Ich after bringing home feeder fish/ghost shrimp/lobster
- Thread starter Texas1203
- Start date
I am not sure if he is going to make it to treat with something else. I was sure he was dead
this morning. He is still breathing. I am just shocked that no other fish seem to have been bothered by the ich. I will look into the meds mentioned above, but I think Leo is a goner, I am so sad, I have had him for a very long time.
It’s possible he’s reacting poorly to the meds - either the formaldehyde content or the malachite green. I know I lost a raph due to polyguard treatment (malachite green sensitivity). I don’t know if any anabantiformes are sensitive to these meds, but try getting him into fresh water immediately.
I have treated the tank with the same ich meds I am currently using….the meds did kill my elephant nose (who was huge when I finally pulled it out, didn’t realize how big it had actually gotten). Leo did fine then. I am so devastated! I had Leo since he was inch and its been about 3 years total I have had him. I will say the lobster is having the time of his life with Leo being out of commission…. It is all over the place now, probably waiting for Leo to die to have a nice snack.
EDIT: it was brought to my attention that I actually got Leo in 2019 …. So he was 5 years old… I did not realize I had him this long. I suppose it does help with the loss, knowing at least for 5 years he had it made in 75 gal.I have treated the tank with the same ich meds I am currently using….the meds did kill my elephant nose (who was huge when I finally pulled it out, didn’t realize how big it had actually gotten). Leo did fine then. I am so devastated! I had Leo since he was inch and its been about 3 years total I have had him. I will say the lobster is having the time of his life with Leo being out of commission…. It is all over the place now, probably waiting for Leo to die to have a nice snack.
Keeping a fish for years in aquarium is quite an accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself.
Sorry for your loss.
Ctenopoma have a life span of 5 to 10 years. So the 5 years you had it is a pretty good run.
Who knows how old it was when you got it?
And the life span has a lot to do with water parameters.
They prefer pH of 7 and below and almost no mineral content or hardness.
So certain metal based meds are not tolerated well.
It hard to tell by the photos, but the disease may not have been ick at all, but could have been a condition called Epistylis, which is aggravated (made worse) with a rise in water temps.
Who knows how old it was when you got it?
And the life span has a lot to do with water parameters.
They prefer pH of 7 and below and almost no mineral content or hardness.
So certain metal based meds are not tolerated well.
It hard to tell by the photos, but the disease may not have been ick at all, but could have been a condition called Epistylis, which is aggravated (made worse) with a rise in water temps.
Last edited:
I am so glad you mentioned this! After reading this reply, I did an online search, and it is very possible that ich is not the culprit. However, I did another 1/3 water change today and treated with more ich x. I am now looking into a few medications that will treat Epistylis. I have noticed ONE white spot on a pearl gourami’s fin. It is in one of the side fins (sorry don’t know technical terminology), it is hard to get a good look at, since these fins are constantly moving. This particular pearl, after examining very closely, does appear to have an extremely mild fin tear(s) on its tail fin. After researching, you can treat for both at the same time… i think I will wait until the end of week one with ich x… if nothing improves, or if conditions worsen, I will begin treating for the other disease.
On a brighter note, Zoidberg (snow white lobster) is doing great. He is very mobile now that Leo is gone and miraculously a ghost shrimp has survived! Saw him on top of a rock this morning happily eating algae.