Please Help Me and my Black Moor

Question
Hello,

I have 2 Black Moors and one got ick. We have treated at half dosage 2 times in a row per the pet store because the spots still aren't gone.

However, as Jack's spots go away the other's behaviour has changed drastically. It seems like 2 different problems.

He is struggling to move around and seems to float to the top on and off. He is sluggish/listless and isn't eating. Now he is staying at the top of the water and paddling around.

The floating says a swim bladder problem, but why is he staying at the surface and looking like he is having trouble breathing?

We have added salt, stopped treating with Nox-Ich, done a water change, and added duckweed for him to chew on. We are planning to try peas as well soon.

Please any help is appreciated, I am terrified to tears about my baby. I have already lost a Black Moor previously.
Sincerely,
Samantha

Answer
Hi Samantha,
Sorry to hear about your Black moor.

The trick to treating Ick is you have to continue treating for at least a full 14 days despite what the instructions say on the bottle. You must continue treating even if the spots dissappear.

This is because ick parasites temporarily dissapear as part of their life-cycle. First they live off the fish and appear as the white spots, then later, maybe a couple of days, they drop off and down into the substrate. Its during this time the spots disappear and the fishkeeper thinks their fish is better. But in fact the ick parasites are actually multiplying down in the substrate. After a few days, they will swarm back up and search for another host. To repeat the whole cycle again. The ick parasites can only be affected by the medication when they are in their "swarming" stage.

So that's why its so important to keep the ick treatment in the tank for a full 14 days or so.

This is the ick treatment method I prefer-
*Daily 50% water changes (make sure all new water is pretreated with a good water conditioner and the temp is equal to the tank or just a bit warmer...)
*Repeat daily dosing of the medication after each daily water change.
(Dissolved organic matter and waste in the water reduce the effectiveness of the medication and put more stress on the fish. So water changes are important even if the medication doesn't say to.Medication breaks down anyway after about a day in the tank.)
*Increasing the temp of the tank to about 82-84F is recommended but not entirely necessary. It helps with the fishes immune system and speeds up the ick's lifecycle.
*Adding extra aeration is important for warmer temperatures. As warmer water holds less oxygen. *But if you cannot heat your water. Just make sure the filter is running at its best.
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Keep this treatment for 14 days. The salt is good and will help.
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Your black moor's symptoms do sound like Swim bladder disorder. Please read this article as it explains it all quite well-
http://flippersandfins.net/SwimbladderDisease.htm

Best wishes and Best of luck!
Karen~