AboutRon Coleman Expertise I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish). Please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. I keep fishes both as a scientist and as a hobbyist and I currently maintain about 140 aquariums.
Experience I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page . I also write for many popular aquarist magazines, and I am editor of Cichlid News magazine. I am a scientist and I spend my time teaching fish biology, ecology, behavior and evolution and doing research on the reproductive biology of fishes, particularly cichlids. I do research in the laboratory and in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. My main interest is understanding the evolution of parental care in fishes. I am interested in encouraging greater public awareness, understanding and participation in science.
Publications Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes
Question I just lost 5 fish last week. The reason for this was, one of the cherry barbs I bought seemed fine, until the next day. When I awoke, I checked the fish out, and saw the cherry barb I bought had a cloudy eye and what looked shinny things on it. I went to my local fish guy and asked him about this. He gave me Melafix and I started treament right away. By me looking online for more info, I found pictures of ich, and sure enought she had it. He told me to just turn the heat up to 82 and I did..even went up to 84. The ich just got worse overnight and by the next day,was all over the fish that died(Betta died 3 days later after,4cherry barbs died 2-5days later). I did get Pimafix and left heat to 84 and changing my water 2 times a week. Things seem to be looking good now, that it's been almost 2 weeks that I have been treating the tank. I would like to know If I should put a brand new filter in my Aqueon filter or put back the one I took out when I started with Melafix 2 weeks ago. I still have fish that have made it through the bad ich I had. A butterfly pleco, 4 cherry barbs, 4 neon tetras, and 4 zebra dino's in a 20 gal. tank. I don't want to lose them too, Thank you.
Answer Hi Dawn,
Putting in a new filter cartridge is probably a good idea.
Ich takes a while to treat, at least 7 days. This has to do with the life cycle of the ick parasite. So, you might not see any difference over the first few days and it really is a race between killing the parasites and your fish hanging in there long enough. The key is to spot it right away, start treating right away and sticking through with the full course of treatment (many people stop too soon).
The reason why raising the temperature helps is because it speeds up the life cycle of the parasite making it more vulnerable to the medicine.
Personally, I would use an anti-ich medicine like Quik-Cure or Rid-Ich.
-- Ron
rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>
