Yeah, long term my breeding tank won't be occupied so I can use that as a quarantine if need be.
Can anyone recommend a White Spot treatment that doesn't contain dye
- Thread starter The Mother Confessor
- Start date
If there is ick in tank, isolating 1 fish won't get rid of it (seeing one spot does not mean its the only ick protozoa in the tank), you must assume there are ick tomatoes in the substrate, sothe entire tank needs to be treated.
If you bring the salinity "above" 3ppt, there is no need for elevated heat.
And, the problem with elevated heat, is that bacteria can become more virulent at higher temps, and create 2ndary infections (columnaris for one) where the ick had burrowed into the fish. And in many cases 2ndary infection can do plenty of damage, and may not be as easily cured as ick.
She water is 35ppt, unless you have a SG unit that is very sensitive and accurate at low density, I doubt 3ppt will be detectable.
There may be kits avail at salt water pool supply shops, and or meters at the same place
here is an on-lie addI found
Salinity Meters 70% Off - Lowest Price On Salinity Meters
If you bring the salinity "above" 3ppt, there is no need for elevated heat.
And, the problem with elevated heat, is that bacteria can become more virulent at higher temps, and create 2ndary infections (columnaris for one) where the ick had burrowed into the fish. And in many cases 2ndary infection can do plenty of damage, and may not be as easily cured as ick.
She water is 35ppt, unless you have a SG unit that is very sensitive and accurate at low density, I doubt 3ppt will be detectable.
There may be kits avail at salt water pool supply shops, and or meters at the same place
here is an on-lie addI found
Salinity Meters 70% Off - Lowest Price On Salinity Meters
+1
duanes
. This was exactly my thought. Ick is a water column parasite and once you see symptoms, it's already too late. When I was younger, I had a severe outbreak of it and it was devastating. Every single fish got it. Every last one.
What I meant was that I can use my breeder to quarantine my BGK and then treat in my main tank, and deal with him separately. God knows how I will treat him, but in his own tank I can try purely using heat and an antibacterial.
I have literally spent all afternoon looking for meds compatible with a BGK, and from what I can find, there isn't anything that's 100% safe. All medicines are poison after all, and they are just too sensitive to risk with it. You have put my mind at rest with salt. I had no idea that you could implode the cysts with osmotic pressure. That's fascinating. I knew it helped, but I never knew why!
I've resigned to just removing him if I ever get an outbreak, then salt will be my 1st go to. I don't like treating with meds if I don't have too. They are all horrible chemicals that are in effect poisons.
I love my BGK, but I dread the day when someone needs medicating for something.
I doubt my hydrometer is that sensitive at low levels. It's for making beer and wine. I will just find a converter or buy the one you linked to if I can find it in the UK. I would probably overdose it anyway, as you said. A little extra isn't going to hurt them, I'd rather make sure it was over 3ppm.
Thank you, I didn't actually know how amazing salt was for ick, I just knew it was commonly used. I also didn't know that you don't need to up the heat with salt! That solves my aggression and breeding problems! You are a lifesaver!
Back when I was a teenager I just winged it, but I'm way too sensible for that these days! That's really useful to know.
A All-Happy duanes is spot on there. You get 1000-2000 baby Ick parasites growing in the gravel bed for every one Ick spot that bursts. That's a very quick spread and you certainly can't stop that by isolating the sick fish, even if you catch it early it's likely too late already. Believe me, I've seen a whole tank overrun by it very quickly. As duanes said, you have to treat the whole tank. That's why I'm stressing over this so much. If it were that simple, I could just remove whatever fish got infected and treat them separately. Ick is notoriously fast spreading and if you were to try to isolate and treat, you'd only end up having to do it to the other tank too. But, you did give me the idea to quarantine my knife, which means that I can successfully treat the rest of the tank and deal with him accordingly on his own, so a massive thank you for that! I'd rather struggle with treating him in his own tank than risk loosing my entire tank. That would kill me.
What a load of stress I have caused myself by worrying about this lol. Again, massive thanks
duanes
I can sleep easy again!
duanes
. This was exactly my thought. Ick is a water column parasite and once you see symptoms, it's already too late. When I was younger, I had a severe outbreak of it and it was devastating. Every single fish got it. Every last one.What I meant was that I can use my breeder to quarantine my BGK and then treat in my main tank, and deal with him separately. God knows how I will treat him, but in his own tank I can try purely using heat and an antibacterial.
I have literally spent all afternoon looking for meds compatible with a BGK, and from what I can find, there isn't anything that's 100% safe. All medicines are poison after all, and they are just too sensitive to risk with it. You have put my mind at rest with salt. I had no idea that you could implode the cysts with osmotic pressure. That's fascinating. I knew it helped, but I never knew why!
I've resigned to just removing him if I ever get an outbreak, then salt will be my 1st go to. I don't like treating with meds if I don't have too. They are all horrible chemicals that are in effect poisons.
I love my BGK, but I dread the day when someone needs medicating for something.
I doubt my hydrometer is that sensitive at low levels. It's for making beer and wine. I will just find a converter or buy the one you linked to if I can find it in the UK. I would probably overdose it anyway, as you said. A little extra isn't going to hurt them, I'd rather make sure it was over 3ppm.
Thank you, I didn't actually know how amazing salt was for ick, I just knew it was commonly used. I also didn't know that you don't need to up the heat with salt! That solves my aggression and breeding problems! You are a lifesaver!
Back when I was a teenager I just winged it, but I'm way too sensible for that these days! That's really useful to know.
A All-Happy duanes is spot on there. You get 1000-2000 baby Ick parasites growing in the gravel bed for every one Ick spot that bursts. That's a very quick spread and you certainly can't stop that by isolating the sick fish, even if you catch it early it's likely too late already. Believe me, I've seen a whole tank overrun by it very quickly. As duanes said, you have to treat the whole tank. That's why I'm stressing over this so much. If it were that simple, I could just remove whatever fish got infected and treat them separately. Ick is notoriously fast spreading and if you were to try to isolate and treat, you'd only end up having to do it to the other tank too. But, you did give me the idea to quarantine my knife, which means that I can successfully treat the rest of the tank and deal with him accordingly on his own, so a massive thank you for that! I'd rather struggle with treating him in his own tank than risk loosing my entire tank. That would kill me.
What a load of stress I have caused myself by worrying about this lol. Again, massive thanks
duanes
I can sleep easy again!
Funny you should post about this. I currently have ich in my 125 and guess what species seemed to get it going. All the fish are new to me and came from the same store, so not surprising. So far I have dosed approx. 4 cups (192 tsp) @82.8F and am using a marine hydrometer to check the salinity level. I am not sure how accurate it is, but seems to be reading close to 3 ppt. It has been years since I last dealt with this, but have never lost a fish to it so hopefully that will remain the same.
to be honest did not read the whole thread but treatments without dye would be heat / salt; heat alone or formalin
