Link to Diana's "Diseased Fish" thread

[dwalstad]

Originally Posted by tonbrencat

What about high temps and plants?

I've tried chemicals, and they didn't work. Forget about plants and high temps. Treating ich with salt in a planted tank may (or may not) kill the plants. Worth a try.

You may find a chemical (e.g., Malachite Green) that kills the Ich swarmers. If the chemical works, you should see no new white pimples appearing on your fish. If pimples keep appearing, it means that the chemical isn't killing the Ich swarmers. Then you and your fish are in trouble.

Many methods will work, but many Ich strains are now resistant to treatments that may have worked in the past. Write me at my e-mail <dwalstad@bellsouth.net) and I'll send you my article on the Transfer Method. Basically, you need to get your fish away from the swarmers.

[tonbrencat]

Thanks Diana, being new with plants I need the pros help, so thank you. Catching fish in a heavy planted tank was easier than I thought, I don't like to use chemicals unless I have to, so the fish will get; up temp, salt, wc's in QT; planted tank no fish water change, I read that ich without a host will die, right? Thanks again

[colinsk]

I just re-read your article. It is a very nice update! Thank you.

I had a question, you state "I also started a policy of removing surface water biofilms from the tanks."

How would one do that? I have tried on my planted aquarium but I can't seem to remove it.

One note:

(can grow for a year in distilled water)

Grow or survive? If they are growing for a year then they must be metabolizing their lipid reserves and be very efficient. Yeast cells will consume their lipid reserves in less than a day in an aerobic environment for example.

[dwalstad]

[quote=colinsk;462516]I just re-read your article. It is a very nice update! Thank you.

I had a question, you state "I also started a policy of removing surface water biofilms from the tanks."
QUOTE]

I just put a 1 quart container into the tank and let surface water fall into it. I see the oily film fall into it.

[waterfaller1]

Originally Posted by dwalstad

[

I just put a 1 quart container into the tank and let surface water fall into it. I see the oily film fall into it.

I do the same. I use the clear container a cut pineapple comes in.

[Chris.]

why not use one of the filter intake surface skimmer attachments?

[colinsk]

No filter. If I change the powerhead so it breaks up the surface of the water then I don't get the film. However, I also think this drives off the little CO2 created by the fish food.

[dwalstad]

Originally Posted by colinsk

I just re-read your article. It is a very nice update! Thank you.

Grow or survive? If they are growing for a year then they must be metabolizing their lipid reserves and be very efficient. Yeast cells will consume their lipid reserves in less than a day in an aerobic environment for example.

Mycobacteria are incredibly efficient growers under starvation conditions. They grow and divide (probably not all year long, but much longer than a day).

[colinsk]

Originally Posted by dwalstad

Mycobacteria are incredibly efficient growers under starvation conditions. They grow and divide (probably not all year long, but much longer than a day).

Wow! That is likely one of the reasons they stock so much lipids. Kind of like the bear that stocks up of fat for the winter. It surprises me how little we know about micro-organisms. I think with the new gene technologies we will surely learn more about them. I know our understanding of yeast is growing dramatically.

(I mis-typed I should just retract the whole sentence "Yeast cells will consume their lipid reserves in less than a day in an aerobic environment for example." To clarify it would be to far out of topic for this forum. If anyone is really interested in how yeast survives storage and returns to a nutrient rich media PM me. )

[Jane in Upton]

Thanks, Mods, for fixing the links - they all seem to be working now.

And thank you, Diana, for providing the free download-able PDF of your article at your book website. Certainly something every fish keeper should read!

-Jane