Why can you not just follow the advice given with the salt and heat method?
Hi pls help urgent it's beEn 5 days ich not decreasing at all
- Thread starter Rubywee
- Start date
The seller said Merlene blue was weak and this was the strong stuff I'm sorry but our options in the city we live in are very limited even my fish have to be shipped from
Our capital we live in the Philippines no one even sells American cichlids here I had to ship all of mine here that's y I value them
So much
Our capital we live in the Philippines no one even sells American cichlids here I had to ship all of mine here that's y I value them
So much
Hello; That the medication turns the water a light blue is a strong clue it is methylene blue (mb). Another clue will be that it stains things blue. Anything it stains will stay blue. Get it on your fingers and they will be blue until the stained skin cells come off.
You have a computer to be on this forum. Do a search for the product on the web.
If it is methylene blue there is another thing to get prepared for. It can and probably will kill off the beneficial bacteria in your main tank. This can be a crashed cycle. Try not to panic over this yet. Try to find out what is in the medication.
You have a computer to be on this forum. Do a search for the product on the web.
If it is methylene blue there is another thing to get prepared for. It can and probably will kill off the beneficial bacteria in your main tank. This can be a crashed cycle. Try not to panic over this yet. Try to find out what is in the medication.
I have tried to do research on this med but all i see are advertisments it stains your fingers blue but turns the water bluish green i would really like to follow the salt method but im just not comfortable adding that much salt to my softwater tank i mean ive gone from my original plan of 150 teaspoon to 327 sorry guys if im annoying
Hello; As I stated a bit earlier you get to run you tanks any way you wish. Feel free to ignore my suggestions and/or the suggestions of any other members on the forum. I gave it my best shot. Use salt or do not use salt, that is up to you. I and others have given our considered advice likely based on personal experience.
You say you are new to the hobby and do not know what to do about the parasite ich, yet have decide to modify the suggestions and have come up with a plan of your own. Your tanks = your call.
Not sure if you noticed but some very experienced members with lots of good knowledge have stopped posting on this thread. Not sure why I have kept on other than I get the feeling you are sincere and are not a troll.
Good luck
Hello; Interesting that you cannot find information. Did you look at the links I posted? I have posted them again. The search only took a few moments.
All Ick medications, including salt do the same thing. They change the osmotic pressure in the water allowing the med (liquid metal in the case of Methyelne or Malachite) to implode and enter the cell wall of the protozoa, killing it.
The important part is treating right away, not waiting, not half dosing, to limit the populations of protozoa, which will kill your fish more efficiently than the salt, or other meds.
Any treatment can be toxic if done wrong, I believe salt is the least toxic to the fish.
The important part is treating right away, not waiting, not half dosing, to limit the populations of protozoa, which will kill your fish more efficiently than the salt, or other meds.
Any treatment can be toxic if done wrong, I believe salt is the least toxic to the fish.
Hello; This is my understanding also.
I hate to inject this into the thread but I am fairly confident Wee is using a medication that contains methylene blue. I suspect that the bb may also be affected and that the "cycle" may crash as the bb also die off.
Is the use of salt likely to be "safer" with regard to the cycle and the bb?
I have treated Ick successfully with salt, and never had a BB crash.
I have occasionally lost a fish or two in the process, but 1 or 2 dead from salt shock, is less problematic compared to the entire population of the tank dead from not getting treatment going soon enough, or at a strength that totally gets eradicates it .
I have occasionally lost a fish or two in the process, but 1 or 2 dead from salt shock, is less problematic compared to the entire population of the tank dead from not getting treatment going soon enough, or at a strength that totally gets eradicates it .
Hello; I get it.
-The salt should be added at the full strength dose as soon as some of the parasites (white spots) show up on the fish.
-This way the salt begins to kill the swimming larvae as they hatch out from the eggs and before a larger number can attach to the fish.
- Using a too small amount of salt does not kill the swimming larvae and is pointless.
- Salt does not crash the cycle and does not kill off the bb.
- Heating the water does two things. First warmer water causes the parasite eggs to hatch out sooner, which means the salt can kill them sooner, which should shorten the number of days it can take to get rid of all the parasites. Second- for some species of the parasite the heated water by itself can kill the swimming parasite larvae. ( Am I correct in that the water temp should be in the 85 + degree F range?) For some heat adapted parasite species the heat alone is not fatal. (this is what is suspected in Wee's case)
- Using a siphon on the substrate daily will physically remove some of the parasite eggs.
- I also have read that some members keep the tank dark during an ich outbreak. I do not recall exactly why.
- Methylene blue can kill the bb and affect the cycle. It also is more toxic to the fish. It will also stain many surfaces in a tank and the stain is permanent. The carbon needs to be removed and the live plants and the organic material such as wood. Methylene blue likely best used in a hospital tank.
I mostly use it in a tank with fresh laid eggs to try to keep the fungus growth down.
