White spot or not?

[duanes]

Dips do not work on ick.
When the spots are on the fish, the ick inside is protected by the fishes own slime coat. It is only when the ick hatch out, that they are vulnerable to medication. And they are constantly hatching out, so many of them are sitting in the substrate waiting to reinfect. The entire tank must be treated.
The cloudy eye, is usually a secondary bacterial infection.
I would use the meds available, or bring salinity up to "at minimum" 3ppt (that is usually 3lbs of salt per 100 gallons).

 

[Hendre]

Thanks for the info Duanes. My only concern with salt is my plants and I also own a scaleless fish (synodontis), can salt harm these fish?

 

[duanes]

Dips do not work on ick.
When the spots are on the fish, the ick inside is protected by the fishes own slime coat. It is only when the ick hatch out, that they are vulnerable to medication. And they are constantly hatching out, so many of them are sitting in the substrate waiting to reinfect. The entire tank must be treated.
The cloudy eye, is usually a secondary bacterial infection.
I would use the meds available, or bring salinity up to "at minimum" 3ppt (that is usually 3lbs of salt per 100 gallons).

 

[duanes]

Thanks for the info Duanes. My only concern with salt is my plants and I also own a scaleless fish (synodontis), can salt harm these fish?

Sometimes in the case of a disease like ick, we need to accept certain losses, whether it is a scaleless fish, certain plants, or a need to recycle.
Most medications, in the same manner as salt make the osmotic pressure of the water "too much" for a species of protozoa like ick, but not all plants or fish.
I treated the case of ick below

in the same planted tank with a 3+ppt salinity, the tank also contained Synodontus catfish, and was successful without losses.


this is not always the case, but better than on going reoccurrences of ick.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Do waterchanges and do some gravel vac-ing for a week, increasing the water temp makes it harder for ick to attack a host before the pre adult ick stage dies.

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks for the info Duanes. My only concern with salt is my plants and I also own a scaleless fish (synodontis), can salt harm these fish?

Since you know what plants you have, you can find out how salt tolerant they are.

For scaleless fish, I like to add the total amount of salt to be added over the course of 3-4 days. If you work your way up to 1 tablespoon per gallon (1 tsp per gallon on day one, additional 1 tsp per gallon on day 2 for a total of 2 tsp per gallon, and additional 1 tsp gallon on day 3 for a total of 3 tsp per gallon), you should get a little over 3ppt. I've been able to maintain this salinity with a South American lungfish for 2 weeks with no issues.

 

[skjl47]

methylene blue

Hello; In addition to the staining potential of the MB there are the long term effects on the beneficial bacteria (bb) and it was suggested that organic material use to have to be removed when using it in the decades past.

Personally I would try the salt and temp increase. From my reading of ich threads it can take many weeks to finally get all the parasites killed. Treatment needs to last around 10 days to two weeks beyond the last visible parasite. It seems to me keeping the bb going might be a better choice.

I vote for Duanes to adopt this thread and walk you thru the process.

 

[duanes]

What heat does, is speed up the ick life cycle.
It makes them hatch off the fish faster, and when they hatch, that is stage, and time they are vulnerable ro the effect of salt, or other meds.
Vacuuming the substrate helps get rid of dormant cysts in the gravel, when hatching out of the substrate is when they try to latch onto a fish, it is also a stage where they are vulnerable to the osmotic pressure of salt or meds.
When on the fish, and when dormant in the gravel, they are unaffected by the meds.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Let me add that any equipment used in and around the infected tank not be used for other tanks.

Not sure how effective this will be but nets sand other such might be kept in a MB bath.

 

[Hendre]

Hello; Let me add that any equipment used in and around the infected tank not be used for other tanks.

Not sure how effective this will be but nets sand other such might be kept in a MB bath.

I'd probably bleach equipment I remove from the tank.