Recovery

I think the ich infestation is now finally under control. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, and all that.

I see no more white spots on the fish. Some are still acting stressed, particularly the Siamese flying foxes, but that may just be the medication. Which I need to continue until, oh, Wednesday or so, to be sure I don’t have a relapse. I’m not too worried about that, since I found a scholarly paper that indicates fish really do acquire immunity to an ich strain after a time, if they survive the infestation.

The clown loach is still mad at me, but not so mad that he won’t come out of his hidey-hole when there’s food in the tank.

So, total losses from this infestation: one clown loach and one Otocinclus. The latter may have been starvation or chemical stress rather than actual ich. I’ve started putting in algae wafers after the lights go off, and yesterday I clipped a blanched slice of zuccini to the tank wall, to be sure the algae eaters have enough. (They’ve done an incredible job of cleaning up the algae that are already there.) At least two of the Siamese flying foxes, two of the Otocinclus, and the Ancistrus appreciated the treat; and after the slice got chewed down enough to come off its clip and sink to the bottom of the tank, Mr. Loach came over and demolished what was left.

If things continue under control, and there’s no further problems by next Saturday, I’ll probably be down in Albuquerque to attend a session at the LDS Christian temple and do some hiking in the area. Barring any further precipitation between now and then, some trails should be dry enough. I may bring Gary Stradling along if he’s available; he’s been out of town looking after his elderly mother. So look for some more geology soon. While I’m there, I may buy some Vallisneria plants for the tank, and I may bring back some Siamese algae eaters to put into my quarantine tank. Will see if they show any signs of illness over at least a week of quarantine before putting them in the display tank.

Still have not heard if my nephew has set a specific date for his wedding in April. I’ll need to get my camping reservations near Delta as soon as I know; I plan to visit the trilobite fossil beds on my way up, and probably spend a little more time in Capital Reef National Monument on the way. Or possibly the San Rafael Swell. The problem with both is that they are just a little far for one day’s drive, if I’m going to also stop at the Bisti wilderness again.