Ick Treatment

[roxie317]

I need some advice. I have a 38 gal freshwater aquarium with a pink kisser, blue gourami, gold gourami, and four cherry barbs. I have not had any sickness in my tank for two years or better. Well, I recently purchased three cherry barbs from my LFS and had them for 1 week. I noticed today that the barbs and the pink kisser have Ick. I have read through the various threads, but what is the most effective medication I can use and how much non-iodized salt should I add to the tank? Also, my temp is at 78 degrees, what should I raise it to?

I appreciate any advise I can get!

 

[Somonas]

The most effective treatment given your type of fish is Quick Cure. in my opinion.
The following article was copied from The Krib. I have used this in my tanks.

1. Check your water quality!!!!!! 9 times out of 10, the fish can
do fine with a few Ichthyophthirius in the water, but when they are
stressed by anything, like questionable water quality, it makes it much
easier for the little buggers to set up shop in your fish's skin.

2. Do a 50% water change, just to be safe.

3. Add 3 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon to your tank. This
reduces the osmotic stress on the fish caused by the invading organisms,
and may adversely affect the organism as well.

4. Pick up an ich medication of your choice at the local fish
mart. Most of the ones that are sold are more or less effective. My personal
favorite is a malachite green/formaldehyde combination sold under the brand
name "Quick Cure". ("RidIch" has the same ingredients.) Note: Most people
recommend halving the dose of Malachite-containing medications if you are
treating small catfish, any scaleless catfish, or tetras.

***** 5. DISREGARD THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!! Use the DOSE
written on the bottle, but treat like this: Treat every 3 to 4 days for 4
treatments, changing 50% of the water before every treatment. Do NOT
treat once or twice, like the directions will tell you! You need to treat
over 12 to 16 days in order to get all the little guys when they are
vulnerable.

6. Raise the temperature in the tank above 85 degrees for 5-7
days. The tomites do very poorly at these temperatures, and it also
speeds up the life cycle so more organisms are vulnerable to killing at any
time.

 

[Managuense]

the above advice is quite sound, but if you prefer to go the "non-med" route this is what i prefer:

slowly raise the tank temp to 88-90F and sustain it for 10 full days even if it appears that the disease has vanished.

most ich strains are resistant to temps 85 and below, but temps above that usually not only increase the life-cycle of the parasite but will actually KILL it.

i also like the salt method as well.

 

[bevans76]

I agree w/ Managuense. I have used the non med method several times and it has never failed me. Not one fish has been lost to ick in my tanks because of this method. I highly recommend it.

 

[Leopardess]

I've never lost any fish due to using Coppersafe either...or methylene blue/acriflavine. The meds work safely as long as the instructions are followed and care is taken not to use it around scaless fish.

Mana...i've heard ich won't die until 91+ and that temps in the 80's merely increase the rate of the life cycle...are you sure its the temp you listed? Just curious....

Ah, i just found this link. It suggests that prolonged raised temps can often be more stressful/harmful than many meds.


http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.9607/msg00282.html

here's a site with some diff. treatment options: http://aquanic.org/publicat/state/il-in/as-459.pdf

http://www.animalforum.com/fich.htm - this link has some good info too. It mentions that temp raising may not be the best solution.

not trying to say you're wrong. Just pointing out some different views

 

[Managuense]

Mana...i've heard ich won't die until 91+ and that temps in the 80's merely increase the rate of the life cycle...are you sure its the temp you listed? Just curious....

to be completely honest, i have not personally used the method, but i have seen it performed and read about it quite a bit.

most of the sources i have read state that temps above 85-86F kill MOST strains of ich (there are indeed strains documented that were resistant at that temp though....i think i read up to 91F for some strains...dont take me as 100% correct on that though, i cant remember exactly)

www.cichlid-forum.com - in the "cichlid health" section mentions the treatment, and i have read about it in TFH for treating clown loaches....cant remember which issue though

not trying to say you're wrong. Just pointing out some different views

no no, it is always good to read different sources and make the best possible decisions......by all means keep the information coming!

Ah, i just found this link. It suggests that prolonged raised temps can often be more
stressful/harmful than many meds.

the only bone i have to pick with this, is that many people who treat ich are unfamiliar with measuring and calculating doses, which will kill the fish faster than the disease in many cases.

malachite green is also a NASTY chemical that i would not advise anyone to use for disease treatment......you dont want to get that stuff on your skin or mistakenly use too much on a dose....

also, while the increasing temp water will hold less dissolved oxygen, as long as your filters are promoting decent gas exchange (agitating the surface), your tank has a lot of surface area, (maybe add a bubble stone) you will probably not have any problems......IF IF IF

- you increase the temp VERY slowly......

i just like to avoid using chemicals in a tank if at all possible, but using them in a very precise way is indeed effective.

 

[Zoidfarb]

I was horrified to discover ick in my 15 gallon today...
I have 12 cherry barbs and 9 leopard danios.
For the record, I have a good filter, my tank is extremely dnesely planted and has a thick surface carpet of duckweed (excellent for absorbing excess nutrients) and I do 30 % water changes 2-3 times every day. My Ammonia and Nitrite levels were 0 at my last reading yesterday.
But now I have noticed some ick on my barbs. No one is in bad shape yet.
I am turning the water temp to about 90 and keeping up water changes.
I am considering two routes...please tell me what you think is best:

1) Just using the 90 degree water, frequent change method for several weeks.


2) Quarantining all fish in separate tanks and treating them with ich medication.


For number 2...if the tank is fishless for several weeks, will the ich die from a lack of host organisms? How long will that take, and how do I know the ich is gone? ALSO---I have shrimps...are they susceptible to ick, or can they stay in the tank?

Beacuse of the heavy planting, I will not treat the 15 gallon with chemicals.


What do you guys think?
Thanks!

 

[420Loach]

hmmm, id do number 1. i usually raise my tank temp to 85-87 degrees and it usually does the job, but 90-91 would do it way quicker.

would a change in temp affect your plants?

 

[Leopardess]

It can, yes. Plants do not like higher temperatures...though, in my 'disaster' with the heater awhile back, when the tmep got to like 95 o) nothing was affected...granted, it was only like that for less than a day. Using high temps for the period needed to help get rid of ich I'd be cautious...i'm not sure what temp starts to affect most plants negatively (though it does depend a bit on the plants), but I'm sure someone else can help.
If you have crypts, I'd be nervous about them becuase they are often quite finicky about changes in water parameters.

 

[Lotus]

We had a few plants die at around 90F. It was really only the more delicate ones. You could possibly put them in a bucket or something temporarily if you have some sensitive plants. You may also lose your shrimp at that kind of temperature.

You really have to treat the whole tank for ich.

 

[Zoidfarb]

Hmmm.... How long will ich last in a planted tank with no hosts?

Again, if I must treat the fish, I'd rather medicate in a separate tank than deal with malachite green in my permanent exhibit.

 

[bumblebee]

Coppersafe works great too. I haven't had any plants die yet using it, but the label does say that it might affect them... Just a suggestion, since coppersafe is cheap and doesn't discolor the water.
JC

 

[ctxmonitor]

Damn.. My fish is also getting ich!!! It first started with my neons, and then now my platies have it too.

I am a little concern about the temp raising though. If we rasied the temp to around 85-87 gradually, wouldn't the fish feel destressed?

But I don't want to add any med to my 20g tank.

 

[Somonas]

Bumped for Chuckbawm

 

[Lotus]

You should raise the temperature 1 degree Farenheit every two hours. Don't do it all at once, that will stress them.