10 gallon tank of ick!

[Guppie_girl]

I have a 10 gallon tank of guppies. I recently changed the water and put the fish back in the tank. All of the levels were fine but the fish all developed a severe case of the ick( including my sucker fish, Squidy)! I have been treating them with JUNGLE ICK GUARD for about three days and it isn't clearing up. In fact, I've already lost about 1/3 of my guppies to ick. they have also caught this wierd red fungus or something that I am guessing is fin and tail rot.(not quite sure though) I don't know if I should just let them die or what.
I was thinking of killing them with something but decided against it. I also thought that if I kill them I can just clean the tank and buy some new fish. I REALLY NEED SOME ADVICE ASAP!

[Chrisanne]

For ick i use Rid Ich Plus

[Guppie_girl]

that was actually the thing i was using first, but it was really old and wasn't working so i bought the other stuff.

[Runt]

You may need to do a partial cleaning.Like drain half the water and completely clean anything you might have for decorations.Fill tank back up and put the Rid ick plus in it.THere are different types of funguses they can get.We had several types in our 55 gallon tank after we got 2 plecos from a petshop.It took us 1 month trying to get rid of it.WE finally did the drain tank and clean decorations and added all the stuff to clear out all funguses.

[Guppie_girl]

well last night i did a 25% water change and added 1/2 a tablet of the ick meds and 1/2 a tablet of fungus stuff and it seems to be helping. i only found 2 dead fish after school instead of the usual 3 or 4. on the box for the meds, it says not to use a carbon filter thing but its the only type of filter insert they sell for my filter. i think what it does is absorb the meds, so i've been putting about 1/4 of a tablet in every 2 days.

[lixx]

Raise the temp of the tank to the low 80's (do this slowly) It speeds up the life of the parasite. The parasite can only be killed in the release stage. I myself have used coppersafe and have had great results with it (in conjunction with temp raising). One dose lasts a month. When the pustules (the ich spots) burst and the young parasites are released they are killed by the coppersafe. Don't overdose with it though as too much can harm the fish.

[Guppie_girl]

i raised the temp as soon as i saw the first signs of the ick. raised it to about 85, is that an OK temp?

[Runt]

I should of added we took our filters out and let it run with out them to keep the water pumping.After we did the partial drain and cleaning.WE apparently had several types of bacteria in ours.

[Guppie_girl]

okay, so i should take out my filter and just leave the aerator in there or what?

[Guppie_girl]

also, i found 5 dead fish this morning so i think my 50/50 tablet thing didn't work too well.

[Runt]

My filters are on the back of my tank.It is a 55 gallon.We had to leave the cartridges out of the filters.After doing all that with the different meds it cleared everything up.

[lixx]

The charcoal especially should be removed as it will take out most meds and reduce their effectiveness (good point Runt!). 85 is a good temp, I wouldn't go any higher.

[Runt]

Thanks lixx.We had a very bad case of several different types of fungus.Our poor 5 year old pleco almost died several times.It was the worst case I have ever came across.We lost several of our fish but now everyone is back to be hardy and raising babies again.

[Guppie_girl]

thanks for the advice guys. i'm just a little wussy ghirl and i don't want to stick my hands in with all the little ick parasites to get my filter! i suppose if i even care the least bit about my fish i'm gonna have to get over it LOL!

[Guppie_girl]

also, 3 more dead fish this morning before church, so i think i'll get right on with taking out the carbon filter!