Tank Crisis

[hayabusa]

I was excited when i bought my new 2ft tank and substrate, i cycled it for 3 weeks with Atman's CF1000 canister with aquarium water conditioners. During the cycling and preparation for my tank, i went hunting up and down for Apistogramma Tefes, long hunts only during my free time. I didn't have any luck but a kind friend of mine and my girlfriend surprised me with a new shipment from C328, really a pretty pair. I placed the pair in my tank and embraced their beauty and elegance feeling so happy.

Then a few days later, my gf spotted white spots on them and i went online to do a search. Turns out to be ICH disease, it's really bad with a combination of huge and small spots and their bodies, fins, gills and faces. Without hesitation i went to get a quarantine tank right away with melafix. My SAE's in the main tank got them as well but those were before the pair were introduced and all were fine. I'm just really worried if my main tank is infested with those parasites, i'm going to do a WC tomorrow with new eheim sponge filters i bought and re-cycle my tank while the pair are quarantine.

I just really hope nothing happens to them as i get sentimentally attached to pets, even fishes. I hope to hear from brothers for advise, any would be greatly appreciated.

[illumnae]

There's no need to cycle your tank all over again. Since all your fish in the tank have been affected, I would suggest putting the pair back in the tank and getting a heater that is suitably sized for your tank. Put the temperature up to 32 degrees and maintain it there for 10-14 days. That should suffice in eradicating the whitespot from your tank. If you want to be extra sure that you eradicate the parasite, combine the heat treatment with medication for Ich as well. However, do note that such medication generally will kill invertebrates such as shrimp and snails in your tank.

Be sure to couple the heat/medication with vigorous aeriation in your tank as well as DO NOT stop the treatment at any point before 10 full days. This is because at certain stages in their life cycle, the parasite is more or less invulnerable. If you do not continue the treatment for the full cycle, you may end up with surviving parasites.

[sen_jie]

try using heater set at 30 degree and aquarium salt. Work wonders

[marle]

For ich, i use Methylene Blue, works for me. Hope your fish recovers soon!

[hayabusa]

hi bros, bad day for me at work and home, best lethal combination. my male tefe passed away and it looks like in no time it'll be the females turn, i'm really upset. thanks for all advises given from you guys, unfortunately i didn't have the time to carry out the advises given, as i have tight schedules at work. sigh, sad morning, stressed afternoon, starving evening, shocking night.

[stormhawk]

Hello Hayabusa,

Sorry to hear about the losses. For myself I've gone through some pretty expensive mistakes in the past, be it with fishes from C328 or other sources. Often we do not realise the fishes we buy are infected until the fishes show symptoms of what "might" be afflicting them. For all you might know, the fishes were not infected with ich.

This is my usual method if I detect ich aka white spot disease in a new tank with no other fish. I remove the infected fishes to a separate plastic tank with a normal sponge filter for treatment. The tank itself, I dose with Sera Costapur and follow the instructions. I would advise you to throw away the net you used for that tank, and purchase a new one. Heating the tankwater past 30 deg C usually helps but salt may not be necessary.

In many cases we tend to panic, and thus cause more harm in the process. Just go through the cycle of treatment, and the next time you purchase fishes like these, try to get them from a home breeder, so you can view the specimens for yourself before purchasing. Always remember to quarantine the fish in the hospital tank, so you don't have a repeat of this episode.

Lastly, do understand that at times, pairs sold at LFSes are not "true" pairs, but rather a pair of males with one being a subdominant male showing female patterns. Many people have been fooled before by the fishes exhibiting such coloration. Occasionally you get a mismatched pair of fish, i.e. 2 of different species being sold as a pair.