freshwater ich

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I have the ICH......
I have a yoyo that has been in Q. for 6
days treated with aqua-sol (copper is best for loaches?) at 80-82 degrees. He is still washed out and his eyes are pale. I have been treating the tank he came from with Quick Cure          ( formaldihyde) and upped the temperature as well as taking out the filter inserts. He arrived at the same time as ten glass shrimp and by the next day started showing signs of ich. Today I did a 50% water change in the comm. tank and  afterward noticed that my  big rummy nose now has two spots on him.
What do I do?
Do I quarantine him with the loach?
DO I change medicine?
Are the glass shrimp making it worse?
Can I add kosher sea salt?

**** Also - can Plecos have white tips as part of their colouring?******

Any assistance you could provide would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time

Answer -
Hi Alexis!

So sorry to hear about your Yoyo loach! :( Right now you have been taking all the right steps for treating Ich, (Good for you!!) It may seem like forever when you are trying to cure your fish from Ich. But oftentimes it can take up to 2 weeks, actually, you should treat the infected fish for at least two weeks to insure all the Ichthyophthirius parasites are completely killed off.

Be sure to keep the water as clean as you can for your Yoyo by doing at least every-other day 50% water changes. Water changes also help remove free-swimming parasites in the water.

Unfortunately those tetras aren't known for being the hardiest of fish and after that 50% water change he might have gotten chilled or maybe the pH water a little bit different than the original tank's. I personally don't think it would be a good idea to move the lonely tetra into the Quarantine tank if he lives in a school. This would stress him out very badly and wouldn't help him much at all. Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember you saying you have been treating your Community tank with Quickcure medicine. I believe it would be better just to leave the my nose in the community if you are already adding Quick cure to that tank.

~I don't think it would be necessary to change the medicine in the aquarium. It's best to keep treating for 2 weeks to be sure to wipe out the parasite completely. But if you think the parasites might be resistant, like if more and more white dots are appearing on the loach instead of less-please email me again and I will tell you a completely different method of treating Ich called "The transfer method" this new approach involes no chemicals and has saved an aquarist's valued Rainbowfish when the meds she tried didn't help at all.

~Salt~
The simple answer to your question YES! you can use Kosher or rock salt but remember that most catfish and loaches, including your YoYo, cannot tolerate salt even small amounts. Also sometimes tetras are sensitive to salt.
~Also, I don't think Glass shrimp would make anything worse toward your fish. I assume you are speaking of Ghost Shrimp (correct me if I'm wrong.), they rarely, if ever bother fish and shouldn't be contributing to your disease problem either.
~Some species of the more exotic plecostomus catfish can have coloring like outlining on the edges of their fins but Common Plecos don't, they are still beautiful in my opinion!

~Well I hope I gave you the info you were hoping for!~
If you have any questions about anything, just email me again and I will help you out all I can, Alexis!

~* Here's wishing the very best of luck to you and your Yoyo loach and your tetra! I REALLY hope they will lose that Ich soon! ;)

Take care Alexis, and happy fishkeeping!
Karen~




Thanks Karen!
In regards to the pleco -
He is some sort of sick today. Not moving and jsut listless. Hadn't seen him in two days and now....
I think that if I put the inserts back in he would get better ( amonia high I think) BUT I want to keep treating the tank with quick cure.( You really eased my mind by re-affirming my choices in medication. It is hard out there it seems like everyone is  contradicting everyone else about what is a good idea or not. ) SO I will keep yoyo isolated- change water again with No cross over to old water ( was worried about shocking him so I splashed a little filter yuck in) temp up and fingers crossed.
Have not added salt yet because am worried about possible ill effects to already ill pleco. White tips do not look like regular fin rot and have not increased in size or spread but fish is definitly sick. Secondary infection brought on by ich in tank?

-Rummy nose looks better today- glad I didn't move him was worried about stress for the old guy.
-Yes, Ghost Shrimp. Ooops!
SO thanks Again for the peace of mind and any input into possible Pleco Cures


Answer -
Hey Alexis!

I so glad I was of some help to you! I am so happy to hear that I put you at a peace of mind! I love helping people like you!

Anyway, I am 99% sure your Pleco is stressed by the medication and probably bad water quality. This combination is enough to make the even hardy pleco sit listless. You should probably do a partial water change...50% would help him out a lot. He will still probably be stressed out still but not as bad. Medication is always hard on any fish. About those white edges on his fins, be sure it isn't fungus starting...Fungus looks just like fuzzy mold to sometimes long strings. Has he had Ich too? It COULD be a secondary infection. If you think it is Fungus, let me know please! I wonder if it could be ammonia burn? Best if you do a large water change. :)Question- is he a common pleco?

~Have not added Salt~
Good! Catfish like your Pleco cannot tolerate salt! It would really make him even worse! Best not to add it!

~Tetra looks better today~
That's great! He must be getting better then! I hope he holds on- he sounds like a pretty strong fish!

Well you're very welcome to ask me anymore questions you may have on your mind!~I hope I was of some help once more!

Wishing the best for Mr. Yoyo and your little Tetra!

Best of luck!
Take care as always and happy fishkeeping!
Karen~





To Karen
Thanks for All your help.
My Pleco died and I mourned him.
Fish have been water changed twice since we last 'spoke'
tetra still ick but not getting worse and spots are smaller.
Glad about the salt.
Thanks for all your help.
I'm not getting another pleco for a while. maybe just a cat fish.
No real question just wanted you to know that you have been an appreciated resource.
Regards,
Alexis

Answer
Hey Alexis!

~I'm really and truly so sorry about your pleco. I often get depressed when I lose one of my beloved petfish. :(

~So your tetra still has some Ick but it isn't gtting worse and the spots are smaller? That's good, he must be getting better and the meds are fighting off the ick parasites. Keep up with the usual water changes and medicine for at least a total treatment of 2 weeks at least. Everybody should be cured by then.

~Well I am SO glad I was helpful! I just love helping people with their fish problems. Anyway, It makes me feel really good to know I was helpful to you. Your very welcome for everything...And you can email me back on anything if you need anymore help!

Wishing you the very best~Much sympathy for your pleco....

Take care Alexis, and happyfishkeeping!
Karen~