I have a 75 gallon tank I bought off of craigslist..fixed it up and bought a Rena XP3 filter. I let my tank run for about a week. I had a 55 before and read up on the nitrogen cycle etc.

During first week I added a baby Tiger Oscar and a few days later I added a small Pleco. The baby tiger didn't sulk at all and was very very active and swimming around every since I had him. I have some rocks in there and fake plants..good hiding places.

Second week the water started to cloud and eventually in a few days went to crystal clear. I did add that "cycle" bottle to the tank..it seemed like it cleared the cloudy water up pretty quick compared to a year ago when I had a 55gal. I have the liquid test kit, my ammonia was up to .25..it never really spiked a lot. I didn't do any water changes in two weeks. I read it slows down the cycle? I didn't clean the gravel either. I fed my Oscar maybe two Cichlid Gold pellets a day. I threw in an algae tab for the Pleco every three days.

Starting the third week when the water went crystal clear I expected the Nitrites to spike. I tested the water and Ammonia was still .25 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0. Then I noticed my Oscar had what looked like a little ball of salt on one fin and three on the other fin..very small. I read up on Ich...I increased water temp to 86 and added Aquarium salt. I read Ich has three stages..raising temp increases the life cycle of ich and when the Ich falls to the bottom to multiple the Salt will kill the Ich and the ich cannot survive temps above 86 degrees.

The very next morning when I increased the temp and added the salt(about 7.6grams per gallon which I read was needed to kill the ich naturally) I noticed the balls on his fins were gone. I figured they dropped to the bottom to multiply. I then did a 25% water change. I then read that adding half of 7.6grams of aquarium salt every day after was needed for a total of ten days with every day changing 25 percent of the water. I then noticed the Tiger Oscar was laying on the bottom a lot during this treatment..I noticed a few days later that his feces was white..it was not long string. I figured internal parasite.

I took the carbon out of the filter the next day. My Oscar would not eat and he went from being really active to not so much. I added the tablets of Jungle Parasite Clear for two treatments. I still noticed the next day he has white feces and is losing weight. He will not eat his Cichlid Gold pellets. I read about peas soaked in minced garlic, I put a piece of garlic in the small pea and he ate it. He then layed on the bottom for awhile. He is active here and there.

Here is where I am at today..The meds are still in the tank (2 treatments of Jungle) He will not eat medicated food and will not eat anymore peas after the one he ate. I tried small crickets and he will not eat them either. He swims back and forth and after cleaning the gravel for the first time(I read it will suck up Ich from the gravel) he is still active. No clamped fins..he appears a little darker, skinny, and his eyes appear darker.

I did a 25 percent water change today and added a little salt. The Pleco is very active and thriving..no signs of sickness. I have noticed my other pleco in the 55gal was also like this. He never got sick.

Any suggestions? After the water change he was active tonight..I put in a pellet and he ate it and spit it out and ate it and spit it out and then swam away. It also appears before he goes to eat it he does weird movements with his mouth, he will open and close really fast.

Maybe I should just leave the tank alone, no more water changes and give it a few days in the parasite clear by Jungle?

Hi and Welcome...

First off. Great info... The only 2 questions I have to ask, is Do you have a bubble bar in the tank?
And What are your water readings now?

I don't have a bubble bar, but I did arrange the jet nozzle in such a way that it is causing a lot of water movement and bubbles at the top. I read that increasing the temp decreases oxygen in the water.

PH 7.6

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

I wonder if the Parasite clear killed the cycle? I read that it does not or maybe all the salt that was added at one time did? The Oscar is still active though. I noticed during the first week I saw a bloom of what looked like flakes of white skin. They went away after the first week. Now I see them again in the tank, I am guessing the cycle is starting again.

From your water readings I can tell you that you do not have a cycled filter... You will have to start over again. Cycling takes between 40 and 50 days. that will require a 30% water change everyday.

You also may want to add a bubble bar, as not only does the temp deplete the oxygen but so does the salt.

If I were you, I would add new carbon to the filters, let it run for a day or two, to remove all meds, then remove the carbon.. It is believed that carbon is a contributing factor in HITH... I would then continue with the daily water changes.

The meds you have used will cause him to lose interest in his food. I wouldn't worry too much.

But the best defense against all fish illness is pristine water. Your daily water changes to cycle will also help his healing.

I hope this helps. And please keep us posted.

adding salt for 10 days???? is it based on water change or tank size????
if you keep adding salt based on the tank size, your water will become toxic.
i suggest do big water change immediately to save the fish.

moreover, most of the parasite medication makes the fish refuse foods for while.
just keep the water in tip top condition to make medication effective.
remember, medicine is useless if water is in bad shape.

pristine water is the foremost defense of fishes against any illnesses.

www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles...Ich-Yuck-/Page1.html

That is the website I was reading..

Thanks! Should I do this now? or wait for a few days to see if the Ich is gone? It is not on him now but I heard when it drops off him and into the gravel it will multiply and then look for another host again.

If you think I should get new carbon now to get the meds out, should I also lower my temp. to the level Oscar's desire? I also read that many think HITH is contributed to carbon.

i suggest you do it now. having high concentration of salt may damage internal
organ of the fish. anyway, the ick could be be dispose also with water change.

Hi, good advice from the mods.
Got nothing new to add.
Only salt will not evaporate and the right amount should only be added, compared to the amount of water you change.
Change away! and keep at it until ammonia and nitrites are0, and you start to get a nitrate reading.
Good luck.

i was thinking along the same lines as Paul. your doing a lot of worrying and maintenance maybe a little too much. Ich isn't too much of a problem and can easy be gotten ride of. try to stabilize the tank, get it fully cycled with good water and remove all the meds you have added.

Once you have done the large water change try to continue with smaller changes. you will need to test your water around every 2 days to start with. if your ammonia or nitrites raise change a little water. by testing and changing the water you need to stabilize the ammonia and nitrites at the lowest reading on the chart. if you don't see any sign of ammonia or nitrites just do a small change 10% or so. if the reading raise fast test and do larger change(try not to change more than 30%water at a time.every 2 days). I think you will find you get little or no readings at 1st. 2 fish in a 75g isn't going to add a big load. I take it you are using a water conditioner with the tap water? also warming the new water to tank temp or adding cold water slowly so not to drop the tank temp. around once a wk test your nitrate level. with the small changes you are doing to maintain the water these shouldn't be high at all until the tank is cycled and you have stopped doing the small changes. once the water is back in good condition the fish should start feeding again. keeping the tank at 30c will remove the ich. try to keep this temp even when water changes are going on.

can you test you tap water for nitrates to see what level it is straight from the tap.

Hey Marcus, I am getting 0ppm Nitrates out of the tap water. I am using the stress coat as a dechlorinator..is this good?

I will do water changes as you said. When I put the carbon back in I noticed the Oscar did eat a pellet this morning which is good. He is very active too. I worked late tonight and when I turned on the light when I got home he seemed really white, looked a little frantic and swimming aimlessly lol. I guess I scared him with the light. He didn't eat tonight but he def. ate this morning. He is swimming like when I first got him when he looked really healthy and active.

I read some things that advised not cycling a tank with a young Oscar..whoops!

With the temp at 86c will get rid of the ich. Adding salt everydasy without removing some water will just increase the salt in the water to a dangerous level. Do a 50 water change today and then daily changes of 25% until your tank in cycled. Add some prime