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Starting Member
 
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 7:20:40 PM
Posts: 192,
Visits: 318
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My friends tank caught ich, and all of his fish and his eel died from it because he caught it too late! He had to start over from scratch. I don't want the same thing to happen to me, so how can I catch it? :unsure:
29 Gallon Planted Freshwater:
2 Bolivian Rams
3 Balloon Mollies
1 Red Cobra Delta Guppy
8 Harlequin Rasboras
5 Otocinclus
4 Kuhli Loaches
4 Gallon Planted Betta Tank:
1 Male Veiltail Betta
3 Gallon Betta Tank:
1 Male Crowntail Betta
1/2 Gallon Live Plant Aquarium:
Water Sprite
Amazon Sword
40 Gallon Rubbermaid Balloon Molly Grow-Out:
100s of Balloon Mollies (mostly juvenilles to adults)
10 Gallon Birthplace and Nursery:
100s of Balloon Mollies (mostly fry to very young)Other Pets:
2 Leopard Geckos
1 Crested Gecko
1 Chinese Hamster
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Fishkeeping GURU
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/1/2008 6:38:16 PM
Posts: 11,957,
Visits: 5,449
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You can't catch ich...you're human!
Just kidding. :P I couldn't resist.
The best ways to avoid it are:
1. Don't add fish to a new tank (establish the tank well first...at least six months with no fish, and more like a year if you are making it a reef). Saltwater tanks under a year old are unstable and prone to disease outbreaks, and all desirable reef creatures (corals, copepods, amphipods, other invertebrates) grow much better with no fish around. Keeping fish out of it for a year or so will help you to avoid nasty and uncontrollable algae outbreaks too.
2. Don't ever add a fish to the tank without quarantining it in a separate tank for a full month at least. Watch it carefully for signs of sickness and if you see anything odd or have to treat it, quarantine it for another month. The number one way ich is introduced into established aquariums is unquarantined livestock.
3. Always keep your eye on the parameters and try to keep everything ideal and stable. Fluctuating temperature, pH, kH, salinity, etc, or high ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate can all cause ich and other diseases. This is one reason small tanks are dangerous. The bigger the tank, the less likely fluctuations will be, and the more diluted any toxin like ammonia will be. Get the biggest tank you can afford so that your fish will have a stable environment.
Along the same lines, don't overstock. Having too many fish or fish that are too large will also cause unstable and undesirable conditions that can lead to disease. You want about one small fish per 10 gallons of water, and less if any of the fish have a max size over four inches or so. The lighter you stock the safer the tank will be.
Also in the same vein, don't do too large water changes. Most saltwater tanks get about 10%-20% water changes...big water changes can cause those dreaded fluctuations. If water changes that small weekly or bi-weekly don't keep the parameters in check, there is something else wrong with the system that needs to be fixed.
If you follow all of the above advice, you are very unlikely to ever encounter a serious ich outbreak. You may see some, but it can be fought effectively with garlic and vitamin soaked foods and just letting the fish's immune systems take care of it. I had ich recently (probably due to a temperature fluctuation) and the fish recovered fully on its own.
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