Jump to content

Dosing Ferts and Meds at same time


Teresa M
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello All, 

I'm fairly new to fish keeping and to this forum but I need some advice.  I recently discovered ich in my display tank (75 gal) and began dosing  ParaGuard at a half dose.  The tank has finished cycling, but it's still very new (maybe 3 months).  I have some Pristella Tetras, Blue Kerris, Pencilfish, Apistos, Peacock Gudgeons, Corys, Hillstream loaches, and a whiptail catfish  I'm dosing half strength to make sure the Hillstreams and catfish can handle the meds.  The tank also has some java fern, amazon sword, and anubias.  I noticed my plants are looking a little rough, some have some discolored spots on the leaves and some have brown algae stains that I can't rub off.  Most of the java fern is attached to rocks that are semi-buried in the sand.  The anubias are attached to cichlid caves or rocks.  I did add some root tabs under the amazon sword when I planted it about 6 weeks ago, but that is the only fertilizer I've added to the tank thus far.  Is it safe to dose my tank with Easy Green when I'm treating it with ParaGuard?   Since I just started treating my tank about 3 days ago I don't think the plants are in bad shape from exposure to the medicine, but rather weathering the cycle and me not realizing they needed liquid fertilizers.  I plan on at least a 10 - 14 day regimen of ParaGuard to hopefully get rid of the ich.  Any advice you have is greatly appreciated.

Params:

  • PH - 7.2
  • Temp - 77
  • Ammonia - 0
  • Nitrite - 0
  • Nitrate - 5

plant 2.jpg

plant 1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never used paraguard. But when I have dosed with meds in the pass I did use fertilizer with no problem. To be exact I used API Super Ick Cure. Honestly I think your going to be okay dosing fertlizer and meds in the same tank. 

However another thing you may want to consider is to quarintine the sick fish, and treat them there. This way you dont have to worru about your plants, loaches, or snails. And you wont need to dose as much, as the quarantine tank would be smaller. Knowing that your new to the hobby it could be safe to say that you dont have a spare tank around, if you do thats great! use that for your quarintine tank. If you dont I would suggest to use a see through rubbermaid from walmart, could probably even find some in your basement. Heres a video that @Irene made on this method:

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually use a quarantine tank for new fish, but since I found ich in my display tank on more than one species of fish I decided it's best to treat the whole tank.  It's not an ideal situation, but that's the only way to be sure I'm getting it all.  I never saw ich on any of the fish when they were in quarantine so I'm not sure what introduced it to my display tank.  A couple of weeks ago I did have a snail die and an ammonia spike like you wouldn't believe...I think that is what stressed all the fish and probably triggered the ich breakout.  I did so many water changes to get the ammonia under control that week the water company sent someone out to check my meter. 😛 

I know ParaGuard isn't as strong as Ich X, but I started with Ich X and lost an entire school of marble hatchets and green fire tetras.  After two days of fatalities I decided it wasn't worth it and stopped using it.  My poor tank has been through a lot.  So far I haven't seen any negative reactions from my fish with ParaGuard...and I'll increase the dose slowly to full strength as long as the fish continue to receive it well.  I'm hopeful that with a little fertilizer, my plants will recover and slowly my tank will get healthy again. 

I really appreciate all of your responses and I'll be sure to check out other threads so I can learn more.  

Thank you, everyone. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...