[clarinetplayer]

I started a 10 gallon community tank last week and i started off with 5 neon tetras, 1 african dwarf frog, 1 albino sucker fish and my betta Dragon.

The next day, 2 tetras were dead. I took water sample and dead fish back to petco and they said my water was fine. I just got a couple bad fish. I got 2 free neon tetras from them and they too died. I went back to petco only to see that their neon tetra tanks were "under observance" and you couldn't get fish from them. So not only did 4 tetras die, before they died, they infected my tank with ich and who knows what else. Now I'm down to 1 neon tetra.. My poor betta fish is miserably infected with ich. My frog is itchy too.

I went to petco again to get medicine to treat my tank and all they had me do was put aquarium salt in. Well I don't know if I have time for the salt to work IF it will work. I wasted so much money and I'm so upset that half my tank is dead or dying and it's barely even been a week since I started the aquarium.

Do you think I should return all the fish and demand my money back?

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Did you Acclimate them?
The Best way to treat Ich is AQUARIUM SALT+HEAT. Up to 80F-82F is good.

 

[clarinetplayer]

Yes I did acclimate them. I have salt and the water is at 82 degrees..

 

[GreenTea]

Aquarium salt and heat is great as stated but if it's really bad - like gonna kill your fish in a few days bad, go to petsmart and get rid ick or ich cure, it's a dissolvable tablet that kills all ick and other issues. For me has worked in 2 days although you get 10 tablets for 100 gallons worth of water. Do a 75% water change each day with a new tablet. It can tint decor blue sometimes so if you have anything you dont want blue, remove it, and be sure to siphon the bottom of the tank each day to remove dead ich. The medication at petsmart is only a few dollars - like $3, I think, and I swear by it.

Always quaruntine and acclimate new fish, qt for 2 weeks! Plants and snails as well to be safe.

 

[LittleBettaFish]

Was your tank properly cycled, and do you know what species your 'albino sucker' is. No offence, but when I see a fish described as a 'sucker' or 'algae eater' it makes me think the owner didn't really do any research before purchasing it, or may be a newcomer to the hobby.

You really need to have a stable, cycled tank before you even think of starting a community. Bettas are generally quite forgiving of poor water conditions at least for a little while, but other species of fish are a lot more sensitive.

Do you have test kits and do you know what your exact parameters are? Just saying they are 'fine' doesn't exactly instill confidence in me as to the expertise of the store you got them from. Next time you go, ask whether they use liquid or strip (worthless IMO) to test water parameters, and get exact numbers for ammonia and nitrite.

I would advise turning up the heat and treating with medication if it is a serious outbreak. I use Protozin by Waterlife and my killifish had ich so bad they looked like they had been dipped in salt. Also follow the exact instructions for dosage and duration as you need to finish the whole course of medication even if you think they look better.

 

[MaggieLynn]

At walmart and my lfs i found some good meds that did the trick for my sorority they are nox-ich and quick cure they turn the water blue but really got my girls back to health. the quick cure was really cheap, they are pretty much the same thing same ingredient for ich. all it is is one drop per gallon for tetras it said 2 but it really worked, faster then AQ salt for me.

 

[ttubbs]

i would go and let them know you purchsed 4 of them fish and they all died and that now your other fish are sick maybe they ill tell you more about why they are under observation and i would tell them how many fish you lost due to addin them to your community

 

[Basement Bettas]

you need meds for the ich and you really need to cycle the tank. Salt alone not always gonna get rid of it as many diseases are now resistent to high salt levels. You stand a good chance of developing a more resistent strain if you don't hit it hard.

A new tank with all those fish are going to cause ammonia spike and put a LOT of stress on the fish. Ammonia should = 0. ANY ammonia will cause problems and leave fish open to disease from stress and if high enough it will burn gills. Best bet get rid of the ich then start slow. Have the betta for a few weeks then add a fish at a time to allow the bacteria that converts the ammonia to nitrIte then to nitrAte to build up. Other wise you will end up killing more fish. I'd also go back to the pet shop and ask for some sort of credit. Because they sold sick fish you now have a disease issue in your own tank. Worse they can do is tell you no.. and you are no further behind. And you need to quarentine every fish before it enters the communuty situation. Go slow with the tank or you will end up in a no win situation.

An article of the nitrogen cycle.
http://www.tropical-fish-success.com/aquarium-nitrogen-cycle.html

 

[clarinetplayer]

Guys I know about the nitrogen cycle. Thank you. And I do know the breed my sucker fish is. It's a Plecostomus but I just like saying sucker fish because its easier.

Thank you for the information on the ich medicine. The lady at petco really didn't want me using it.

 

[Sivan]

Have you quarantined your remaining healthy fish?

 

[clarinetplayer]

Yes I quarantined them yesterday.

 

[Sivan]

It sounds like you're dealing with it the best you can. Quarantine, medicine, heat, observation. I'd say that's the best you can do right now. Often, people at pet stores do not know what they are talking about so its always good to get several opinions from a variety of places. The internet is usually a good place to confirm information. Sorry to hear about your fish.

 

[laoshun]

well ich is really easy to treat, Just put your betta /frog in the container and put Aquarium salt in it and change the water every day and add aquarium salt and repeat until ich is gone. (if done in temperatures ranging form 85-88 it is ideal for ich removal.

(make sure you add water dechlorinator during all this process and each time u change the small container).
if you change the temperature of the tank just float the container inside the tank.

(this advice is if u didn't buy the ich medicine yet)

 

[LittleBettaFish]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but no pleco species should be housed long-term in a 10 gallon tank. Even the smaller bristlenose grow to around 5-6 inches. Plus they are extremely heavy waste producers from day one.

If you added all these fish (and frog) at once to a tank that housed only a betta with a relatively low bioload, it is going to take a week, maybe more before your beneficial bacteria is able to process the additional waste. This is why I asked what your water parameters were beyond 'fine'. Stress caused by even trace amounts of ammonia can cause outbreaks of disease such as velvet, columnaris and ich.

So while it's fine if you cure the ich, be aware that your tank is still going to be overstocked and unless you have a filter with adequate biological filtration you are going to run into problems with your water quality.

Also I am not a big fan of using salt and high temperatures for anything but very mild cases of ich. I prefer just to use a medication, follow the dosage recommendations to the letter and know for certain I have killed it. If the ich is bad enough to be killing your fish (been there, done that) you are going to need to medicate. I saw results 48 hours into my treatment and didn't lose another fish after I started medicating.

 

[Olympia]

Tetras are not very salt tolerant, you could be weakening them more than you realize.. I wouldn't be using salt with them.
Posted via Mobile Device