10 gallon tank of ick! - Page 2 - Paw Talk

lixx · #16 04-04-2005, 12:06 PM

Don;t worry about putting your hand in, you'll be fine

. Just wash up afterwards. Hope they start to recover!

Guppie_girl · #17 04-04-2005, 08:10 PM

yeah me too! i lost ANOTHER FISH this morning ( i could tell he was gonna die last night but still sad). right now, i'm at the piont wherew i just want them all to die so i can clean the tank out real good and buy new fish.......

Guppie_girl · #18 04-05-2005, 05:49 PM

my last mature female died while i was at school. she was not looking well last night....
i'm now down to very few fish left

i can actually count them now whereas i could barely even follow one with my eye before. i have between 10 and 15 guppies now.

lixx · #19 04-05-2005, 10:49 PM

Umm, how many were there to start with? Perhaps the overcrowding triggered the ick? (excess stress, higher water pollutents...) You may want to keep an eye on your tank load. A 10g tank is not meant to hold much. Have you tested the water parameters lately? I do hope the rest make it. Remember they are lives and each is special. It can be hard watching them, but you are doing the best you can. Don;t give up on them yet

Guppie_girl · #20 04-06-2005, 06:21 PM

well it wasn't overcrowded. i had just cleaned the tak. i think that is what triggered it. i just did a 25% water change and added a fresh tablet the 9 that I have left ( one mature male, one juvinile female, and a couple medium fry that i am suprised havn't died...) seem to be improving. i will check back sometime tomorrow. thanks for all the help!

Guppie_girl · #21 04-08-2005, 06:00 PM

didn't have time to get on yesterday sorry. i went to petco and bought a cory to eat the food off the bottom of my betta tank. anywhoo, two dead fish yesterday. i think they were just too sick to save

. my favorite male, thunder, has survived the ick outbreak thus far and i hope he doesn't die.

lixx · #22 04-11-2005, 10:26 AM

How are they doing?

Also, I found this site : http://www.solodvds.com/beginner/fish_calculator.asp which according to it, a 10g tank should only have 6 guppies.
This one http://www.guppies.com/PAGES/FAQ.html
Q. How large a tank will I need for 3 to 5 adult guppies?
10 gals for guppies over 2 months of age.

Being down to 15 seems that there were alot before. While there may have been visible 'space' it does not mean there was enough water to fish ratio. Just a thought before getting any new ones, as overcrowding will lead to more disease.

Guppie_girl · #23 04-11-2005, 04:46 PM

well, i had one guppie that never caught the ick throughout the whole ordeal (thunder) and he seems to be doing quite well. thanks for the link to the wbsite Lixx. i really appreciate it. im down to about 4 fish now, supprisingly all very young still with no color, but the don't look too good. i put thunder in his own 2 gallon tank so he doesnt get eaten up by the ick when the last 4 die. what kind of stuff would you recomend i use to clean out my tank after the last fish die?(if the die.....)

lixx · #24 04-11-2005, 09:19 PM

Without anything to feed on the ich will die. I use vinegar which seems to get rid of most of the 'scum'. Be sure to let everything DRY completely before putting it back in the tank. For the tank itself, empty and scrub down. You can also use a mild bleach solution, just be sure you have rinsed it very well. If you can still smell bleach it's not rinsed enough. Once evrything is set back up be sure to cycle the tank for 1-2 weeks before adding any fish. Then go slow. Perhaps your male by himself at first. Also be sure to quarintine any new incoming fish before introing them to your male to make sure they are not carrying anything (which the stress of moving usually brings out) 10 days for external symptoms, 30 days for internal ones.

Guppie_girl · #25 04-12-2005, 07:19 PM

ok thanks! i found a book on starting tropical aquariums and i think it will help a lot once i re-start. i couldn't find a working heater and i havem't had the time to get a new one so i just put thunder back in the 10 gallon. (i thought he'd have a better chance of survival!)<well not sure...... i think he has an equal chance of dying in either tank but who knows. i have 2 fish left in the tank besides thunder and they look really sick. it is time to put in a fresh treatment of ick stuff and i think they might be killed when i put it in because they are so weak. should i just put it in and cross my fingers or what?

Guppie_girl · #26 04-12-2005, 07:46 PM

BTW, lixx, you are awesome! thank you soooooo much for all of your help during this ordeal. the little fishes in heavan thank you too even though they passed on.

snowyangel · #27 04-12-2005, 08:42 PM

How is the ich? I treat ich with a medicine called QuIck
Cure, it guarentees(and it has worked for me) to cure ick within 4 days. Remember, after treating ick(and there's no apparent signs) you must continue treatment for atleast one more week(read directions on your med) to make sure all the free swimming parasites in the water die as well.
Ick is very curable, I've cured many fish with it, so don't give up hope!

Guppie_girl · #28 04-13-2005, 05:55 PM

i'm down to three fish with one that looks like she could die within the hour.....i totally forgot about my sucker fish squiddy! he looks alright and i used the last dose of the meds i was using last night. i have some rid ick+ but it is like 10 years old.....
thunder was showing symptoms of the ick last night but looks fine now. i am going to wait for the last two fish to die because they are in really bad shape. my 2 gallon broke when i was cleaning it so i have no where to put thunder and squiddy while i kill the remaining ick in the 10 gallon. what should i put them in? i have some (about) a gallon jars and vases but i have no idea how long they ( thunder and squiddy) would last without filters and heaters. this is all hurting my brain!!!

snowyangel · #29 04-13-2005, 07:15 PM

Your fish will be safe without a filter and heater for easily 12 hrs(I've shipped fish before so i know). Don't let your fish die out, that's very cruel! Either continue trying to save them or euthanise them, don't let them suffer. A very humamne way to euthanise a fish is to put it in a cup with a small amount of water and add Clove oil. Add a couple drops(its strong stuff) and you'll see your fish slowly stop swimming and go into a sleep(but gills will still be moving). Now just add a couple more drops to put them to sleep permantly. Remember to wait till the gills stop before discarding. This is one of most humane ways to euthanise a fish. Flushing it, putting it in a freezer, or boiling it to death are very inhumane and very painful for you fishy friend.
I wouldn't use your old medicine, its mostly likely expired anyway.
Just try to keep that water clean(say 15% w/c every 3 days). The dirtier your water, the weaker your fishes immune systems will be to fighting the disease.

lixx · #30 04-13-2005, 09:59 PM

Good advice there (above post). And Guppie girl you are welcome to the advice. Keep the tank clean and keep up with the meds. Be sure they are not expired (10yrs is too old, buy some new stuff). Even if the two remaining ones look strong you'll want to keep treating them to be sure. Be careful moving the male so much, the constant change will stress and weaken him. And don;t give up on the weak ones. I have a Danio that I thought for sure was not going to recover. She laid on the bottom and swam irradicly for weeks then she recovered and is still with me today. However if you truely believe they are on their last legs, then do as snowyangel mentioned and humanly let them go. No need for them to suffer.