Ick question?

Question

I have a 10 gallon tank that I have some guppies and a Cory Cat in. I had to move my Powder Blue Gouramis into it because they were getting bullied in my 30 gallon tank. Almost right away one developed what looked like Ick and even though I treated him he croaked(I think I started treatment too late). Then a couple weeks later the other got the same thing and I thought that maybe it wasn't Ick since I treated the tank with all the fish in it so I was advised to treat for Hole in the Head Disease(the spots appeared more at the base of the head and base of the fins) so I did and it died. All along the guppies and the Cory have been fine.

Now I was just given a small Pleco that I have housed there until I get my new 20 gallon up and running. It looks like it has Ick. I do regular water changes, change my filter media once a month, watch the temps and on and on(I'm not new to fish). I just can't understand why if its Ick it wouldn't affect the other fish.

Any ideas?

Looks like the poor guy is taking a turn for the worse(He has too many hiding places ). The spots definately look like Ick with some fin rot. Unfortunately he has too many hiding spots and it already looked pretty advanced. I did find the heater has been adjusted down(I have kids and they mess with stuff) to about 72 from the normal 78 I keep it at. The tank is not overstocked. 3 small guppies and one 1" Cory before the Pleco was added. As far as changing the filter media, I have one of those 3 stage filters with a "sponge" for mechanical filtration, a charcoal bag for chemical filtration and a bag full of bio balls to breed the helpful bacteria. I stagger changing the sponge and the charcoal so I never remove both at the same time and the bio balls never get removed(and in my Bio Bag Filter that gets completely changed I also keep Bio Balls so when I remove it the host for the bacteria remains). I monitor my water quality twice a week. If it is from stress it was due to low water temp

Answer 1

There is certainly something quite unusual going on here that's for sure. You did treat for ick, but since then another fish has been added, so all bets are off. To dispel a few myths: Bad water does not cause ick, low temperatures do not cause ick, stress does not cause ick. Nothing and I mean nothing causes ick except the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. It does not hang around in a tank dormant, fish do not get immune to it. t does not travel in the air, it does not travel on dry material and it can't come from dry foods. The only way ick gets in a tank is to be introduced. If ick was introduced into this 10 gallon tank, all the other fish would have caught it as well as it spreads like wildfire.

As all the other fish have been fine, you can rule out ick completely.

To make a reasonable diagnosis I would need more information.
How long has the affect fish been in the tank?
Using a strong flashlight look at the affected areas:
What color are they? White with a bit of red? Pure white? Golden colored?
How large are the spots? Grain of sand, pinhead, larger?
Are the round or jagged on the edges?
Are they bumps sticking up from the fish or holes in the fishes skin?
Are they fuzzy looking or smooth?
Where are they on the fish and about how many spots are there? All of these things can be helpful it determining what is going on in the tank. If you can get that info together in another question or added to this question it would help alot.

Best of luck and look forward to hearing back

Answer 2

A 10 gallon is way too small for the fish mentioned. Ich is only when the fish have small salt-like crystals on them. The normal slime coat on a fish's scales will protect it from ich. Only fish who are already weak usually get it. It can live in your tank quite a while. What you do to get rid of it is slowly raise the temperature to 87F and add 1T of aquarium salt per gallon. Keep it like this for two weeks after you see the last spot on the fish and then slowly bring the temperature down. The ich living in the tank should be dead by then.
Anything other than what looks like salt crystals is not ich.

Another thing, don't change your filter media ever, unless it is falling apart. Media is where the beneficial bacteria lives. When you need to, rinse it out in a bucket of old tank water, but do no more than that. It must be very stressful on your fish to have to go through a mini cycle each time you change the media.

Answer 3

Guppies are notorious for Ick something about them in a tank with live plants doesn't suit well I wouldn't have other fish In the tank with the guppy If it has ick and if you know it has ick Isolate it or flush it its a fungus that will spread to your other fish then you wont have any more. For a healthy tank have a filter and get some anti algae pills to dissolve in the tank. Good Luck!

Answer 4

It's hard to tell without seeing the fish directly. Baby plecos are very prone to ick. Bump up the temp to 82 -84 degrees and treat with medication. I like Aquarisol because it doesn't hurt catfish or plants. Raising the temp speeds up the lifecycle of the parisite and allows the larvea to be exposed to the medicine.(the larval stage is the only stage where medicine kills ick. In the future, I recommend a UV sterilizer. It will "nuke" parasites AND bacterial infections that are suspended in the water and it is totally safe for your fish. Good luck, jason (Phoenix Phish Care)

Answer 5

usually fish get sick when they are stressed -- like moving them from one tank to another -- have fish attacking their fins -- get a little something that wears down their immune system. there are plenty of bacteria and things in your tank that will only affect fish if their immune system drops due to temperature change, water change -- whatever makes the fish's immune system drop.

if the other fish are happy and healthy they won't be affected by ich. it sounds weird but its the way it works. often people get tanks of ich when the temperature drops too low -- the fish get chilled which drops their immune system and then they are covered in ich. the ich was always there -- just kinds of lurks and waits for a host that it can thrive on and for some reason it can't thrive on a healthy fish.

to give you an example not ich related but bacteria related -- i have a moor that got swim bladder problems and was sideways resting in the tank. next think i knew it had a spot of columnaris and then the fins were rotting. my water was obviously full of bacteria it just didn't have a host until my moor got sick.

Answer 6

Have you tested your water parameters? Are the ammonia levels too high? To me, it sounds like your tank is overstocked, and the beneficial bacteria didnt have time to compensate. Get a testing kit and monitor for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Your nitrites should be at zero and you should have some kind of measureable nitrates (but at a safe level) for your tank to be ok (cycled) I highly suggest reading up on the nitrogen cycle.

Answer 7

well moving a fish is stressful and anytime they get stressed they can get ich eaisier....and if you put the temp around 80-83 it will help keep ich down it has a hard time living in a higher temp. well good luck... i have had tanks for 20+ yrs

Answer 8

Ich treatment includes numerous remedies. you ought to maintain on with the teachings. you ought to close off the clear out for a time, you ought to re-cope with on time because it says on the treatment packaging. each and each form is slightly diverse. If some random chum brings stuff over - properly, you don't understand if that stuff is previous and has "lengthy previous off" or in spite of. flow to the save and get ich treatment and keep on with all the guidelines.

Answer 9

i have same problem but different types of fish..if you live in miami i can give you ALOT OF BIG GUPPIES BECAUSE I consider them a huge problem in my pond...lol

Answer 10

ask a vet on their opinion or a fish/aqua specialist.

P>S> HOW many tanks do you have???LOTS!!!! I can tell