Ich X okay for butterfly fish?

[gabriellar]

Sorry - I’m just seeing this now.
Did the fish survive the night?

It sure sounds like some water quality problem….

Unfortunately it is not . Around 11pm I see this fish still not getting up, so I dosed prazipro (last dose was on Thursday) in case it’s gill fluke that gives it a hard time breathing but it did not make it… would still love to know what could I have done differently to save this fish under this situation tho

 

[gabriellar]

My best guess for a better approach was, I probably could add carbon, GFO all back to absorb all chemicals in the water to refresh the starting point before I add any meds. After I changed water for 30%, 40% then followed by another 20%, I still see the same 0.5 ppm reading from ammonia, which makes me think the reading is due to some false reaction to added copper. But could also be that 70% of water change directly is more effective instead of separate in little batches? My previous thinking process is too much water change in one go may stress out a weak fish even more so I did not choose that approach. This 10 gallon quarantine tank is a bare bone one, no live rock, no protein skimmer but has air stone/air pump and filtration with no carbon material in it. I was doing a 30% of water change every day to prevent any potential bad chemicals develop in water. Or maybe this whole setup just not a good fit for quarantine fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Unfortunately it is not . Around 11pm I see this fish still not getting up, so I dosed prazipro (last dose was on Thursday) in case it’s gill fluke that gives it a hard time breathing but it did not make it… would still love to know what could I have done differently to save this fish under this situation tho

The first dose of Prazipro would have knocked the flukes back to sub-lethal levels, still requiring follow up doses, but the flukes would not have been bad enough to cause this - I’m still wondering about some water quality issue here.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My best guess for a better approach was, I probably could add carbon, GFO all back to absorb all chemicals in the water to refresh the starting point before I add any meds. After I changed water for 30%, 40% then followed by another 20%, I still see the same 0.5 ppm reading from ammonia, which makes me think the reading is due to some false reaction to added copper. But could also be that 70% of water change directly is more effective instead of separate in little batches? My previous thinking process is too much water change in one go may stress out a weak fish even more so I did not choose that approach. This 10 gallon quarantine tank is a bare bone one, no live rock, no protein skimmer but has air stone/air pump and filtration with no carbon material in it. I was doing a 30% of water change every day to prevent any potential bad chemicals develop in water. Or maybe this whole setup just not a good fit for quarantine fish?

I like to use 20 gallon tanks or larger for quarantine.

Ammonia can build up fast in small tanks. You’re correct though, with amine chelated copper products, about 0.50 ppm of the reading you see is a false positive yo the ammonia they use to bind the copper.

 

[gabriellar]

The first dose of Prazipro would have knocked the flukes back to sub-lethal levels, still requiring follow up doses, but the flukes would not have been bad enough to cause this - I’m still wondering about some water quality issue here.

I like to use 20 gallon tanks or larger for quarantine.

Ammonia can build up fast in small tanks. You’re correct though, with amine chelated copper products, about 0.50 ppm of the reading you see is a false positive yo the ammonia they use to bind the copper.

When you mentioned water quality concerns, do you think this 10-gallon tank can still work as a quarantine tank with frequent water changes? I'd like to set up a bigger tank for quarantine in the future but I have a fish arriving in about 2–3 weeks, which I’m not sure I have enough time to fully cycle a new tank. I’m wondering whether I should improve the current 10-gallon setup instead. For example, is the issue mainly lack of equipment like a protein skimmer, lack of beneficial bacteria/biological filtration, or just that the tank volume is too small to make any solution work?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

When you mentioned water quality concerns, do you think this 10-gallon tank can still work as a quarantine tank with frequent water changes? I'd like to set up a bigger tank for quarantine in the future but I have a fish arriving in about 2–3 weeks, which I’m not sure I have enough time to fully cycle a new tank. I’m wondering whether I should improve the current 10-gallon setup instead. For example, is the issue mainly lack of equipment like a protein skimmer, lack of beneficial bacteria/biological filtration, or just that the tank volume is too small to make any solution work?

If you monitor the ammonia and it stays below 0.5 ppm, then the tank will be ok. You can’t just rely on water changes without ammonia testing, since ammonia can build up a lot faster than people realize.

 

[gabriellar]

If you monitor the ammonia and it stays below 0.5 ppm, then the tank will be ok. You can’t just rely on water changes without ammonia testing, since ammonia can build up a lot faster than people realize.

Makes sense. Thank you so much, Jay!