# Need serious help please!



## Tinytank (Sep 5, 2011)

Ok, here's the story. Last weekend my buddies noticed that two of my fish had ich. So the next day I cleaned they tank really good, cleaned te plants and fravel in hot water and replaced all the water. I also got some medication and began treatment immediately. After the second day of treatment my clown loach, who had ich, died. As well as a tiger barb that seemed just fine. I looked over my fish and none others had ich so I stopped the treatment. 

It has been a week and now I come home last night to find my other two barbs dead for no apparent reason. I've only had these guys for a couple weeks. I also noticed that my vein tailed Danio had pinkish bumps all over him. He is pink so they could just be skin color. I flushed this Danio and my barbs. 

Now I have a dragon fish, a bloodfin, a pleco, three zebra danios and a small orange fish I don't really know the name of. They are all acting fine, though all of my barbs had no sign of anything and just died. Please help! Thank you.


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## ZachZaf (Jan 26, 2012)

Tinytank said:


> Ok, here's the story. Last weekend my buddies noticed that two of my fish had ich. So the next day I cleaned they tank really good, cleaned te plants and fravel in hot water and replaced all the water. I also got some medication and began treatment immediately. After the second day of treatment my clown loach, who had ich, died. As well as a tiger barb that seemed just fine. I looked over my fish and none others had ich so I stopped the treatment.
> 
> It has been a week and now I come home last night to find my other two barbs dead for no apparent reason. I've only had these guys for a couple weeks. I also noticed that my vein tailed Danio had pinkish bumps all over him. He is pink so they could just be skin color. I flushed this Danio and my barbs.
> 
> Now I have a dragon fish, a bloodfin, a pleco, three zebra danios and a small orange fish I don't really know the name of. They are all acting fine, though all of my barbs had no sign of anything and just died. Please help! Thank you.


So you drained the tank and cleaned it out. then flushed two dead fish and a live one...?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

How long has the tank been set up? Can you give us numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates?

I already see several problems. The tank isn't cycled after cleaning like that. Not sure if it was to begin with.

Most of your fish are wrong for the size of tank. You need to google each fish and see the adult size of each before putting into such a small tank. For example the clown loach needs at least 55 gal for 1 and need to be in groups of at least 4. They get to be 12 inches long and almost as big around. The pleco if it is a commom will get to 2 ft. and are major waste producers.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

First off, did you read the instructions on the ich meds before you stopped treatment? Ich is a life form with a freeswimming stage, and will be there whether you see it or not after medication.

The ich was probably caused by a serious overstocking - that tank was WAY overloaded, and seems to be solving its own overpopulation problem. A clown loach is at least a six to eight inch fish, in a 10 gallon with a 20 inch base... it is a social fish that likes to swim fast over distances, in a group. I would never put clown loaches in a tank less then six feet long. Tiger barbs are large and active fish that need to run as well.

I'm sorry to say your tank was a disaster in waiting, and sadly, still is with what remains. You can have maybe half a dozen fish in a tank like that, if they are tiny. Dragon gobies and plecos shouldn't even be kept alone in a tank that size. It's just too small. You will have Ich, then fungus outbreaks, followed by generalized bacterial outbreaks, and a total crash. 

You could buy a test kit as suggested - I haven't bothered testing water in 20 years, and feel you're way better off buying a book on the needs and adult size of your fish first. You need to read up on ecology, on fish parasites like Ich and how they live (and die) and on how filtration works. You can test all you want, but it will only ever show high levels of pollution in a tank that crowded.

We live and learn, but you have to either get a big enough tank or get new homes (not swirling toilets a la unnecessarily flushed danio) for most of your fish.


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## ZachZaf (Jan 26, 2012)

Most research now-a-days shows that ICH is inherent in all fish tanks as part of the natural flora and fauna. ( this can be debated as to whether current breeding and keeping methods of both chain and LF stores but regardless its around) and will typically only present itself in a tank that is having issues in general. If you have an established tank and ICH suddenly pops up all over something is causing it to be fruitful, and causing your fishes immune systems to be sub-par.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Hate to say it, but it sounds like you need to do some reading on some of the very basics of taking care of fish and what is in the tank that keeps it all stable. The nitrogen cycle is very important to know about. Tank maintenance is important, but you have to know how to do it and do it right or you risk throwing everything out of balance. 

In my exerience, Ich is one of the easiest things to treat for. If you read the directions on the med, usually you can't go wrong. It doesn't hurt to read about the creature you're trying to kill also.


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## Manafel (Sep 4, 2011)

Ditto on what everyone has said, but also:
1. The dragon fish can get up to 12 inches and is actually a brackish fish, so having it in such a small tank, and a freshwaterone at that, is unadvisable. The reason the LFS keeps them in FW is because they can tolerate FW, but they will fail to thrive. 
2. Dragon fish are filter feeders, so are more difficult to feed than your regular fish.
3. Dragon fish are very skiddish and despite their apperance, are big babies. They have poor eyesight, and if they feel there is nowhere to go(which in your 10g he has no place to go) they will jump right out of the tank.
On a good note they are cool fish, and in the right tank, would be an awesme addition


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## Ranger (May 20, 2011)

Take the Plec back to the Fish Shop they do grow very large, if you don't want a bigger tank then you can get a small plec and when it grows just swap it for a smaller 1, with a 10 gallon tank your amount of fish is limited, Clowns do grow large and at a fair rate.

Since it looks like you have killed the good bacteria in the tank then taking all your fish back to the fish shop for a credit note may be a good idea and you can cycle your tank again and get fish suited to the size of your tank.

Also with the coppe if you followed the exact dose on the bottle then you may have killed the loach as they are scaleless fish so you need to half the dose stated on the bottle.


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