Help ick (and other diseases) epidemic???

[Pleco]

Hello,
I need help because my fish have been dying. First it was one of my tetras (did that set it off?), then my fancy guppy, sunset platy and my red wag platy died. They all had gills hanging out and white fuzzy-looking stuff on their bodies, besides the guppy. It looked fine to me. I think this is the ick. They all twitched and swam around randomly before dying though. After that another tetra died. And then a fish I don't know what it was died too. it was pink with two faint white lines and kind of looked like a tetra. my striped raphael catfish and plecostomus seem to be unaffected. The only fish left is a gold dust lyretail molly and that seems to have the most ick-fungus. This fish has given birth twice and i have the babies in a breeding trap; off subject i am using Tetra Lifeguard pellets (for a 10 gallon aquarium). I desperately need advice and reply ASAP.

[Pleco]

Nevermind, they're dead. Oh well.

[lohachata]

start over....drain the tank and clean it and everything in it with bleach...rinse well 2 or 3 times. set it back up and tart the cycling process...once it has cycled(about 8-12 weeks)
add a couple of small fish..
once you have fish feed them a good varied diet of quality foods.....
make sure you research each species you want to get and make sure you meet it needs..

[Pleco]

Originally Posted by lohachata start over....drain the tank and clean it and everything in it with bleach...rinse well 2 or 3 times. set it back up and tart the cycling process...once it has cycled(about 8-12 weeks) add a couple of small fish.. once you have fish feed them a good varied diet of quality foods..... make sure you research each species you want to get and make sure you meet it needs..

Are you sure it's 8-12 weeks, not days? And I still have my pleco and the babies in there. I just got some new fish anyways, so it's too late for that.
I plan to go to Pet Supplies Plus and get my water tested, though.
Thanks for your help.

[Angelclown]

Yes cycling a tank takes 8-12 weeks, not days. The reason for that is that the beneficial bacteria has to get established and it does take that long. Ammonia and Nitrite are toxic to many fish, so there levels have to be a constant 0ppm (parts per million). I would not go to a pet store to get my water tested, what I would do is get an API liquid test kit and test the water. You have to follow the directions for each test as they are different. Your fish probably died from toxicity from the water levels, ammonia could have been too high. This is a common killer of most fish other than diseases.

Lohachata knows his stuff when it comes to fish and tanks.

[TheOldSalt]

Oh, no...
never add fish to a tank that's suffering heavy losses. You'll only lose the new fish. What you just did is feed the ickies a whole new supply of food to let them reproduce and spread.

[Obsidian]

Are you sure it was ich and not a different kind of fungus? Ich looks like salt pieces all over the body, little specs like that. Solid fuzz is a different issue.

Pleco's are pretty hardy to it though they can be effected.

How did you treat the tank, if at all?

[Pleco]

I used Tetra Lifeguard pellets and it kind of did look like solid fuzz. My new ones are still alive and well.
Note to Angelclown-The pet store people did use an API test kit.

[lohachata]

interesting..you live just the other side of town from me....you might want to check into the akron aquarium society..

http://www.gaas-fish.net/default.asp

i have no idea what tetra lifeguard pellets are...there are only a few medications that i use..
if there appeared to be a grayish looking film or kind of slime like stuff on them it could be protozoan parasites..or it could be any one of a half dozen other ailments..

[Angelclown]

Pleco: Ok I didn't know that. Because some pet stores don't use the API test kit. They use something else usually. That is good that they use the API test kit.

[sean_130]

Pleco you are one city away from me cuyahoga falls Ohio here

[Pleco]

Originally Posted by lohachata interesting..you live just the other side of town from me....you might want to check into the akron aquarium society.. http://www.gaas-fish.net/default.asp i have no idea what tetra lifeguard pellets are...there are only a few medications that i use.. if there appeared to be a grayish looking film or kind of slime like stuff on them it could be protozoan parasites..or it could be any one of a half dozen other ailments..

As you can see I'm pretty young. Are there any other members that are around my same age, if you are in that club? my dad said it's ok for me to join but I am just wondering about this first.

[Pleco]

Now my guppy's tail has some rot on it. what could be the cause of this? And should I get another tank and put them in there while letting my 10g sanitize? Also how does ick form?