Sony, I would not worry too much about salt being used with plecos and loaches. I've used table salt with no issues with plecos, loaches and other catfishes. The key to avoiding issues is patience. What I do is start with a 0.1% solution of salt first which is equivalent to a teaspoon per gallon. Grab a cup and put hot water in it. Put the salt in it and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Then try to match the temperature or make sure temperature is a few degrees close to the tank water and pour it to your tank straight away. If all goes well, add another 0.1% solution after 12 hours. At this point, your salinity level reaches 0.2% already. Some plecos and loaches can tolerate 0.3% although 0.2% can be used as it is sufficient enough to destroy ich.sonycrr;3624744; said:
first time dealing with ich.. help please =]
- Thread starter sonycrr
- Start date
I am in the exact same boat. Woke up this morning to ich in my son's 5 gallon, which hasn't had any fish/plants added in 3 months. About a month ago his tank got a new castle, but it spent 5 minutes in boiling water before being added to the tank.
I don't know where it came from.
I haven't had an ich outbreak in 6 years, but last time I did I added 1 tablespoon per gallon of water into a 30 gallon 'community' tank and raised the temp to 85 degrees. In that case I dissolved 27 tablespoons of salt into a quart of boiling water. After it cooled I added 1 cup of the saltwater mixture every 8 hours. I kept this salinity and heat for 4 days after I saw no more spots. That is the key to killing ich, don't stop once the spots are gone!
I have high PH and very hard water here. My fish are accustomed to, and I typically only stock hard water loving fish. Adding salt softens the water, so if you have already soft water, you may need to adjust salt concentrations.
We want our fish to be happy and healthy and live in a perfect environment. Remember though that nature is almost never perfect, and fish are very tough little creatures. They can handle way more variation in water condition than we typically give them credit for, especially in short duration.
I don't know where it came from.
I haven't had an ich outbreak in 6 years, but last time I did I added 1 tablespoon per gallon of water into a 30 gallon 'community' tank and raised the temp to 85 degrees. In that case I dissolved 27 tablespoons of salt into a quart of boiling water. After it cooled I added 1 cup of the saltwater mixture every 8 hours. I kept this salinity and heat for 4 days after I saw no more spots. That is the key to killing ich, don't stop once the spots are gone!
I have high PH and very hard water here. My fish are accustomed to, and I typically only stock hard water loving fish. Adding salt softens the water, so if you have already soft water, you may need to adjust salt concentrations.
We want our fish to be happy and healthy and live in a perfect environment. Remember though that nature is almost never perfect, and fish are very tough little creatures. They can handle way more variation in water condition than we typically give them credit for, especially in short duration.
i have a 46g
started with 1 Tablespoon per 10gallon
right the tank has 27 teaspoons or 9 tablespoons of salt.
so its alittle above .05% salinity
12 hours is up. going to add another 9 Tablespoons of aquarium salt.
temperature is at 84
lost one threadfin which was already looking very sick yesterday.
now the pokadot loaches are hiding behind a piece of drift wood. they are usualy the most active in the tank. i never seen them hide like this.
should i continue to add the salt?
the white spots have not detached from the fish yet.
ugh
started with 1 Tablespoon per 10gallon
right the tank has 27 teaspoons or 9 tablespoons of salt.
so its alittle above .05% salinity
12 hours is up. going to add another 9 Tablespoons of aquarium salt.
temperature is at 84
lost one threadfin which was already looking very sick yesterday.
now the pokadot loaches are hiding behind a piece of drift wood. they are usualy the most active in the tank. i never seen them hide like this.
should i continue to add the salt?
the white spots have not detached from the fish yet.
ugh
I believe in the ich sticky...http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2138158&postcount=2... it is stated to continue treatment for ten days. This is when using only salt and heat. However, you're also using a medication, so you're also going to need to consider the directions that came with that. I do know that even when the white spots are no longer present on the fish, it is necessary to continue the full treatment in order to ensure you kill all forms of the little buggers living in the substrate and the water.
The most important part of the whole treatment is not stopping just because the white dots go away. You have to continue for an additional entire cycle of the pathogen. In 46 degree(F) water that would mean treating for 6 weeks after the dots go away. In 85 degree water its more like 4 or 5 days.
There is a ton of good reading on the web about Ich.
There is a ton of good reading on the web about Ich.
Aquari sol Is AWESOME stuff works with Scaleless fish even neons bump your temp up to 82-84 12 drops per 10g the small bottle treats 400gallons.. the larger bottle does 2000 <--- the 4oz bottle.
http://www.petguys.com/-042781012000.html works great
http://www.petguys.com/-042781012000.html works great
