ICH and the heat treatment

[wilsonriverfish]

I used everybodys advice and turned it up to not 82 but 90 degrees and its been 3 days and the ich looks like its gone from the cichlids. The question I have is what is the purpose of the salt cause i didnt use it and it looks like its under control should i get it next time I am at the LFS\\\?
]
Thanks,
Mike

 

[SkwidsLair]

I'm not sure, but I think the salt helps the fish cope with the rise in temperature.

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

it helps with stress gill functions, and it kills the parasited when they detatch from the body. are you sure 90 degrees is safe?

 

[wilsonriverfish]

why not the fish spend hours under the beating daylight sometimes in dried out ponds our rivers 90 degrees for a couple weeks I hope will have no ill efects

 

[JWright]

There are two different uses for heat when treating ich.

It can be used to speed up the life cycle so that the salt treatment works faster (generally 80-82 degrees is reccomended for this), or it can be used by itself to kill the ich (it doesn't actually kill it, just prevents it from reproducing), typically temperatures in the range of 86-88 are used for this. 90 is a touch on the high side, but it's not gonna be lethal in the short term.

I would keep you temperature up for a week after the last signs of ich dissappear, but opinions vary on this (make sure it's at least 3 days).

Personally I use a lower heat and table salt, but either method should work just fine.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php Has some great things to say about ich treatment and prevention.

~Josh

 

[Etheostoma]

Table salt?

If you do, make sure it's not iodized!

 

[JWright]

Fish need iodine too y'know... Some african cichlids are actually quite prone to goiters.

There is nowhere near enough iodine in table salt to hurt fish. The amount of salt it would take introduce enough iodine to hurt your fish would be more then enough to kill your fish with salinity alone.

Table salt is fine as a temporary treatment.

 

[wilsonriverfish]

jwright thanks for all the great info on this it really helped out

 

[Submariner]

But aquarium salt will do the same thing, right?

Actually, what IS aquarium salt?

 

[SkwidsLair]

But aquarium salt will do the same thing, right?

Actually, what IS aquarium salt?

It's salt for freshwater fish. Some species, like Mollies, are raised in water that have aquarium salt added.

That's why when you get Mollies, the LFS will tell you to get some aquarium salt.

They're fairly large (compared to table salt) crystals that are usually sold in milk cartons.

EDIT: Oh, and to answer your other question...yes, it will do the same thing. I use aquarium salt when I need to treat the tank.

 

[Methylx]

Aquarium salt causes bacteria to die off that aren't able to cope with salinity changes as easily as living organisms (aka your fish) that have a physiological system to adapt to it. This is why sometimes its recommended to gargle saltwater to kill off a sore throat.

 

[Submariner]

I've been using aquarium salt from the beginning for my mollies (as recommended by my LFS) but I was just wondering what was so special about AQUARIUM salt as opposed to table salt. So it's just the larger crystals?

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

Aquarium salt causes bacteria to die off that aren't able to cope with salinity changes as easily as living organisms (aka your fish) that have a physiological system to adapt to it. This is why sometimes its recommended to gargle saltwater to kill off a sore throat.

actually bacteria are living organisms... table salt has iodine and other additives that some people say is bad for fish. also you have to use less of it because of the density of the crystals. in aquarium salt there are big spaces between the crystals so you are actually getting less than you measure.