Ichthyosporidium

Really? They're planted everywhere here and in other cities I've lived in - they line streets with them, plant them in parks, etc., even in New Brunswick. I'll have to grab some branches and send them over...lol. Probably any fast-growing tree would have the same effect I would think. I keep Lucky Bamboo in several of my tanks and they do a nice job with excess nutrients as well. I like the method because it addresses the main causes. Yes, that is what they are refering to. Any marginal or aquatic plant will do the trick. The faster growing varieties are best as they pull nutrients out of the water, faster.

Furonculosis is what is the probable culprit. It is a bacterial infection. Use an antibiotic. I highly recomend Mardel Labs. marcyn-two. It targets the pathogenic bacilli and is easy on the benificial bacteria. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S DIRECTIONS TO THE LETTER. Before treating your fish and/or tank, keep this in mind: Is the fish worth treating? Timely treatment is a major part of the battle and if this fish has shown symptoms for more than a few days already, it might be better to put it out of it's misery. Only you cand decide as only you can see what the fish looks and acts like. There is also risk to the tank in whole, as the treatment can be stressing to both the biological system and healthy members of the tank. Oops, the correct spelling is Furunculosis, not Furonculosis Oops, the correct spelling is Furunculosis, not Furonculosis One last thing, keep an eye out for fungal infections as secondary infections are common in fish that are stressed with disease.

Kill the Ich. I personally like clown loaches, but you should have two and your tank is too small. So I would use a copper sulfate solution (snail-be-gone). Copper sulfate will kill all invertabrates at lower concentrations than it would for vertabrates. USE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS. They developed it, they know how to use it best! Later, Ich

Well, quite the stubborn tank you have. I will first say sorry if any of my suggestions are repeats of previous replies. The first thing is do not clean the tank so much at the same time, all you are doing is repeating the cycle and the result will be the same, GREEN PEA SOUP! First, you must eliminate the source of nutrients that algae feeds off of. Assuming you have no live plants in the aquarium, Cover the tank in total darkness for about three to five days. Feed the fish at night if you must, or better yet, if they are well fed, you can let them fast for a few days, it won't do them any harm. The idea is to eliminate two major nutrient sources, Ammonia and phosphates, especially phosphates. A product that I have recomended and use faithfully is a product called 'PHOS-ZORB'. It is made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Follow manufacturer's instructions and within a couple of weeks, you will see a dramatic change in your tank. It may seem pricey, but it is rechargeable many times over. The ammoina buildup in a tank is best kept down untill a healthy cycle is established, by using a bacterial culture additive. I prefer the liquid types. Remember, check the expiry date and refrigerate after opening. I initially use double the dose recomended for a new aquarium setup. This will also help reduce nitrates if there are high levels. Now, you are thinking, I do not want to wait two weeks, what then? I can only recomend one thing in this case. A diatom filter, It will clean a tank from green to clear within minutes and the more you use it, the better it works. The only problem is you have not cured the problem, the diatom filter only effective if left as a permanent filter it can filter out particles as small as 3 microns, the human eye can see as small as 30 microns (approx.) If you have objects with limestone, remove them, alkaline water is favorable to algae. Adding a peat extract or running aquarium grade peat moss in your filter will acidify your water. The tannic and hummic acids will stain the water, further reducing available light. Regular weekly water changes and carbon filtration will remove the staining over time. Most fish and plants do well in water that is slightly acidic. Remember, do not do a water change and clean yor filter on the same day, give at least 72 hours in between those jobs. 20% of the total water volume should be changed per week that is in tanks 50 gallons or less. The slower you stock a tank with fish, the better. I take an average of a year to a year and a half to fully stock a tank, double that if it is a marine tank. Leave as little organic material possible to decay in the tank. Aim for zero matter. If you see excess organic material, suck it up on the next water change and add bacterial culture. Cheers, Ick