Black molly with ich?

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Yesterday I noticed a couple of white spots on the tail and the fin of
my black molly. Today when I came home from work I noticed it is now
covered with white spots. It has one really bad spot right above the
eye. Does this sound like ich or something else? Thanks in advance.

Todd

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> Yesterday I noticed a couple of white spots on the tail and the fin of
> my black molly. Today when I came home from work I noticed it is now
> covered with white spots. It has one really bad spot right above the
> eye. Does this sound like ich or something else? Thanks in advance.
>
> Todd
>
Sounds like ich. Without any info about your tank and fish, all I can
really suggest is a proprietary remedy. Quick Cure is my favorite, but
check the label of any you use and make sure it's safe for all of your
fish. Raising tank temps is very helpful too - many strains of ich die
at 85F or higher.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Daniel Morrow]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Yesterday I noticed a couple of white spots on the tail and the fin of
> my black molly. Today when I came home from work I noticed it is now
> covered with white spots. It has one really bad spot right above the
> eye. Does this sound like ich or something else?

Sounds like ich to me - keep us all apprised? Good luck and later!

Thanks in advance.
>
> Todd
>

[[email protected]]

Last night I bought some RId-Ich+. I did my first treatment after a
partial water change and took out the carbon filter. Do I leave the
carbon filter out until after my last treatment? It also says to treat
for 3 days after the last visible signs of the disease has disappeared.


I have no heater to raise the tank temperature. The temp stays around
80F during the day and normally only drops to 78F at night. I read
that a temp drop could cause ich, but would 2 degrees make that much
difference? If so, I'll need to get me a heater.

Thanks,
Todd

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> Last night I bought some RId-Ich+. I did my first treatment after a
> partial water change and took out the carbon filter. Do I leave the
> carbon filter out until after my last treatment? It also says to treat
> for 3 days after the last visible signs of the disease has disappeared.
>
>
> I have no heater to raise the tank temperature. The temp stays around
> 80F during the day and normally only drops to 78F at night. I read
> that a temp drop could cause ich, but would 2 degrees make that much
> difference? If so, I'll need to get me a heater.
>
> Thanks,
> Todd
>
Yes, leave the carbon out the whole time you are using an ich medicine.
Treating for only 3 days after visible spots are gone is too short. I
usually treat the tank for a week to ten days after there are no spots,
depending on temps and whether the fish are showing any signs of stress.
At 80F, I'd probably use 3 extra doses of medicine 3 days apart, with
a water change before each dose.

I don't think a 2 degree swing in temperature is enough to cause ich.
Of course, you'll need a heater come winter unless you're lucky enough
to live in the tropics. ;-) Mollies get ich easily and if you recently
added any fish they may have brought the parasites into the tank.

Good luck.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[[email protected]]

So every 3 days add an extra dose 3 times or 3 extra doses on the 3rd
day?

What kind of heater should I get for a 10gal tank?

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> So every 3 days add an extra dose 3 times or 3 extra doses on the 3rd
> day?
>
> What kind of heater should I get for a 10gal tank?
>
Every 3 days, add another dose. Ich parasites encyst and divide in your
tank and hatch in about 3 days at 80F. The hatched parasites cruise the
tank for a day or so looking for a fish. Extra pulses of medicine help
kill those parasites. The extra doses also kill any parasites that
might hatch from hidden cysts in the gills.

So, dose 48-72 hours after the last spots. Water change and dose three
days later, and again three days after that. Wait three more days and
put fresh carbon in the filter to remove any remaining medicine. For
tank temps in the 70s, I'd actually use a fourth dose because the
parasite's lifecycle is slower at lower temps.

As for heaters, I usually use a 50 watt submersible heater on a 10
gallon tank. There is a good thread about the plusses and minuses of
various brands of submersible heaters going on right now. I'll toss in
a vote for Visi-therms because I like how easy they are to set.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[[email protected]]

Elaine T wrote:
> wrote:
> > So every 3 days add an extra dose 3 times or 3 extra doses on the 3rd
> > day?
> >
> > What kind of heater should I get for a 10gal tank?
> >
> Every 3 days, add another dose. Ich parasites encyst and divide in your
> tank and hatch in about 3 days at 80F. The hatched parasites cruise the
> tank for a day or so looking for a fish. Extra pulses of medicine help
> kill those parasites. The extra doses also kill any parasites that
> might hatch from hidden cysts in the gills.
>
> So, dose 48-72 hours after the last spots. Water change and dose three
> days later, and again three days after that. Wait three more days and
> put fresh carbon in the filter to remove any remaining medicine. For
> tank temps in the 70s, I'd actually use a fourth dose because the
> parasite's lifecycle is slower at lower temps.
>
> As for heaters, I usually use a 50 watt submersible heater on a 10
> gallon tank. There is a good thread about the plusses and minuses of
> various brands of submersible heaters going on right now. I'll toss in
> a vote for Visi-therms because I like how easy they are to set.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

After two days of treatment, it seems as though some of the white spots
are going away slowly, but now I have another problem. One of the
molly's eyes is really swollen and appears to be bulging out. Could
this be caused by the parasites?

[Daniel Morrow]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
m...
> wrote:
> > So every 3 days add an extra dose 3 times or 3 extra doses on the 3rd
> > day?
> >
> > What kind of heater should I get for a 10gal tank?
> >
> Every 3 days, add another dose. Ich parasites encyst and divide in your
> tank and hatch in about 3 days at 80F. The hatched parasites cruise the
> tank for a day or so looking for a fish. Extra pulses of medicine help
> kill those parasites. The extra doses also kill any parasites that
> might hatch from hidden cysts in the gills.
>
> So, dose 48-72 hours after the last spots. Water change and dose three
> days later, and again three days after that. Wait three more days and
> put fresh carbon in the filter to remove any remaining medicine. For
> tank temps in the 70s, I'd actually use a fourth dose because the
> parasite's lifecycle is slower at lower temps.
>
> As for heaters, I usually use a 50 watt submersible heater on a 10
> gallon tank. There is a good thread about the plusses and minuses of
> various brands of submersible heaters going on right now. I'll toss in
> a vote for Visi-therms because I like how easy they are to set.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

You're right Elaine - I recommend the visitherm stealth even though I don't
own one - I do own a 25 watt visitherm that I love almost as much, I use it
for hatching baby brine shrimp as a feast for my fish, the brine shrimp
hatchery is too small for almost any other heater. Good luck and later!

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> Elaine T wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>>So every 3 days add an extra dose 3 times or 3 extra doses on the 3rd
>>>day?
>>>
>>>What kind of heater should I get for a 10gal tank?
>>>
>>
>>Every 3 days, add another dose. Ich parasites encyst and divide in your
>>tank and hatch in about 3 days at 80F. The hatched parasites cruise the
>>tank for a day or so looking for a fish. Extra pulses of medicine help
>>kill those parasites. The extra doses also kill any parasites that
>>might hatch from hidden cysts in the gills.
>>
>>So, dose 48-72 hours after the last spots. Water change and dose three
>>days later, and again three days after that. Wait three more days and
>>put fresh carbon in the filter to remove any remaining medicine. For
>>tank temps in the 70s, I'd actually use a fourth dose because the
>>parasite's lifecycle is slower at lower temps.
>>
>>As for heaters, I usually use a 50 watt submersible heater on a 10
>>gallon tank. There is a good thread about the plusses and minuses of
>>various brands of submersible heaters going on right now. I'll toss in
>>a vote for Visi-therms because I like how easy they are to set.
>>
>>--
>>Elaine T __
>>http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>>rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
>
>
> After two days of treatment, it seems as though some of the white spots
> are going away slowly, but now I have another problem. One of the
> molly's eyes is really swollen and appears to be bulging out. Could
> this be caused by the parasites?
>
That's good news about the ich. Is this a new tank? Having both popped
eyes and ich suggests that your fish are kind of stressed. Usually
popeyes are from a bacterial infection and they may resolve when the ich
goes away, or if you can somehow make your fish less stressed.
Otherwise, you might have to use a pop-eye medicinc but I don't usually
like to mix medicines.

We can help you better if you tell me more about the tank. It's 10
gallons, right? How long has it been running, and what fish are in the
tank? Have you tested pH, ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate? What is your
water change schedule? Do you know whether your water is hard or soft?
Anything else you can think of might help too.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[[email protected]]

I started this tank about 2 months ago. I just added 2 glass fish(head
and tail lights) and an algae eater about a week ago. I already had 2
mollies, 2 platies, and 2 zebra danios. I'm sure this is too many fish
in this tank and the last few I added are probably what caused the ich.
I change 15-20% of the water weekly. I had the original 6 fish in the
tank for over a month and a half. Everything seemed to be going great
until I bought the last three. I got the algae eater to help clean up
some of the algae. I have never tested the water because I haven't had
any problems until now.

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> I started this tank about 2 months ago. I just added 2 glass fish(head
> and tail lights) and an algae eater about a week ago. I already had 2
> mollies, 2 platies, and 2 zebra danios. I'm sure this is too many fish
> in this tank and the last few I added are probably what caused the ich.
> I change 15-20% of the water weekly. I had the original 6 fish in the
> tank for over a month and a half. Everything seemed to be going great
> until I bought the last three. I got the algae eater to help clean up
> some of the algae. I have never tested the water because I haven't had
> any problems until now.
>
Actually, I think your fish load is about right for 10 gallons. All of
your fish are pretty small. Your water changes are a bit light - I tend
to do at least 25%-30% on full small tanks.

I'm sure you're right that the ich came in on the new fish or with their
water, if you let any store water into the tank. The bacteria that's
causing your molly's pop eye probably did too. Salt would help your
mollies but stress the tetras. You could add 1 tsp/5 gallons. That's a
pretty minimal amount but won't hurt anything.

The other thing that could have happened is an ammonia or nitrite spike.
Sometimes 2 month old tanks still have a light bacterial load and can
mini-cycle when you add more fish. Make sure there's no ammonia or
nitrite in your water that could be causing troubles.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Todd]

It seems as though the molly's pop eye is going away as well as the
ich. Now my other molly looks as though it may be getting finrot. The
edges of both pectoral fins are turning white. I hope the water that I
added last night wasn't too cool.

I add about 1 tsp for every 20% water change that I do. When adding
the salt, I normally just add it directly to the tank. Is this ok or
should I add to the water that I'm adding first?

Another thing I've noticed is that my water is a lot more clear since
I'm doing the 25% water changes for each ich treatment. After each 20%
change, my water would still be a little cloudy. I'm learning a little
more every day.

Thanks for all the help.

[Elaine T]

Todd wrote:
> It seems as though the molly's pop eye is going away as well as the
> ich. Now my other molly looks as though it may be getting finrot. The
> edges of both pectoral fins are turning white. I hope the water that I
> added last night wasn't too cool.
>
> I add about 1 tsp for every 20% water change that I do. When adding
> the salt, I normally just add it directly to the tank. Is this ok or
> should I add to the water that I'm adding first?
>
> Another thing I've noticed is that my water is a lot more clear since
> I'm doing the 25% water changes for each ich treatment. After each 20%
> change, my water would still be a little cloudy. I'm learning a little
> more every day.
>
> Thanks for all the help.
>

Glad the fish are getting better. I prefer to dissolve salt before I
add it to the tank. That way it doesn't land on any plants or fish.

Glad to hear your water is clearing up as well. I think your tank is
still settling in. You'll likely have clear water all the time and very
healthy fish in another month or so.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com