ICH on my Bass
- Thread starter ninjastar
- Start date
Temp and salt, but move quickly because once you see the spots on the body it’s definitely on the gills as well. Raise the temp it kills the endoparasite no need for meds, and make sure to increase surface agitation in the tank
You need the salinity at a minimum of 3ppt (parts per thousand ) to actually kill emerging ick. Anything under 3ppt and they go on infecting.
The salinity crushes their outer cell membrane as they emerge.
For 200 gallons, you will need to add 6lbs of salt.
I use either water softener salt (rated for being used in a potable water situation) or rock salt.
Aquarium salt is BS, NaCl is NaCl.
The salinity crushes their outer cell membrane as they emerge.
For 200 gallons, you will need to add 6lbs of salt.
I use either water softener salt (rated for being used in a potable water situation) or rock salt.
Aquarium salt is BS, NaCl is NaCl.
Assuming you don't make other changes, if 500 watts is barely getting you to 78, your're going to probably need to either raise the room temperature or get another ~500 watts of heater power. So take that into account if you get another heater.
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Hello; Let me chime in on the time. It sort of depends on when the last parasite is seen on a fish. From that point on you are keeping the salt concentration at the level needed to kill the larvae as they hatch out of their eggs. The adult parasite cannot be killed and the egg cannot be killed. The larvae is killed by the salt as it hatches from the egg so it is my understanding the last visible parasite may have expelled eggs. You have to keep the treatment going for a time past that last visible ich spot. I think the common suggestion is 8 to 10 day from the last spot.
If you can get another heater and confident you can keep ur temps up then proceed with salt and heat. The impression was difficulty in keep ur temps up and instead half-butting it might as well go full meds.
If you can’t get ur temps up and/or inability to dose the salt then try meds.
If you can’t get ur temps up and/or inability to dose the salt then try meds.
Got another 300watt heater
I have a saltwater tank as well and I have a salinity refactometer, how would I read 3ppt?
Also just bought api aqurium salt 65oz, so I would need alot more of these and do I just premix it all in a small batch of water and then dump it in or slowly raise it up??
I have a saltwater tank as well and I have a salinity refactometer, how would I read 3ppt?
Also just bought api aqurium salt 65oz, so I would need alot more of these and do I just premix it all in a small batch of water and then dump it in or slowly raise it up??
I used a digital conductivity/salinity meter to read concentration, so I can't help with a refractometer.
I would put a handful of salt in a HOB filter, another handful in the sump, and let them dissolve (a few moments), and add another couple handfuls, until the meter read at least 3ppt. In this way, over a few hours the fish got used to the salinity.
Even though only 2 of your fish show signs of ick, you should assume they have all been exposed, every time a white spot disappears, it means the spot has exploded into up to 100 new ick parasites, and when the new ones hatch out, this is when the salinity kills them.
By raising the temp, the ick spots mature faster, and this warmth hastens the ick life cycle, also allowing treatment to speed up and kill the emerging parasites faster.
The treatment does not work over night, it can take weeks. So everything you do a water changes, you will need to add more salt to keep the concentration up.
And doing water changes with vacuuming helps, because there are always some inert cysts in the substrate (eggs, for lack of a better word) waiting to hatch out and glom onto the fish.
I would put a handful of salt in a HOB filter, another handful in the sump, and let them dissolve (a few moments), and add another couple handfuls, until the meter read at least 3ppt. In this way, over a few hours the fish got used to the salinity.
Even though only 2 of your fish show signs of ick, you should assume they have all been exposed, every time a white spot disappears, it means the spot has exploded into up to 100 new ick parasites, and when the new ones hatch out, this is when the salinity kills them.
By raising the temp, the ick spots mature faster, and this warmth hastens the ick life cycle, also allowing treatment to speed up and kill the emerging parasites faster.
The treatment does not work over night, it can take weeks. So everything you do a water changes, you will need to add more salt to keep the concentration up.
And doing water changes with vacuuming helps, because there are always some inert cysts in the substrate (eggs, for lack of a better word) waiting to hatch out and glom onto the fish.
