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Can you help

4K views 30 replies 8 participants last post by  MinaMinaMina 
#1 ·
my tank has been runing for about 6 weeks
4 guppys always happy
Had 4 mollys but to died from white spot Got a bottle of white spot and things have been ok all fish look fine and the tank is looking lovely.
Loads of plants
Now my tests are
ph 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 1.0ppm
nitrate 40ppm

What should i do keep doing water change's
 
#3 ·
did you cycle the tank?
 
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#5 ·
His tank is technically cycling.

Please do keep up with water changes until nitrite sticks to zero.

Could you also kindly illustrate how you did your white spot treatment?
 
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#4 ·
well yes we think but got told everything of a bloke in a pet shop ????? i know now to come here.:lol:
I think its is coming to the end of it as the last reading was worse.
I just read the post by amy you lot are great i will do a water change and teast it tomorrow night then put the results on here
l
 
#8 ·
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#9 ·
How long did you keep the treatment there? What active ingredient was labeled on the bottle? Malachite green can potentially destroy the beneficial bacteria. Salt would be a safer alternative and both mollies and guppies are extremely tolerant to salt. However, as you do have plants, all your fish may require moving to a hospital tank with plastic.plants for hideouts to spare your live plants the misery of being badly damaged by salt. Kindly check my sticky thread for all fish diseases in the disease forum. White spot treatment and everything else you need to know about white spots have been covered well.
 
#10 ·
First thanks for the help
The two fish that had white spot are on died the rest look happy a no white spot in the tank there are 2 snails? must of come of the plants or java moss
The white spot was
interpet anti white spot
Got told is was a good one again i do know whats was the best one but like i say they look on we are only going to get guppys from now on LOL we like them
I am doing another water test later tonight so i will post what happening
 
#11 ·
You miss my point. Ich or white spot is parasitic in nature, therefore, regardless of the status of the infected, your other fish will still carry them and ich will once again make a full blown appearance as your fish succumbs to stress-related factors.

I'll link you to this topic so you can read why your fish shoukd still be treated and why I suggested salt as an alternative.
White Spot, Ich ((Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) - Read information!
 
#12 ·
You miss my point. Ich or white spot is parasitic in nature, therefore, regardless of the status of the infected, your other fish will still carry them and ich will once again make a full blown appearance as your fish succumbs to stress-related factors.

I'll link you to this topic so you can read why your fish shoukd still be treated and why I suggested salt as an alternative.
White Spot, Ich ((Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) - Read information!
Cheers mate will look at that
Now omg just did a water change and got a mouth full of water been sick about 5 times anyone had this or just me.
What a d--k i am
 
#13 ·
LOL! Why not just get a cleaner that does not require mouth suction? A python I think? I dont live in US. Been there, done that but nothing harmful although it is still unsanitary.
 
#15 ·
I have to disagree with Byron on this one. Aggressive gravel vac is very important while using formalin/malachite green treatments for ich, as the medication's effecacy is dramatically lessened by the presence of organics. Yes, normally aggressive gravel vac is not indicated in moderately or heavily planted tanks. But in this case, heavy water changes with thorough gavel vac is as important as the medication.

Also, putting your tank into darkness while using formalin/malachite green medications can be very effective.

Here is the link to (arguably) the best site about Ich: Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
 
#16 ·
I have to disagree with Byron on this one. Aggressive gravel vac is very important while using formalin/malachite green treatments for ich, as the medication's effecacy is dramatically lessened by the presence of organics. Yes, normally aggressive gravel vac is not indicated in moderately or heavily planted tanks. But in this case, heavy water changes with thorough gavel vac is as important as the medication.

Also, putting your tank into darkness while using formalin/malachite green medications can be very effective.

Here is the link to (arguably) the best site about Ich: Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
We're not disagreeing...I was commenting in general, no reference to the medication which didn't even occur to me.:doh!:
 
#20 ·
Agreed on doing a PWC, wait 24 hours after doing it and re-test your nitrate, you should find it has gone down to about 10ppm or less.

Remember Patience is the key :)
 
#21 ·
Tazman and onemanswarm, I see why you're recommending a partial water change in reference to cycle issues, but the OP is battling Ich here, so he/she needs to be doing DAILY 50% water change with aggressive gravel vac. Every day! No exceptions! For at least 3 days after ALL signs of Ich are gone! After that, the OP can add activated carbon and continue 50% water changes daily for about three days to get rid of the medication.
 
#23 ·
I also forgot it was an ich thread and totally agree with what Mina is saying also.

It is a MUST to do water changes and aggressive cleaning.
 
#26 ·
Hey, Geomancer! Great question. :-D I've been studied Ich lately, and here's what I've discovered...

There are multiple reasons for doing big daily water changes with aggressive gravel vac. The first is to remove as many cilates and tomites as you can. No, this alone won't solve the problem. But it will make the whole process shorter, and therefore easier on the fish.
Another reason is to keep water parameters as perfect as possible. Fish aren't going to be able to fight off Ich as effectively if they're also dealing with poor water quality.
In the OP's case, he used a formalin/malachite green medication. This medication (as do some other medications) reacts with organic wastes in the tank to become less effective. Therefore, to maintain the full strength of the medication, he needs to be aggressively removing the organic wastes. This allows the medication to be available to battle the Ich, instead of being wasted on oxidizing the organic wastes.
 
#27 · (Edited)
This is entirely correct but in the event, a person is unwilling to sacrifice his plants as most meds do destroy them, his alternative would be moving the fish to a hospital tank though this is much more stressful to them.
 
#28 ·
I'm actually battling ich right now ;) My wife has a 10g with just a Betta in it, brand new betta so likely sick from the store. He didn't have any spots when we bought him, but yeah.

Anyways, we have some plants (Anubias, Java Fern, Wisteria, Brazilian Pennywort) in there and based on a different thread where Byron had said he used Coppersafe in a planted tank without much in negative consequences so we are using that.

We did a 50% change, raised the temp to 86, and dosed the coppersafe. Day one went from ~30 spots to ~5 spots. Day two now has zero (visible) spots. We'll keep it for a full week, then bring the temperature back to normal. So far, no ill effects on the plants (they're still sprouting new leaves) and the betta is happily blowing bubble nests so... crossing our fingers =) The substrate is sand, so can't siphon it anyways (we'd just accomplish sucking up the sand itself).

As a side note, the betta seams to enjoy the sauna, who knew?
 
#29 ·
I just posted in another thread about ich, so I'll simply copy that over. This is my take on water changes during ich treatment (I don't), but keep in mind that I am referring to treatment with CopperSafe and raising temperature. I never use malachite green and other treatments because CS works for me with minimal stress to fish.
I've never vacuumed the substrate for this purpose, and you are the first person I've read who mentioned this aspect. While vacuuming the substrate would/could presumably remove some of the cilates, and changing water might remove some of the free-swimming tomites--both practices will also diminish the strength of medication in the aquarium and this could allow some of the ich to slip through and attach to a host fish. Adding more medication to deal with the water removed is possible, and with a medication like CopperSafe might be OK because it is not as potent as other copper-based meds (which is why it is "safer" on sensitive fish). But with a stronger med, I would think this very risky. Elevated levels of copper can kill plants, fish and bacteria. I prefer to have a better idea of how much copper I'm adding. I have for instance noticed plants being affected by some other copper medications when used just as recommended; this has never occurred with Coppersafe, provided I also discontinue fertilization--the two together does affect plants, which I assume is the elevated copper level. So my thinking here is that one has to be careful, and the best action would seem to be not changing water to maintain an effective but not detrimental level of copper. Treatment for a week or two weeks at most should deal with the ich, and shortening this by even a couple days is not worth the possible risk in my view.
Byron.
 
#30 ·
Oh yes, I'm not familiar with CopperSafe. I was just asking Byron in the other thread about his experiences with it, and he doesn't gravel vac (he never does, ich or not, because he's heavily planted) or change water when using it. CopperSafe and herbal remedies are next on my list to study.

Good luck with your Ich battle!
 
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