Bichir and Tetra with Ich.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

CrazyKoiCracker

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 1, 2018
175
217
51
40
Well.
Didn’t quarantine.
I know. I know.
Ich just showed up in my poly tank on the Congo tetra.
Looking for confirmation that Mardel Quick Cure as half dosage is safe. According to Blondies old thread, she used it at full strength with no ill effects on Bichir.
Of course with tetra, half strength is necessary.
Quick Cure contains Formalin and Malachite Green.
Hence the hesitation.
Any one with experience using this?
Can’t use salt unless I absolutely have to since the tank is planted with a wide range of plants, from susswasertang to cabomba.
 
Well.
Didn’t quarantine.
I know. I know.
Ich just showed up in my poly tank on the Congo tetra.
Looking for confirmation that Mardel Quick Cure as half dosage is safe. According to Blondies old thread, she used it at full strength with no ill effects on Bichir.
Of course with tetra, half strength is necessary.
Quick Cure contains Formalin and Malachite Green.
Hence the hesitation.
Any one with experience using this?
Can’t use salt unless I absolutely have to since the tank is planted with a wide range of plants, from susswasertang to cabomba.
Raising the temp to 86 can kill ich.
 
Im with polyaddict. I dont think ive ever used meds with ich. Im sure its harmless (meds) but salt and heat always did the trick. It sucks that they have a bug but ich is probably the one that most of us would choose to have to deal with.

The heat speed up the life cycle causing the cysts to fall of the fish. At least thats how i remember it lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Polyaddict86
Raising the temp to 86 can kill ich.
Doesn’t kill ich. It only speeds up the life cycle. Would add some Paragaurd. It’s a little easier on bichirs than salt. If not able to get meds can increase heat to 86 and add salt at 1 tsp per g. Add the salt three times about 8hrs apart. Keep like this for over 10 days. Add the salt back with every water change. Add a pump to increase the water flow. Update as it goes.

Pick the treatment which is easier for u.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Polyaddict86
What I have is malichite and formalin, temp is raised to 85. My concern is that Odessa barbs (also in the tank) prefer colder temps. So I’m hesitant to go to like the 85+ range. Have added an extra air pump, but I’ll need to buy more tubing to hook up an additional pump for circulation. Of course, the heater chamber is the sump is like 97 degrees. So any Ich that ends up in there is likely getting baked before it can make it back to a fish. An additional pump is a good idea. Increase circulation to get more water through there. But again, I’m really hesitant to salt because I’m working really hard on a jungle with a microsword carpet and barbs Bichir have made it tough enough.
I’m not dismissing the advice. I always hate it when people do that. Ask advice and then say “well no I won’t”
Raising the temp can either cause them to die before they reattach. Or if they can reattach it just goes crazy. Unfortunately with a lowboy, the water is only about 7 inches deep, so reattaching may not be too difficult. If I caught it early enough (one fish is pretty spotted and a second tetra has a single spot on its nose) then the population will be low enough to possible die off. I wish I didn’t work 11 hours a day so I could watch it more tomorrow. However, unless someone chime in that quick cure is a terrible idea, I’ll let you know how it goes.
 
Lowered to 81 and will continue meds. Noticed barbs flashing shortly before. Could be ich. Could be meds and temp. We’ll see. Just filled up a 30 tall I had laying around and tossed in a fluval heater and sponge filter. I blame the newer Delhezi Bichir. I saw him grab my Senegal earlier tonight. Sen got away and looks to be fine. But I had a hunch the new poly was an *******.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com