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think maybe my fish have ich

2K views 19 replies 3 participants last post by  lilnaugrim 
#1 ·
My fish are scratching against the glass plants and sometimes rocks. It started out just one fish and progressed to everyone.
 
#2 ·
im treating with melafix and jungle ick clear fiz tabs but im breaking the tabs in half and half dosing cause of my fry should i continue doing this or can my fry handle a full dose it says to half does if you have small, weak, or scaleless fish. any other tips to help me.
 
#5 ·
Are they new to the tank? I'm sorry I didn't see this post until now. Sometimes being new to the environment or stressed out can cause them to flash, other times it's due to external parasites such as Ich or Velvet or internal parasites like worms or other little buggies. Can you give us the specs of the tank like water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), size of the tank, inhabitants, how long its been set up, temperature, heater and/or filter?, other aeration?, what foods are you feeding and how much and some pictures would help us too to help you. Good job with the water changes though, that's almost always the first thing I suggest ^_^
 
#6 ·
um i got the tank in december 29th and got the 4 male guppies and plecostomus the same time. I got the 5 female mollies around the beginning of march or end of February not sure. they have been doing really good till a few weeks ago i noticed one of the mollies rubbing on the corner of the tank and then a few days later a few more of the mollies were doing it then most of them were rubbing on the glass, rocks and plants. I looked up fish rubbing on things and most things said ich but i have never saw any white spots on any of the fish but ive been using ich fizz tabs treating in half dose since i have molly fry and doing water changes and vacuuming. I dont see them rubbing very much anymore so its getting better i think but beginning to not think its ich. I dont know what my water permanents are. Its a 10 gallon tank it was the Aquaculture Home Starter Kit - Walmart.com and my heater is Tetra Whisper Heater 5-15 - Walmart.com.
 
#8 ·
Ah okay, well there are a few stocking issues that I want to point out--don't worry you aren't in trouble or nothing but I have a feeling you may have been given the wrong advice or didn't do some research?

Which kind of Pleco is it? Even the smallest of Pleco's will get around 4-6 inches which is very large for a 10 gallon, they also poop a TON! Anything that eats algae is a very messy fish and for a fish in a 10 gallon you would need to do nearly every other day water changes just to keep it clean. I suggest you find a new home for the little one or take it back to the store if you can. I know it sucks giving up fish but for the health of your tank and for your other fish as well as the Pleco, it would be a good thing to do.

Mollies can also get up around 4-5 inches depending so ideally you would not have them in a 10 gallon either. What is happening is that you are overrunning your biological filter with ammonia (fish poop and other waste) and because you most likely have high ammonia your fish are stressed out. Since you've been doing the water changes you are getting rid of the ammonia, allowing time for the good bacteria to catch up a little bit which is relieving the stress off your fish which makes them feel better. Make sense so far?

Do you know about the Nitrogen Cycle or Beneficial Bacteria often abbreviated BB?

In a 10 gallon it would be best if you just had the guppies rather than all that fish, also guppies and mollies can interbreed so just be careful of that; it can make some really deformed fishes sometimes which isn't something you really want to deal with I assume :-/

Here's a fantastic site that will help you stock your tank and figure out what your tank can hold if you do the proper weekly water changes, I use it all the time! AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
 
#9 ·
i got my fish from walmart and ya the whole reason i got that type of fish is cause they have life babies which i wanted. Ya that makes sense just wish i would of known this instead of wasting a whole box of jungle ick fizz tabs. I guess ill continue with the daily water changes.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, it sucks I know :-/ but we live and we learn right?

I suggest definitely getting rid of the pleco then, if it's from wal-mart then chances are it is actually a Common Pleco which get longer than a foot which...yeah, that doesn't fit in a 10 gallon lol. He also needs driftwood to munch on and TONS of algae. So if you have a local fish store around you, you could probably trade him in or just give him to them if you don't care. I would also suggest cutting your Molly's down to only 2 because of the babies or just get rid of them all together so that they don't inbreed with your guppies. You could certainly keep the guppies and let them breed all over the place :)
 
#11 ·
no there is no fish store anywhere near me thats why i got mine from walmart. If my pleco gets to big for my tank im going to get rid of him. The only problem with that is they dont have female guppies thats how i ended up with 4 male guppies when i wanted a mix of gender and didnt know how to tell and the guy there didnt know anything about fish at all i got home and looked it up and figured out i got all male waited then went back to get female but found out they only carry male so got female mollies cause they can breed with guppies i want babies.
 
#12 ·
Right, but you're still going to end up with some funky looking fish. Can you get fish online? I actually have a female guppy and my friend has a few we're willing to part with if you pay shipping and some adoption fee for them. I've shipped fish plenty of times so no worries with that.

As for the pleco, he still needs driftwood and LOTS of algae. Fresh veggies like cucumber, zucchini, apple, carrots, romane lettuce are all needed for a good diet. The guppies and Mollies will appreciate cucumbers too. My pleco's loved the cucumbers over zucchini. Also, he won't get to his full size, instead he will become stunted because of the tank size regardless of what you do or what you don't do. When a fish becomes stunted they die earlier than they are supposed to which is why I suggest you start looking for a home for him. Try asking on facebook if you have other friends that have fish tanks or if they know somewhere you can drop him off. You can also post on Craigslist if you are in the US or Kijiji in Canada. You could also offer him on the forum if you are willing to learn how to ship fish.

And if you can buy from online then you could get specific female Guppies and get rid of the Mollies (who really do better in a brackish environment anyway) so you won't end up with Muppies as they are called.
 
#17 ·
*shrug* they are your fish and you do with them as you will. I'm merely suggesting what would be best for your fish and for yourself. If you're fine doing daily water changes then have at it.
 
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