I've treated for ick but now their fins are rotting....did I treat it wrong?!!

surfnchk

Hello everyone! I'm new to the aquarium hobby. I've had my tank for a few months now and a week ago I noticed some white spots on one of my platys and then a few days later other fish were affected. I bought kordon Ick-attack and took out the carbon in my filter. I've been treating with the ick-attack for 4 days now and no improvement and have lost already a few fish :( I've tested the water and ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and pH levels are fine according to the tests. The water however is cloudy. I've noticed with my fish they are lethargic and still have the white spots (looks like salt was poured on them) and now their fins are starting to rot. Please help I don't know what else to do!

1077

What numbers do tests give for ammonia,nitrites,and nitrates? What is the pH?
Livebearer's such as Platy's need hard alkaline water with pH between 7.5 and 8.0 .
Ammonia and nitrites must read zero ,and nitrAtes are best kept around 20 ppm with weekly water changes of 30 to 50 percent.
They need a cycled tank with healthy biological filter.

To offer any more will require answers to questions that are posted in Disease section at the top of the page. See,(please read before posting) at the top of the page in tropical fish disease ,emergency section.

kitten_penang

you have cloudy water.thats what is causing the fin rot (either amonia burns or bacterial ) make sure the water is super clean but don't add clear to it.then start the fin rot meds. im very sure you can get maracyn and maracyn plus there.don't get the tablet form try liquid.they will ake the water cloudy so water change will be needed.if you can get interpet fungus away i would says thats the best i've used so far.

1077

There are any number of reasons that water can become cloudy from overstocking,overfeeding,sudden bacteria die off,filter not rated for particular size of tank and or numbers of fish, chemical or mechanical media that needs to be cleaned,improper cleaning of chemical or mechanical media, bacteria blooms,sudden disruption or changing of substrate, and a few more that I could think of if pressed.
Not all of them are reasons for fin rot.
Please don't be so quick to recommend medications that may or may not be needed until... we know what the water parameters are.
If water parameters are not suited for species being kept, then all of the medications available will not help the fish.(Problems will return)
I understand you wish to offer help ,but sometimes simply improving the water conditions can be much more helpful. The indiscriminate use of medications or recommendations of same without more information can often cause more damage than any benefits.
Would feel much more comfortable recommending a series of small daily water changes until such time as exact numbers for previously mentioned, Ammonia,nitrites,and nitrates are made known.
To do otherwise is Shotgun method, and in my view pure speculation.

kitten_penang

by using the words cloudy i was saying dirty water and that causes fin rot for sure plus he said .i qoute. " I've noticed with my fish they are lethargic and still have the white spots (looks like salt was poured on them) and now their fins are starting to rot. Please help I don't know what else to do!".


was the word fins starting to rot not clear or you must have missed it? and what ever the reasons are for a dirty tank i told him to make it really clean.that means he has to find out the problem and deal with it.as for small water changes you must be joking not to offend you but fin rot will kill a fish in 2 days if they are small like guppies,platies would probably be dead in 4 days if still kept in dirty water.

kitten_penang

and by the way i lost a fish that cost me 800 because someone told me to do small water changes for him when he had fungus.my water was clear and clean but the fish had gotten fungus from his new tank mate.add meds do small water changes and i had a dead 1 foot fish in 1 week.what meds i used.maracyn and maracyn plus in tablet form.i would agree that really clean water with medications like interpet fungus away would be way better then small water changes.

1077

Don't believe I missed much of what little was offered.
Original poster provided no results for tests.
Original poster has treated for ICH for four days and conditions are not improving ,Usually takes longer than this to rid the fish/tank of ICH.
Would not switch to another med as you suggested ,without replacing carbon to rid the tank of ICH medication and would perform water change before starting with different medication.
Otherwise ,I would finish the ICH medication.
Dumping the meds you suggest on top of ICH medications will kill many ,many,more fish than daily water changes.
Will stand by my assertion that if these fish are being kept in water that is unsuitable with respect to ammonia,nitrites,nitrates,Ph,KH, GH,and temperature then all of the meds you care to use will have little to no effect.
Your quick to explain what you actually mean with your posts ,but perhaps explaining your meaning to those you are so quick to answer would be more helpful ,along with much more knowledege with respect to medicating fishes if this is an area that you feel compelled to submit your thoughts.
for me,, much of your content is vauge and often counter productive if not all out wrong.

kitten_penang

which part is wrong my fish died because i was given the advice you gave him with the small water changes thing and i kinda snap cause its my fish that was lost not yours and if he doesn't do something it would be his fishes next.you dont know what it's like to lose expensive fishes due to bad advice from people we think are experts.

1077

First I would state that I'm no expert, and trust me,I have lost plenty of fishes. I was wrong for suggesting daily water changes if fishes are still being treated for ICH.
Is equally wrong in my view to start another medication if tank is not cleared of the first.
Would always follow recommendations on medications to the letter and would treat fishes for duration of recommended period of time before starting with new medications.
Have treated many fishes for finrot and fungus with nothing more than daily water changes. These were fish received in poor shape and they rapidly improved.
Other fishes despite my best efforts and available meds , died. It happens.

kitten_penang

so sorry i snapped it has been rough since my fish died loss money met in an accident this morning to say the least.it was kept for 3 years and i got him when he was roughly 2 cm and i paid 800 for that fish.kept it with me 3 years like a puppy not to mention he was a fish kept for luck.the post just got to me. anyway i forgot to tell him to make sure there was no ich meds let in the tank before treating with fungus meds thats my mistake but i did tell him to dose it in the right amount and to do that he needed to read the booklet contained within on the usage page.