What is source of my fish's illnesses?

Question

10G tank, water cycled for 2 days.
Introduced two fancy guppies.
1 - 2 weeks later, introduced 6 platies.
1 platy was reserved in corner, developed mucousy white debris on fins and face.
Quarantined him.
All other fish (including guppies which were just fine before) gradually developed white "ick" spots within 3 days.

Can ick and the unknown illness of the first fish be my fault or is it likely the pet store's fault?

BTW, I added a few drops of ickCure to the tank now.

Answer 1

Ick is a parasite that comes only from accidentally being added to the tank with the fish. I wouldn't exactly say it's the shops fault, they might not have known it was in the tank, but that's where it came from.

Raise the temp of the tank to 84-86F add 2 tablespoons of salt and your ick medicine and be sure to use the recommended amount, usually 1-2 drops per gallon. Take the carbon out of your filter as it will only remove the medicine. Change 50% of the water every day adding back 1 tablespoon of salt and a complete dose of the ick medicine. When you change the water syphon it from th gravel to help remove the ick that is in the gravel. Treat this way for 8-10 days and all will be well.

Best of luck with the new tank!

Answer 2

How do you 'cycle a tank for two days? You need a couple of guppies for that, unless you're doing it chemically, and even then, it'll still take the same 2-4 weeks to cycle through. Between the stress that put on them and any ick that may have been imported with the mollies, I'm surprised they're not all dead by now.

Do a 50% water change NOW. Add the salt and any other cures you may have access to. Maybe you can bring this off if you learn enough, fast enough. Get a water test kit, and monitor your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels. Once they stabilize, you can think about replacing anyone who dies. Change the water according to the directions that should come with the test kit. Probably not more than a 25% change or two over the next couple of weeks.
Get an aqarist book and find out what you're doing. Once things settle down, you can then enjoy your tank. Good luck!

Answer 3

You need a heater. The ick most likly came in with the 6 platies. The drops will only kill adult ick not eggs so you are likely to get a reinfestation in 2 weeks. Those drops will also stunt your tank from cycling so now you are in a pickle. If the water is not right disease is the only thing that will result. You'll keep medicating with this and that until you kill all of them. Medicating with salt is much better for the treatment of ick. I suggest to you change 50% of the water and put carbon back in to take up the medication you put in. Heat your tank to 82 degrees and add 1 teaspoon of non-iodized rock salt per gallon(yes you can get it from the grocery store) do this in the morning then put in another 1 teaspoon per gallon that same evening. Repeat the next day for a total of 4 teaspoons per gallon. Leave them this way for 2 weeks. You will have to change water so replace it with 4 teaspoons salt per gallon water at 82 degrees during this time. I promise you will see improvement by the 3rd or 4th day. Ick will be gone in 2 weeks. When you're done change the water with no salt until you have changed out 120% of the water. Do 25% changes every other day and do that 4 or 5 times should remove all the salt. Lower the temp no more than 2 degrees a day until you get the temp back down to 78 degrees and keep it there. Ick likes cooler water. Never ever let your temp fall below 75. Avoid cleaning your filter until the tank has cycled. Yes it will cycle with salt in it, but it won't with Quick Cure (malachite green) in it. From now on be skeptical of what the pet store tries to sell you. You should never medicate the home tank. If you have to use a hospital tank. quarintine new arrivals for a month before placing them into the established aquarium if you want to prevent disease outbreak in the future. Don't get on that downward spiral of sick fish then medicate then sick fish then medicate. The water is the key, Get it right and keep it right and you will not have to worry about disease. I assure you the salt treatment will work and will work better than the meds. Malachite green and formalin will put a stress on fish, where as salt will not.

Answer 4

Go here and read about how to set up a new aquarium.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_summary.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=6&acatid=427

You cannot add 8 fish in the first two weeks without water quality problems. The platies probably had something wrong with them from the pet store and the added stress of moving them to a new tank that has not been properly cycled was too much for them. Read about the Nitrogen cycle because you are at risk for an Ammonia spike which could kill off all the fish.

Answer 5

fish are stressed to their limits when you get them. they have been in an overstocked tank and then get tossed in a bag and jiggled in a car for 30 mins and the floated -- and well its just not the best thing for fish. ich actually exists in most water but can't attach until the fish stresses and their slime coat quality drops. this is how fish get just about any disease.

the platy sounds like he has an actual fungus.

good luck with your 100 gallon hospital tank. i would find instructions on how to cure ich (like raise the temp, etc) -- you really don't want to try it in 100 gallons cause you need to keep the bottom clean of the ich that drops off the fish.

Answer 6

The platy has fin rot or fungus, treat with fungus clear.

Ich is only when there are white dots that look like salt crystals. If the fish have white splotches it is fungus, not ich.

Treat the fungus with medication, treat ich with heat and salt.

Answer 7

methylene blue will help.