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...and here's why I wanna break down & cry....

8K views 79 replies 18 participants last post by  Angel079 
#1 ·
Most of you followed the disaster with stocking, death and algae outbreak of my 55g....well weeks later that is finally semi under control...

So as every night I go to feed my 45g aka the "perfect tank"...What do I see on 1 Rummy...white spots....what do I see looking atthe rest in the tank - YES white spots on ALL rummy....the guys that moved in first many weeks ago....

So yea I'm dialing up Temp and surprisingly have ich med's here now anyway and will begin treatment....

I swear to you guys if this becomes the same kinda disaster its caused in the 55g I will seriously break down & cry and STOP having tanks period, I am so behind devastated right now it ain't even funny any more. And I even soaked the new plants well over 2 days and still this crap now....

I am honestly and truthfully about to quit the hobby here. Years & years never had no problem then we move here and I have more sick & dead fish then anyone can count - I used to enjoy this hobby and be happy with it and interested - This all really vanished over the past weeks to sheer frustrations and sadness, that ain't cool any more at all :evil:

So either send me some good luck charm...or watch for my post starting with "5 tanks for sale"....:cry::cry::cry:
 
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#27 ·
Here's a picture of them guys. I just spent a great while watching them and honestly I can not see whether or not they are infected too, from what I see they're not...but really they're albion's and its too hard to tell :-?

No this is not a established tank (which I consider established - up & running 5-6 months). Its been set up & cycled 1st week Nov, started stocking the week before Thanksgiving. Been hassle free since, up until now, water paramters had not sown any new peaks since the initial cycle. While I woudl consider it a sable tank, i'd def by *my* standards not consider it established :)
 

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#28 ·
Looks ich free to me. Look at the pectoral fins...look good to me!
 
#29 ·
Thanks for all your help & patience with me here Kelso...I know jack about sickness, I really do....I just set there for well over 1 hrs while feeding them watching all Cory....I can NOT see any signs anywhere...could it be the Tetra's are infected but not the Cory? Or will ich attack EVERYBODY in the tank??
 
#30 ·
Oh definitely! It may just be your tetras and only your tetras! What I've learned about cories is that once they're acclimated they're terribly hard to kill! Out of the 16 Cories I have bought, 3 have died, all from stupid fin rot, which they had from the store. The first three I have ever bought have seen my other fish get ich, fungus, fin rot, and general sickness..yet are here still today. They've seen more diseases than most fish, yet have never gotten any themselves! Tetra's are more prone to ich, from what I've seen. But for your final question...nope. It'll attack all the fish, but the ones strong enough to fight it off won't get it. Bettas and cories from what I've seen are very good at fighting and resisting ich.
 
#31 ·
Update this AM: ALL ALIVE! (which is GREAT news to me really really!!)

The Serpae Tetra's seem to have a FEW white spots, so do the Rummy's but it appears to me as if the Rummy's spots are fewer then the 1st day I seen them. Could it begin healing this quick?
I've always had Corys, various forms and I find if introduced to established tanks, there's 0 issues (at least I never had any issues until recently with 2 ich breakouts grrr).

Fin rot is treatable thou from what I read using Melafix - Had you tried this?

Truthfully I am beginning to wonder BEFORE introducing new fish OR plants to any of my tanks whether or not it would be advisable to QT them and treat for ick for few days in general?? Seems like EVERY fish I get my hands on these days carry's ich (never had that problem before)...

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#32 ·
Glad to hear everyone is still alive!! I would not treat new fish for ich if they are not showing signs of Ich. That is exposure to medication that is not necessary if they are showing no signs of it. It is certainly possible for some fish to have it in your tank, but not all. Some are less prone to ich or stronger fish in general, and some are more susceptible. It is likely your cories do not have it. Just continue to treat your whole tank until you see no spots on anyone, then continue to treat for an additional 3 days.
 
#36 ·
Oh heck yea QT for ANY new fish definitely after my exp with the 55g any & all go QT, the only one's i excluded so far was the shrimp lol
The ONLY thing that could have carried ich into the 45g was add plants, thou I did soak them for a few days, apparently that wasn't good enough :-? so going fwd not only will my fish be QT'ed but plants as well :)
 
#34 ·
The more I think about it......Maybe that's why I never had issues before? I used to have big fish, stronger fish before, never had any Tetra's...maybe that's why I have all the headache now since they're so sensitive??
Only sensitive fish I ever had was the Killi and they came from a private breeder into well established tank and never had issues....
 
#35 ·
I am glad they are all doing well. I would definatly put any new fish in QT before adding them to your excisting tanks. It is easier to treat in a few fish in a smaller tank than a big tank with alot of fish in it. Good job spotting it early and treating quickly.
 
#38 ·
Hoooray! I did try melafix...and 2 days later the fins were reduced to a bloody stump...next day...dead. =(

But good news to hear!...I'd do a little water change tomorrow !!!BeFoRe!!! you administer the drugs.
 
#39 ·
I was planning on checking all parameters 2nite.... So do a w/c 2x with the meds in there now you're saying?
 
#40 ·
You administer the drugs everyday right? Well before you do your daily dosing, do a water change as normal and then when all is done, dose the tank as usual.
 
#42 ·
Update day 4 morning:
Had a rise in NO2 last night, did a ~30% w/c. Fed them and dosed again.

All are alive!!! I do not see any more spots on my Serpae Tetra's. 2 Rummys look spot free as well no # I'm unsure it doesn't wanna show its other side to me Rummy no 4 still has 2 visible spots.

But I tell ya'll they all look a HECK of a lot better then the day after I first discovered it.

So I just keep Temp up & keep on dosing until such day I see no more pots on no one and then 5 days after that dosing would stop (that's if I have the correct ich understanding here)
 
#43 ·
I'd stick with four days. 5 Days would be too much. I say this because with any animal, you don't wanna give them too much medication right? The free floating stage of the "ich" lasts three days. The fourth day is to kill all remaining ich that could have hatched on day one of being supposedly ich free, including the ones that could have hatched late into the day. Keeping the temp up on day five won't hurt. by day six you should have it knocked down a degree or two. Or could leave it as is. I keep all my tanks at 80+ degrees, my highest tank stays at 84
 
#44 ·
So then, once I see no more spots 4 day dose still. Day 5 do nothing day 6 dial temp back down a lil and do a super gravel vac and add carbon to the filter - Did I get that right now.

Sorry to sound like such a dummy to ya'll, but I know zip about sicknesses, can tell ya all about plants & fish, but not sicknesses, never dealt with it up until now (and the first ich on the Cardinals was fatal)
 
#45 ·
Well, now you know a little something about sickness ;) That'll all work just well. Don't you have heavily planted tanks? Why do you use carbon? Just curious. Even in my not so heavily planted tanks, I still don't use carbon
 
#46 ·
Yes, if you look at my aquariums here, the one under ich attack is the New 45g, well planted. No I do NOT use Carbon, but read on several places that after medicating you have to add it to the filter to remove it, so I was gonna get some to add and help that way clean the tank.
 
#47 ·
Ahhhhh, hmmm...forgot about that...What I did is just do a 50% wc and then...I can't even remember if I used carbon or not...I think I just put a panty hose piece with carbon in it in front of the filter jet, haha. Hahah, well, whatever works!
 
#48 ·
:welldone: update this AM: 1 spot left on 1 rummy that is IT! Ain't that awesome...:-D
 
#50 ·
Thanks Roman...sure's been a headache here lately with these 2 tank...can only get better from here on right!? Worked well in the past so i'd be darned if I couldn't do it again lol
 
#52 · (Edited)
Angel, I've been following this without comment; glad you toughed it out, recall that experience is learning more from the bad than the good. I don't recall from the original post but had you recently introduced something new that let to the infestation?

Regardless, congratulations!

I just noticed your from Missouri, I once spent some time in Blackburn, a small town I won't be surprised you haven't heard of this area. My college roommates father was the minister at the local United Church of Christ there. The one notable memory I have is that I went to the Xmas Eve service - many a decade ago - and as part of my welcoming I was encouraged to ring the church bell. Well I grabbed the rope, pulled it twice and it broke - I wasn't so popular there after that...lol! The rope had rotted out over the years and I was the unlucky sap to pull it on its final last gasps; that didn't matter to the towns people, I was the one who broke the rope - a foreigner.
 
#54 ·
Very true! But now the bad-learning curves can gladly stay away from me for a while anyway :lol:
Yup, I did, plants....I did soak them before intro them...apparently not well enough...again live & learn right...now in my house not only new fish get QT but plants too :lol:

Missouri - me? no....I'm from CO living in TN now...I honestly don't think I ever even been there :-D
 
#56 · (Edited)
Very true! But now the bad-learning curves can gladly stay away from me for a while anyway :lol:
Yup, I did, plants....I did soak them before intro them...apparently not well enough...again live & learn right...now in my house not only new fish get QT but plants too :lol:

Missouri - me? no....I'm from CO living in TN now...I honestly don't think I ever even been there :-D

Hi, :)

How long should they be soaked and in anything special? I did know to rinse them well but did not know yet to soak them. Boy, I sure have a lot to learn with plants, if I am going to go this route. I only have as few plants so far in my daughter's tank that I got when I got the stuff to put in the tank to set it up, but that before I realized how much more I will need to know about plants. They seem to be doing ok, so far, even before the right type of light. I was in the store yesterday and they had two daylight flouresant lights (Coral Reef brand) that go into the screw type bulb input and good thing I opened up the one box at the counter....one was broken. I bought the one thinking that would be better than nothing right now and I got home and broke it. I could not believe it! I normally would know better how to handle the darn thing, but I was tired and I felt rushed. I am used to the type of flouresants that do not screw in and the ones we have at home that are the larger rounded type where you can twist the light part without breaking it. I went to screw it in like I did the ones it came with without taking off the small little plastic covering so I had to hold the glass part instead of the ceramic part and it went POP! I was soooo mad at myself. That is what I get for doing something when I am tired and hurried. My Pug was barking because I just got home and he gets excited like that. That did not help. That darn light cost me over $14.00 bucks. Now I do not have any at all...the right kind that is. I don't think I will be able to get any until mid next week -- the store that would most likely have them is not open on Monday and Tuesday and Petco is out of them and Petsmart does not have them.

I need to read your threads on lights....where you got yours. I think you said you got them at the home improvement stores. Do they have the narrow kind that can screw in? It is just the 14 gallon type top.

Sorry to somewhat hijack this thread.

~Holly
 
#55 ·
My bad Angel, I think I mentioned I've been working at the Olympics with folks from all over the planet. One of them brought a nasty bug with them and were kind enough to share it around. I've been in and out of headaches, dizziness, fog, coughing, sneezing, and symptoms I don't even remember - oh yeah, stomach cramps. The good news is I'll probably be good to go once the Olympics starts in about 50 days.

I glanced somewhere and saw Missouri so I could have just misread something, at this stage that is very likely. Oh and woke up this morning with a new sore throat. This is one of those head colds that keeps morphing into something else.

In my own tank, not yet set up, I'm now "sweating" through the issue of substrate suitable for plants. The stuff I have been looking is good if I take out a second mortgage on the home....lol!
 
#57 ·
Oh nooo sick over the holidays...that is just NOT fair.....You sound an awful lot like my poor neighbor, she's beeig battle it well over 2 weeks now and can NOT get rid of it whatsoever....ya'll need to stay away from these kinda unhealthy folks :)

What kinda set up are you going for there? I never used any special substrate stuff - Worked well for me over the past years in all tanks :) I'm just that kinda gal thou...I keep it easy, natural and pretty & most of all healthy :)
 
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