newbiedude----few newb probs problem

[newbiedude]

in my tank (i believe 10 gal not sure but is called AR380) i have 1 male betta, 2 male guppys, 3 platys, 2 white cloud minnows and 2 clown loaches. my water ph is 7.0-7.2 and constant 27 degree temp.

1: just recently one of my guppys stopped eating and was not swimming much for 3 days. after a while on fourth day i cam to see my betta mauling the guppy (toilet funeral) just wondering why betta attacked it seeing I had it for 3 months with same guppy and no probs.

2: one of my platies has a white patchy thing growing on it. is this the dreaded ich? if so should i just go to shop and buy something to cure?

3: I was planning on getting 2 dwarf gouramis, will they get along with betta?

thx 4 help.......(plz reply)

[DemonShark]

1:They betta seem to have attacked it becasue he could get to it (couldnt attack it when living) and so he showed the corpse who is boss or hes just hungry.

2:It does sound like ich were is it growing on and also can you describe it more?

3:I had 2 of those with my betta and had no problems so yes.

[kimmers318]

There might be some issues with too many fish in a 10 gal....bettas seem to like their own space, and so do dwarf gourami's....I have 1 of each in my community tank, and when they meet, which isn't often, Seymore flares at the gourami. I wouldn't recommend adding 2 dwarf gourami's to a 10 gal with the existing fish. Take into consideration also that I believe the minimum recommended tank size is 15-20 gal for dwarf gourami's.
Clown loaches get too big for a 10 gal....so look forward to a bigger tank in the future if you want to keep them.
Ick looks like grains of salt attached to your fish, which is small....from the description "white patch thingy growing on it" sounds to me like something larger than a grain of salt so it might be something other than ick.
Do you check for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? How often and how much are your water changes?
Best of luck for the future

[DemonShark]

Sorry my advice stinks.........

[William]

The guppy might have died and than became a part of the Betta diet.

The patch you describe does as they say not sound as ick but might very well be som etype of fungus.

[kimmers318]

No, demonshark....your advice doesn't stink...sometimes we get caught up on one issue with a post and run with it. I also have a dwarf gourami with a betta...but in a much larger tank...so it is possible. And alot of fish I have found will nibble at a "slow" dying fish. Please don't take it to mean you gave "bad" advice, I was just trying to point out some other angles that I did catch. Unfortunately for me...I am a "baby" of the electronic age, and LOVE my computer and the research I can do. It often leads me into learning about many things that I have an interest in, even if it is not part of my life right now. I don't watch tv often, so I surf the net so to speak, and pieces parts sit in my brain until I need them! :)

[Slow Cheetah]

This is the old newbiedude but new account cos i lost password lol!

in reply (PS thx for quick reply) I use a PH test kit made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc and thats all I have in reading levels. For a while I was water changing 40% fortnightly but recently I have been doing 15-20% water changes weekly. About the platy with growth on it, the growth is on top of head (approx in between eyes) and is about 3mm in size. that is main infection but i noticed that this fish has a light white film around the body making it duller than my other two platys. I have also noticed that it is more reluctant to spreading its fins and keep them up against its body.

thx 4 ur help ;)

[DemonShark]

William can get back your original account

[kimmers318]

Not too knowledgeable on diseases myself, but we have had good luck trying melafix and/or pimafix for skin issues, along with using stress coat. The melafix and pimafix are natural treatments for various diseases and can be used together, so you might want to check them out and try one or both and see if it helps. The stress coat is a tap water conditioner that claims to help the fish with their own natural slime coat thus they can fight off the skin disease better themselves. I have had good luck using it with ick, nipped fins, and when the oscars decided to have a little skirmish with themselves one night and did some damage to each other's bodies.....thankfully the oscars didn't keep it up and we didn't have to separate them, a couple of tussles and they are best buds again!
In your favor I have found platy's to be quite hardy so you should be able to get thru this with them. You might also want to pick up test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you aren't familiar with cycling a tank, read up on it and then you will understand why checking for those are important. Good idea stepping up the water changes to weekly, it is best for the fish so their tank doesn't become a toilet.
Keep us posted and let us know how things go.