Betta has ICK...

[michaelg210]

he is very lethargic, normally, he is almost always on the move....

all i could find at walmart, only place open, was Ick Clear from Jungle Fish Care and

Wardley Essentials, Ick Away....

Read Aquarium Salt helps, 1 teaspoon per every 2.5 gallons, which I did, (added 4 tsp to the 10G tank), however, i doubt I am supposed to do this daily, (see below)

Don't know if I should still add the Jungle Fish Care Ick Clear tablet as well.

TREATMENT:
Ick is a parasite. Because ick is contagious, it is preferable to treat the whole tank when one fish is found to have it. Ick is temperature sensitive: Leave your betta in the community tank and raise temperature to 85 F and add one drop of Aquarisol per gal every day until cured. It will only take a few days to get rid of the pesky little parasites. The reason is that the parasites are sensitive to the heat and at 85F they become free swimming (detach themselves from betta’s skin and go for a swim in the water which contains the Aquarisol. Aquarisol then kills them).

questions on the above (TREATMENT):

How long would I leave the tank at 85? One Day, Several Days?

I will try to pick up some aquarisol tomorrow, but don't want to use the Ick Clear and then add Aquarisol (if I can find it) and be mixing the meds doing more harm than good to the fish....

anyone?

 

[bassbonediva]

The very best way to clear up ick is to forget all the crap out there that's supposedly for treating ick and just crank up the temperature on the tank for two weeks. You can add a little bit of aquarium salt if you want, but it really doesn't make that much of a difference. Crank up your temp to 85F and leave it there for two weeks. Do partial water changes (about 10-15%) every two or three days, being sure to vacuum your gravel really well to pick up all the dead and dying parasites from the substrate. After the first week, the ick parasites will have fallen off your fish because they can't stand the warmer temps and will die. The reason for leaving the temp cranked up for the second week is to make sure that all the parasites are definitely dead. After the second week of raised temps, do a really big water change (about 30% or so), just to make sure nothing got left behind. I tend to run my betta tanks a little warmer (about 81-82F) to avoid any chance of them getting ick. Make sure that while your temp is cranked up you oxygenate the water really well (adding just a naked air stone works best) because the higher temp will drain the oxygen out of the water. Bettas may be surface breathers, but they do still use their gills and get some of the oxygen from the water. Also, try soaking your betta's food in garlic juice (from a small jar of pure minced garlic with no additives like oil) while you are treating him. Garlic juice helps boost their immune system so they can fight off disease, infection and parasites more efficiently. Good luck!

 

[michaelg210]

thank you will do exactly that

The very best way to clear up ick is to forget all the crap out there that's supposedly for treating ick and just crank up the temperature on the tank for two weeks. You can add a little bit of aquarium salt if you want, but it really doesn't make that much of a difference. Crank up your temp to 85F and leave it there for two weeks. Do partial water changes (about 10-15%) every two or three days, being sure to vacuum your gravel really well to pick up all the dead and dying parasites from the substrate. After the first week, the ick parasites will have fallen off your fish because they can't stand the warmer temps and will die. The reason for leaving the temp cranked up for the second week is to make sure that all the parasites are definitely dead. After the second week of raised temps, do a really big water change (about 30% or so), just to make sure nothing got left behind. I tend to run my betta tanks a little warmer (about 81-82F) to avoid any chance of them getting ick. Make sure that while your temp is cranked up you oxygenate the water really well (adding just a naked air stone works best) because the higher temp will drain the oxygen out of the water. Bettas may be surface breathers, but they do still use their gills and get some of the oxygen from the water. Also, try soaking your betta's food in garlic juice (from a small jar of pure minced garlic with no additives like oil) while you are treating him. Garlic juice helps boost their immune system so they can fight off disease, infection and parasites more efficiently. Good luck!

Also, read slowly increase temp by about 1 - 2 degrees every hour. Is this correct?

And should I add the aquari sol, or don't bother?

 

[bassbonediva]

That's correct on the temp. If you just crank it up all at once, you'll shock the heck out of your poor betta. Sorry I didn't specify that.

I would completely forget any meds at all, even the salt. Bettas don't need or really like salt, so it wouldn't be doing any good. I treated two divided betta fraternities at once for ick using the method I described to you and it went away within the two weeks and never came back.