Best Ick Treatments

[GEWASH]

Hi,

I recently had an ick breakout in my 55 gal tank that ended up killing all of my fish *SICK* . This is my first time ever having to deal with ick. I went to the pet store and asked what the best treatments were for ick and was recommended all different kinds of things. Honestly, I think the people at the pet store might have just been trying to make a sale. Sadly to say, none of the things they recommended worked. So could anyone tell me what the best treatments are for ick so that I can avoid such a disaster next time? I've seen the ick meds in stores but don't know which ones are any good. I've heard that salt treats it and also raising the water temp. What's the best overall method of dealing with ick?

Fish in the tank: 2 Pacu, 2 Angel Fish, 4 Neon Tetras, 1 Bala Shark (all got along well)

My 30 gal tank of Barbs is doing just fine.


GEWASH

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

raising the temperature is a sure fire way to kill them quickly because the higher temp speeds up the cycle of the ich cysts. Adding salt with the high temp does the trick. THis combo will kill your live plants if you have any though. Ich is nasty because there always seems to be one type of fish in the tank the outbreak is in that has a serious problem with one of the treatment methods. Malachite green, methylene blue, quinine hydrochloride, and mepracrine hydrochloride are all effective, but can be harmful to scaless fish. I opted to treat with high temp and salt to the detriment of my plants. Now I know that I could have ripped all of the plants out and put them in a bucket for a week or so until the treatment of the tank was done. Ich needs a host to survive, and when the cysts leave the fish and fall into the gravel, they need another host to move in to or they will die in a matter or days/hours. So my plants could have "starved" the ich if put in a warm 75* bucket for a week or so. Here is the info on ich life cycle:

Ich has 3 stages, only one which is visible on your fish:

Trophont: This is the obvious stage, when you can usually see the white spots on your fish. In this stage, the parasite has made itself at home under the epithelium of your fish and encysted itself; the white spots you see aren't actually the parasites themselves, but the fish's biological response to the parasite that has burrowed into its skin. It's really made of mucus and proteins that the fish has produced in an effort to rid themselves of the irritation. In this stage it is NOT susceptible to medications, both because it has encysted itself and the mucus/proteins the fish has produced protect it.

Tomont: Once the Ich parasite has had its fill, it will break out of its cyst and drop to the bottom of the tank or any flat surface. It is briefly susceptible to meds at this point, but once it reaches the bottom it encysts itself again. In that cyst, it multiplies till there are upwards of 2000 tomites! Again, for the most part it is NOT susceptible to meds.

Theront: This is the free-swimming stage of ich, and the only stage truly susceptible to medication. At this stage, they swim around the tank looking for a fish host. Once they find one, they burrow into the epithelium and start the process all over again. If they don't find a host in a day or two, they die.

Temperature plays a large role in the Ich life cycle. Higher temps speeds up the cycle, lower temps slow it down. At a temp of 45F, the entire life cycle take 6 weeks. But at a temp of 80F, the cycle can take less then a week. -- source

 

[lordroad]

I've had the best luck with the raised heat/salt method, but Quick Cure has also worked, though it took much longer. If you have plants, I recommend Quick Cure in half doses. Quick Cure is a 50/50 mix of malachite green and formalin.

My plants survived nearly two weeks of Quick Cure, as did all my fish, including kuhlis and small tetras.

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the tank!

I think almost everyone has a different favorite treatment for ich. The most important things to remember are to treat it as early as possible, and to continue treatment until four days after the last spot has disappeared. Mixing treatments is more likely to kill your fish than anything.

There's a great article here to help you understand and treat ich: http://www.piranhaexotica.com/legal states map.htm

I would highly recommend you set up a quarantine tank when you restock your tank, to avoid introducing diseases to the larger tank.

 

[revfred]

Having used the salt/temp treatment for years before having plants... I've been converted to the use of Kordon's Rid-Ich+ and find it to be an excellent medication when used precisely as directed, plus you don't have to fool with the temp.

 

[jammerz]

not sure bout freshwater, but with saltwater use a QT put all the fish in there with copper treatment(copper will kill plants, live rock, and coral) so that is why you quarantine the fish in a water dead rock only tank. While you are treating with copper in the QT. treat the main tank with malachite green and formalin. To kill any cysts on the substrate or free swimming......copper is the shiznit i have saved several fish that were "to far gone" with copper. fresh or saltwater dips help to. Freshwater dips for saltwater fish and vice versa with freshwater fish

 

[backwoods]

Will my plants be fine if I just raise the temp. to 86F and not add salt? I didn't read anything in those articles saying temp. would warm the plants, just wondering you anyone has real experiences that suggest otherwise.

 

[revfred]

IMO, plants will do fine at 86F.

 

[dss2004]

I did the heat and salt method once and didn't have any problems with my plants failing. I did lose many tetras but they were the ones that introduced ich to the tank. Q-tank.

 

[GEWASH]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the helpful info on ick treatments. Maybe I can save my fish next time before the ick takes them. I'm going to be restocking my 55 gal tank this weekend with new fish. I've also setup a quarantine tank to isolate new fish before I stick them in the tank with the other fish.

GEWASH