New to the site~

First topic message reminder :

Hi everyone!
I just found out about this forum, and I'm GLAD I did! I've recently started keeping freshwater fish, and am trying my
best to learn all I can about caring for them properly. I'm learning already, that it's not as easy as I once thought it would be!
I'm already having to battle ICK, so I'm hoping this forum will offer me some much needed advice, and tons of experienced opinions!

Fern,
With all due respect...I have no intention of getting rid of any of my fish. I am aware that some of the "singles" I have, are schooling fish, and will do better
in larger numbers, but I would prefer to get more of their kind (once my tank is
healthy) than to simply get rid of some, because they are the only ones of thier
kind in the tank. My Blue mickey mouse platy stays with the other platys, so she's not alone. The 2 head and tail lights- the white tipped tetra, the hatchet fish,
and one of the long finned rosy barbs, were all rescues. I got them from someone
who wasn't taking care of them, and was going to flush them, if no one took them.
I have gotten 2 female rosy barbs (since getting the rescues) in the hopes that the male would hang out with them, but honestly...he pays them no attention what-so-ever. lol Not sure why. He just seems to be happy swimming by himself. Anyway, I do plan on getting more of the others, in due time. I am trying to add new ones slowly, and can't add anything at this point- until the
ICK is under control. None of my fish (including the singles) sit alone, or seem to
be unhappy. They all have paired up with others (even the white tipped tetra) and do not seem unhappy. The ICK started when I got the 7 neons. I bought them from PetSmart, and after adding them to the tank...I noticed the ICK a few days later.
Everyone seemed to be happy, before that. My head and tail lights swim with the hatchet fish (oddly enough) and the white tipped tetra has been swimming with the long finned red minors. So, all is well, in that aspect of things. For now, anyway.
As far as adding the Quick Cure to my tank...I have been using half of the recommended dosage, because of the otocinclus, and I have already added the salt, but I did a half dose of that as well. Not the full recommended amount. At this point, things seem to be making a turn for the better. I'm hoping it keeps improving. Thanks for the advice! It's all been very helpful~

First of all Welcome to we're glad you're here. It appears that you've done some homework on your fish congrates on that. Continue treatment as you,ve been doing. You may lose some fish that is normal for a new setup with quite a few fish for cycling. Watch your ammonia and nitrite levels during this time.

Ich is a 3 stage parasite. 1 stage is on the fish which is when most people notice it. 1 stage is in the gravel think of it as the egg stage. 1 stage is swimming stage looking to hook up to a fish. Treatment will kill the ich on the fish an in the water but not the ones in the gravel. they can live up to 2 weeks in this stage. Heated water kills this stage. Once treatment is started I treat for 14 days even if I do not see signs of the ich because they may still be in the "egg" stage. I hope this helps.

Be careful buying from chain stores quite few if not all there fish have ich. The best thing is to have a 10 gal QT and put them in there for 2 weeks. If they have something it's better (and cheaper) to dose a 10 gal with just a few fish than stressing all your fish in the 55.

Your doing great so far. Keep up the good work. Again welcome.

All I was saying is they would be happier in proper schools than they are now. 6 of each would be getting a little much for the tank. Once you do get your tank ich free and fully cycled get 2-3 fish per week till your desired stocking is reached so you don't over whelm the bacteria.

welcome

Hi! Sorry you had to be indoctrinated with ich! I'm not sure if this has been asked, and if it has I apologize, but how did you introduce the new neons? I'm guilty of not having a quarantine a few times when adding new fish but I've been lucky to not have problems with ich. I can only think it's because my tanks are usually warm when I buy them(my ambient house temp in the summer is about 78-80 as I hate ac) and I drip in ever fish I get, saltwater or freshwater. After dripping them in over the course of at least an hour I net them out to put them in the display tank. I learned the hard way early on to never add water from the store tanks to my own. Also, and anyone can jump on me for this if they want, but in addition to watching your ammonia and nitrite levels during cycling, I'd keep some Prime on hand. Prime is my absolute, hands down, favorite tank chemical. It can be used in saltwater and fresh, with plants and corals, and with skimmers. However, my favorite feature, and the reason it applies here, is that it neutralizes both ammonia and nitrite. You almost can't overdose it unless you dump in a whole bottle which makes it great for knocking levels back a bit if fish start circling the drain from toxin buildup. You've got quite a few sensitive fish in there, especially those neons, and while some ammonia and nitrite is necessary to complete the cycling process too much will quickly kill them. It also helps build the slime coat to help them protect themselves. Also, keep an eye on your pH. Ammonia is more toxic at higher pH levels so if it starts to fall a little I'd let it slide as long as it's not crashing. Hope I didn't dump too much on you at once and, again, I'm sorry if any of this is redundant. Happy fishkeeping!

Fern wrote:

All I was saying is they would be happier in proper schools than they are now. 6 of each would be getting a little much for the tank. Once you do get your tank ich free and fully cycled get 2-3 fish per week till your desired stocking is reached so you don't over whelm the bacteria.

Jeepluv77- I introduced the neons the way I've introduced all of the fish in my tank. I'm not sure if it's the correct way to do it, or not...but I place the fish (still in the bag) in the tank, and wait 15 minutes. I then open the bag, put a little water out of
MY tank into the bag, and then wait ANOTHER 15 minutes. Then I use my net to
remove the fish from the bag, and place it into my tank. Someone at a local (individually owned) pet store told me that's a good way to aclimate them to a new
tank, so that's what I've been doing. I'm not familiar with PRIME, so I'll have to
look for that the next time I go to the fish store.
Fern- I totally understand what you were trying to tell me, about my schooling fish being happier in larger numbers. I am just trying to correct the problem with my tank, and when things are better, I will add more. Of course, I will
do as you suggested, and only add a few at a time, and not add a large number at
once. I am also planning on staying away from PetSmart, from now on. That's where I got the Neons, because they were on sale. Just not sure they have the healthiest fish. I found a great fish store that does things the right way, and I will buy from them in the future. They actually quarantine their new fish!! I wouldn't think a store as large as PetSmart does that. Not sure...anyway, I appreciate the advice! As I said before...it's all been very helpful!

Sounds good except I would at the very least double the volume of water in the bag before moving them to your tank. If the pH in the store tank is 7.4 and your pH is say 6.6 that's a huge change to a fish. Adding only a little bit of water isn't likely to make enough adjustment in all cases. That's why I prefer to drip my new fish in. It's just easier, less labor intensive(I can set if for a slow drip and leave it for hours if need be without it overflowing), and makes it a much smoother transition for the fish. Either way is acceptable as long as you make sure you've gotten as close to the new water chemistry as possible. I just prefer the drip method. I started using it when I started buying fish from a dealer that runs most of his saltwater tanks at hyposaline to control disease. I now do it with all of my fish.

Welcome!!

I just want to add that you may want to look at your fish stores setup. Many fish stores have their system tied all together so it really doesn't matter if they quarantine their new arrivals because they are still in the same water that is supplying the rest of the tanks. :)

Adding the new fish that you plan to should be done with a QT. Otherwise you may go right back into having to treat your whole display for ich again.

Thanks wildbearz~ I'm working on getting an additional tank to use as
a QT tank. I have a tank that I was planning on using as the QT, but ended up
having to use as a nursery tank instead, and it's full of babies at the moment, so
I can't use it as intended. I never expected to have babies right off the bat...but
did.
So, gotta get another one.

Wow...so many new members!

Glad to hear you found a real fish store Those big box places are ridden with ich and other nasty things
Sounds like you are doing your research

Welcome Aboard!

Very nice people here, Feel free to post your questions to the forums, and photos to the gallery.