Help needed - don't know what to do.

[arvean]

Hi Guys,

First of all thanks for your help with hermit murders last week.
I have a bit of emergency state going on and I'm looking towards you for an advice.

My setup:

8 Gal biocube
2 clowns
3 hermits
1 cleaner shrimp
2 corals
1 big mushroom
1 featherduster
few snails
Regular water changes ( 1 gal every 10 days), water tests every week seem to be almost perfect.

My Problem:

Well it started with black ick attacking my fish several weeks ago. After research I did freshwater dip and it solved the problem as ick started to disapear. Today I'm noticing that ick came back, more severe than before and my fish are extremely stressed ( you can tell by their top fin being up). Also I noticed a lot or red sediment on the sand, and some sort of purple hard shell sticking to glass, wall,heater etc.

What should I do? Is there antyhing I'm doing wrong? Is the aquarium too small? Was that the coral I added recently? Would upgrading to bigger , around 24 gal aquapod help? Any advice would be really appreciated as I don't want to lose my fish.

 

[KathyC]

Are you sure it's black ich?
read this link..under the 'black ich' section
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

Can you post a pic of the fish?

8 g's is on the small size...if you can afford to upgrade, it would be a good idea..

What are 'almost perfect' parameters??

No the coral isn't any part of the issue

A water change never hurts..when was the last one you did? I would suggest more frequent than every 10 days.

Sre you dosing this tank, how long has it been up?
Are you adding any other additives?
Do you have a skimmer on it?
What is the circulation like in the tank?

 

[arvean]

Thanks for your response KathyC.

I'm thinking about upgrading to 24G ( although I don't know what would be a cost such setup).

It looks like black ich for me. (PLease take a look at the photo, sorry for the low quality).

Almost perfect parameter meaning they almost the same color on the scale as printed.

I changed water last Saturday.

What does it mean to dose a tank? I had it set up since november last year. I didn't add anything recently expect for that one coral. I also noticed that my 4 hermits died.

I don't have a skimmer on it. It's a ready-to-run setup with filter and pump.Circulation seems to be fine, there are ocasionally some algea on the glass but not much.

Below find pics: (notice the spots on face and tail.)

 

[KathyC]

What tests specifically are you running?

Dosing means adding a 2 part additive(Alk & Ca..like ESV Bionic)

Any chance of getting a better pic? So far, that doesn't look like Black ich to me..but might be due to the pic quality.

 

[JLAudio]

are the clowns eyes cloudy? Is he lethargic? If so could be brooklynella, a disease which commonly plagues wild caught clowns

 

[arvean]

are the clowns eyes cloudy? Is he lethargic? If so could be brooklynella, a disease which commonly plagues wild caught clowns

Nope, his eyes are regular. He is not lethargic, I'd say he is hyper. I bought it from a local store, he was born in aquarium...

 

[al0ha]

What does it mean to dose a tank? I had it set up since november last year. I didn't add anything recently expect for that one coral.

and u cant just dump the addictives in there, u have to get a doser and let it slowly "dose" into the reef system

 

[junglebase]

and u cant just dump the addictives in there, u have to get a doser and let it slowly "dose" into the reef system

why not? i guess a doser is a must.....

 

[Sean]

and u cant just dump the addictives in there, u have to get a doser and let it slowly "dose" into the reef system

really? so I can't just add calcium to the water I have to have a doser. How about magnesium? I guess I have to dose that.

Are you a doser sales man?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

What are your almost perfect parameters? FW dips stress out the fish and can cause more damage than good to the fish if not done properly. (I don't do them at all It's like throwing your friend in an acid bath as far as I am concerned) Could be Brook, could be alot of other things, try turning off the flash and taking a better pic.

Additions of any chemicals to your tank must be done at a slow and steady rate and properly proportioned, while dosers may help i is better to test your water, find your levels and add which ever additives you need at a slow rate to raise them to the proper levels.

Please post your water parameters.

 

[bruma bull]

do you have a heater? is the temp constant? even when you do water changes?

 

[[email protected]]

first of all if it is ick u have to quarentene the tank and treat fish on separate tank ick needs a host fish to live if u fresh water dip u fix the problem "temporaily" because the ick is in the tank. u need to take out fish for a period of 3 months to ensure no ick has survived then put fish back in main tank. it sucks but works!!!!!! it hapend to me lol
note: inverts and corals can reamin in tank no need to remove them they are not a host for ick.

 

[autoponicz]

inverts are sensitive to excessive water parameter changes ....with your inverts dying...it shows your water quality is not good or your water parameters are fluctuating too much....
what levels are your :
ph.
alk.
mg.
ca.
temp.
sg.
p04.
no3.

how about a ATO.....or do you top off manually?....

 

[Killerdrgn]

You don't need an expensive doser, you could just get airline tubing with an air valve and then get the solution flowing an use the air valve to control how fast the drip is.

 

[arvean]

Wow, thank you so much for your comments. I think the problem is not with ICK. After some research I can see that it looks different. The only supplement I'm gving them is garlic with food. Today I added a pump to increase the flow and by the afternoon everything seems to be better than before. I will keep you posted.