DSM Fish Gal

A sick bunch of critters

Myself included.  Bob is having sinus problems once again and appears to be running a fever, so he'll have to go in to see the vet very soon. 

Keefer seems to be relaxing a little and will let me pet him through the cage wires though he continues to sneeze often. 

Jimmie is awfully skinny and breaths rapidly, so he needs to be looked at by Dr. Anderson and possibly prescribed some antibiotics.  I do what I can to fatten him up and he eats like a little pig, but his body feels light and limp and he shakes more than any little rattie I've ever seen.

Even the dang 28g tank has ich once again!  I've considered just leaving the temperature up around 86 degrees F but then my plants all began to wilt and die.    No new fish have been added, but the two albino corydoras catfish died recently.  My water parameters all check out fine and water changes are done weekly or bi-weekly (usually 20%).   No clue what I'm doing wrong here...

Grizzle seems to be the only one without a worry in the world!  lol

Oh, but let's not forget Valentine's Day is just around the corner!  Grizzle and I are supposed to make an appearance at Petco on Buffalo Rd. this Saturday afternoon to enter into a "best kiss" contest and possibly decorate a cookie.  The other two rats may have to come along to visit Dr. Anderson during his in-store hours.  If I had another pair of arms, I'd love to bring Bob as well, but alas...he's been out and about in public many times and this will be a first for the ratty boys.

Eight more days 'til Valentine's Day!

 

New plants, more ich, and other updates

The 28g now has ich.  Naturally.  I increased the temperature to 86*F just as before in the 10g, but no additional salt will be added.  Can't wait to whip this dang parasite...

The new plants ordered from aquariumplants.com arrived the other day in semi-live condition.  *sigh*  I'm doing my best to salvage what I can.  The bottle of Seachem Flourish Potassium arrived as well.

The added filter floss/pad in the 5g hex appears to have helped in lowering the nitrites.  (It came from an established tank, bringing beneficial bacteria with it.)  That tank appears to finally be cycled completely, so one red male betta was added to replace the Oranda goldfish.  So far he appears quite content despite having to share living quarters with that PIA danio.  lol

One thing I have discovered is that Hornwort grows like a weed, throwing out inches worth of shoots per week.  They say it absorbs excess nutrients and fast-growing plants are great in a new setup, so I'm clipping and replanting/reattaching to tame the jungle a bit.  In time, I may have to give some of the shoots away. 

Both hornwort and java fern have proven hardy and adaptive in low-to-moderate light tanks varying from freshwater to slightly brackish conditions, proving themselves as "newbie-worthy" in my book.     

NYE Update

The white spots have disappeared once again, but I promise not to touch the heater (currently set at 88*F).  The fish all appear to be quite healthy and happy with their typical voracious appetites.

One of the female rainbowfish has a cloudy film over one eye, so I moved her over to the 10g where there's higher salinity in hopes that she will be cured soon.

I spoke too soon...

...and reduced the water temperature before the ich was completely gone.  Two white spots on her tail fin now. 

C'est la vie.  Live and learn.

No ich at all in the 28g though. 

No More White Spots!

  Wooh!

The last two spots on the silver molly were gone this morning.  The temperature will remain at 86*F for a few more days to ensure the parasite has been fully eradicated. 

The 28g tank's temperature has been slowly reduced down to 79-80*F overnight since none of the fish have any spots.  That tank most received precautionary measures.

Temperatures at 86-90*F with salt added really does knock out ich!  Without the mess and danger of using chemicals that aren't usually safe for planted tanks.

My plants look fine, the mollies are as happy as can be (like usual) and their tankmates are all acting normally.

Don't you just love it when things go according to plan?   

Ich Update

The silver molly now has only two white spots remaining on her tail and the temperature is sitting between 88-89 degrees F.  In the 28g, the temp accidentally went up to 90*F and one Harlequin Rasbora didn't make it (for unrelated reasons, I assume, since the tail was almost completely torn off). 

So far, so good.  The heat treatment with added salt seems to be coming along nicely.  None of the other fish are showing signs of distress.

Temps Up to 86 Degrees

The fish aren't the only ones sick over here.  Whatever I have kept me home from work today, and I'm sneezing like crazy. 

The temperatures in both of the main tanks are now up to 86 degrees F in hopes of killing off the ich.  Salt was steadily increased in the 10g molly tank, though less was added to the 28g rainbowfish tank due to scaleless tankmates.  None of the spots have dropped off of the silver molly just yet (I'm using her as an indicator since she has the worst case), so I plan to continue raising the temperature incrementally until I reach 90 degrees F.  So far no one is showing signs of distress.

Mollies with Ich

The silver lyretail molly is particularly affected, and my male dalmation sailfin is sporting a few white spots as well.  This can only mean one thing: Ich.  The fish brought home most recently were all placed in the other tank, so it must have been introduced a while back.  Perhaps with the otos (one of which managed to hitch-hike to the 28g last night, remaining undetected for nearly 20 minutes).  So now both tanks will probably have to be treated.  Fun, fun. 

Ah well...things could be worse. 

The instructions I'm following for treatment are listed on AquaFacts.net and involve increasing the temperature and salinity simultaneously.  Since both tanks are well-planted, I intend to use less salt (only up to 1 tsp/gallon) than the author recommends since temperatures will be raised to 86 degrees.  The heaters are in place and acclimating as I type this.

For the record, I do not use medications if at all possible, preferring instead to use salt to cure Ich.  The effective medications may stain the aquarium sealant, damage plants, and cause the fish undue stress.   

The 28g rainbowfish tank will be treated with even less salt due to sensitive fish.  Being scaleless, I'm concerned about the kuhli loaches' reactions. 

The first dose was added with tonight's water change and more will be added after so many hours (8-12 probably).  The temperature can be increased by 1*F every 8 hours or so, with the final goal of 86*F (or more if tolerated).

The 10g tank concerns me most at this time with two mollies obviously afflicted.  None of the fish, as far as I can tell, have any spots in the 28g, allowing for the temperature to be raised more gradually.

Let's find out how long it takes to knock it out...   

Why do my fish have white spots?

It's a parasite called "Ich," short for Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, that appears on the body and fins as tiny white dots resembling grains of salt.  Consider this the common cold of aquaria.  Just about anyone who keeps fish will tangle with this problem at one point or another.  You can learn all about ich and how to treat it by checking out this article. 

I personally prefer to treat with aquarium salt and increased temperature alone.  The chemicals would damage my plants. 

For marine aquariums, ich is treated in a different manner, called hyposalinity.  So I just learned.

Ich is an obstinate problem in the fish-selling business, considering the stress fish experience during shipping followed by being introduced to crowded tanks with high turnover rates.

In summary: Ich happens.  Not a lot we can do about that.