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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
need a little help
- r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
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20 Jul 2010 21:43 #1
by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
need a little help was created by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
my 4 foot tank keeps getting white spot and i cant get the ph levels stable. I do 25% water change a week. All water that goes into the tank is treated with stress coat left for 2 days before it goes in.
I have got white spot twice in two months and treated and thought I got rid of it to find it back in 2 weeks now after the round of treatment my fish show no signs except for 2 hoplos who cant seem to get rid of it.
I dont want to lose them. the rest of the fish a pleco a shovelnose and and a blue acara seem to heal grand but not the hoplos
I cant fiqure out what is going on and the fish dont seem happy any more there not swimming around as much and seem to be breathing kinda heavely and fast.
I want to get this sorted and make my fish happy and healthy again so i was planning on doing a complete water change, clean the inside of the tank clean the gravel again and all decorations and the filter and cycle the tank again but I have not got enought spare tanks to house them for two week
Would anyone be willing to babysit in quarentine if yous have the space i'm in dublin any help will be great or if any one has any better ideas
thanks a lot lads.
the shovel nose about 8"
the hoplos about 4"
pleco about 4"
acara about 4"
oh and i also have a 4" syno
I have got white spot twice in two months and treated and thought I got rid of it to find it back in 2 weeks now after the round of treatment my fish show no signs except for 2 hoplos who cant seem to get rid of it.
I dont want to lose them. the rest of the fish a pleco a shovelnose and and a blue acara seem to heal grand but not the hoplos
I cant fiqure out what is going on and the fish dont seem happy any more there not swimming around as much and seem to be breathing kinda heavely and fast.
I want to get this sorted and make my fish happy and healthy again so i was planning on doing a complete water change, clean the inside of the tank clean the gravel again and all decorations and the filter and cycle the tank again but I have not got enought spare tanks to house them for two week
Would anyone be willing to babysit in quarentine if yous have the space i'm in dublin any help will be great or if any one has any better ideas
thanks a lot lads.
the shovel nose about 8"
the hoplos about 4"
pleco about 4"
acara about 4"
oh and i also have a 4" syno
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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20 Jul 2010 21:49 #2
by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Replied by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner) on topic Re:need a little help
What temp have you the tank at?
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- r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
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20 Jul 2010 22:28 #3
by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
Replied by r2potat2 (Derek Martin) on topic Re:need a little help
was at 27 but up the temp to 28 for a day the 29 for a day then 30 and has been at 30 for a day or two
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- Ma (mm mm)
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21 Jul 2010 14:19 - 21 Jul 2010 14:25 #4
by Ma (mm mm)
Location D.11
Replied by Ma (mm mm) on topic Re:need a little help
Hi mate,
I had a nasty strain the came with fish from santry, my first purchase, a loach died, a 4" one too.
Tried meds, no effect whatsoever, completely failed to do anything but reduce the oxygen in the water.
As for the PH, if the water is at a stable reading before entering the aquarium there may be something in there destabalising your water PH parameter. I will say that these fluctuations may be the reason your fish cannot shake the Ich, by compromising their immune system and letting Ich take hold.
With Ich I bumped the temprature to 31 degrees, this prevented the Ich reproducing, this temp could only e sustained for a short while as some of my fish could not takre it for long, Clown Loaches will be fine in that temp.
In a nutshell,
Ensure no stagnant areas, or areas where the parasite can fester, might mean moving decor until the infection is wiped out.
Increase aeration significantly
30 degrees for 4 days
28 degrees for 10-12 days anter that.
10% water change via gravel vac every day and 30-40% once a week for the two weeks of treatment.
As always, make sure your fish can deal with the above tempratures
Raising the temp for two days will only help to infest your tank even further as it speeds up reproduction of the parasite making it a far more troublesome infection of the tank and fish.
After 14 days of the above my loaches I bought finally came out to eat as I had not seen them do this since I bought them.
Never got Ich since
Hope this helps
Mark
I had a nasty strain the came with fish from santry, my first purchase, a loach died, a 4" one too.
Tried meds, no effect whatsoever, completely failed to do anything but reduce the oxygen in the water.
As for the PH, if the water is at a stable reading before entering the aquarium there may be something in there destabalising your water PH parameter. I will say that these fluctuations may be the reason your fish cannot shake the Ich, by compromising their immune system and letting Ich take hold.
With Ich I bumped the temprature to 31 degrees, this prevented the Ich reproducing, this temp could only e sustained for a short while as some of my fish could not takre it for long, Clown Loaches will be fine in that temp.
In a nutshell,
Ensure no stagnant areas, or areas where the parasite can fester, might mean moving decor until the infection is wiped out.
Increase aeration significantly
30 degrees for 4 days
28 degrees for 10-12 days anter that.
10% water change via gravel vac every day and 30-40% once a week for the two weeks of treatment.
As always, make sure your fish can deal with the above tempratures
Raising the temp for two days will only help to infest your tank even further as it speeds up reproduction of the parasite making it a far more troublesome infection of the tank and fish.
After 14 days of the above my loaches I bought finally came out to eat as I had not seen them do this since I bought them.
Never got Ich since
Hope this helps
Mark
Location D.11
Last edit: 21 Jul 2010 14:25 by Ma (mm mm).
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- tina.d (Tina Doyle)
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21 Jul 2010 14:56 #5
by tina.d (Tina Doyle)
Replied by tina.d (Tina Doyle) on topic Re:need a little help
tanks mark,, so far all fine including 4 clowns fingers crossed.
tina.
tina.
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- stretnik (stretnik)
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21 Jul 2010 17:17 - 21 Jul 2010 17:26 #6
by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:need a little help
Raising the temperature, even for two Days while using medication, and I repeat, WHILE USING MEDICATION Is ALWAYS beneficial as the higher temperature causes the ICK to mature to the free swimming stage where they are affected by the medication, outside of this period, the parasite is not affected by the meds.
The Meds, DO work if you attack while the protazoans are in their swimming stage, most people report failures because they either don't or won't time things correctly. Raise the Temps at the start of day one and read the Instructions on the Bottle, follow the instructions to the letter and it will work for you.
I'm no Expert so take a look at this.
www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
Kev.
The Meds, DO work if you attack while the protazoans are in their swimming stage, most people report failures because they either don't or won't time things correctly. Raise the Temps at the start of day one and read the Instructions on the Bottle, follow the instructions to the letter and it will work for you.
I'm no Expert so take a look at this.
www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
Kev.
Last edit: 21 Jul 2010 17:26 by stretnik (stretnik).
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- joey (joe watson)
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21 Jul 2010 23:55 #7
by joey (joe watson)
Location: Portlaoise, Midlands
Replied by joey (joe watson) on topic Re:need a little help
had terrible outbreak when i got 6 clown loaches, (and again recently but i will explain why) here's how i treated the 1st time
raise temp to 31-32 (speeds up protozoa life cycle so they fall off the body quicker - you can only kill it when it spores and is in the water not on the fish)
60% water change to remove spores from water (only use dechlorinator and tonic salts)
waterlife protozin professional medication, follow instructions
60% change after medication period
dose with medicinal salt (used api tonic salts or something like that) the protozoa spores are salinophobes and it kills the spores
feed with garlicy foods (now using NLS)
had to continue like this for 3 weeks before it went
when it cam back it was because i stopped dosing my water with salts (i was using marine salt at 1tsp per 10l added) and within a week white spot had appeared on my clown loaches (most sensitive of the fish i have) so a 25% change and salt in, temp at 29 for a week, plus waterlife protozin pro doses sorted it within 3 days
just be careful to mind if your fish can take it, and it says on the med bottle that protozin is unsafe for shrimp but i've had cherry's and bamboo shrimp survive meds in another tank (unbeknown to me they were in there when i dosed)
raise temp to 31-32 (speeds up protozoa life cycle so they fall off the body quicker - you can only kill it when it spores and is in the water not on the fish)
60% water change to remove spores from water (only use dechlorinator and tonic salts)
waterlife protozin professional medication, follow instructions
60% change after medication period
dose with medicinal salt (used api tonic salts or something like that) the protozoa spores are salinophobes and it kills the spores
feed with garlicy foods (now using NLS)
had to continue like this for 3 weeks before it went
when it cam back it was because i stopped dosing my water with salts (i was using marine salt at 1tsp per 10l added) and within a week white spot had appeared on my clown loaches (most sensitive of the fish i have) so a 25% change and salt in, temp at 29 for a week, plus waterlife protozin pro doses sorted it within 3 days
just be careful to mind if your fish can take it, and it says on the med bottle that protozin is unsafe for shrimp but i've had cherry's and bamboo shrimp survive meds in another tank (unbeknown to me they were in there when i dosed)
Location: Portlaoise, Midlands
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- derek (Derek Doyle)
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22 Jul 2010 00:57 #8
by derek (Derek Doyle)
30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
Replied by derek (Derek Doyle) on topic Re:need a little help
reading this and other posts and based on observations on my travels and in conversation with other fishkeepers, whitspot and to a lesser extent velvet seems to be rampant these days.
the worst case of whitespot i ever saw was on a group of orange chromides in a shop tank and as these fish are semi brackish, it was probably the lack of added salt (sodium) which made them extra vulnerable. other species prone to heavy infestation are the scaleless botias and the heat loving ram.
healthy fish with a strong immune system and good mucous coat are much more resistant to these parasites and african cichlids are rarely if ever affected unless kept in incorrect conditions.
with reasonably strong fish the parasite should be easily eliminated if treatment instructions are carefully followed. reduce feeding during treatment as appetite is poor and increased temperature will reduce filter efficiency. planted tanks and shrimp create additional problems.
in these days with the epidemic proportions of these and other parasites and bacterial problems, a quarantine tank is more important than ever.
the worst case of whitespot i ever saw was on a group of orange chromides in a shop tank and as these fish are semi brackish, it was probably the lack of added salt (sodium) which made them extra vulnerable. other species prone to heavy infestation are the scaleless botias and the heat loving ram.
healthy fish with a strong immune system and good mucous coat are much more resistant to these parasites and african cichlids are rarely if ever affected unless kept in incorrect conditions.
with reasonably strong fish the parasite should be easily eliminated if treatment instructions are carefully followed. reduce feeding during treatment as appetite is poor and increased temperature will reduce filter efficiency. planted tanks and shrimp create additional problems.
in these days with the epidemic proportions of these and other parasites and bacterial problems, a quarantine tank is more important than ever.
30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
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- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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22 Jul 2010 09:32 #9
by igmillichip (ian millichip)
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
Replied by igmillichip (ian millichip) on topic Re:need a little help
I've noticed the same thing Derek.
I have my theories....but I'll keep them to a chat in a LFS (or off-forum anyway).
The original post mentions 'unstable pH'......how unstable is it? What type of test system is being used.
If the pH is drastically and really unstable (and not just an artefact of the test system), then that would weaken fish.
As for getting rid of the White Spot.....I must say that the comments from other writers above are some of the best collection of methods that I've seen written in a forum. Thumbs-up.
In particular, and very important, the need to make suer there are no stagnant areas in the tank (stagnant areas support the life-cycle of the parasite). That is often missed-out when people write, and it is good to see it included above.
ian
I have my theories....but I'll keep them to a chat in a LFS (or off-forum anyway).
The original post mentions 'unstable pH'......how unstable is it? What type of test system is being used.
If the pH is drastically and really unstable (and not just an artefact of the test system), then that would weaken fish.
As for getting rid of the White Spot.....I must say that the comments from other writers above are some of the best collection of methods that I've seen written in a forum. Thumbs-up.
In particular, and very important, the need to make suer there are no stagnant areas in the tank (stagnant areas support the life-cycle of the parasite). That is often missed-out when people write, and it is good to see it included above.
ian
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
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- r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
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22 Jul 2010 16:33 #10
by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
Replied by r2potat2 (Derek Martin) on topic Re:need a little help
thanks lads ive started to treat my tank hopefully everything will be sorted in the next few days i have moved the hoplos to a smaller tank for a more intense treatment every other fish is fine bar the hoplos
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