Need Help -Have Questions on treating ICH Issue

[cgindy]

Hello group,

I did a stupid thing and now will most likely loose all my fish due to it. I had to replace the liner in my pond which held 5 comets I have had in there for a couple years. Got liner replaced, filter system, water fall going and aerators. Put fish back in and everyone seemed happy! Yeah.

Then for the stupid - 2 weeks in to 'reward' myself I bought 2 shubunkins. No, I did not quarantine them, yes I should of. Everything was great for about a week until I noticed 2 fishes hiding, shooed them out, fed, they ate - didn't think much of it. Next day went to feed, fish still hiding and then notice on the tails of 2 my comets those dreaded white spots - oh no. By the following day when I finally got treatment for the pond, they all were acting sick.

Note - we have received a tremendous amount of rain and have had very high temperatures this past weekend.

I am treating with Knock-out Plus, into day 3 of treatment; added pond salt yesterday in prescribed amount for pond size; changed filter pads. Yesterday I tested the water (forgot had test kit) and found PH is on 9+ level and Ammonia is 8+ using API Master Test Kit.

Down 1 fish and another is really looking bad - others are just hanging under floating plants.

My challenge is Knock-out Plus states not to add any additional chemicals to the pond and doing a water change will reduce treatment AND my tap water comes out of tap with high PH as well - didn't test Ammonia.

So can I do a water exchange to help with Ammonia, not worry about PH right now - Add salt and some Knock Plus back in after exchange?

Thoughts? Thank you for your help!

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your problems. High ammonia is much more serious than high pH, address that first. I have high pH also, not a big deal as long it is not big swings. Stability, even if high is best.

Some more details about your set up would help. You don't get that high of ammonia, without something wonky. It has only been 2 weeks since you redid everything? If so, your pond is cycling again. Some treatments can affect your filter bacteria. How big is your pond as well as fish size? If you are feeding, stop until you get things under control, the fish will be fine without added food which will also help your ammonia levels

 

[cgindy]

@JRS
Thank you, especially about the PH which consistently ran high all last year but no impact to fish.

Set up
400-450 gallons
Pennington 5 n 1 pump - 369 GPH
Waterfall with bioballs and MagFlo pump - 590 GPH
Arerator - PondAir2

Added Aquascape beneficial bacterial on setup
Add BioClarifier each week

Pond Pic taken 5/31
Fish Pic taken 6/5 - noticed issue 6/8 - started treating 6/9

 

[mrsclem]

How old is the test kit?? If its out dated , your results could be way off! Stop adding any chemicals. When you redid the pond, you wiped out all the good bacteria and it will take time for your pond to cycle. Not sure if you have any way to test your salt level. The only way to remove salt once it is added is water changes. Check the date on your test kit and if it is old, get a new one and post results.

 

[cgindy]

How old is the test kit?? If its out dated , your results could be way off! Stop adding any chemicals. When you redid the pond, you wiped out all the good bacteria and it will take time for your pond to cycle. Not sure if you have any way to test your salt level. The only way to remove salt once it is added is water changes. Check the date on your test kit and if it is old, get a new one and post results.

Thank you for responding.
Test kit is relatively new and does not expire until 2024. Understand the destruction of bacteria and needing to build back up but immediate concern is the ich outbreak and high ammonia. I added the pond salt intentionality to assist fish with stress and slime coat.

 

[j.w]

@cgindy
I wonder if it would be easier to treat the fish by putting them into an aquarium or smaller container of water? Then you could make sure the pond was clear of the disease and add the fish back when they are well.

 

[WaterGardener]

Sorry you are having this problem.

Get some Prime, made by Seachem. It will bind the ammonia, but you may need to use a double or even triple dose for that high a reading. Up to 5 times the regular dosage is safe to use. The ammonia would still be there and still show up on tests, but it will be in a non toxic form so it won't harm the fish. It won't interfere with the medication.

Also, from now on, never throw out your old filter material. That is where the majority of your beneficial bacteria live. If you need new filter pads, rinse out the old ones and keep them in the pond, or in the filter with the new ones if there is room, for a few weeks. This will give the new pads some time to grow their own bacteria and you won't have to restart the cycle every time you replace the pads.

 

[cgindy]

Sorry you are having this problem.

Get some Prime, made by Seachem. It will bind the ammonia, but you may need to use a double or even triple dose for that high a reading. Up to 5 times the regular dosage is safe to use. The ammonia would still be there and still show up on tests, but it will be in a non toxic form so it won't harm the fish. It won't interfere with the medication.

Also, from now on, never throw out your old filter material. That is where the majority of your beneficial bacteria live. If you need new filter pads, rinse out the old ones and keep them in the pond, or in the filter with the new ones if there is room, for a few weeks. This will give the new pads some time to grow their own bacteria and you won't have to restart the cycle every time you replace the pads.

Thank you, will pick some prime up today, any thoughts on how that may react with the KockoutPlus that is treating the ich?

On filters, only change pads there is biomedia in the bottom but haven’t heard of leaving new ones in pond before. Will give a try. The waterfall pad does not get changed and it has bioballs in there as well.

It’s such a new fill it hasn’t had time to populate a good bacteria yet.

 

[WaterGardener]

There should be no problem with using Prime with the Knock-Out medication. If you want to be completely sure, you can call the Seachem folks. They are very helpful and nice people to talk with.

 

[cgindy]

Follow Up

Used water exchange and PRIME to reduce ammonia this worked. Lost all but 1 fish, still treating with KnockPlus for 5 more days. Pond chem levels are all in range

Thank you all who responded I really appreciate it.