ICH!

[Jamie Drilling]

My four otocinclus have done wonders with my crop of algae, helped by a
bucket full of anacharis--but they brought Ich with them.

They developed 1-2 spots each their first few days in the tank, cysts
dropped off but apparently the steady diet of fresh healthy algae made
their immune systems tough enough that they're fighting off the
parasites.

Betta, however, is not. He has a few spots on his tail and has started
dashing himself against the Amazon Sword leaves.

I don't have a hospital tank set up nor the money to purchase one at
this point, only the 75% aquascaped 55 gallon show tank. I want to
treat his Ich but I don't want to stain the silicone.

What should I do? Should I stick him back in his original gallon bowl
and dose him, dose the entire tank for 16 days (although I've read
otocinclus can be very sensitive to medications), or just keep watching
him to see if he fights it off on his own?

Please help,
Jamie

[Elaine T]

Jamie Drilling wrote:
> My four otocinclus have done wonders with my crop of algae, helped by a
> bucket full of anacharis--but they brought Ich with them.
>
> They developed 1-2 spots each their first few days in the tank, cysts
> dropped off but apparently the steady diet of fresh healthy algae made
> their immune systems tough enough that they're fighting off the
> parasites.
>
> Betta, however, is not. He has a few spots on his tail and has started
> dashing himself against the Amazon Sword leaves.
>
> I don't have a hospital tank set up nor the money to purchase one at
> this point, only the 75% aquascaped 55 gallon show tank. I want to
> treat his Ich but I don't want to stain the silicone.
>
> What should I do? Should I stick him back in his original gallon bowl
> and dose him, dose the entire tank for 16 days (although I've read
> otocinclus can be very sensitive to medications), or just keep watching
> him to see if he fights it off on his own?
>
> Please help,
> Jamie
>
You could keep watching and see what happens if its only one or two
spots. If you want to medicate the whole tank, straight formalin rather
than formalin/malachite is much milder. It works a bit more slowly but
you've probably got plenty of time. If the betta gets really spotty,
I'd put him in his bowl with formalin/malachite and dose the main tank
with formalin.

Salt and raised temps are also good for beating ich, but can be rather
hard on plants.

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

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.


"Jamie Drilling" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> My four otocinclus have done wonders with my crop of algae, helped by a
> bucket full of anacharis--but they brought Ich with them.
>
> They developed 1-2 spots each their first few days in the tank, cysts
> dropped off but apparently the steady diet of fresh healthy algae made
> their immune systems tough enough that they're fighting off the
> parasites.
>
> Betta, however, is not. He has a few spots on his tail and has started
> dashing himself against the Amazon Sword leaves.
>
> I don't have a hospital tank set up nor the money to purchase one at
> this point, only the 75% aquascaped 55 gallon show tank. I want to
> treat his Ich but I don't want to stain the silicone.
>
> What should I do? Should I stick him back in his original gallon bowl
> and dose him, dose the entire tank for 16 days (although I've read
> otocinclus can be very sensitive to medications), or just keep watching
> him to see if he fights it off on his own?
>
> Please help,
> Jamie
>

You might try treating the betta in a small bowl floating in your tank that
way the temperature stays good for the betta and you should be able to treat
him separately. This method takes care though as one bump against the bowl
can spill it's contents. Good luck and later!

[Jamie Drilling]

Daniel Morrow wrote:

> You might try treating the betta in a small bowl floating in your tank that
> way the temperature stays good for the betta and you should be able to treat
> him separately. This method takes care though as one bump against the bowl
> can spill it's contents. Good luck and later!

I may try that--heavier dose for the betta. One of the Fab Four (my
otocinclii, heh) has a spot on his/her forehead so I decided to dose
the entire tank - Jungle Ick Clear tabs. Poor Tony the betta has been
dashing himself against everything and his tail is covered in cysts.

Tonight I made him a salt bath using a recipe I found on the Internet,
85 F with 1 tsp/salt per cup. He was supposed to stay in it for 10-15
minutes but after about sixty seconds of dashing/darting/thrashing he
decided to float on his side. May have to double check the recipe.

When I put him back in the main tank I had to hold him at the surface
in the net for a few minutes because he was sinking and gasping for
air. I feel awful :( probably not as bad as Tony.

Anyway thank you both for your advice. Wish me luck with Tony!
Jamie

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.


"Jamie Drilling" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Daniel Morrow wrote:
>
> > You might try treating the betta in a small bowl floating in your tank
that
> > way the temperature stays good for the betta and you should be able to
treat
> > him separately. This method takes care though as one bump against the
bowl
> > can spill it's contents. Good luck and later!
>
> I may try that--heavier dose for the betta. One of the Fab Four (my
> otocinclii, heh) has a spot on his/her forehead so I decided to dose
> the entire tank - Jungle Ick Clear tabs. Poor Tony the betta has been
> dashing himself against everything and his tail is covered in cysts.
>
> Tonight I made him a salt bath using a recipe I found on the Internet,
> 85 F with 1 tsp/salt per cup. He was supposed to stay in it for 10-15
> minutes but after about sixty seconds of dashing/darting/thrashing he
> decided to float on his side. May have to double check the recipe.
>
> When I put him back in the main tank I had to hold him at the surface
> in the net for a few minutes because he was sinking and gasping for
> air. I feel awful :( probably not as bad as Tony.
>
> Anyway thank you both for your advice. Wish me luck with Tony!
> Jamie
>

You're welcome! I used jungle ich clear tabs in 2 of my main tanks when I
mistakenly thought some of my fish had ich when they really had guppy
disease (don't worry - I am pretty sure your fish actually have ich) and
used the ich clear fizz tabs and it seemed to do no harm (biological
filtration continued as normal apparently and the plants didn't seem to be
phased by it) so jungle ich clear fizz tabs are probably the best way for
you to go (follow the directions exactly to be safe and secure). I hope the
best for tony and you! Good luck and hopefully you will beat that danged
disease! Later!