HELP- parecox rainbow in distress

[Tinafina]

Had up aquarium for 4mo. Before then i didnt know anything. I wound up w a m parecox rainbow in a 10g. I know they school so just the other day purchased a mate 1/2 his size( must be a youngster) lfs said it was a male. Since then nothing but agressive behavior and stressing the little one out. Im beginning to see the first signs of ick. (i spiked up the heat) Hides in the corner with the heater. Looking for a larger tank right now.

Question: do i add more.? Can i add more for time being in a 10g?(lfs sales them pretty small, for about $3)

Please some feed back, owner in distress

[andreahp]

I'm not really familiar with rainbows, but if they school as you say, then 2 is not a school - a school is more like a minimum of 6, however, I do not know how large they get as to whether 10gal is OK for that many. How do you know you are seeing signs of ick? Usually if a fish has ick you should add salt in addition to raising the heat ( and what is it set at?) - but before you do that you should make sure of what you are seeing.

What are your water parameters at this time - readings for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates - please post them.

[Tinafina]

I'm not really familiar with rainbows, but if they school as you say, then 2 is not a school - a school is more like a minimum of 6, however, I do not know how large they get as to whether 10gal is OK for that many. How do you know you are seeing signs of ick? Usually if a fish has ick you should add salt in addition to raising the heat ( and what is it set at?) - but before you do that you should make sure of what you are seeing.

What are your water parameters at this time - readings for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates - please post them.

I dont want to get the whole school quite yet bcuz of the tank size.
Signs: noticed small specks of white on fin,and lip. I was investigating on other forums and they mentioned that technique. Temp was at 79 bumping it up to 3 degrees. Parameters been very stable all in the norm, although i did just clean out tank and have not rechecked.

I think the small one is a female after all.

[nikelodeon79]

The fish sounds like it has ich, likely due to being stressed by the other fish. The ich parasite is present in a lot of tanks, but doesn't always affect healthy, non-stressed fish.

[Brhino]

Like Andreahp says, 2 is not a school. A single fish is lonely and stressed. Two fish are lonely and stressed, and beat on each other (or their tankmates) as a result. If one is male and the other is female, that may explain aggression too.

Are there any other fish in the tank?

I would not keep a school of rainbowfish in a 10g tank. I don't believe that will be enough room for them to be healthy and unstressed. If you can get a bigger tank I would recommend it. If you can't, I would find another home for the rainbows and research fish that can live comfortably in a tank that size.

[andreahp]

I dont want to get the whole school quite yet bcuz of the tank size.
Signs: noticed small specks of white on fin,and lip. I was investigating on other forums and they mentioned that technique. Temp was at 79 bumping it up to 3 degrees. Parameters been very stable all in the norm, although i did just clean out tank and have not rechecked.

I think the small one is a female after all.
What do you mean by "parameters been very stable - all in the norm" - what is your norm?

[Lady Hobbs]

Add no more fish to a tank that already has diseased fish. You will only be infecting the new fish. Rainbows are schooling fish and belong in groups and why you are seeing aggression.

[Tinafina]

Ph 7.6
Ammonia 0.25 (added ick cure by API)
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

That I would consider "normal range"

[Lady Hobbs]

A tank not yet cycled would not be considered a normal range. Normal would be 0 ammonia/0 nitrites but that would be 0 after the cycle, not before.

If you have an airstone, I would add one. Oygen depletes with medication.

[Tinafina]

Well Daymn. I thot my tank was cycled. I guess 4 months isn't good enouph. I think my lil fish is gonna die. He Gettn attacked like no other. Poor feller Kk

[andreahp]

Well Daymn. I thot my tank was cycled. I guess 4 months isn't good enouph. I think my lil fish is gonna die. He Gettn attacked like no other. Poor feller Kk
You can't put cycling on a timeline and say "it's been 1 or 2 or 3 months so my tank should be cycled by now" - a cycled tank has certain readings - 0 ammonia & nitrites and a nitrates reading of 20 or less - until you see readings like that you aren't cycled - it's a process the filter goes through and the amount of time needed is different for every tank.

[Fishin Phil]

+1 to andreahp. Time varies tank to tank. Test results are what really matters.

[Lady Hobbs]

Well Daymn. I thot my tank was cycled. I guess 4 months isn't good enouph. I think my lil fish is gonna die. He Gettn attacked like no other. Poor feller Kk

A cycle can also be lost by cleaning out the filter, where the bacteria lives. But if you are seeing ammonia something has happened and bacteria has been lost. Did you use dechlorinator?

I would remove your fish and put the poor thing down. (Ice water in a bucket.) It simply is not right to allow him to be attacked over and over again. He has got to be suffering between the ick and the attacks. Are you sure the attacker is another neon rainbow? I have never seen aggressive like that even from the larger rainbows.

Have you offered it some hiding spaces in fake plants or something? Also, do not try to add more of these fish to this tank. The tank is too small for these fish.