IronChefItaly

I've had a tank for 5 months without a single fish problem arising until i bought some ottos 2 weeks ago that came with ich. I'll note all incidents since the following day after introducing the otos that i noticed the ich... Day 2 - Raised tank temperature to 28 degrees Day 3 - Began daily medication of Ich Guard 2 (for scaleless fish) Day 5 - Otos recover and show no sign of ich / Rams begin displaying 1-3 cysts each Day 10 - Ich Guard 2 ran out so i switched over to ParaGuard by Seachem (started at 1/3 daily dosage) Day 11 - One ram is infected with pop eye (single eye - secondary infection from ich) Day 14 - Ich spots have been steadily increasing on the rams to 5-15 cysts each. Popeye is getting fairly sever and it looks like the second eye is beginning to protrude... Local fish store said not to mix medications so i took their advice and am only medicating with Paraguard and alternating 8/16% water changes every day. I cannot add salt due to the sensitivity of the scaleless fish. Are there any other methods you guys recommend for the popeye? I hate seeing my fish suffering from it and was thinking of medicating him on his own or doing a salt bath? Any advice is appreciated!

I have a planted tank with 4 mystery snails and 3 different types of smaller ones which i never bothered to identify (came from plants i bought). I hear rumors of them overpopulating and destroying plants but i've found they are quite useful for algae maintenance and do not cause any grief. I actually quite like them and they do not bother any other critters like my cories or amano/ghost shrimp.

Thanks for the quick responses! It is for plant growth and i have two different tests for pH. I'll try to bump the bps up to 3 but that seems pretty high for a 26 gal. Also what is this pH/kH graph? Just took some measurements and found that the GH and KH is 150 and 180 ppm respectively and the temperature is 26 degrees. (i think temp effects co2 disolving?)

I have a co2 system releasing 1 bubble per second via ceramic diffuser into a 26 gallon tank for 8 hours a day during the photo period. I use tap water for water changes and can't seem to get the pH to lower past 7.8 (highest reading on my pH test). I know the Edmonton water has a fairly high KH but i feel like i may be doing something completely wrong here. I can give more details of my water chemistry if helpful. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and reply!

Go to a decent welders shop and definitely explain the application and even show them the stand. I think they will have a better answer than most of us here.

Regarding CO2... If your going to run a smaller tank i'd recommend something like the 88 gram Fluval CO2 kit as seen here... http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Pressurized-88g-CO2-Kit-Ounces/dp/B004G44ZQQ Some of the LFS carry them for ~$100 and to fix the expensive canister replacements i'd do something like this... http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32150 I'm currently running this system in a 26 gal tank and it was very cheap.

I'm in the middle of treating ich and i'm having issues keeping my tank at 28 degrees celsius. I have 3 methods of measuring temperature. 1) liquid crystal strip - says 25 degrees 2) floating alcohol based thermometer - says 25 degrees 3) the thermometer built into my heater - says 29 degrees So i'm guessing my current heater which is a Marineland 150 watt (recommended up to 40 gallons) is out to lunch but i just bought and replaced my Fluval heater which was registering a temperature of 27 but my other two thermometers consistently display 3-4 degrees lower... Causes?... a) not enough water circulation around heater b.) heaters are garbage c) other two methods of temperature measurement are inaccurate If anyone has good experience with a particular heater or an opinion / advice i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

For hang-on-back filters I HIGHLY reccommend the fluval series.

Bought 3 ottos on Sunday and noticed ich cysts that have developed on them last night. I will be using your method and hopefully it doesn't spread too much to my other fish. I have a fluval 100 watt in a 26 gallon tank and it can't seem to hold the temperature above 25 degrees (house is a little cooler ~15 at night) so i will be looking into getting a second heater tonight. Tank specs in signature.

As an addition to my above post I haven't had any other fish casualties other than these corries. I test my water regularly and have brought samples into the pet store upon refund and its always 100% I bought mine from Petland on Calgary Trail and they normally have healthy fish. If you decide to use salt i'd reccommend 1/4th of whatever the dosage is. If you decide to medicate them i HIGHLY reccommend doing so in an isolated tank / closure where your healthy fish won't be stressed.

Which store did you buy the fish from? I originally bought 4 cories, 2 died within 3 weeks. Refunded with another two, one of which died in 3 days. Each time i buy the cories i don't check them till i get home and under the light of my aquarium they have minor to extreme fin and whisker damage which in some cases is already infected. I'm assuming they are all coming from the same breeder or store as mine were also sterbai corys as in your case. I have a picture below of the one just after placing him in the tank. (sorry for the sideways picture) Notice the fin is surrounded by the same white fluff.

Darn i thought there might be something simpler made for vehicles or glasses. Thanks for the comments everyone. I think i'll just ignore it and use it as a reason to upgrade my tank set up eventually hahah.

I've had my tank for about 4 months now and near the early stages I accidentally caught a pebble of substrate in between the magnetic glass cleaner i use. It etched a pretty good scratch close to the top rim and i was curious if there is anything safe i could use to fill or hide the scratch? It is very close to the surface so during a typical water change the area is above the water level. Obviously any toxic substances are a no no. Appreciate any advice!

They are surprisingly quite peaceful for their vivid color and general appearance. Very cool fish indeed!

Hello everyone, I'm here cause I am losing my patience with local fish stores and want to be part of a community where i can exchange information and possibly equipment and creatures of the deep! Here is a picture of my fish tank at current... http://imgur.com/rnS0Pvf