getting rid of ICH parasites completely

[duanes]

There is a theory that some genetically programed ich cysts have the ability to lie dormant dried for years, and be carried by the wind, and when they encounter water, have an ability "wake up" so to speak when fish are present. Similar to the way the bacteria that causes ducklips can remain viable in mud.
Fish that have had ich in the past and recover, develop a sort of immunity, and resist infection, but if a new fish is added that doesn't have that immunity becomes infected, the sheer numbers of ich parasites can overwhelm even the seemingly immune fish in the confines of an aquarium.
In nature because of space, an ich parasite is often little more than an irritant, but in tiny closed systems like aquariums or small ponds, epidemic outbreaks can easily occur.

 

[sunley213]

I was recommended to try this a cure to ich;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Britis...&qid=1371625570&sr=1-2&keywords=ich+treatment

Anyone used it before?

Normally i have left the lights off when using ich meds but the instructions don't mention this at all.

 

[tomomothy]

I avoid meds. Wrong ones can mess up your beneficial bacteria colony and make your tank cycle

Sent from over there

 

[sunley213]

I tried regular water changes, normally this works for me but the little guy keeps getting worse.

 

[Aquanero]

I was recommended to try this a cure to ich;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Britis...&qid=1371625570&sr=1-2&keywords=ich+treatment

Anyone used it before?

Normally i have left the lights off when using ich meds but the instructions don't mention this at all.

Malachite Green is light sensitive so it is advisable to keep the lights off while using it to prevent degradation of the medication.

Depending on the species of fish you are keeping they may not be able to handle 88F for weeks at a time. Use the salt for about 4 weeks and you will be fine. Do your water changes and vacume the substrate. No one can garentee you will be ick free forever, unless you keep the tank empty.

 

[duanes]

I agree with Tom, although heat hastens the ich life cycle, the dormant cysts can withstand extreme temps, anything from freezing to 100sF.
What the salt does, is mess with the ich protozoans cell wall, and makes them implode. The osmotic pressure pushes the cell wall inward.
The malachite in most treatment is a liquid form, toxic metal that enters the cell wall and makes them explode (lysis, as in Lysol), the over the counter treatments are toxic to ich, but in the recommended dose, non-toxic to higher life forms.

 

[Drstrangelove]

I have a red terror that has what i think is ich, it was fine when i got it. I put it into a tank with a jack and jag to grow it out he's around 3.5 inches, the jack and the jag picked on him so i moved him to a smaller tank.

After 5 days or so i noticed he had ich, none of the other fish in the tank have ich. Could this just be brought on from stress? should i treat the whole tank? I'm currently doing a 20% water change every other day.

Ich can infect a fish that is asymptomatic. Something (the red terror, a new plant, water the red terror was in, or another fish) brought the ich with it into the tank. The stress accelerated the outbreak but it did not cause the parasite to spontaneously appear in the tank or on the fish.

It's difficult to say whether both tanks are infected or not, but it's possible both are. Ich has a longer life cycle at lower temperatures, so in tanks at lower temps, ich will take longer to appear or to appear in numbers.

Assuming it's ich, treat the one tank where you have the red terror, while carefully watching the other tank(s) you have and be prepared to treat the others.

And be careful with nets, water (on your hands or in buckets), syphons, etc. Ich can be transferred in a few drops of water from an infected tank to a clear one.

 

[sunley213]

The tank i moved the red terror into did have an out break of ich in it around 2 years ago, it was broken down and moved with new substrate and filter since then.

Sounds like i moved the red terror into a tank that had ich dormant in it, the terror seems fine except for being covered in white spots.

Other fish in the tank are bristlenoise pleco, paradise fish and a bumblebee catfish. None of them seem to have any signs of infection, but they were all in the tank last time i had ich in it so maybe they are immune to it.

Started treatment of the tank tuesday night, i did a 50% water change before i added any meds so i guess time will see if the meds works.

The tank i moved him out of has no sign of ich just yet but i will keep an eye on it.

 

[Drstrangelove]

The tank i moved the red terror into did have an out break of ich in it around 2 years ago, it was broken down and moved with new substrate and filter since then.

Sounds like i moved the red terror into a tank that had ich dormant in it, the terror seems fine except for being covered in white spots.

Ich as far as everything I've read does not do that. It has 3 life stages and none are dormant, not to mention any ability to survive for 2 years without a host. The ich almost certainly came with the red terror or was added from some other source (water the red terror was in, new plants, a new fish, etc.)

 

[sunley213]

No sign of ich in the original tank, so guessing its clear.

I thought i read that ich was in all aquariums but only really affected a fish with a weak immune system hence stress causing an out break.

Been treating it for 5 days with King British ich treatment, only two spot left on him atm.