Hi, I've recently acquired from a friend a 50 gallon established planted freshwater aquarium and two weeks after the move I'm concerned one of the clown loaches has Ich or something similar in appearance. All the fish appear to be very happy, eating and swimming just fine (including the smallest clown loach which is the one I'm concerned about), but in the past week or so I've noticed one white spot on the clown's side getting larger plus some white discoloration on his tail increasing, and a couple of other spots starting. His coloration is also much less bright than his tankmates. I assume the move was fairly traumatic so I've been keeping a close eye on the fish.
I went to the LFS and they sold me Aquarium Solution's PraziPro to fix this, however after some research I'm concerned this is not really the right meds (seems to be for flukes and internal parasites). Here's the relevant information, if someone could let me know if this indeed is ich and what the best course of action for these fish would be that would be great. The LFS guys seemed to be very concerned about the loaches and other meds, however I've read online successful use of other ich meds like Ich Attack or Rid-Ich+ with clown loaches in particular.
Thanks for any help or suggestions,
mike
1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons)
50 Gallon
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water?
Fresh
3. How long the aquarium has been set up?
~5 years in previous location, 2 weeks current.
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know)
3x Clown Loaches
2x Chinese Algae Eater
5x Rummynose Tetra
2x Plecostomus
1x Roseline Shark
1x Boesemani Rainbow
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium?
Yes, only one species at the moment, I believe Cryptocoryne undulata
6. What temperature is the tank water currently?
78F
7. What make/model filter are you using?
Fluval 305 with bio cylinders and activated charcoal
8. Are you using a CO2 unit?
No, but the last week I've been dosing with Flourish Excel (5ml / day)
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day?
No
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed?
Two days ago, 30%
11. How often do you perform water changes?
Every 2 weeks (only one change since move)
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish?
Once a day, flakes and algae tablets (the clowns go nuts over them)
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on?
2x CF (not sure of wattage), 3 hours in the morning then 5 hours at night
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time?
Possible Ich on clown loach
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
pH - 7.3 (might be a bit high?), ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 20ppm
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips?
Liquid test kit, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. freshwater master test kit.
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank?
No new fish added since the move, no new fish have been added for ~1 year
I went to the LFS and they sold me Aquarium Solution's PraziPro to fix this, however after some research I'm concerned this is not really the right meds (seems to be for flukes and internal parasites). Here's the relevant information, if someone could let me know if this indeed is ich and what the best course of action for these fish would be that would be great. The LFS guys seemed to be very concerned about the loaches and other meds, however I've read online successful use of other ich meds like Ich Attack or Rid-Ich+ with clown loaches in particular.
Thanks for any help or suggestions,
mike
1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons)
50 Gallon
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water?
Fresh
3. How long the aquarium has been set up?
~5 years in previous location, 2 weeks current.
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know)
3x Clown Loaches
2x Chinese Algae Eater
5x Rummynose Tetra
2x Plecostomus
1x Roseline Shark
1x Boesemani Rainbow
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium?
Yes, only one species at the moment, I believe Cryptocoryne undulata
6. What temperature is the tank water currently?
78F
7. What make/model filter are you using?
Fluval 305 with bio cylinders and activated charcoal
8. Are you using a CO2 unit?
No, but the last week I've been dosing with Flourish Excel (5ml / day)
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day?
No
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed?
Two days ago, 30%
11. How often do you perform water changes?
Every 2 weeks (only one change since move)
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish?
Once a day, flakes and algae tablets (the clowns go nuts over them)
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on?
2x CF (not sure of wattage), 3 hours in the morning then 5 hours at night
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time?
Possible Ich on clown loach
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
pH - 7.3 (might be a bit high?), ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 20ppm
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips?
Liquid test kit, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. freshwater master test kit.
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank?
No new fish added since the move, no new fish have been added for ~1 year