ich treatment killed tank

[alicakes]

First time fish owner, I adopted this 75g with its 12 guys, inverts (cories, plecko, snails) and fish (glofish). about half the glos got Ich, i didnt notice until it was severe, I thought they were air bubbles??? When we realized we rushed to local fish store, she gave us "rid ich" said they use it with all their fish, totally safe. For 75 gallons, she said, a cup and a half for 4 days. we were in a panic, trusted her didnt ask questions ran home and dumped a cup 1/2 into the tank. the water was so dark, and there was visible stress, but along with online research this was the solution and i just thought well of course they dont like it but they need it! starting at 1 hour in one died, within 12 hours we had lost the entire tank including 2 new glos of 3 days who were obviously the most healthy. We are assuming our dose was off, we cant think of how else this could happen. We are devistated and feel so terrible for the fish we had grown very attached to, they deserved better. someone please give me some advice, i have no idea what went wrong or what i should have done.

 

[mrpontiac80]

First time fish owner, I adopted this 75g with its 12 guys, inverts (cories, plecko, snails) and fish (glofish). about half the glos got Ich, i didnt notice until it was severe, I thought they were air bubbles??? When we realized we rushed to local fish store, she gave us "rid ich" said they use it with all their fish, totally safe. For 75 gallons, she said, a cup and a half for 4 days. we were in a panic, trusted her didnt ask questions ran home and dumped a cup 1/2 into the tank. the water was so dark, and there was visible stress, but along with online research this was the solution and i just thought well of course they dont like it but they need it! starting at 1 hour in one died, within 12 hours we had lost the entire tank including 2 new glos of 3 days who were obviously the most healthy. We are assuming our dose was off, we cant think of how else this could happen. We are devistated and feel so terrible for the fish we had grown very attached to, they deserved better. someone please give me some advice, i have no idea what went wrong or what i should have done.

I’m not a fresh water guy but I’ll bump the post. Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately the learning curve in aquariums often is attached to loss.

 

[Driftdiver]

Why do I think your local fish store is likely a Petco, PetSmart, or Pet Supermarket? Unfortunately IMHO these box stores do not tend to have knowledgeable employees. While there are exceptions, most of the employees know next to nothing and cannot even properly ID what species are in the tank. No joke, I watched an employee tell a customers that there was no problem buying a baby Red Devil (super aggressive cichlid that easily exceeds 10 inches) and a couple of Glo-Tetras for the 5 gallon tank they were purchasing, The employee tried to unsuccessfully step them up to a 10 gallon, but did not point out ANY of the issues with the species size or aggression differences.

If my speculation is correct, may I suggest finding an actual fish store, not a pet store that happens to sell fish. It is also helpful to research your potential purchases before pulling the trigger, it can save you in the long run.

To answer your questions, Yes, you WAY over medicated and killed your fish. But you would know this if you read the directions rather than rely on misinformation.

Per the Kordon Rid Ich Plus instructions: 1 fl.oz. (29.5mL) treats 60 gallon; 4 fl.oz. (118mL) = (1/2 cup) treats 240 gallons. The instructions also suggest performing a partial water change, dosing only partial amount to see how the fish tolerate and discuss different impacts possible with scaleless fish, armored fish, etc.

I hope this does not deter you from the hobby. I lost $2k worth of animals due to an overzealous fishsitter treated a non existent ich outbreak in my invert heavy saltwater system. She treated my tank with Quinine, causing my inverts to go nuclear s killing everything but a single coral cat. I came home to anenome and fish soup.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Do you mean a cup and a half or a cap and a half? Big difference in terms of dosing/overdosing.

Glofish aren’t the hardiest fish - it’s possible the infection was already too strong and killed the weakest fish. The dieoff can also cause an ammonia spike that killed others.

 

[blecki]

overzealous fishsitter

Dude I am sorry for your loss. I can't fathom what someone could be thinking that would mean they, the babysitter, does anything to the tank except feed it and top off.