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lonbrat
03/09/2015, 10:06 PM
we recently got an aquarium set up, 55gal. with 40-60lb. of live sand and about 40lb. of live rock we tried to take some of the tank water but alot leaked out and id assume the water change was about 99%... do i still need to cycle? ( i assumed so) and was "feeding my tank" for about a week when my dad went out and compulsively bought some damsels. All but one died within 2 days and it looks like it has ich.(like sand was sticking to it, little white specks in its face and upper body) i removed it and put it in a 5gal. bucket with ich cures. do you think it really has ich..? ive never had an ich problem so any tips would be great!!

and do you think an uncycled tank could have caused this...? ive had a snail in it since the day i got it and hes okay, so do you think its cycled yet..?
(and p.s., the filter and sumps came with the tank and its old filter pad, if that helps any)

pyithar
03/09/2015, 10:30 PM
an uncycled tank could not cause ich. ich is parasite. it probably came along with the fish or there's a small chance there were ich cysts on snail shell. what you describe sounds like ich. a pic would be better to determine. if the fish has indeed ich, you'll need to treat the fish while fallowing your system for 10 weeks. you could use tank transfer method, copper(cupramine), chloroquine phosphate, hyposalinity (i don't recommend) to treat ich. good luck.

lonbrat
03/09/2015, 11:44 PM
an uncycled tank could not cause ich. ich is parasite. it probably came along with the fish or there's a small chance there were ich cysts on snail shell. what you describe sounds like ich. a pic would be better to determine. if the fish has indeed ich, you'll need to treat the fish while fallowing your system for 10 weeks. you could use tank transfer method, copper(cupramine), chloroquine phosphate, hyposalinity (i don't recommend) to treat ich. good luck.


thanks for the reply! ^^ im not at home but my girlfriend is there so i got her to take the pics, the white specks are gone now it seems.. hmm... but now the fishes skin looks burned or scraped or something..? >^< i feel bad that my dad got fish without telling me and i want to try and save this one...i tried "copper safe" in the 5 gal. do you think my tanks contaminated now with ich or whatever this is..??

pyithar
03/10/2015, 05:00 AM
i'm sorry i can't really tell from the pics. is the fish rubbing or flashing? could it be just sands stuck to its body? do some testings on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc. maybe ammonia burn? not acclimated properly? if the fish really has ich, you'll need to fallow(fishless, cuc can stay) your system for 10 weeks. you should post the pics in the fish disease forum and see what they have to say.

scooter31707
03/10/2015, 07:37 AM
looks like they could have ammonia poisoning due from a uncycled tank. even so if it is ich, then you need to let your tank sit fallow for 12 weeks to rid the ich inside the tank. so that means no fish in the tank for 12 weeks.

julie180
03/10/2015, 08:15 AM
The fallow period for ich is 72 days, not 12 weeks.

scooter31707
03/10/2015, 08:30 AM
ya if you want to be sorry rather than safe.. most hobbyist said they recommend 12 weeks to make sure the parasite has definitely died out, being safe than sorry.

lonbrat
03/11/2015, 04:05 PM
the last damsel died sadly, but i will remember my mistake >^<

so i brought the water from that tank to the lfs to see if my little strip things were wrong, and i found out my salinity was way too high, (1.026-27) i bought a new hydrometer while i was there needless to say. im thinking that the lack of oxygen was the reason all the other fish died, and the stress of lack of oxygen i believe is what caused ich to show up. if that idea is silly please tell me, but yesterday morning we got one more damsel to test if it was indeed the salinity and hes doing great, and acting normal.
all my perimeters are in range but my nitrates are a little high ( not dangerously high) and i did a water change. they have lowered since.

if the ich shows up again, ill definitely wait a few weeks and dose coppersafe lightly.
thanks all!