Help with Freshwater aquarium.?

Question

I am having problem with my aquarium and the pet store is NO help. I moved to another area where the tap water isn't great. I think this and a few new friends led to ich in my tank. I am in the process of medicating, and some of the fish seem better, but my large plecosomas(bottom feeder) has white spots all over him. How do I help him and what can I do about water quality with out over chem-ing my tank. Can I get the water from elsewhere??

Answer 1

You should not be medicating with a pleco in the tank. The ich meds are pretty harsh, particularly for scaleless fish, your biological filtration system, and any invertebrates.
I suggest you convert to the SALT treatment, which is just as effective, but won't kill anything other than the Ich.

If you choose to do this, remove 70% of the water and vacuum the gravel, then refill with clean dechlorinated water. Then add 1 tbsp per 5 gallons of AQUARIUM salt, disolved first in some dechlor water. Keep this salinity for 2 weeks - enough time to eradicate the Ich parasites - and then resume weekly water changes as usual to eventually remove all traces of salt.

What do you mean by crappy tap water? Is it too hard, too soft, do acidic, too alkaline? There are certain issues you can fix, and 90% of the time, tap water is absolutely fine. Buy a master test kit and see what the problem with your's is. If you find an unfixable problem, consider investing a Reverse Osmosis unit. You can get them for 100$ on e-bay. You'll have to add minerals, vits and electrolite the waters, though, because unlike tap water it will not posess those things, which fish need in their water.

Oh, Ich didn't come from your tap water. The theory is that there is Ich in most tanks, but that fish are usually healthy enough to overcome it, and you don't notice it because they get one or two parasites, as opposed to a whole infestation. But in times of stress (say, during a move / relocation), stress increases, health decreases, and the ich can take over. I mention this only because it's easier to treat something that you understand. Much has been written on the subject of Ich lifecycle, and it's important to know (for example, Ich has 4 life stages, and only during of them can the parasite be killed).

Answer 2

Test the hardness, alkalinity, and pH of your tap water and see how it compares to your tanks water. If you go with bottled water, you shold always use the same brand. Different brands have a different water quality. They tend to be very soft and do not provide a good pH buffer. Tap water is actually your best bet if it is anywhere close to your current pH, hardness, and alaklinity. a good water conditioner will detox any heavy metals in the water. It will also remove any chlorine and chloromine.

The ich paracite most likely came in with your new fish. The immune system of your old fish was compromised when you stressd them out by moving the tank and adding a new source of water.

Ich has an eleven to fourteen day life cycle. There are eggs in the rocks, larve in the tank, and the adult paracite on the fish. To effectivly kill ich, you need to treat the tank for two weeks, that way you are killing them at every life stage so they cannot reproduce.

Ich needs light to survive. It also hates salt and warm water.

*only use this method if no other treatment is working, as a lack of light could harm your fish.*

Do a 25 % water change. Add a tablespoon of aqaurium salt per five gallons. Turn off your light and put a blanket over the tank. Raise your temp by 1-2 degrees daily until you reach 80 degrees. If you have cold water fish, do not exceede 75 degrees. This is the "natural" way to fight it. It isn't very effective unless you use a mediction.

*Use as a basic treatment combined with salt and raised temp*

Use any ich medication with the active ingredient Malachite Green. WARNING: it will turn any plastic and silicon in your tank green. Remove your carbon when you medicate. Carbon is chemical filtration and will make medication inert. Do a 25% water change every three days.

If you have your tank covered, when you check your fish or go to feed, SLOWLY raise a small part of the blanket to acclimate the fish to the light of the room. They do not have pupils and will freak out at the light.

Answer 3

You definitely want improve the water quality to have an effective ich treatment and also to prevent ich in the future. In our maintenance business, we do as much as possible to prevent ich as we can thru water quality management.
Ich is easier to treat and safer to treat and prevent is you have:

*A proper calcium and electrolyte level (this can partially be tested thru kH). Calcium has proven to be essential for disease resistance for ich and other diseases. Electrolytes are also important here (especially magnesium in small quantities). This is why you do NOT want add distilled water unless you re mineralize it!

*Proper Redox Potential, again a new field of study, but this is yielding a lot of information about disease prevention and even prevention of BG algae. Good aeration and electrolytes helps for this

*UV Sterilization helps a lot for both prevention and treatment (it kills only in the swimming stage like meds do). UVs also help establish a healthy Redox. But make sure it is a well made and properly installed unit, otherwise it will be useless. A good example of a poor unit is the Aqua Medic. (By the way this is not to say you have to have a UV Sterilizer, they are just another useful tool for good aquatic husbandry).

Back to treatment, keeping water parameters in mind. Most treatment are more effective and even more important is that medications that have gotten a poor rap for safety is only due to improper application of the med. Malachite Green is much safer at a pH of 7.4 and a kH above 80 ppm.
Quick Cure is very effective when used properly, even at half dose for sensitive fish.

A 25% change of water (tap water or well water is usually fine, just add a de-chlorinator to tap water) before each treatment is often helpful.

"Medicated Wonder Shells" are great for treatment of ich with sensitive fish as they buffer the kH and add calcium while adding medication at a safe and slow rate. We use these products regularly in our service route when new fish are added or there has been a history of ich or stress.

For up to date information about ich, please see my article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html

Answer 4

I would keep using the medicine and see if that helps. My fish used to get ich, and I lost a lot of them after the white spots appeared b/c I didn't treat it right.

I also would buy water for your fish if you have a small tank (under 5 gallons). I used to buy natural spring water and it worked fine with my fish.

Answer 5

After most ich treatments, a 20% water change is recommended. I assume you are treating your tap water to take out the chlorine. Just wait and see if the medication helps.

I use Mardel CopperSafe to treat for ich and other parasites. 4 teaspoons per gallon and it treats for a month.

Answer 6

You can always use distilled water. You can buy it in gallon sized jugs from any grocery store. I would recommend doing about a 30% water change and keep medicating. You may be able to find some tablets for ich instead of the drops. I have found that those work better.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Try bottled water, getting water filters installed, maybe consider getting a water softner installed as well. Great question and good luck! Merry Christmas.