# Beginners advice and question about disinfecting



## jwalsh1 (Apr 11, 2008)

Hi everyone, Im new here. Well, *** been reading the forums for a while now but....

Anyway I have a piece of advice for anyone, and this would have included me last week. I have/had a South American biotope tank that *** been running for almost 10 years now. I has/had a gold severum (8 years old), 2 green severums, one of which is 5 years old and the other was born in the tank and *** raised from a fry 1 year ago, 4 rainbows, a spiney nose pleco, and last week we added 3 kribensis (i know, i was dumb and didnt realize they were african). It is a 75 gallon.

Prior to adding the Kribs I hadnt purchased or added a fish in almost a year. I do regular maintenance, ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates 0. I even installed a cool moon light that a lot of you have made (the cold cathode one). Water temp was maintained at 78 till the severums bred so much I couldnt keep the tank clean and I lowered it to 76 almost 8 months ago.

Anyway, two weeks ago I put the kribs in. Without a QT tank. And now all of my fish, including the new ones, are dead. Every last one of them (well not quite yet, 2 rainbows are still somewhat alive and the gold severum is swimming upside down and cant really get much higher than the bottom of the tank) So *** learned my lesson here the difficult and sad way. I will never again not use a QT tank, even if its a small 10 gallon.

What happened is the new ones brought ich into the tank. Last sunday I was out of town and all **** broke loose. When I looked in Monday morning the severums had spots covering their bodies and the gold one was just laying on the substrate. His fins were also badly damaged. I went to the store and they recommended both Maracyn TC and the ick cure (the green stuff in the small bottle, cant remember the name right now). None of that is working and the fish have been dying ever since. Today is the first day of the fatalities; 7 while I was at work. The rest look so bad that I cant believe they are still alive. Their slime coats are shot, and I just dont know what to do. It just hurts. I obviously am not treating properly or something because none of the medicine is doing anything and its apparently too late.

A few questions if you are still reading. Is there something else that looks exactly like ich but isnt ich?

Once these fish are gone, how do I assure every last possibility of infection is gone? How do I nuke the tank to disinfect it?

Im considering converting this tank to a reef, but the questions are still pertenant.

Thanks a lot for your time.

Jason


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I'm so sorry. It's making me think twice about getting a quarentine tank though so thanks.

I don't know alot about ich only what I've read but it seems odd to me that it killed them that fast. Especially since you had started treatment. I don't know what that MaracynTC is but the green stuff is probably that malachite green sp? I've heard of it but don't have experience with it either. Maybe you shouldn't use the 2 together and that was the problem?

Another thing that bothers me is your nitrate reading. I don't think it should be 0 unless you have a very heavily planted tank?

If it is ich, once the fish are gone you could turn the heat up to close 90 and leave it for 10 days and that should kill all the ich. You would probably lose your cycle though unless you kept adding ammonia.
Hope someone else can help more. Again sorry about your loss & good luck next time around.


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## jwalsh1 (Apr 11, 2008)

Doh! Yea thats a typo, my nitrates fluctuated with a high at 30-40, its now spiked pretty high again, in the 40's.

Im positive what they are dying from is something secondary to the ich. It just seems the symptoms arnt "ich", although ich itself is present.

Does anyone know if freshwater disease will die off without the presence of a host? Are there any that will stick around without a host? I know ich will die without something to feed on but I dont know about others that may be able to hang around until it has a host.

Jason


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## Donfish (Dec 24, 2007)

Question, did you have diggers before you added the Kribensis? Maybe they uncovered some sulphurous nastiness. When I had Kribs they were always digging deep holes.


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## jwalsh1 (Apr 11, 2008)

Hmm. Thats an interesting thought. I had two eartheaters 2 years ago, and last year when the severums were breeding they dug out large bowls in the sand to lay their eggs in, but beyond that no.


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## Hairback357 (Feb 16, 2008)

Ich can not survive without the fish longer than say 10 days. Sorry to hear about the loss but in the future Quick Cure is my ich treatment of choice.


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