White Spot (Ich) Or Maybe Something Else?

Gav

Tyre track eel dead and 1 of the last 4 kuhli loaches died an hour ago.

Twistersmom

So sorry to hear of all your fish trouble and losses.
What meds are it the tank now? Are the fish still showing signs of ick, or has it moved on to only signs of fin rot and ulcers? Any fuzzy looking white spots on the fish? Is the water still testing zero for ammonia and nitrites? What fish still remain in the tank?

Gav

Last treatment to be used in the tank was methylene blue, there was a mixture of both at one point but I only have a couple of fish still ill left, no fuzzy white spots from what i could see although i think the female cichlid that died had fuzzy spots at the tips of all fins and no other part of the body showed signs of sickness.

The fish that are left;
1x zigzag eel
1x Hoplo Catfish (still has white spots on body)
3x honey gouramis (have shown no signs of sickness at all)
3x red robin gouramis
2x female bettas (no signs of sickness)
2x female cockatoo cichlids (odd white spoy here and there)
1x male cockatoo cichlid (lost all colour, fins tightly clamped to the body, movement very rare)
1x butterfly pleco
1x F starlight Bristlenose Pleco

1077

I know you are planing on a larger tank and this is good. Please correct me if I'm wrong but you currently have a 125 litre approx 33 imperial gal and a 90 litre aprrox 23 imperial gal. Were all of the affected fish from one tank or are both tanks holding recovering fish? I ask because It is entrirely possible that one of the fish you bought did indeed harbor some type of pathogen and considering quarantine was not used the pathogen began to take a toll on an already crowded enviornment. You might be able to use one of your tanks for quarantine if both are not affected or have shared nets,buckets,heaters,or filter material since your unfortunate outbreak.
It is very difficult for even the most seasoned aquarist to properly identify a possible pathogen accurately .And even then, medications may or may not produce the desired results. Many medications don't actually stop disease ,they stop it from spreading. It is the fishes immune sytem and a clean enviornment that helps the fish to actually heal. This is only my opinion, but others more knowledgeable than me,agree.
I would were it me ,not introduce any of the fish from your tanks to the new larger tank until I was certain that they were no longer at risk of exhibiting symptoms of Illness. I would not use anything on the new tank that has come in contact with the sick tank or tanks. I would use a solution of bleach and water to clean all nets,buckets,decorations,etc and rinse the items well and let air dry for at least a day before using them again in ANY of the tanks.
I would heed the fish stores suggestion from this point on with regards to quarantine tank for all new fish before placing them in display tank.
Some of the fish you have or had, would have some degree of difficulty thriving with the tankmates you listed. For example. Khulii loaches would not compete well for food with eels or hoplo or cory cats. Cockatoos would also appreciate perhaps a little more acidic water (soft) but may acclimate to your water.But am doubtful they would breed sucessfully.(you indicated in another thread breeding?)
Royal plecos along with some other species of plecos don't do well with other Plecos and some will kill unwanted visitors outright.(especially in crowded tanks.)
The Kuhliis ,.eels,,,and plecos are largely nocturnal, and it it sometimes difficult to see,know,that all are getting their share of food.

1077

Sorry, had to cut previous post short. Am filling boilers at work and must keep on top of them.

You indicated that you removed carbon before using medications and this is good. It is however also important not to place the same carbon back into the filter after medicating. Some folks remove the carbon and keep it wet, and then stick it back in the filter and possibly introduce the same pathogen or parasite back into the tank.
Best to use new carbon to remove medications and medications should be removed BEFORE using any other medications.
Water changes in heavily stocked aquariums are often needed two to three times a week to achieve 0 ammonia,0 nitrites,and NitAtes at low levels 20 ppm being ideal. If these water parameters are kept up, many fish can recover with or without the use of medications. Medications are helpful in my view but as mentioned it is very difficult to know exactly what we are treating for. many diseases share similar symptoms.
I probably haven't given you much in the way of a cure for the fish,but am hopeful that I may have helped you or others from expieriencing a similar problem down the road.

Gav

Yes they are the tanks I have, 125l is the effected tank 90l is clean, I do not use any of my nets/filters/gravel cleaners or any other tank equipment for both tanks, I have 3 filters in my 90l and 2 in my 125l, I also have 3 nets and 3 gravel cleaners.

I understand that in an overcrowded tank disease/illness can spread easier, healthy fish have better immune systems. As for water changes, I do at least a 70% water change on sundays and that is the same day I do not feed my fish. As I mentioned I have 3 gravel cleaners, 1 large one, 1 small one, and 1 that is battery powered this one has a hose attachment and a porous bag which you can attach and it sucks up all excess food and fish waste (poo), after my water change I spend the rest of the week cleaning out the tanks with the gc that has the bag so that there is nothing in the tank to decompose and effect ammonia. I have never had a big problem with my stats, they usually only increase by a tiny amount towards the end of the week.

The 90l only has a pair of kribs, a pair of BN plecos, a small zigzag eel and a red bellied newt. The 125l when it was stocked with all my fish before the losses was fed; 2 blocks of bloodworm, 1 block of brineshrimp, 6 small pleco wafers and ground up flake food for the shrimps, my kuhlis always filtered the sand during feeding so I put in extra flake so as they were filtering through the sand they would get food if they were unable to get any of the frozen food.

When I started treatment the carbon was removed, i never reuse carbon once it was removed I just binned it. When I used the whitespot meds I continued to filter the sand with the bag filter then once I had stopped I left it a day then done a 50% water change, I treated with fungus control for a couple of days then done an additional 50% water change, after that I had lost the majority of my fish and I removed 20l of water then treated with methylene blue. Have not done a water change since but will be doing a major clean up of the tank on friday. I think by that point all sick fish will be gone.

The cockatoos were for breeding but they were going to get there own tank, I only had them in the tank until they were slightly bigger and and I could cycle their tank and get the stats right for them before they were introduced.

I will be trading in my f bettas and red robin gouramis and the female cockatoo cichlids, possibly the hoplo if he recovers. Once they are away I will see if I am still able to get my bigger tank. I will be getting a 60l quarantine tank first so I will not have a repeat of this incident, I hope I will be able to bounce back and get everything running smoothly again.

1077

It is ndeed a painful lesson. Many,(myself included) have learned it in just such a way. I am sure you will recover nicely.

Gav

Male cockatoo cichlid is dead now and that seems to be the last ot my sick fish gone. Just need to figure out what to do with my tank now as the only fish i think I will be keeping from whats left is my zigzag eel and the plecos.