# Sick fish?



## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Hey guys my keyhole chiclids have developed small white spots on there body's and fins.. they almost look like freckles only white.

I tryed to get a pic but the white spots wont show up on camera  

Well you can see them a little bit.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

After reading it appears to be ich.. so my question now is, should I do a 25% water change? and raise my temp to 85f? and will this harm my corys?


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

the typical procedure for dealing with ich is raising temperature, as you've suggested, adding salt (though i've never bothered), and using ich treatment. The higher temps may harm the corys as they're used to lower temps. that being said, when i've had ich hit my tank, i've only used medication. i didn't bother to raise temp or add epsom salts, and the infestation was gone in four days with no ill effects.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> the typical procedure for dealing with ich is raising temperature, as you've suggested, adding salt (though i've never bothered), and using ich treatment. The higher temps may harm the corys as they're used to lower temps. that being said, when i've had ich hit my tank, i've only used medication. i didn't bother to raise temp or add epsom salts, and the infestation was gone in four days with no ill effects.


Well its back off to Big Al's  .. my current temp is 77-79 is that ok for my corys?

Thanks for the help 

Edit- better pic added


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

off the top of my head, yeah, it should be ok. certain corys (notably corydoras panda) prefer slightly cooler temps (say, 72-74). i've had my tank at 77 with few problems that i'd associate with temperature.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> off the top of my head, yeah, it should be ok. certain corys (notably corydoras panda) prefer slightly cooler temps (say, 72-74). i've had my tank at 77 with few problems that i'd associate with temperature.


There punctatus cory's.. know idea what a panada is


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

cool. those are nice looking corys. pandas are like the cutest frickin things you've ever seen. the punctatus can do with temps up to 78 degrees F, so you should be fine.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> cool. those are nice looking corys. pandas are like the cutest frickin things you've ever seen. the punctatus can do with temps up to 78 degrees F, so you should be fine.


Thanks for your help sir  .. Turns out the keyholes are in the same temp range as my corys.. so I've set it to 75f to keep every one happy.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

my pleasure, tanked. it's nice to give back once and a while. sometimes i feel like all i do is ask questions around here, it's nice to be able to lend a little help.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> my pleasure, tanked. it's nice to give back once and a while. sometimes i feel like all i do is ask questions around here, it's nice to be able to lend a little help.


Lol, well I'll be here asking stupid questions for years to come 

Now before I run out.. whats a good brand of medication and The sticky said to remove my charcoal cartage but wont the beneficial bacteria die on me??

Thanks once again!


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

Rid-Ich or Ich-X i've both used with success before. you may lose some of the bacteria by removing the charcoal, but the filter media will have tonnes of bacteria culture, so i wouldn't worry. as far as charcoal goes, it's pretty supurfluous unless you're trying to remove something from the water. otherwise i usually do without.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> Rid-Ich or Ich-X i've both used with success before. you may lose some of the bacteria by removing the charcoal, but the filter media will have tonnes of bacteria culture, so i wouldn't worry. as far as charcoal goes, it's pretty supurfluous unless you're trying to remove something from the water. otherwise i usually do without.


Then I have a problem  , My filter is a Aqueon power20 and with this brand the filter pack is a all in one piece so I'm now confuzzled as what todo.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

ah, i see. 

there's actually no charcoal in that. sometimes, a filter will have room for adding an additional layer of filtration (usually charcoal). in your case, all you have is the filter media itself. certainly don't remove it! you'll be fine for adding meds to your tank. just be sure to read the label and make sure it's going to be ok for all your tank inhabitants (more of a concern for inverts).


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

also, confuzzled is my new favourite word.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> ah, i see.
> 
> there's actually no charcoal in that. sometimes, a filter will have room for adding an additional layer of filtration (usually charcoal). in your case, all you have is the filter media itself. certainly don't remove it! you'll be fine for adding meds to your tank. just be sure to read the label and make sure it's going to be ok for all your tank inhabitants (more of a concern for inverts).


theirs about 1/4" room so I wont bother trying to jerry rig something up. Unfortunately I didn't get into big Al's before closing and the petvalue doesn't have the brand recommended, So I just raised the heat to 80f and Ill be sure to pick some up in the morning.. the only worry i have is my one chiclid is really pale all of a sudden 



twoheadedfish said:


> also, confuzzled is my new favourite word.


It's a quality word


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Just my fucking luck.. my fish get sick and my damned heater breaks


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

That just plain sucks. 

I know this won't help, but it's early in the morning... 

You could always look on the "Bright side" of things, at least you were going to BA's anyways.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

dude....that's rotten luck.

KnaveTO's selling some inexpensive heaters right now. he's downtown if that's easier.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Tanked said:


> There punctatus cory's.. know idea what a panada is


Dude, those aren't C. punctatus. C. punctatus don't have a black mask, and the black on the dorsal fin is confined to the top.

Neither are they C. panda.

The picture isn't that great and I don't have time right now to get into it too deep but they remind me of C. leucomelas except on yours the snout isn't as long.

Where did you get these from.

Also, DO NOT ADD SALT TO A TANK WITH CORYDORAS!

Corys typically don't get ich. So if you need to go to high temp and add salt, move the Corys to a quarantine / holding tank until you solve your ich problem.

As for ich doing a massive water change can help depending on the life cycle of the parasite and that's why people raise the temp in order to speed up the cycle. As to medication, you've already received some good suggestions with salt being a natural one (see above warning).

It is my understanding the the parasite is normally in all / most aquarium tanks but that healthy fish can resist / control them. So that leads me to think that there was something that caused your fish to stress that left them open to the parasite. That's my theory anyway.

Good luck and cheers.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

corydad's right about the salt. any scaleless fish (like loaches and corys) will suffer from added salt. i think.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Shattered said:


> That just plain sucks.
> 
> I know this won't help, but it's early in the morning...
> 
> You could always look on the "Bright side" of things, at least you were going to BA's anyways.


 Thanks, whats another $50 down the drain?



twoheadedfish said:


> dude....that's rotten luck.
> 
> KnaveTO's selling some inexpensive heaters right now. he's downtown if that's easier.


Ahh to late already bought another stealth, but thanks for the heads up 



Cory_Dad said:


> Dude, those aren't C. punctatus. C. punctatus don't have a black mask, and the black on the dorsal fin is confined to the top.
> 
> Neither are they C. panda.
> 
> ...


Well more trouble in paradise... I noticed one of my corys was acting strange and wasn't the pearl white the other ones are he was moping about last night and this morning he's no were to be found ... I mean, I turned over every cave, looked in my filter, checked all 3 plants.. He's MIA!... I have know idea were he went and it's in possible for the cichlids to eat him as the corys are the same size they are 

I added no salt and left the temp at 75f, And added a product called "ICH CLEAR" (only added a half tablet because the box said so.) and "AMMONIA CLEAR" (full tablet because of my random ammonia spike too 1ppm.) which was recommended too me from the owner of Big Al's Whitby.

 The packs look like a college necessity.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I've never tried that med before good luck.

The MIA cory..... how big was it?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Oh dear. That doesn't sound good.

I still think you should put the Corys into a QT.

I've not used the AMMONIA CLEAR but whenever I've had ammonia swings due to antibiotics (it kills to good bacteria too) I've used Ammo Chips. I pour some into a bag made from pantie hose and put it into a HOB filter. I like that idea rather than dumping more chemicals into the tank. Also, you can recharge the chips by soaking them in salt water.

If the Cory did die, it's possible the other fish and snails ate the corpse. You really don't want that to happen as any bacteria or parasites in the corpse can be transmitted to another fish.

You want to be careful that you don't change the water stats too quickly as that will really stress out your fish. Slowly raise/lower temp and pH. Making a chemical soup is also not a good idea. Heavy water changes is good IF the stats of the water coming in are the same as the watter your taking out.

Good luck Tanked.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Cory_Dad said:


> Oh dear. That doesn't sound good.
> 
> I still think you should put the Corys into a QT.
> 
> ...


I'm pretty sure I know what cause this whole thing... I was at the walmart and noticed there fish.. Well long storie short I bought one and things haven't been the same since. The fish was overly agressive towards my other cichlid and more than likly cause the Ich. I gave away the walmart fish and added the corys. next day Ich 

I would love to put the cory in Qt but I only have my one 20g, so this is my only current option, but I suspose it would be a good idea to have a 10g set up for this purpose

The ammonia spike was my fault. I was overfeeding and slacking on my test my water conditions. The Ich doesnt seem as white today on the fish, almost like a faded white. I'll do another 25% water change and add more Ich clear 

Thanks for the help thus far guys.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Tanked said:


> I'm pretty sure I know what cause this whole thing... I was at the walmart and noticed there fish.. Well long storie short I bought one and things haven't been the same since. The fish was overly agressive towards my other cichlid and more than likly cause the Ich. I gave away the walmart fish and added the corys. next day Ich
> 
> I would love to put the cory in Qt but I only have my one 20g, so this is my only current option, but I suspose it would be a good idea to have a 10g set up for this purpose
> 
> ...


At Pet Smart they have pretty cheap 2.5 gallon tanks with glass tops in the reptile section. I know it ain't big but I kept 3 adult and 11 juvenile Corys in one for 3 weeks. Mind you I had good aeration and I did daily water changes plus I added an ammo pack. But If you just want to quarantine 1 or 2 smallish fish, 2.5 is a good idea. Small, easy to maintain AND you won't go through as much of the meds.

Ya, ammonia can creep up on you. Live and learn. Not like it's happened to me 

Go the whole 9 yards with ich treatment. If the white is decreasing that only means that the cyst has popped and now the parasite larvae are free swimming. It's at this point the ich medication does it's job.

Be vigilant and good luck.

Cheers.


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## Tanked (Sep 9, 2008)

Cory_Dad said:


> At Pet Smart they have pretty cheap 2.5 gallon tanks with glass tops in the reptile section. I know it ain't big but I kept 3 adult and 11 juvenile Corys in one for 3 weeks. Mind you I had good aeration and I did daily water changes plus I added an ammo pack. But If you just want to quarantine 1 or 2 smallish fish, 2.5 is a good idea. Small, easy to maintain AND you won't go through as much of the meds.
> 
> Ya, ammonia can creep up on you. Live and learn. Not like it's happened to me
> 
> ...


Sounds good I'll pick one up on Tuesday.. I really only need it for a fish or two at a time.

Now in Qt Should I med The fish Immediately? or just let them sit for a week or so?

Thing are the same as this morning.. All levels are decent, Did a 50% water change and added another tablet. I'll keep yall posted


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Are we talking about the ich?

With ich unfortunately you need to treat the original tank because of the ich's life cycle.

The quarantine tank is good for storing new fish or injured or diseased fish (the 2.5 is too small for bigger fish or a LOT of little ones with a ton of water changes).

For injured or diseased fish, start with a complete water change in the QT, add a good air stone, add the fish, add the medication, monitor water stats. With my 2.5 I also add an Ammo pack to help with the ammonia.


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