Possible Ich

Question
My tank has been set up for over five years. It is 125 gallons and has about 17 Chiclids 2 Bala sharks and 2 Algae eaters. I am running (2) dual charcoal filters, (2) 300w heaters (temp is about 81 degrees). PH is around 8.0, ammonia is a little high, and nitrites are at a safe level.
I generally do a 40% water change about every 2-3 weeks.
My question is: About 4 days ago I added about 10 chiclids (all very small: under 1" long) to my existing 8 chiclids that vary between 2.5" to 4.5".  Today i lost my Bala shark! (Approx. 7" long and 3 years old) and have also noticed that several of my existing fish have small salt-like specs all over them. From what i've read, this is obviously ich. This is the first time i've had this problem and have no idea how to treat it or what caused it! Did the fish i recently purchased already have it and my others contracted it from them, or is it caused by stress?
If you could give me guidance as to how to treat the problem i would much appreciate it! I hope its not too late!
Andy

Answer
Hi Andy;

Go back to the store for some ich medicine and get aquarium salt and melafix too. The salt weakens the parasite so the medicine can kill it easier. The melafix helps heal the wounds that that have been made by the parasites.

Elevated ammonia definitely causes stress that can lead to ich. The ammonia and nitrite levels should always be zero in an established tank. If the ammonia was 'zero' before you added the new fish, the added population of new fish caused the ammonia level to spike. Make a 25% partial water change every other day until it goes down. The water changes will also remove some of the free-swimming parasites from the water.

It is common to believe that ich came from the fish store in cases like this. But, in reality it exists in most tanks all the time so we can't really say the store is at fault. It's possible, but we have no way of knowing unless you go to the fish store and the tank you purchased fish from has it too. While you are at the store, take a peek at the fish in the tanks your new ones came from. If they are sick, you might to have a polite talk with them about it. If they are honest and sympathetic to you, they will give you your ich medicine free since the fish were infected when you bought them. They may not give you the salt and melafix, but once you politely inform them that one of your original fish has died from it, they really should. It's the responsible thing to do. These things happen sometimes and they should attempt to do everything possible to help fix it.

Good Luck and I hope your fish feel better soon and you don't lose any more...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins