# grr... i think my tetras have ich!



## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

I just cant win.. when it rains it pours. both of my sharks recently and very rapidly from some kind of fin-rotting disease (fin rot cures did nothing). Now three of my glowlight tetras have small white round spots of a uniform size on their dorsal and tail fins. those infected with the white spots are hanging out down in the corner by my rock and arent eating.

ive read all over the internet... some people claim ich cures dont work, others say the same cure works wonders.. some say I cant use em yet because my tank isnt cycled and im still doing water changes every day to control the ammonia...

i need to know
1) is it ich? or some secondary fungus or infection that killed the bala sharks that just looks ALOT like ich?

2) what ich cures out there DO work?

3) will they cause a problem with my uncycled tank and

4) if yes, than aside from raising the temp to the low 80s what else can i do?

thanks in advance guys.. im really tired of losing fish this week 

edited for params..

ammonia is a little over .25 ppm nitrites 0 nitrates 10


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Well without a picture it sounds like a fungus and fin rot cures won;t cut it. You need to use a fungus cure in addition to something like Melafix or similar. If it is truely Ich then Coppersafe will kill it but you will not be bale to put any type of invertebrate in there for many months if not a good year. Raising the temp can work but only in conjunction with salt or some kind of treatment if the infestation is too far along. 

To be honest, a picture is going to be a huge help here if you can get one. If you can't then a very detailed description of the size, shape and number of the white spots would help a lot as well as what the fish are doing. Also, a description of what the fins look like as well as the if the white spots seem to change color over time or if they eventually result in missing fin sections. 

Of course there is the needed questions, Is the tank cycled and how long has it been set up as well as what are your perameters, GH, pH Ammonia, Nitrites, nitrates.


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

the tank is *almost* cycled, which is why im doing regular water changes every day to make sure the ammonia doesnt spike too high. the params are in my previous post.. ammonia is a little over .25 ppm nitrites 0 nitrates 10

the tank has been up with fish for about a month now, maybe a tad less. 

as far as the pics they really just arent coming out. my camedia doesnt like close ups  and if i move out so they arent blurry they arent detailed enough to see what im talking about. so far there are 4 glow light tetras affected, it would appear. the worst of the 4 has white dots id say ranging from a tiny tiny grain of salt sized speckle, if not smaller, to the biggest being about the size of a grain of salt, but i only see one spot that big. so far the dots are ONLY on the tail and dorsal fins. the other 3 affected tetras are the same ordeal, however one of them has a similar white spot on his body right at his tail fin, and these 3 only have 1 or 2 small white spots a piece. 

the pic is useless but you might be able to get an idea of the size... this pic is of a tetra thats only about 1.5".. the circled area is of his tail.. this is the largest of all the spots, and this particular tetra only has this one spot on the body right where it meets the tail fin. its not a good pic at all but the white spot is barely visible in the dead center of the circled area.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

It sounds like the typical cycling spots from ammonia. My fish get this way if I stress them out too much and they quickly heal but usually only after I let them be for a while. 

The sharks most likley succumb to ammonia poisoning. Unfortunately they are extrememly sensitive to ammonia and don't handle being cycled with. The tetras will either pull through or they won't. Sometimes they can very hardy, other times they are the fastest ones to go. 

Hang in there. Dose regularly with Melafix by the directions or other medication to help with the fin rot and hopefully the fish you have left will make it through. Remember to only add a couple fish at a time after the cycle is done so you don't cause a huge spike in ammonia.


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

<nod> yeah  i was somewhat relieved to see two of the spotted tetras swimming around and eating today. on the other hand one was dead this morning and another one is missing :\


with luck theyre the last two to go... if youre right F4A ill chalk it up to lessons ill never need to learn again.


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## jones57742 (Oct 31, 2006)

Bz:

I really do not want to hurt your feelings here
BUT
there is something "bad wrong here".

You have had more trouble the last several months than I have had since reentering fish keeping (even with all of stupid experimental stunts.)

Try getting back to the basics (like is done in physics with problem solving) ie.

lighting
filtration
WC's
stocking levels
maintenance
etc.

TR


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

jones, I definitely agree with you! the only parameter as far as I can tell that is unstable to the point of being really bad is the ammonia, but its really only spiking upto .5, 1 on rare occasions if i skip a water change, and with each water change the ammonia is getting lower and lower, where as 2 or 3 weeks ago it was spiking upto 4ppm, with no really major ill effects. 

at current the tank only houses 2 blue gouramis, 1 pleco, 2 cory cats (3 more coming when I get the tank stable) and as of recent losses 8 glowlight tetras, so i really dont think that its overstocked for a 30g tank. 

I run the lights longer than I should, and its not really consistant due to my work schedule, but it only varies by a couple hours at most from the "10 hour rule". 

for filtration I took a fresh filter media pad, and broke the back open and dumped all the carbon out, so I can still run a filter without removing the melafix from the water. 

I need a timer for my lighting and I really need to keep up on the water changes to get the ammonia down as low as i can get it till the cycle is complete, other than that Im not sure what else i can do! My nitrates are continually going up so im confident the cycle is nearing completion, just waiting for that ammonia to drop.

but jones, never will good advice hurt my feelings


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