases, as long as your pH is stable somewhere between 6 and 8, it's best to just leave it alone.

-Chelle