Ich in 30 gallon tank!?

Question

I have a 30 gallon tank that has a live plant and various decorations in it. In the tank, I now have 4 angelfish, 3 sm. cory cats, and a gourami. I had 2 eels, 2 loaches, and 2 other cory cats, but all died when I treated for Ich.

I have an Ich medicine that the local pet store recommended when one of my cory cats got white fuzzballs on its fins and followed the directions I was given. The first infected cory died with all the others when I put the meds in the tank, but now another cory cat is infected, and I'm scared to put more meds in. I have had my angelfish for 2+ years and do not want to kill them!

Is there anything I can do to cure the Ich without putting more blue medicine into the tank??

Answer 1

Zoe is right about everything except the temp. Here is some info on treating ich with temperature:

If you have already tried medication without results, there is another way to cure ich. The other approach is to actually destroy the organism with heat, and can be combined with the salt treatment, but not with meds.

The data that was studied (including a report by the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center) suggests that Ich cannot reproduce at temperatures above 85ºF. To use this temperature treatment approach, slowly (no more than 1 or 2 degrees per hour) raise the temperature to 86ºF, while maintaining strong continuous surface agitation to oxygenate the water. This is extremely important because water holds less O2 at higher temperatures. (This is why meds should not be used in conjunction with high temp – most Ich treatment products also reduce oxygen levels. Less available oxygen, combined with the respiration difficulties an infected fish is already faced with, could be fatal.)

The adjusted temperature should be maintained for approximately 10 days, or a minimum of 3 days after all signs of the parasite have disappeared (the life cycle of the parasite is 7 days). Do not discontinue treatment when the spots go away. This is critical, because we know that the parasites are visible only as a white spot (trophont) on the body of the host, and not during the reproductive or free-swimming stage. We also know that trophonts on the gills are impossible to see.

Corys and angels are not harmed by the elevated temps, but their metabolism will increase due to the raised temp. You may want to feed them a little higher protein food for the time the temp is raised.

Eels and loaches are scaleless fish and therefore when administering medications, you should check the label instructions about what types of fish should not be medicated at full strength... or at all. If you don't find the info on the label, go the the mfr's website and check there. Sometimes they have a Q&A section or a personal help email program.

I have always used the temp cure for ich and it works well for me. It will clear out a tank of any of the parasites in the 10 day period. The only way you will get more ich parasites is by adding a new fish, a plant, or using a net that is from or has been used in a tank that is contaminated.

If you have more than one tank, you should have a net bath that you keep your nets in when not in use. A strong solution of medication should be in the net bath at all times. Refresh it every week. Aquarisol is a good net bath, as is Formalin-3 or Nox-Ich.

Always isolate new fish for at least two weeks before placing them into your community tank. A 10 g tank is cheap ($9) and all you need is a heater ($12) and a small air pump ($6) to keep the newly acquired fish happy until you are sure they have no diseases that are not apparent at the time of purchase. Peace of mind and a healthy community tank is cheap at a one time cost of $27...... IMHO.

Answer 2

Your petstore unfortunately does not know what it is doing.
The "fuzzballs" you saw were not ich, they were either fungus or mold.
The ich you have now, are you sure it's ich? Ich looks like white dots, like your fish has been rolling in sand.

If you do have ich, then yes, you can treat it without using medications. In fact, I discourage from using medications; they can be very harsh on fish and your biological system. Use salt, instead.
First, do a large 50% water change.

Then add 1 flat tbsp of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water, disolved first in a cup of tank water. Leave it like this for 2 weeks. You can also increase to tank heat to 81F to speed up the process.
This will kill the ich parasites just as effectiively as ich meds would.

After the 2 weeks, resume weekly water changes, and eventually all the salt will be removed.

If your "ich" is actually something else, the salt can still be beneficial.
Is it fuzz on the fish you're seeing? If so, that's fungus, and you need to treat accordingly.
If it's like cottony fungus floating around the tank, that's mold on decaying food. Remove, increase water changes, and reduce feeding.

Lastly, you'll need to cut down on your fish. 4 angels and a gourami is too much for a 30 gallon tank. You could have 2 angels and the cories, or the gourami, the cories, and something else (like cherry barbs or another gourami). Your fish are ill right now because you have too many of them; your tank is overcrowded.

So, cut back on the fish, do more frequent water changes, and add salt, and they should recover nicely.

Answer 3

"white fuzzballs" isn't ich. Ich shows itself as small white dots on a fish's body and/or fins, which look like salt. What your fish has is fungus. Treat with fungal medication from your local aquarium store.

Answer 4

I'm thinkin' a few other variations of the Tiger barbs, like the green ones and the albino ones. And if you want a bottom feeder, go for 3 Pictus catfish, they are aggressive, but not enough to bother any other fish, they will eat small tetras. And for the grand finale, a school of silver dollars, I myself recommend the Red hook variation. Sounds like you know your stuff. Good luck

Answer 5

You can try adding aquarium salt and slowly raising the temperature. I refuse to use meds on my fish and this has always worked for me.

Also, your "scale-less" fish died because most meds are harmful to them.

Answer 6

Heck, I itch in the bathtub......