Well, I did as ya said, but I think my two little fishies had been hurting for too long and were too sick to help. They are now both in fishie heaven swimming in some huge lake.

now, what I don't get, is the medicine I was using... before I had my hospital tank, I rescued two different fish at different times about a week apart (a VERY small black moore an a pearlescent who was COVERED in ick). I know it's bad, but since I did not have a hospital tank at that time, I just put them in a one gallon bowl with one drop of the aquarasol. ( it's supposed to be 12 drops I think for ten gallons? can't really remember right now). And God as my witness, the ick went away, completely away in 4-5 days... and, for example, on the black moore, I'd took him out of the water on the third day, gave the bowl new water, and put him back in. On the fourth day, it was all gone so he moved to an aquarium and I threw the bowls water away. Also, 3-4 times a day, I'd areate the bowls water. that was it!

But even though these two telescope gf were in a real tank, with filters, areation, etc. the meds did not work? That baffles me. and then I did the salt like you said (please note that I have printed off all of the info you gave me so that I can use it for future reference if I need to) but I think by that the point the fish were just toooooo sick.

I named these two Hansel and Gretel, from the fairytale. they were so gorgeous. Hansel, the silver and black---black moore,was the biggest goof ball I've ever seen (biased opinion, I know seeings how I have only had gf for about two months!) When he wanted to eat, I simply could not get him to eat any of the flakes that I purposefully sank... that TURD! he would just let the water current (he did this BEFORE he got extremely sick AND right before he died) pull him around at the top while he smacked his jaws. He didn't try to swim to the food, he just waited until the current brought either the food to him or him to the food!...

In the end though, the only time he would move at all was for the food. at other times, he would just rest on the bottom. But he loved his food sooo much that he wasn't willing to miss out on a bite even though he was sick!!!! I woke up one morning and he was dead.....

The other fish, gretel the orange telescope--- well, remember how I told you she was getting red bloody streaks in her tail? They moved through out the rest of her body! I had medicine for it that mardel makes.... aaggh! can't think of what the medicine or what the name for the red streaks is called.... I had bought it earlier for the pearlescent I saved. hmmm.

Well, anyway, she looked so bad, her tail also started falling apart, that I had the oil ready to put her to sleep... but I couldn't do it. I knew that in reality I was indeed "helping her," but I couldn't do it.

I tried several times. Now I can take a hurt cat to the vet to be put down easily. The vet is the one who ends up doing the "job" though---not me. I couldn't do it because I suddenly felt bad deciding life or death for another creature.

However, now that I didn't do it, I feel absolutely terrible- even more so- because I didn't do it... She died through suffering, I didn't let her die with my help. Maybe though, the next time I am face with a similar situation, I'll remember gretel, and be a bit wiser.

Also, I'd just like to ask you what I should do with the hospital tank. how do I kill the ick in there? the .3% salt is still in it. Will that do the trick?

My nets? you brought them up. how do I...errr... sanitize them? what about the filter tubes and the air pump tube and stone that goes into the water?

Also, I know that not having any gravel is good for goldfish, but I ust don't like the way aquariums look with out it. what's your advice?

Thank you so much for helping me over the past week. Also, just to let you know------That test over 5 chapters I took here at college? Well, I only got 2 chapters of it completely studied. Somehow though, I got a 97.5%.... I was the last student done. I just took my time and tried to make MANY educated guesses!

OH! and!!! since the hospital tank is really also the true home to my betta, if you go to page two of this forum discussion, you can read about him....... short rundown: had him for about a month.... he will not eat three different. wait four now different types of food, so he was starving himself and even though he had good water he was deteriorating a bit in the fins, loosing his red color, and getting ick.... well, now I've got this stinker eating dried bloodworms, (we tries to eat the betta pellets but they are too big) his ick is getting worse (not as bad as the two gf's that died from it though).

I wanted to get him eating b-4 I medicated him.... do you think it would be okay to put him back in the hospital tank? I began the .3% LAST saturday. what do you think?

hi there,

being that there are some board problems (main page message board crashed) everyone is havng a hard time navigating (or even getting on), daryl may not be back for a day or two or...........

anyway, ill try to help you the best i can.

i take it that your betta is in a separate container that your changing the water in every few days, right? thats fine for now and i would even suggest that you treat him in the container until the ich goes away (absolutely none) for at least 4 days. once this has been achieved, your hospital tank should be well and clear of any ich or ich cysts. if your wanting to get him to start eating before medicating him, you might be best to go ahead and medicate him in that its most likely the ich stressing him out and making him not want to eat. also, it would be advisable to try out half doses at first. if he shows no improvement within 2-3 days and is still acting somewhat normal, you might think about upping the dose to the normal level. its just best to take meds slowly with bettas.

to speed up the life cycle of ich in the hospital tank, you can raise the temp to 80-82 degrees (got a heater?). this, along with the .3% salting should allow for complete eradication within 5-7 days.

along the lines of gravel:

indeed gravel or no gravel is an age old question. to answer it bluntly (in my opinion) yes, you should provide your goldfish with gravel once its reached 2 inches long. the trick is to either have gravel that is too small to get trapped in the goldies mouth or too big. i allways choose a gravel that is polished, unpainted and small. my main reason for always suggesting the use of gravel is because it becomes an excellent medium for growing beneficial bacteria and acts as an excellent buffer from bio-filter burps and stumbles. not to mention the hours enjoyment that they get each day just digging around in the gravel searching for those elusive "lost morsels" of food!

the reason you saw a marked improvement in the fish when they were being treated in a separate container and not in the tank is simple. in the tank, there were probably masses of cysts (eggs) from the ich everywhere. in a case such as that, it takes longer for the meds to kill off each new generation that was emerging from each egg that was laid before the additions of the meds. in the container, you were providing them with a parasite free basin to be in while the meds did their trick. if you were to change the water out 100% and add fresh meds each day, this would be called "the bucket to bucket treatment" this is by all means the most effective way to treat any fish with any parasites or bacterial infections.

i hope ive helped you a bit here. im sure daryl will be by very soon to help you further.

good luck!

paul

Hey paul, thanks for your info. between you and daryl, I have learned soooo much! I appreciate it more than you know!

man. sadly when I went hom after college on the same day that I wrote this post, the betta was dead... ug... It was really my sons (I'm a say it out loud proud single mom!) betta. Together, at bedtime, I would tell him stories about the betta whose name is "callie"-- my son would aruge with me and insist that the betta was a girl---adventures in life. Just to let you know, the famous callie has saved harry potters life countless times..... I guess thats a nice way to remember him/her

Also, I asked my son if he wanted another betta.... and he was like "NOOOOO!!! It'll just die!"
I'm so heart broken. That fish woulda never gotten the ich if he hadn't starved himself for so long....

aww. im so sorry you lost "him". :crp

well, i think that if you were to explain to your little man that he was a sick one and there wasnt much you guys could do, he might just like the idea of getting some more fish. maybe.

should you decide to go ahead and get more fish, make sure to keep the tank running. youll need to let it run for a full two weeks before you can deem it "ich-free". unless you went with the heat and salt method i described. then you could possibly put fish in it within a week. thats up to you and your little man, though.

your darn right say it loud, say it proud!!!!! i was basically raised by my mom. she single handedly raised my sister and i to adulthood. sometimes working 3 jobs to make ends meet. i tell you, she is a hero! i cannot believe how unselfishly she provided for us throughout our most formative years. and the heck that we put her through when we got into trouble, uungh! to me, my mother is the single most special person on the face of this earth!

i wish you much luck with you and your son! you are a very special breed of woman that we should all admire as i admire my own mother!

if you ever need any help in the future, please dont hesitate to post back here!

paul

Sounds like your mom raised ya right! And raising kids right is a hard thing to do anymore--- with all of the nastiness in the world that can undermine anything good people try to teach their children.... I just keep my fingers crossed.