Well to cut to the chase....QT, QT, QT. I noticed one of my pictus cats in the 55g swimming behind the plants the other day. I really didn't think much of it although it seemed strange. I looked in and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He did this for a fer days....I kept an eye on it. Well two days ago I notice all the pictus swimming up and down the glass...not normal behavior....didn't think much of it. Last night they were up and down the glass all night at the top swimming etc.

So today I go to do my water change and notice the Severum at the top behind the filter. I take a close look and see he is covered in ICH. I freaked out and started looking at the tank. I notice a different Pictus cat the largest one about 6inches has skin coming off and a bloody gills....The ICH has taken his slime coat and has started destroying him. The tank currently has a adult Convict, Green Terror, 4x Pictus cats, Severum and 3x Australlian rainbows. Everyone has ICH luckily the GT has only a few spots.

I emmediately do a 75% water change. I then added salt and a 5x dose of Prime....I added the salt throughout the day and cranked the heat to 85. Everyone seems to be doing ok and I think I got to it just in time. I wish I would of looked closer sooner, I knew the fish were acting strange. It has been so long sense I have lost a fish to disease or even had a diseased tank I took the strange behavior for granted. I regret to say I lost the large Pictus....RIP...i am kind of sad because I have had that guy for about four years now....

Back to the QT I think the cause was the new fish I added. I should of put them in QT. That is where they are now BTW. I am treating that tank too as a preventitave even though there is no signs. Long story short if you notice your fish behavng strange, and it will come with experience check them out it only takes a few seconds. QT all new fish as well...it will save you time and ensure good health to adult fish.

Update...I got home this morning to find I lost a rainbow and another Pictus cat. The Cichlids are in bad condition the GT has pop eye and his slime coat is gone I'm so f'in pissed off right now. I'm pretty sure the two pictu cats wont make it much longer and I might loose the rest of them. :angspmd:

Sorry for your loss...

My mom put 6 neon tetras in my 55g tank once because she thought they were pretty. She didn't put them in the quarantine tank because the shop owner said they were healthy. Over 1 week I lost over $100 in small tetras despite my efforts.
My mom now asks if she can buy me a fish - good thing, or I would have oscars, terrors, parrotfish, and various saltwater species in my 55g tetra/danio tank...

Sorry to hear that, Paul. I hope you can save some of them.

Yes, a quarantine tank can save you many headaches.

Dang, that really sucks! Best of luck Mostlycichlids. Hoping all works out well, Ed.

Wow sorry to hear that!! Hope they heal

Ugh. I've had really good luck with epsom salt for treating pop eye. Also I wasn't aware that Prime did anything for ich.

For ich I've had very good results with malachite green, but be warned it stains the living crap out of everything. Formalin works good too and doesn't stain, it's more expensive tho around me for some reason.

Good luck with saving some of them.

Well I lost another Pictus cat now I am just left with two australlian rainbows, GT, Convict, aqnd Rotkeil Severum. I got home from work and they are in real bad shape....I removed them and they are in a 20l tupperware container in a Formalin bath for an hour. I may give I am doing another 75% water change and am going to treat the main tank with heat and aquari-sol (soluable copper salts)....Have tomorrow off so if they make it through the night and are still in bad shape I will do another Formalin bath. I really need something to add to help with the slime coat...All I had was the prime. Well they barely made it through the bath I doubt they will make it through the night. I am so pissed my 9 in four year old GT is gonna die...

I have API brand Pond Stress Coat and it works just fine. Any brand stress coat added, I'm sure will help.

That sucks bigtime!...

Oh yea. If you have any inverts or live plants in there copper salts will kill them.

Yeah I know saint....fortunately I don't.

Too bad about the sev. Sorry to hear that.

I had that happen to a full tank of fish once, lost their slime coat and got all fungused. Had a pair of convicts, an oscar and a coupla oddball cats in it. Nothing worked. I'd had a bad sinus infection and never finished the prescription, and in slightly drunken (tells ya how long ago it's been) frustration I broke one of the capsules (amoxicillin) open and dumped it in the tank. A week later everybody was happy and healin' nicely. Don't know what it did to my bacteria colony, but never had any ammonia problems, LOL.

Not that that helps ya. Sounds to me you're doin' everything ya can.

Personally, Nox-Ich is my favorite treatment for ich and velvet. It is devastating to live plants but could still be effective in a QT tank or as a bath. Don't think I've ever lost a fish after using it. I feel bad, Paul, wish I'd a caught this thread last night.

WYite

Well the GT and Convict are still alive....look like shit but still alive we will see what night fall brings. Did another 90% water change, added stress coat, Melafix and replenished the salt. Hop it helps I also left the water level about 2inches from the top so the HOB filters create a good splash for extra oxygen.

Good luck man I'm using Maracide for my velvet outbreak. I'll let you know how it works out. I'll be crushed if I loose my GT. I brought her back from the brink of death once and it took almost a full year for her to get back to normal only to get velvet. If I loose the whole tank well I wont go there just yet.