# bought 2 new fish today...



## danielle902 (Apr 24, 2013)

and added them to my tank .. it was maybe 3-4 hours later when i realized they had ich. I currently have 5 fish in the tank (besides the two i just bought) and two african dwarf frogs, and 2 ghost shrimp..

i seperated the two with ich in a small container - i have a 5 gal tank i can put them in but not an extra filter.

What have i exposed my other fish to? when i released the fish into the tank i probably released 2 cups of water with it.

any help would be great. Im pretty new at this. tried to phone the store but i think they were closed.


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

What kind of fish? And next time, use a net to scoop out the fish from the bag. Never ever eveeer just dump them in. And before you buy them, look at them to make sure they're healthy. I'd separate the ones you just bought until tomorrow, and then take them back. Most if not all petstores will let you return pets if they're unhealthy. Unfortunatly, you've exposed your fish to ich, if that's what the new fish had, and it would be adviseable to pick up some aquarium salt, which will help prevent disease, and promote healing. In my opinion, everyone with fish should have some aquarium salt on-hand.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If the ich is visable on the fish there is a chance (since you pulled them back out) that your tank may be ok.The ich needs to fall off and then get on other fish.Now that being said there may have been free swimming ich in the water you put in your tank.Never add water from any other tank to yours.Here's how to introduce new fish;
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/drip-acclimating-fish-11327.html
Return the sick fish and keep an eye on your tank,possibly even vacum substrate.With shrimp you don't want to have to treat your tank.


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## danielle902 (Apr 24, 2013)

they are something called painted glass fish. something i have never seen before. see through completely and they have neon bits on the top of the fish and on the bellies. I was at a little pet store and saw them so i bought them

now they are in a small-ish tupperware container until tomorrow.
which then i don't even know what I'm going to do with them cause i start work before the store opens - and get off at 5.

ugh! this aquarium thing is freakin stressful!


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## danielle902 (Apr 24, 2013)

I'm not sure if this helps. The aquarium was gifted to me. Complete with heater filter gravel and plants (fake ones). My friend that owned it before me upgraded to a bigger tank gave me everything except the fishes. When I was cleaning the gravel and setting up the tank there were 3 Pennies in there. I called her and she said it is to help prevent against ich. She heard it somewhere and thought it couldn't hurt so she threw a few in. I kept them in there for the same reason - it couldn't hurt right? So now I'm wondering if it could actually help .. Hoping. Until tomorrow. When I can go and get some medication for my poor little fishes and froggies. And give these infected fish back to the people who caused this whole problem to begin with. Bleh! Okay I'm done my rant!


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

Remove the pennies IMMEDIATLY. Like, now. The other stuff can wait.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I don't think the pennies are doing anything(good).If they were actually leaching copper then your shrimp would be dead!They should be removed( as they're useless),and I woudn't treat your tank with salt or medss until you see any symptoms.With shrimp your med choice is limited to "invert safe" meds which are usaully "herbal" and fairly ineffective.Keep a close eye on your fish and a good guess is if you don't see ich in 7 days then you didn't infect your tank.
Eitherway you can raise your temp to 86 if fish tolerate it and that will shorten the lifespan of ich.


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

Yeah, the pennies for sure won't help, and for sure aren't healthy. Were they under the gravel? Metal + Water = Leaching. No good can come from having soft metal near things that have to breathe it. I did a lot of research before getting my tanks, and saw no mention of pennies, even on disease prevention pages. Anything you add to your tank, while you have inverts, must be 100% copper free. Even a tiny trace will at the very least cause health problems. Also, next time don't just get fish on a whim. Research, ask questions, look online. Transparant fish are very sensitive, because their skin is so fragile. As cool as they look, they need a lot of attention. I'm sure you can find equally attractive fish that will be less finicky.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Pennies contain so little copper that they won't do JACK.Besides the fact that we are a "getting cheaper" country,the copper was not chelated so won't be effective for anything.Regardless of any understanding if the pennies did leach anything(copper) your shrimp would be dead!
I am a copper craftsman for a living and have probably handled more copper than the average plumber(back in the day before PEX)in his lifetime.It actually has the same warnings on it that cigarettes used to before "our government" made it so clear,and boy am I glad I don't live in California!


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

I'm basing my knowledge off of Canadian pennies, which have a bit more than twice the copper, mostly concentrated in a thin coating. A coating difficult to remove in the absence of such high-tech equipment as a rock, or another coin. If soaked long enough, it does make the water kind of metallic. American coins probably wouldn't. Or maybe they would. Either way, not helping much.


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## Chavawm (Aug 1, 2012)

Most painted glass fish I've seen are covered in ich
When I've had ich, I honestly just raised my tanks temperature and it seriously went away on it's own


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I failed to mention ,but thought everyone should know that painted glass fish are just that.PAINTED for real with paint, by hand ,by people!Think about it?Would painting fish cause stress? Does stress cause disease?
If those things don't sway your thoughts on the fish and you think it is pretty still, then realise if it lives the paint will wear off eventually.


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

coralbandit said:


> I failed to mention ,but thought everyone should know that painted glass fish are just that.PAINTED for real with paint, by hand ,by people!Think about it?Would painting fish cause stress? Does stress cause disease?
> If those things don't sway your thoughts on the fish and you think it is pretty still, then realise if it lives the paint will wear off eventually.


Exactly, they use a dye to color them, either injecting it into the fish or dipping the fish into the dye. IF, and thats a major if lol, the fish lives longer than a few months, it will be a colorless Indian Glassfish.


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