Ich ?????

[1boatnut]

I have 1 fish (Discus)that appears to have Ich ??
This fish is in a 125 gal with 6 other Discus,2 Cory cats and 6 Rasboras. Nothing has been added to this tank and all these fish have been together for about 5-6 motnhs.

Parameters are as follows:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
NitrAte = 10
Temp = 85 degrees
PH = 7.6
I have a wet/dry filter

They all eat flake,Mysis,Hikari Brine shrimp with Spirulina,Tetra Color bits and New Life Spectrum for Discus,and occsaionally beefheart.

I do a water change every week at about 50 %
All the other fish look fine.
The one I suspect is the smallest (maybe 3") but seems ok and eats just fine.If you stand by the tank it is always the 1st one to come over to check things out.
I'm am not even sure if this is Ich,as I have never had to deal with Ich in my freshwater tanks,only my Saltwater,and thats what it looks like if compared

If it is Ich,what would everyone suggest ?
Yesterday I started treating the entire tank with Metrodonzole

[1boatnut]

WoW,,20 views and not a single response :cry:

[ILLUSN]

you started on the metro, I was waiting to see how it went.
once you finish the treatment it's wait and see time, metro will knock ich about, it doesn't usually occure in discus tank.

once the metro has run its corse, try protozin by water life, be sure to give a couple of BIG water changes first to make sure the metro is out of the water.

[1boatnut]

you started on the metro, I was waiting to see how it went.
once you finish the treatment it's wait and see time, metro will knock ich about, it doesn't usually occure in discus tank.

once the metro has run its corse, try protozin by water life, be sure to give a couple of BIG water changes first to make sure the metro is out of the water.

Thanks

Actually the Metro states it 's SECONDARY use is for Ich.
Again,not really even sure it is Ich,but truthfully after 3 treatments of Metro and water changes the fish shows signs of improvement.Your right,Ich is not usually prevelent with Discus,thats why I was looking for ideas.

Thanks again for the imput

[djceri_g]

Ive just had a case of ich and anti white spot cleared it! All my fish looks fine now except 2 have quite red gills. So it is possible to have ick in ur tank. havent got a clue how it appeared, but think it was because my power went off over night and the temp dropped. I hope your fish is on the mend

[Greggy]

Ich (white spot) is uncommon in Discus tanks only if the temp is maintaned at about 30C. If like me you run a 'Discus Community Tank' where you also have various tetras, SAEs, BNs, Kuhlie Loaches and Corys etc its more common to run the tank a little less than 30C and this is where Ich can haunt you.

However Ich is relatively easy to control and Discus being rather tough will almost always survive the anti-Ich treatments that are most effective against Ich, namely Malachite Green & Formalin, which by the way are the two key ingredients found in most credible Ich treatments.

Some people prefer salt (NaCl) and keeping the temp above 30C for treationg Ich but for a heavily planted tank like mine I prefer to to harm my plants which salt tends to do. Some people also seem to think that Malachite Green and/or Formalin also harms the biological filtration (i.e. they kill or suppres the nitrifying bacteria) but I have never seen any evidence of that myself, as I've never had any measurable readings of NH3 or NO2 during treatment. Plants don't seem to notice the treatment either.

Waterlife's Protozin has a very strong following on this forum, but I am 99% sure the stuff Protozin is made out of is exactly the same stuff as the quality Ich treatments are made from, namely Malachite Green and Formalin. These products looks the exactly the same, smell exactly the same, dissolve exactly the same, turn your tank water the exact same 'blue/green' tint after treatment, and I've had exactly the same (good) results using both products so I'm going to say they are exactly the same although there is a difference their concentration which you need to be aware of.

Protozin is not dosed the same as the 'regular' Ich treatments as Waterlife instruct you to slowly 'build up' their anti-Ich medication (Protozin) over several days where as the regular anti-Ich medications 'hit' Ich hard from the very first dose. Discus don't seem to mind the heavy hit of Malachite Green and Formalin but watch your Tetras and Loaches if you have any as they can get a little knocked around.

I have found that if you keep an air-stone in the tank 24/7 and keep the temp at about 30C that both Protozin AND the regular Ich treatments work very well, but you MUST treat for a total of about 14 days before lowering the temp and stopping treatment otherwise the stubborn Ich will find a way to survive in your tank, and it only takes a single Ich cell to wreak havoc on your fish once it multiplies and multiplies.

Now I don't mean to sound like a fanboy of Malachite Green and Formalin and I do understand these are harsh treatments but I do believe that if you administer them carefully under controlled conditions that they are 100% effective against Ich if used correctly. And I'm glad they are as here in Perth Western Australia its very common to get Ich come in on most fish you buy from your LFS. I had such a bad run of new fish a while back that all developed Ich in the QT that now I treat for Ich as a matter of course whether or not the new fish show any signs of it. I know this will horrify some of you but I have no intention of bringing Ich into my main tank which has a considerable amount of time & money invested in it, and like I said, I've found the treatments to be very safe as I've not lost a single Discus when treated in this way in the QT for 14 days before being transferred to the main tank.

And in case you were wondering about the use of Copper (Copper Sulphate) based medications for treating Ich, I say don't do it as it can be too unstable (read deadly to fish) if the wrong conditions occur in your tank.

Regards,

Greggy

[1boatnut]

Greggy,
Thanks for all the valuable info.
If need be,since I don't have plants in the tank, I think I'll go the salt route. It seems the product you refer to,is used in the UK. I am in the US and not sure as to the availability. Although Malachite Green & Formalin are always available here.

Again thanks for the info

P.S,,,the fish in question does seem better and no other fish in the tank seems affected.
7 Discus
6 Rasboras
2 Cory Cats