Ick!! Oh noes!

[silvering14]

Ich (or ick) is a nasty little protozoan parasite that is often present in commercially bought fish. This is pretty much the major reason to quarantine new fish for a few weeks - so that infections can be caught before introducing them to "clean" tanks. Sure enough, I have an outbreak in my new 55; however, there are only a few cysts so far, so the

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Next day update

[silvering14]

Well, today I added another dose of medication to the tank; on inspection, all the cysts on the neons have already dropped off. I won't dose again tomorrow (3 days is the maximum dosage before you have to do a water change to keep the concentration down) but I will change the water and keep a sharp eye out for more signs. I'm wondering just how effective the medication actually is - like antibiotics, one doesn't want to leave a population alive to become resistant to the meds. Thus the second dose. I suppose the proof will come with time - if I don't get another outbreak, it will have worked. I will have to sterilize my siphon and bucket, I think. That's a pain. :P