Ick? Velvet? Something else?

[000]

First problem with parasites I've had. I think it's probably ick, but some of the spots look a little yellowish. Just lost a pictus cat.

Temperature was kept between 74 and 78 degrees, is now at 80 because I was told that higher temperatures will help with ick, was debating about going higher but wasn't sure how the fish would take it.
According to my best interpretation of the colors:
Nitrate-10ish ppm
Nitrite-0
GH-closest to 0
KH-100ppm
ph-7.8
Ammonia was the hardest to determine but i believe that it was at the 'safe' color

First water change (set up tank on Dec 24th) was January 7th. I used a gravel cleaner and removed a lot of poop. I was removing so much that I feared I'd end up doing too large a percentage water change. I put my filter intake in the same bucket that my gravel cleaner was emptying into. Today I cleaned out the filters and there was a lot of poop in the canister filter. I noticed the spots January 9th.

There are two plastic plants, some malaysian wood, and a lava rock, Gravel is just average gravel from the lfs.

Fish include: 2 (1 now deceased) pictus catfish, one twig catfish (now deceased), one clown pleco, one rhino pleco, one albino bristlenose pleco (missing, maybe died and was eaten by crab?), one dalmation molly, one checkerboard sand loach, one colombian shark catfish, and one fiddler crab.
Eveything except one pictus, the shark, and the crab were put in on the 24th, those three were purchased around 5 months ago and there wasn't eve a poblem except the pictus liked to lay not quite flat on the gravel. Those three were also purchased at walmart and the shark might have been mislabeled.

Food
-flakes almost everyday
-frozen bloodworms about 1 cube a week
-shrimp pellets one or two a week
-tried cucumber once but they didn't seem to like it with the exception of the albino

Was hesitant as to what to do, the internet varies greatly in what is recommended

Filters
-RENA xP2 (canister)
-Aqueon power filter for 55gal tank

Dimensions 48"x13"x21" (55gal)

[000]

The pictures were too large to upload so I quickly created a webpage for them. http://sites.google.com/site/picsoffishsdisease/pics click view to see the various pictures.

[Barbie]

What do you mean by the safe zone of ammonia? Do you have a second tank those fish were kept in before they were introduced to this one? Did you cycle the tank prior to adding the fish? This does look like ich to me, but with your mix of fish, most treatments are going to be very toxic to them. If they were mine, I would raise the temperature to 84 degrees, increase aeration, and carefully gravel vac the tank every day to reduce the ich present. Any ammonia or nitrite can stress the fish and make them much more susceptible to parasites. If you haven't supplemented the bacteria to a new tank in some way (BioSpira, SafeStart, or cultured bacteria from an established tank) I would definitely start there.

Just FYI, that's not a colombian shark cat (which is brackish and would have been bad enough) but probably

Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

. It's hard to tell for sure from the first picture ;).

Barbie

[000]

The ammonia test I purchased lists the results as safe, caution, stress, and there are two higher levels. The first three were kept in another tank before but i was told putting in all the fish in the new tank would be best for compatibility. I didn't cycle the tank first, didn't know it was necessary with a new tank (I'm completely new to this hobby). I have added the bacteria a few times, 2 or three.

I also unfortunately turned off the computer a few minutes before the reply and because I didn't want to wake up to more dead fish, I started an ich treatment at 80% strength (because of the scaleless fish). I repeated the treatment today before getting on the phone also. The crab is no longer in the tank if that's at all relevant.

I haven't lost any fish besides the two mentioned above and the albino bn reappeared!

I don't think this changes anything but I forgot to mention that there is also some black slate in the tank.

I'm assuming that I should bump up the temperature to 84(F), put the carbon back into the filters (meds said to remove it), and gravel vac? Do I do a water change?

I apologize for my lack of knowledge.

[Barbie]

What bacteria product did you add, exactly? Right now, the best thing to do is reduce the amount of waste in the tank by not feeding for a few days. Since you have already treated, finish the recommended treatment regime for that medication and leave the tank at 80 degrees. I always do a water change before medicating each day, but I'm a teensy bit anal retentive. Do you have another established tank that you moved these fish out of? If so, you can supplement bacteria from the filter media in that tank, also.

I'll try to check back for answers in the next few hours. I'm at work, so my replies might be a bit sporadic ;).

Barbie

[000]

The bacteria additive is from Jack's Aquarium & Pets and is called Bio-Boost and it says "Concentrated bacterial additive" among other things. My old tank is a 15gal and just had a small power filter from walmart. There wasn't any filter media with the exception of the blue pad that contained carbon. I suppose cutting up the pad to get to the bacteria on the carbon might work(?). I can check to see if I still have the pad.
What percentage water change do you think I should do before adding the meds? And should I continue to use it at 80% strength?

[000]

The instructions on the meds said to remove the carbon from the filter. I did that, but I didn't remove the bio-chem stars because the direction didn't say anything about them. Would they be affecting the treatment? Should I remove them?

[Barbie]

The stars are your filtration, so no, do not remove them. The carbon must be removed because it removes the medication. I would change 30% before each addition of the medication and yes, continue at whatever dosage you started. It's hard for me to say if it will be effective without knowing what it is? I don't know if that bacterial additive is one that contains actual bacteria. The only one in a bottle that I've had experience with personally is BioSpira, and it works nicely.

Barbie

[000]

So far everyone is still alive, well besides the two initial casualties. The medication I'm using is QuICK Cure. The active ingredients are Formalin and Malachite Green. The spots seem to be clearing up. I'm feeling optimistic!

[000]

2nd pictus just kicked the bucket. Ick is gone almost completely, so it might have been an inability to endure the meds any longer.

[000]

The ick appeared to be gone, but then the originally mislabeled shark (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) looked like he had white spots on him. I figured that it was more ick and continued treatment (this was yesterday) The white didn't look quite like the ick did but now he hides when I try to look at him. I saw him dive and rub his side against the gravel. I finally scared him out of hiding with a flashlight and it almost looks like he has dry skin. Does this mean stop the medication? Is it causing his skin to flake or destroying his slime coat? My guess is that the ick is gone and that the meds are causing this skin problem. I'm assuming that I should stop the meds and am wondering if there's something I should do for his skin...?

[000]

I forgot to mention that I added some airstones a couple of days ago. I'm putting the carbon back in the canister filter (need to buy more pads for the power filter). And the Pangasianodon hypophthalmus's right eye is blurry. Will continue to update.

[000]

The Molly died not quite a week ago but the Iridescent Shark looks much better. I think all the problems are probably over. Thank you so much Barbie.