dandelion Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I just got a royal gramma and last night I noticed he had ick. He was still very active when I saw him. I dosed NLS ick shield according to the bottle directions, about 1/2 scoop in my 10 gallon QT. This morning my fish is dead. My seachem alert shows ammonia at 0.Now I have 2 questions:1. Did I do something wrong with ick shield that killed my fish?2. Now that my QT is filled with ick, do I have to go fishless for 90 days? Or are there other ways to clear ick from my QT? I thought about tearing it down and letting it dry out for like a couple weeks, but that'll kill my biological filter. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Nope. The NLS product's directions dose at half the actual recommended dose of chloroquine to be completely effective against Cryptocaryon irritans, Uronema marinarum, Brooklynella hostilis, and Amyloodinium ocellatum. The only fish known to be sensitive to it are some species of wrasse (I think fairies, not 100% certain on that, realistically more data is needed). Drain the QT completely, let it dry, then refill it with fresh saltwater and use a new biofilter. I very, very highly recommend using sponge filters. They're dirt cheap ($10 for four) and extremely effective, all you need is a good air pump (Whisper 40 or larger). Leave one in your sump for a week or two to let it get populated, then place it into your QT tank when you get a new fish. Then place a brand new sponge filter into the sump and it will be ready for the next fish you get down the road. After the fish in QT is done, discard the sponge filter, they are not worth trying to get cleaned up. Link to comment
dandelion Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Someone on this forum told me to double the dose when they told me ick shield is chloroquine. I found conflicting info on the Internet, so I figured I would start low and see what happens. Can't believe my fish died right after. I did check on it last night a couple hours after I dosed. It was "lying" vertically, head up against the silicon seal at a corner of my tank. It was still breathing and I thought it was just sleeping awkward. I'm just surprised to see how it went from being active (despite sick) to dying right after I added the medication. Could seachem prime react with chloroquine? I know you cannot dose prime with cupramine. Guess I'll run carbon to remove the medication, toss out my sponge filter like you said, dry out the QT for a week and add fresh saltwater. Will probably take a couple weeks for the new spare sponge filter to be seasoned in my DT. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 It was probably me that recommended the double dose. Prime/Amquel and the like do not reduce chloroquine, so they are safe to dose to remove ammonia in an emergency. I wouldn't worry about running carbon if you're draining the tank, chloroquine doesn't 'stick' to things like copper likes to. I know it sucks losing fish even once you get them in QT, been there Link to comment
dandelion Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 I'm just really glad I listened to everyone's advice when I first started this hobby half a year ago to do it right - set up a QT. Thanks for your help no matter! Link to comment
amphipod Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I hear hypo salinity works well on ich Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I hear hypo salinity works well on ich it doesn't work all that well. there are strains of ich that are very resistant to that, one of the (many) reasons why a lot of public aquaria choose chloroquine instead. (plus, CP treats brook, uronema, and velvet without breaking a sweat). Link to comment
ajmckay Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 it doesn't work all that well. there are strains of ich that are very resistant to that, one of the (many) reasons why a lot of public aquaria choose chloroquine instead. (plus, CP treats brook, uronema, and velvet without breaking a sweat). Hehe for now at least... Dandelion you may want to consider changing the name of this thread - since It seems like the medication probably wasn't the cause of death... Typically in the case where an overdose/exposure to chemicals is concerned the fish spaz out and dart about to exhaustion before dying. It could have been the ich, or another factor such as shock or something... Link to comment
dandelion Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Any idea how to change the title? Can't seem to find an edit function for the title. I still wonder if it would have lived a little longer had I not dosed chloroquine.... But then the pods are still very much alive in my QT... Hehe for now at least... Dandelion you may want to consider changing the name of this thread - since It seems like the medication probably wasn't the cause of death... Typically in the case where an overdose/exposure to chemicals is concerned the fish spaz out and dart about to exhaustion before dying. It could have been the ich, or another factor such as shock or something... Link to comment
holy carp Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 To change the title, click 'edit' right under your initial post. Then click the "Use Full Editor" button under that window and you'll be able to change the title at the top. Link to comment
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