I've had my 5 loaches for about 15 months now. I originally got them to
control snail population. I recently bought the Hagen CO2 system, and my pH
has dropped to 6.6 (from 7.6). The temp is at 84C (there are 2 discus in
the tank). kH is low at 1.8.

Suddenly, the clowns have ich. I'm treating using Clout at one-half the
recommended dosage. Is there anything I should be aware of? There are also
3 ottos and 2 corys in the tank.

At this small dosage, is it possible to cure the ich without harming my
loaches? I've got enough clout to dose for 10 days, and will buy more if
necessary. I don't really want to kill any plants either (well, hornwart
and duckweed could go to h*ll)

I realize the bioload is high in my tank, but it hasn't been a problem since
I drip water into the tank each day to what amounts to a 25 % change daily.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

I've had my 5 loaches for about 15 months now. I originally got them to
control snail population. I recently bought the Hagen CO2 system, and my
pH
has dropped to 6.6 (from 7.6). The temp is at 84C (there are 2 discus in
the tank). kH is low at 1.8.

That probably stressed them and set off your problem....

Suddenly, the clowns have ich. I'm treating using Clout at one-half the
recommended dosage. Is there anything I should be aware of? There are
also
3 ottos and 2 corys in the tank.

I don't like clout, only because I've not used it... I would use Quick Cure
II that you can get in the smaller bottles at Wal-Mart. You may end up
using the whole bottle, but it's only $3, right?

At this small dosage, is it possible to cure the ich without harming my
loaches? I've got enough clout to dose for 10 days, and will buy more if
necessary. I don't really want to kill any plants either (well, hornwart
and duckweed could go to h*ll)

The Malachite Green can harm delicate plants, but when I used it, I didn't
have any ill effects on my plants... that being said, I would probably dose
the whole tank, 1 drop per gallon, everday, after you've done a 35-50% water
change.

I realize the bioload is high in my tank, but it hasn't been a problem
since
I drip water into the tank each day to what amounts to a 25 % change
daily.

A water change is where you take water out, then dechlorinate some water and
add it to your tank... what you describe is a top off... where you just add
water to top it off....

Thanks in advance for any ideas.


My ich treatment goes like this...

The day I begin the regimen, I do a BIG water change, like 50% and clean the
gravel good while your there.... and remove any carbon filter cartridges you
have in the HOT (hang on tank)filter, or any carbon you have in your
canister...

- day 1,1 drop per gallon in the morning, leave the lights out during the
whole treatment...before I go to bed, I dose 1 drop per 3 gallons, just to
be safe... medication loses it's effectiveness after several hours....
- day 2, 35% Water change, dose 1 drop per gallon in the morning, 1drop per
3 gallon 12hrs later
- day 3 35% Water change, dose 1 drop per gallon in the morning, 1drop per
3 gallon 12hrs later

do this for 10 days, even if the spots are gone.... don't worry about how
the tank looks, it'll be blue, or green in color... it won't hurt the
plants...

I've done this myself once, had a friend do it, once, and so far, no loss of
fish.... I can only hope that if you follow this, you'll have the same
results....

I got this regimen from a friend whose shop deals with sal****er mostly, but
at the time, he told me that he does this with his clown loaches, no matter
what... every time they get some in, they go thru this malachite green
regimen, so that they don't lose any... and their customers rarely have ich
after purchasing.... they sort of buildup an immunity to it if you do this
correctly....

Good luck..

Thanks for the help. I'll pick up some Quick Cure today.

If I leave the lights off for that long, would it be better to disconnect
the CO2?

The drip system I have actually works really well. I just turn on the tap,
and drip filtered water into the tank. The "old" water flows out through a
siphon and overflow box I rigged up. Saves the hassle of lugging buckets of
water to the tank.

Once again, thanks.

Just curious if you have photos of your drip system.


"dGH" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks for the help. I'll pick up some Quick Cure today.

If I leave the lights off for that long, would it be better to disconnect
the CO2?

The drip system I have actually works really well. I just turn on the
tap,
and drip filtered water into the tank. The "old" water flows out through
a
siphon and overflow box I rigged up. Saves the hassle of lugging buckets
of
water to the tank.

Once again, thanks.

IIRC, I turned it down, but not off... was probably 4-5 bubbles/sec to
1-2/sec... but not off...

drip system... I didn't get that... I thought you just meant top off... same
difference...

any pictures of your setup??




Thanks for the help. I'll pick up some Quick Cure today.

If I leave the lights off for that long, would it be better to disconnect
the CO2?

The drip system I have actually works really well. I just turn on the
tap,
and drip filtered water into the tank. The "old" water flows out through
a
siphon and overflow box I rigged up. Saves the hassle of lugging buckets
of
water to the tank.

Once again, thanks.

I don't have any pictures, as I don't own a digital camera. Basically, the
filter setup looks like this:
http://members.shaw.ca/dclubine/Dsc04423a.jpg

and the overflow looks similar to this:
http://www.adiscusdream.com/images/Overflow.jpg


Some ideas he http://members.shaw.ca/dclubine/drip.htm

http://www.adiscusdream.com/hatchery/hatchery.htm



"Frank Mamone" wrote Just curious if you have photos of your drip system.