[gelauck]

i have been battling ich for a couple of weeks now after introducing a couple new fish to my tank from petco. 2 days later when i went to purchase some rid ich, i saw that their whole store has ich now and they're not selling any more fish. they must have sold me a fish from a new shipment, and that new shipment infected all their tanks (they share nets. i know this now).

i treated the main tank with temps of about 84 and also rid ich but i got sick of all the water changes so i moved the sick fish into a brand new 10 gallon, and also a couple others that showed signs over the next few days. in the main tank i raised the temp slowly up to 88-89, used aquarium salt, and stopped using rid ich. the 10 gallon i raised the temp to 84 and treated it with rid ich 2x day and also changed 25% of the water every day. i did this for 2 weeks and i still watched those fish die slowly. the main tank however, seemed to recover. for the past 2 weeks or so i have not noticed any symptoms....a few days ago i began lowering the temp and this morning it was down to 79. this afternoon i see spots on the tails of 3 of my tiger barbs.

i filled the 10 gallon tank today and am letting it come up to temperature and sit overnight. tomorrow i plan on moving all my tiger barbs into the 10 gallon with no substrate or plants and treating them with high temps and about 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt. i dont know what else to do....ive been fighting this for weeks now and i thought i had it beat, but it is back again. i am going to bring the temp back up in the main tank and just cross my fingers. i also added another tablespoon of aquarium salt to the main tank to account for water changes i have made. it has 1 tablespoon of salt in it for every 5 gallons.

please, any suggestions? they only have a couple spots now so i think there is hope....but this is apparently a tough strain and i dont think the rid ich will work.

how long do i need to wait until i can move them into the 10 gallon? i just filled it this morning with tap water and used conditioner and brought the ph to neutral. do i still need to wait at least 24 hours or can i move them now? i want to move them as soon as i can to try and control the outbreak in the main tank. im worried i will lose all my fish

 

[gelauck]

a few hours later the temp in the 10 gallon is up to 75 now and the temp in the main tank is 80 and creeping up to 84 eventually in a couple days....when those numbers get a little closer together i am going to put the tiger barbs in the 10 gallon. i have not yet added the salt as i am hoping to hear a suggestion on how much to use, and how tolerant my tiger barbs will be to it. my current plan is to add 10 teaspoons of aquarium salt to the 10 gallon tank. i removed most of the gravel and fake plants and have just the bare tank and maybe a handful of gravel scattered. should i take some water from the main tank and put it into the 10 gallon, seeing how it is not cycled? will that help or are the barbs hardy enough to handle the new tank? im probably switching them over in a few hours so any advice is appreciated.

 

[gelauck]

thanks for all the help so far.....

i moved all six tiger barbs to the 10 gallon last night and the temp in the tank is now up to 83. there are 10 tsp of aquarium salt in it and i added a tiny pinch of biozyme. i leave the lights off except when i want to examine for symptoms. minimal feedings. 2 or 3 of them are still showing white spots. i will change out 1/3 of the water later this evening and likely every day, adding 1 tsp aquarium salt for each gallon i replace.

the 46 gallon tank is looking sparse. it has i believe 1 tbsp of salt for every 5 gallons of water in it, although the salinity may be slightly less because i may have done an extra water change and didnt factor it in....now i wish i kept a log. is there a test i can do for the salinity and if so what is my optimal level for trying to rid the tank of ich. the current tank mates include 3 corys, 3 zebra danios, 2 serpae tetra, and 1 rainbow shark. none of these fish are showing any signs of ich at the moment. nobody is rubbing on the ornaments or showing spots etc. the temp is at 80.6 now and i am slowly bringing it way up to the high 80s.

im really hoping for a little feedback, if only to confirm that how i am proceeding here is correct. ive researched how to treat this as best i can....but i knew all this stuff before and wasnt able to save the fish.