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  1. #1
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Don't listen to some people ..........

    I've been losing fish by the dozen, 19 of them over the past two weeks or so ....... I finally found out that they have ICK ...... bad for fish ....... On the Aussie forums, I was told to put salt in the water....... on the Goldfish forum, I was told that you use 1 teaspoon per gallon every 12 hours for three treatments, which will bring up the concentration to .03%, which will kill the protozoans, and then keep it that way for three days. I did the first treatment ...... That killed 1/2 of my plants and is on the way to killing the rest of them. Salt doesn''t evaporate like Chlorine does, but it does dissipate if you dilute it with more water. I took the fish out (salty water and all) and put them into a new tote that I have, and treated them with Malachite Green (can't get Methylene Blue around here for some reason), so the protozoans should be dropping off soon and then after 3 days, I can put them into the tank again. Dr. Axelrod's book says that the protozoans can't live without a host for more than 55 hours, and that will take care of eggs, etc. within that time.

    I put 10 gallons of good water into the fish tank yesterday after finding that all my plants were dying, and today, I did about a 75% change-out of water. Tomorrow, I'll do another 75% change-out, and the same the next day ........ then I'll treat the water for chlorine and put the fish back in. Dr. Axelrod says that it's important to take the carbon out of any filters, since it will remove the dyes, and then the ICK won't die. I'm hoping that putting in the water out of the town water system, chlorine and all, will also help kill any ICK, Flukes, etc that might be killing my fish. If I've got Flukes, that means going to a high-priced pet store and getting some "Jungle Parasite Clear" to treat them with and start the process all over again, as I don't want to get these chemicals and drugs into my plants. I'm hoping that some of the plants that are dying will revive, since they should be getting some better water now, unless the chlorine in the water kills them too ....... as a gardener, fisherman, "waterrancher" (I love that name, I wish I was smart enough to come up with something like that ) I'm a complete failure ...........
    I use the Linux Operating System ...... Free as in beer!
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    Aquaponics - food'n'fish at your doorstep

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  2. #2
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    One of my tilapia mentors told me I would not be an expert until I killed 1 million fish. I'm well on my way, but it still pains me

    The life cycle of ich is temperature dependant, so increasing the temperature helps speed things along. Water temps in the high 80's are recommended.

    With fish it is always best to keep a cycled hospital tank, or just euthanize them and get more fish. While troubling, the latter solution is generally the least expensive. You can buy unadulterated ammonia to keep the cycle going on an unoccupied tank system.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  3. #3
    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    Quote Originally Posted by badflash
    One of my tilapia mentors told me I would not be an expert until I killed 1 million fish. I'm well on my way, but it still pains me

    The life cycle of ich is temperature dependant, so increasing the temperature helps speed things along. Water temps in the high 80's are recommended.

    With fish it is always best to keep a cycled hospital tank, or just euthanize them and get more fish. While troubling, the latter solution is generally the least expensive. You can buy unadulterated ammonia to keep the cycle going on an unoccupied tank system.
    I increasedthe temp to 80 last nite, three more down the toilet this morning ....... more waste of Malachite Green ........
    I use the Linux Operating System ...... Free as in beer!
    You're never too old to learn something
    Aquaponics - food'n'fish at your doorstep

    Helena, Montana - Home of the Northernmost Monument to the Confederacy

  4. #4
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    All I've ever used is salt & heat.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  5. #5
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    Not 100% sure but I think ICK can be present but dormant on some
    fish and it strikes when they are stressed or water conditions go belly up.

    I am having better luck now after losing all 15 gold fish first 2 weeks of start.
    The other day 5 small cups of compost mix fell in my tank "WHAT A MESS"!

    I had to get all these new feeder fish into another tank real fast it was a total
    mess and I figured all will die. So I got a 10 gallon rubber maid filled with my rain
    water (I have lots saved up) and ran 1 air stone and a agitating water pump to
    make the water surface move. Then after all fish were in this rescue tank I headed
    off to bed hoping over night they would all live and they did.

    That was 3 days ago now they are super happy and calm and never looked better
    after all that stress and me trying to catch them. Funny why things go wrong when your
    trying to do it right, then sometimes the total opposite is true as was this case when all
    the fish survived a mess I made. They should have digested the crap or got sick
    but they ended up just fine.

    No point to be made just a thought I guess.
    ""we are what we eat""

  6. #6
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    Just keep an eye on the rubbermaid though. If you have no cycle going in it, the ammonia will build up again.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  7. #7
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    don't ever use regular table salt! it has iodine in it, and it contains anti-caking agent, this can kill fish faster than ich..

    you can use water softener sallt (99.9% pure salt).. the fish farmer i just spoke to uses water softener blocks in tanks whenever he transports

  8. #8
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    I think the important thing here, if I've understood correctly, is to cut off your plants from the system while treating with salt? Maybe just give them straight water for the few days?
    Cowboys never quit!

  9. #9
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    A separate tub for giving the fish a salt bath. And a lot of people run 1ppt of salt in there systems all the time. The plants will slowly take up the salt over time.

  10. #10
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    Re: Don't listen to some people ..........

    probably the most common med for elimination of ich is a combination of formalin and malacite green. both can kill your plants. water above 80degrees usually around 83 works well. all aquatic parasites have what is called a winter egg, they can lay dorment for months.
    there are two types of gill flukes, gyrodactus and dactogyrus. one is an egg layer (impossible to eradicate) and the other is a live bearer.
    the worst thing to cycle a system with is feeder goldfish, they are diesease and parasite nightmares. cycle with live bacteria cultures and water changes. start with clean fish. get eggs hatch them yourself and keep the fry seperate from other fish. then you have clean stock.
    you may find that parasites survive the salt better then your fish.
    forgot to mention; you can not use fish treated with most meds and chemicals for food fish.

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