Bagarius has ICK

[fwlion]

WAT DO I NEED TO DO

he is in a 30 long hasn't eatin anything in about a week/ week and a half

water temp. about 71 degrees no salt in the tank

he's about 6.5in. he has strong current in his tank

have treated the 30g. tank with quick cure like it was a 15 gallon tank

 

[M|L]

i have no experience treating bagarius cats.

but whenever i have ick outbreak, i add salt and raise the temperature.

the problem is, bagarius doesn't tolerate high temperatures very well....

i would add salt and see what happens.

 

[Oddball]

The safest ich meds I've used with scaleless fish is Eco-FW (I think petsolutions.com carries it). It's reputed to be safe for scaleless and sensitive fish. Other than that, it's salt and methylene blue. Methylene blue is a dye with fungal inhibitor qualities. It's used to help prevent fungal attacks on fish eggs. But, it may not be strong enough to combat an established outbreak.

Good luck.

 

[andregurov]

I would execute partial water changes as often as possible. I'm not certain if it is elevated temperatures that stress bagarius, or the corresponding drop in available oxygen. If you are going to stay at 70 degrees or so, I think a lot of water changes may help control the infestation some, but not as well as warmer water & serious supplemental oxygen. I have treated bagarius with half-doses of Rid-Ich with no problem, if that helps.

J

 

[estubbaly]

I would half dose maracide for 5- 10 days, I know a lot of people don't like using malachite green but if it comes down to it,that may be your best bet of saving your prized specimen.

 

[Hoplosternum]

When I had ich affecting my Clowns I tried the salt and high temperature method. Of course clowns like high temps and I pushed the temperature above 90 over a few days with no problems. The method worked well. I kept the method going for about three weeks or so and the ich went and my loaches all survived.

Part of the method was (and the point of this post is!) that I also darkened the tank. No lights and shielded the sides with a towel. I used powerheads for water motion (gas exchange) to help here. I think the dark is pretty helpful as stress is a big determinant of fish resistance. By changing the temp and adding salt you will be stressing the fish as well as the ich. So if you do try this I would recommend darkening the tank while you are trying it. It might not be a bad idea anyway while your fish is unwell.

Loaches like Bagrids are scaleless and I was worried about using meds. As far as I am aware the salt irritates the skin of the loach and it naturally produces more of its natural defences. It also change the chemical composition of the water which Ich can't handle well.