Loaches and Ich

[Setsuna]

Gday. My tanks come down with ich courtacy of the LFS who (I just recently found out) don't bother quarrantining their fish. As I didnt have a Q tank at the time (which I have now) the new guppy went into my community tank.

I've been treating the tank with Aqua Master "Tri-Sulfa Tablets". Its what my sister inlaw has used on her clowns in the past and hasn't seemed to affect them.

At the moment the only ones who have Ich are the guppies, the kuhlies and my male betta sp. I hav'nt been able to get a good look at the bristlenose to see if it has been affected yet (mind you, he's a white spotted one, so it is hard to tell).

My question is, can hillstreams get Ich? I'd assume they can, but my one hasn't got any spots on it (yet?). Also can it tolerate the Tri-Sulfa? The kuhlies dont seem to be phased by it and have continued acting as nuts as normal.

Should I move the hillie (sucker type, not sure as to the species yet) into the Q tank, or just leave it in with the others?

The dosage on the Tri-Sulfa is 1 tablet per 40L or in severe cases 1 tablet per 20L. My tank is approx. 60L and out of fear for the kuhlies I've only been using 1 tablet. Should I up the dosage to the recomended dose or leave it?

Thanks all ^_^

[shari2]

Hi Setsuna,

What temp is your tank at? You probably have read it, but just in case you haven't HERE is Martin's article on hillstreams.

As for can they get ick? Yes, though it seems to be far less common. Treatment can take longer for these fish because they really can't handle high temps and the life cycle of ick is somewhat temperature dependent. Raising the temp in a tank is often recommended to speed up the life cycle so that treatment time can be lessened.

There is a 'Dealing with Ich' sticky on the first page of this forum that you can also read to learn more about it.

[Setsuna]

Thanks, I'll reread it once my eyes decide to focus (just woke up). I slowly raised the temperature so that its now at 29c, I did it over several days so I could watch how it reacted.

It seems to be livelier (sp? sorry still asleep), but that could just be because I've added more aeration to the tank.

The only reason why its in this tank is because I bought it before I knew more about them and the LFS (who else) told me they're tropicals. Its waiting until my river tank gets completed.