thanks everyone for the help. this is my first ich out break in four years in the hobby. thanks again
Help i got an ick problem
- Thread starter sal123
- Start date
Salt doesn't go away on its own. Never add more salt unless you do a water change, it which you should add more salt according to how much water you add.
Bump up the heat to 89 F and leave it there for 14 days = free and completely effective. Last 4 times I've treated Ich has been as simple as adjusting the controller on the heaters and watching it disappear, didn't even have to get my hands wet. Every other treatment is a waste of time, money, you name it.
so should i do a water change daily, every other day, or weekly and add salt when i do the water change? and also does a 25% water change sound good or more or less?
2 degrees at a time is good, but how high depends on your fish, if you have Nandopsis haitiensus you could go to the 90s, if you have Gymnogeophagus no. Oscars could take 90 for while but I wouldn't push it.
Same with salt, if you have Tanganicans salt away. If discus no.
I dump 2 cups of rock salt in my 150 gal tanks over a period of days at the 1st inkling of ich until the water tastes a bit salty. 3ppt will taste a bit salty (sea water is 35ppt if I remember right).
The treatment you are using should work, as long as you are not using carbon,I just find salt less drastic to a fishes osmoregulation, and it seems to help fish tolerate temp changes.
Most treatments use toxic metals in solution to kill ich, the dose is normally not enough to hurt fish, but can effect any invertebrates and some plants.
Same with salt, if you have Tanganicans salt away. If discus no.
I dump 2 cups of rock salt in my 150 gal tanks over a period of days at the 1st inkling of ich until the water tastes a bit salty. 3ppt will taste a bit salty (sea water is 35ppt if I remember right).
The treatment you are using should work, as long as you are not using carbon,I just find salt less drastic to a fishes osmoregulation, and it seems to help fish tolerate temp changes.
Most treatments use toxic metals in solution to kill ich, the dose is normally not enough to hurt fish, but can effect any invertebrates and some plants.
the carbon is in my filter pads. i dont know how i could take it out will having the carbon in my aquarium make the ich worse or the treatment not work?
and all that is in my aquarium is two rainbow cichlids and a royal pleco. could the temp me bumped up higher than 86?
89 F will be fine. Forget about the salt and all the other "cures". 89 F for 14 days and your tank will be free of disease.
Salt is only necessary with cold water species that would die when exposed to hot water for more than a few days, like goldfish. Lemme explain it for you: Ich has several life stages, but only one of them is susceptible to medications, the rest are protected and can't be killed. The amount of time it takes for the parasite to go from one stage to another becomes increasingly short in warmer water, so the original treatment was to increase the temperature to 78 ~ 82 degrees (to speed up its life cycle, otherwise the treatment could take months) and add a medication that would kill the exposed parasites, in this case salt. However, it has been proved that the parasite cannot reproduce efficiently after 86 degrees, and dies at 89 degrees, so as long as your fish can tolerate that temperature for a couple of weeks (all cichlids can), salt is no longer needed.
I will not do more salt and raise temp. I use more oxygen in water. ich will be gone.
Raise temp has been bad for fish because some fish can not live warm water. some more salt too bad for catfish
Raise temp has been bad for fish because some fish can not live warm water. some more salt too bad for catfish
Temperature is the #1 concern you need to address as others have said. Salt is very important too, although maybe not necessary. Be careful with the salt if you have bottom feeders, they tend to be more sensitive in general to the salt.
