Fish help... I think they have ich/ick.

[massa182000]

I think our fish have ich... I've noticed the past 3 or 4 days that one just seems to be sitting at the top, so I was certian it was fixing to die but it hasn't so far. Well last night I noticed that it has a big white spot on one of it's fins. (Ok so that fish is soooo fixing to die!! I've gotten him off the filter thing like 3 times because he keeps getting stuck to it cause he's soo weak, but I can still see him moving his mouth so I know hes not dead yet...My son is way upset about this one for some reason. He's all crying about it!! ) So I go online looking for answers as to what it can be, after seeing ich and then looking at our other fish it seems they have it as well... So what the heck do I do now??? We've got 2 goldfish (ok 1 goldfish since that one is dead now basically), 2 guppies, 2 dwarf frogs, and the little algae eater in there. I keep seeing different things to do online, some say the frogs with die with salt some say they won't. I guess they got it cause I don't have a heater in the tank? So I'll need to get one right? then what do I do? do I have to go ahead and change the water before starting treament? If so how do I do that cause don't you have to let the water sit for 24 hours before placing the fish in, I have no where to do that, except in their tank (its 10 gallon), I was planning on buying a back up tank before I had to change the water but now I don't have money to do that and buy a heater and the salt stuff for them just yet... So do I just remove some water and add fresh treated water with the start right stuff into it and hope for the best? Can I use the same pitcher to remove the water and place new in with or will it be contaminated? What about the gravel and plants (they are just fake plastic ones) I'm clueless about this stuff!! I always had fish when I was small but we never had this problem... then after I add clean water and a heater I up the temp up and start adding aquarium salt right? how much? I've heard 1 teaspoon for every 5 gallons?? But then I've also heard 2 teasoons for every gallon, that seems like so much. As well I've heard 1 teaspoon for every 10 gallons. I really don't want the froggies to die they are why we got the tank 2 weeks ago (we've had the tank and fish for 2 weeks and 2 or 3 days now, I let the water sit in the tank with the start right stuff in for about a day before I added the fish and frogs) !! Do I have to remove the cartlidge thingy in the filter? Does anyone know what I'm talking about even??? LOL!! So yeah...I really need help with this!!!! I plan on going to walmart to buy the heater for our tank then going to the pet store to get the aquarium salt here in a little while. Can anyone help me with this please?

[homebunnyj]

OMG.... where to start..........
Okay.... go and read this Freshwater Beginner Stickies (READ ME FIRST)
right away, before doing anything or making any decisions. That should clear up alot of your confusion and it's way simpler than our trying to re-state it all in a post here.
After you read that, come back and post up with any questions you still have, although I think nearly everything you asked is covered there. Don't worry, we'll help you get through this, it's not as complicated and overwhelming as it seems right now.

[yav1n]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...ealth_list.php

try this link. It is sometimes hard to determine what a fish has unless it is really far along. heat and salt are always good. Salt baths are fun too. read up on it before you do it. although with a frog I dont know think that is going to work. 3 of My fish have something that looks like ich or some kind of bacteria right now. So I have slowly raised the temp it is at 85 right now and I have added lots of salt. They are all doing fine so far.

With your fish did you cycle the tank did you add all your fish at once? how long has the tank been up? if you havent cycled the tank. I would say let them humanly die rather than have the fish suffer. read up on tank cycling and start over. Most people go through what you are going through.

[MissFishy]

Let them humanely die of a curable disease and bad water quality? Righhht...

My suggestion of what to do immediately...go to walmart and buy a heater (make sure it's for a 10 gallon tank ~$15-20), and a thermometer($1.50). Then go to the grocery section at walmart and buy some table salt WITHOUT IODINE ADDED. Follow the instructions on the heater box when you put it in, heaters are really easy to blow. Usually you'll set the heater up in the tank, wait for it to acclimate, then plug it in. You will have to monitor it a lot to make sure it doesn't get too hot in there, thus the purpose of the temperature gage. You're going to want to raise the temperature of your tank up hotter and hotter over the next few hours, finally up to about 82-85. Next, take a cup of warm water, and dissolve 10 tablespoons of salt in it. Dump the salt in. Monitor your tank very closely for any problems, I don't know much about frogs, but I would probably take them out and put them in a tupperware container with treated water during this treatment. Please post and let us know when you've done this and what has happened and we can move on to the next step. good luck!

[homebunnyj]

Hopefully the poster is off doing a proper, safe water change right now. His/her ammonia is probably through the roof. Heat and ick are things that need to be tackled, but there are even more basic problems here. Without that water change, all the salt and heat in the world won't help.

And it's too soon to even touch the stocking issue. Hopefully they'll get through the beginner stickies and have a glimmer of understanding about it.

[massa182000]

Ok as of right now I haven't done anything yet cause I'm waiting for my husband to get his paycheck so I can run to the store... I have not done the fishless cycle cause I had NO clue about that!! the person at the store said we needed to buy the tank add the water cleanser and let it sit for about 24 hours before adding fish. noone said anything about doing the fishless cycle or not adding so many fish at once... Plus I thought you just changed the water when it started to look dirty, but I need to do it once or twice a week correct? anyway as soon as he gets that I'm going to go to walmart buy the heater (5 watts per gallon right? So that would be 50 watts I need...) a thermometer, then I was going to go to pets mart or pet co to buy the aquarium salt and a test kit just to see where the levels were at, but is that better to use the aquarium salt or just the regular salt without iodine?? Is the regular salt just cheaper? Sooo in the meantime should I start doing a water change.... How do I go about a proper water change? get a pitcher start removing some water from the tank- about what half of it?? Do I need to put the fish and frogs in a big bowl with their current water while doing that, So I can clean the gravel and such? Also I shouldn't have so much gravel right? Looking at it it's about 1 1/2 inches or so and I read today it should be nomore then 1/4 of an inch thick.

Ahh I know this is tons of questions for you guys!! I'm so sorry to bug you all with this. I didn't realize there was so much to starting a fish tank. when I was small we just bought the tank filled it with water and threw the fish in and they'd always live for sooo long!! LOL!! anyway thanks so much for taking time out to help me!!

~Jennifer

[JWright]

Best way to remove water from a tank is a siphon tube into a bucket. Any pet store, or even wal-mart, will carry severl models. All critters stay in the tank during the water change, since you're only changing 25% at a time.

Buy whatever salt is cheapest and you're most comfortable with. Iodized salt isn't really a problem, there isn't enough iodine in the salt to create a problem. Fish actually _need_ iodine just like we do, and can develop thyroid problems including goiter without it.

In the not so distant future, I would see about returning the remaing goldfish. Goldfish need much larger tanks, and won't do well at the warmer temperatures required by the tropical fish in the tank.

One more thing you need is a test kit. As soon as you can, find out your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.

[homebunnyj]

When you put water back in the tank just two things, really: be sure to add the dechlorinator stuff to it, and match the temperature to the tank water. You can do that now, before going and getting your thermometer, by using your fingers to judge the temp. You can get pretty darn close that way, so it should be fine for now.
I think I'd probably do about a fifty percent change, since your tank is obviously in a critical stage in the cycling process and you probably have high levels of ammonia and maybe nitrite too. Don't worry about cleaning the gravel or anything at this moment, the immediate objective is to make the water safer for your fish.
You can get a gravel vac water siphon thing later at the store and you'll use that for your 25% or thereabouts water changes from now on, when you'll suck the debris out of the gravel.
Also, just to reiterate what Jwright said, get a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. And you can take a water sample to the store with you and get them to test it. But be sure to make them tell you the actual numbers, not 'fine' or 'bad'. Write down the numbers for the three things mentioned and post them up here.
And don't let those people sell you a bunch of crap to adjust your ph or build your fish's slime coat or make your water perfect or whatever their pitch of the month is. Test kits and a gravel vac is what you need.

[massa182000]

Thanks so much!! So far so good I think.. I went ahead and did the 50% change and was sure to put the cleaner stuff in with each gallon I added (it said 5mls/1 teaspoon for 10 gallons so I did .5 mls for each gallon I added) and I think I got the temp pretty close to what it was... I have to get one of those gravel suction thingies that will make it sooo much easier!! It got nasty in there while pouring the water back in cause of all the stuff in the gravel but the filter has it pretty much cleaned out now. When I add the salt do I need to remove one of the filter cartlidges in it? It has two of them... One thats suppose to last forever and the other needs to be changed monthly. Its an aqua- tech 5/15 model from walmart (it says one is a bio fiber that never needs to be cleaned or replaced and one is the filter cartlidge that needs to be changed every 2-4 weeks so I guess I should buy and install one of those before starting the salt treatment as well). now that I look online...would it be better to buy this ick gone stuff instead of salt?? Ick Guard Ick Remedy, 4 oz - Wal-Mart If the salt is better how much do I use again? I don't want to hurt the froggies in there... Thank you again sooooo much!!!! I really appreciate your help and advice!!

[Mahamotorworks]

I would just go with the salt and the Temp rise. What that will do is speed up the life cycle of the Ick. I wouldnt worry about changing the filter now It has the benficial bacteria that your tank needs. Keep us posted so we can help you with what you need. Hope it all goes well.

MAHA