# Water change then ich



## oprsd23 (May 22, 2009)

I changed the water in my 10 gallon fish tank this morning (25% of it) and now my fish seem to have ich. 

I noticed while I was doing the change, right after I got rid of the 25% the temperature went from 82 degrees to 74 degrees. Could that of caused it to happen so fast because I didn't notice it this morning and now all of a sudden they all have ich. 

I put in ich medication (I can only do half the amount the bottle says because I have tetras in the tank) I also have a new algae eater in it since last week. 

I know you are supposed to do a 25% water change daily while treating for ich (I had to treat them back in may as well) but now I am worried that the water temperature will go to low during it now so I do not know what to do because it got low just by me taking the 25% out today.

Does anyone have any advice? 

Thanks once again


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

yep , the shock of the temp change probably caused it. Ich can also be triggered from stress.


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## oprsd23 (May 22, 2009)

Thanks. Any tips on not making the water temp change while taking out water? And do you think vacuuming the gravel stresses them?


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

just make the clean water you replace with is near the correct temp. I'm sure vacuuming does stress fish, for a short time, but they stress more when not giving enough hiding spots, or in a tank with fish they fear. If I had to error on one side or the other with the water, I'd opt for it being a bit warmer (certainly not hot) than cooler. As for vacuuming, it does more good than harm, it removes decaying debris and uneaten food that rots and creates ammonia.


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## oprsd23 (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for the reply. I am just worried about doing the water change tomorrow now. Because it seems to get cold while I am taking the water out not when I am putting it back in.

I had another though tho. A couple weeks ago I noticed that my 2 algae eaters were missing (they were the really small ones) Do you think maybe the other fish ate them and that's why they have ich? 

Sorry for all the questions. 

Thank's again


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

ich is known to be trigger by sudden temp. drops. You don't get ich from eating fish. Only internal parasites are transfered by eating. But if ich killed them (or they died of anything) other fish could easily have eaten them or they could still be hiding.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

get a decent thermometer..you can get a good digital meat thermometer from a department store for about $10...sounds like a lot ; but it is very accurate beyond most aquarium units..
you water will not cool down that much if you are only changing 25% ...i would bet that you are putting cooler water in when you refill.you can go from 74 to 80 without any problems..but in most cases ; if you go from 80 to 74 you may well have trouble.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Let the new water sit out someplace for a day to warm up and aerate. That will solve a lot of your problems.
Vacuuming the gravel is a good idea, since it also gets rid of a lot of parasite "eggs" which are waiting in the gravel to hatch.


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## oprsd23 (May 22, 2009)

Today the ich seems to be worse. Is this normal for ich? Will it get worse before it gets better?


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## oprsd23 (May 22, 2009)

Well one of the fish was being attacked by the rest (the fish that had the most ich) I don't know if I did the right thing but I put it in a small bowl and let it rest on top of the water so it still gets heat from the heater... I am pretty sure it will die because she won't eat and is not really moving. Do you think it is okay what I did with it? I don't want it to suffer so I am not sure what to do

Update: This fish just passed away, at least he's not suffering now


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