Medications

Question
Hello Chris,

I have a 55 gallon tank that has been setup for about 2 months. I have 3 clown loaches, 1 Plecco, 8 guppies, and 5 albino tetras.

The tank has just come down with ich. I went to the fish store and they recommened the medication "Quinsulex" since I had clown loaches. I have started the treatment with that but have noticed that one of the clown loaches is getting worse and showing signs of "wasting away". He is not active and not eating. He started displaying these symptoms a couple of days before the ich broke out but I didn't know what was wrong but found many pages about "wasting away" and it sounds like that. They say internal parasites are the main cause and I have found a product by Seachem, "Metronidazole" that is to cure internal parasites.

My question is, Can I run both medications at the same time? I don't want the ich to get out of control but don't want the clown loach to "waste away" and for that to spread to other fish.

Answer
Hi Richard;

No matter what treatment you use for ich, it will look worse for a couple of days before you see improvement. This is because the parasite cannot be killed while it is on the fish. The white spots must fully develop and they must burst out their little swarms of 'baby ich' into the water where the medication can kill it. There are always parasites on them that you can't see when you start treating. They show up in a day or two, depending on the water temperature. The loach is stressed and not feeling well. I don't recommend treating with another medication until the ich is resolved. More medication could make him feel worse. Especially metronidazole. When given to people, it can make them feel very sick. It may not be internal parasites anyway. My feeling is that it is from the external ich parasites. Feeling itchy and losing small amounts of blood and fluid from holes in your skin with bugs in them is bound to mess you up a bit. Quinsulex is a good product. Keep using it.

You can boost the fishes immune systems and weaken the parasite by doing 2 more things along with the Quinsulex. Apparently the little jerks hate heat and salt, so.....

First, add aquarium salt to the tank. You need 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of tank water. This kills and/or weakens the ich parasites. It also helps the fish get back electrolytes lost through the stress of having holes chewed into them from the nasty little parasites. The fishes' slime coat production is also increased with salt in the water. Ich hates that too.

Second, raise the water temperature slowly by turning up the heater. Get it up to 82 degrees and keep it to that for 2 weeks. The fish will have their immune systems sped up and the parasite will be made weaker at the same time. The parasite also has to go through it's life cycle quicker in warmer water. Makes more opportunity to kill it. While the temperature is elevated, the fish would benefit from more oxygen added to the water. Get an air pump and hook it to an air stone to go in the tank. The higher the temperature, the lower the oxygen level. This alone may perk up the sicker loach. (poor fella)

These measures should get rid of the ich on your poor fish within 2 weeks. No matter what the packages of medication say, it takes at least a week to eliminate an ich infection.   

They most likely succumbed to this infection because of the break-in period that just recently would have completed in your tank. It takes 6 to 8 weeks. It causes the fish a great deal of stress so some fish get sick from other things like ich, finrot, fungus, etc....

Your tank is still very new, so keep it on the right track as far as maintenance. Fish in clean tanks very rarely get sick. Make water changes of 25% every week while vacuuming the gravel. Don't overfeed, don't overcrowd and your fish will enjoy long happy lives.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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