# Black Molly Developed Ich! What Do I Do?



## bettaowner101

Oh, the joy of buying new fish...this is one reason why I tend not to buy new fish frequently, they almost always develop something or come with something. So, last Monday I decided to purchase TWO Black Mollies, I figured my 2+ year old Dalmation Molly was lonely, and I purchased TWO Male Guppies for my other male Guppy. 

Monday Inspections: 
Fish appeared all fine, except just one. One of the black mollies appeared to not be swimming as fast as the others and wasn't as active either, it ate the food fine, however.

Tuesday Inspections: 
The black Molly didn't improve. I decided to put in a tablet of Tetra Parasite Guard in case this fish had Internal parasites, nothing was appearing on its skin. 

Wednesday Inspections:
I was not home Wednesday, I was out with friends.

Thursday Inspections:
I came home from my friend's house and I came to see that black molly has developed ICH! I have NEVER experienced the illness of Ich with any of my fish. I then added another tablet of Tetra Parasite Guard according to the directions hoping for the best. Tetra Parasite Guard has worked for me in the past smoothly. Before I went to bed, I found a bottle of QuickCure for Ich. It contains the following ingredients: Formalin and Malachite Green. I decided to put some in the tank according to the directions. 

Friday Inspections:
The Molly appears to still have Ich on its body, but appears to be active. I'm not sure if it is going away or not since I've never experienced Ich in my tank(s) before. I will keep adding the QuickCure to the tank according to the directions until it is away, I read online that this could take TWO weeks for it to fully go away?? Also, all the other fish appear to be normal, all swimming and being active, not ICH on any of them!

My Tank Setup:
10 Gallon Cycled
Heater: Keeps the tank at 78F, I'm not able to raise the temp to 84F which is required to remove Ich at a faster rate?
3 Mollies
3 Male Guppies
3 Green Cory Catfish
I have aeration installed in the tank, which the fish love. 
I have also removed the carbon in the filter since I have started the process of Tetra Parasite Guard. 

Since I have Green Cory catfish, I noticed I cannot add Aquarium Salt to the tank, which irritates them and can speed up the process of removing Ich.

How long will this healing process last?? I know all of my fish are prone to this disease, which is why I am treating the WHOLE tank. I unfortunately don't have a quarantine tank.


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## Bronwen

Go get a new heater. Heat your tank up to 84 degrees. Go up 2 or 3 degrees per day, dont try to do it all at once. Leave the heat at 84 for a week then gradually bring it back down to normal. I have managed to successfully combat ich this way without hurting any of my fish or shrimp. (I started with a 10 gallon and found it extremely difficult to maintain water quality and fish health compared to my 40 and 29 gallon tanks...)

Re: aquarium salt - I have 8 cories who I adore. They are so sweet. I do add aquarium salt to my tank and have never had an issue. The cories are thriving. I use this guideline: Arizona Aquatic Gardens - Top "Aquarium" Secrets!


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## bettaowner101

Bronwen said:


> Go get a new heater. Heat your tank up to 84 degrees. Go up 2 or 3 degrees per day, dont try to do it all at once. Leave the heat at 84 for a week then gradually bring it back down to normal. I have managed to successfully combat ich this way without hurting any of my fish or shrimp. (I started with a 10 gallon and found it extremely difficult to maintain water quality and fish health compared to my 40 and 29 gallon tanks...)
> 
> Re: aquarium salt - I have 8 cories who I adore. They are so sweet. I do add aquarium salt to my tank and have never had an issue. The cories are thriving. I use this guideline: Arizona Aquatic Gardens - Top "Aquarium" Secrets!


I will think about getting a new heater, however, I believe ich can go away in 78F? Isn't that quite warm for ich? Anyways, one of my Cory Cat's lays upside down now when he is on the gravel of the tank, bloated, perhaps or is the QuICK Cure with Malachite Green irritating him? None of my other Cat's are doing this.


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## eaturbyfill

When my Betta had ich, I just used the medicinal tablets from Jungle and kept the water really, really clean and it cleared up. Good luck, wish I could be of more help


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## marshallsea

Ich has trouble breeding in temps over 85. 87 and above for 2 weeks will kill it without meds.


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## bettaowner101

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I have just fed my fish and just did my second dose of QuiCK Cure. I have also noticed the infected black molly has also developed fungus, the ich dots appear to not be getting larger nor bigger which is a good sign. The fish's personality has also shown more today than yesterday, which is a great sign. It still has interest in food and is still eating, which is a big plus. Perhaps this will clear up within a week? The QuICK Cure bottle doesn't say to do any water changes, but it does say to add carbon back 48 hours after last treatment. Should I trust that? When should I do a water change?


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## eaturbyfill

My situation was very different, so I can't help with the water changes, but I wish the best for your Molly and other fish!


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## Tazman

Never run carbon while medicating a tank, it sucks the medication up rendering it useless.

Yes I would trust the fact to add it back after treatment has finished but only once you are absolutely sure it has cleared.

If the treatment is working then, yes water changes need to be performed, once the cysts drop off the fish then they should be vacuumed up within a small space of time. The key to combating ICH is higher temperature above 80F and keeping the water as clean as possible during the treatment. Daily vacuuming at least with frequent if not daily water changes,


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## bettaowner101

Tazman said:


> Never run carbon while medicating a tank, it sucks the medication up rendering it useless.
> 
> Yes I would trust the fact to add it back after treatment has finished but only once you are absolutely sure it has cleared.
> 
> If the treatment is working then, yes water changes need to be performed, once the cysts drop off the fish then they should be vacuumed up within a small space of time. The key to combating ICH is higher temperature above 80F and keeping the water as clean as possible during the treatment. Daily vacuuming at least with frequent if not daily water changes,


Yeah, that's why I keep the carbon out during medication. I do my water changes usually when the water evaporates and get's low and replace it per gallon using milk jugs. I will remove 1 gallon of water today and will replace it with new clean water. As for salt goes, apparently I was wrong, Green Cory Catfish CAN tolerate salt just fine, as they DO have scales. I added 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt yesterday to help speed things up a bit. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.


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## bettaowner101

Today's Inspections:

Fish looks the same, ich dots still there, a little fungus is still there also. Behavior has not changed yet, the fish is acting completely normal and is not clamped. The fish also does not scratch its self against anything. The disease has not spread yet to any of the fish in the tank. Yesterday I did my third dose of QuiCK Cure and I have stopped the treatment of Tetra Parasite Guard. Today I will do a 1 gallon water change. Let's hope for the best! All I care about is that it's not spreading and that it's not getting any worse.


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## bettaowner101

OK, at this point I really have no idea what this fish has, I wish I could get a picture! I read Online that if a fish has Ich, it would have white specs all over it, my fish only has about 4 white specs on its tail. My fish also has some white patches on it's body. I'm thinking it could be fungus or either columnaris, but I read that fish that get columnaris die really fast. Someone, please help!


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## bettaowner101

Today's Inspections:

The fish actually appears to have less fungus like growth on it and the dots on it's tail is harder to see! You can only notice the fish has something wrong now if you look at it VERY closely with the tank light on. However, now the fish is pooping white stringy poop, INTERNAL PARASITES! :S. I put in another dose of Tetra Parasite Guard, hopefully that will take care of everything!


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## eaturbyfill

Good luck. ): It sounds like you have been able to figure out what is wrong.


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## bettaowner101

It seems like this issue has most likely cleared up. However, during the medication process, one of my Green Cory Catfishes died two days ago. My black molly has NO spots or ANY fungus on it anymore, which is good. However, my two black mollies and a guppy now have grey-ish poop. Could this be caused by stress of meds that have been forced into the tank? Other than that, everything appears to be normal! Today I went to PetSmart and purchased a new Green Cory Catfish and I have fallen in LOVE with this one! It is SO tiny!!


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## CallieDee

Doing water changes will help but it is not the only thing you need to do. From what I have read ICH breeds in the gravel. So you need to clean your gravel with a vacuum. I got one at Pet Co and its amazing, and they aren't that expensive, I think mine was like $25 and its for a 55g tank. 

I feel your pain, I have cichlids and a pleco and my blood parrot got ich awhile back, luckily he survived but it looks like I didn't do as good of a job cleaning and monitoring the tank because it's back again...and coincidentally right after I added rosy barbs a week ago. 

Good luck!


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## bettaowner101

Well, again, apparently it wasn't ich as NONE of the spots have appeared back on the fish but my two black mollies are still having WHITE FECES. On top of that, they lay on the bottom of the tank now and shimmy when they try to swim! About a week ago I stopped the treatment thinking it was gone as everyone was appearing normal. I did multiple water changes and re-added the Carbon filter. Yesterday I added a tablet of Tetra Parasite Clear and I am crossing my fingers as I ONLY have 1 dose left of it.. I also have plenty of Quick Cure which contain Formalin and Malachite Green and I have Maracyn Two on hand. Will Maracyn 2 work for this? I don't want to hurt the catfish during this treatment process.


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