ich question

[High City Rida]

will do next time i can go into town... so if salt doesnt cure it. what exactly does it do and why does every here say to use it? j/c

Salt will stress them and really isn't good to use in your tanks on a regular basis. It should only be used periodicly or in sign's of trouble and injury. It cause them to produce more slime coat and is good for digestion. I would not use it very often.

All the others have it covered pretty much. I am curious about the heater your using as well. Are you using 2 or 1. Are you postive it is reaching or exceeding 87.? And vacuming your subtrate should be synomonus with the Cichla. There is no way around it. If I told you some of the things I have had to do for my Cichla your head would spin. G/L and bump up your WC and Husbandry (cleaning).

 

[Nexxus]

Salt will stress them and really isn't good to use in your tanks on a regular basis. It should only be used periodicly or in sign's of trouble and injury. It cause them to produce more slime coat and is good for digestion. I would not use it very often.

All the others have it covered pretty much. I am curious about the heater your using as well. Are you using 2 or 1. Are you postive it is reaching or exceeding 87.? And vacuming your subtrate should be synomonus with the Cichla. There is no way around it. If I told you some of the things I have had to do for my Cichla your head would spin. G/L and bump up your WC and Husbandry (cleaning).

nope bare bottom tank.. and yes WC and vacuuming fish poo every day. i just find it wierd that only 1 of the orinos is getting it. then it goes away and comes back... i only have 1 heater in the tank right now. and the water isa steady 86* i think my heater may be faulty because when it does hit 88* it only stays there for maybe a couple of hours

 

[Nexxus]

sounds like your not cleaning your tank properly.... ick lives in your substrate/gravel..
you may see it off your fish but still LIVES in your substrate accumilating and multiplying...waiting for that contact RUBB with the fish!! thats why syphoning your substrate is very important with water changes.. to get rid of the bad stuff... i strongly disagree with med and only use them when you are forced to do so... temperature must be @86+,,, higher the better... if it is not your substrate the temperature in your tank keeps fluxuating from hot to cold and then to hot, etc... F.Y.I,,, always keep a stable enviorment for cichla and you will never hve probs... best of luck bro... and send those orino's to me....hahahaha...LOL

its not fluctauating really its a steady 86* and it is a barebottom tank... i have had cichla for about 8 months now and ive seena dn done everything for them. its just weird so i thought id ask.... ship me that WC OCELL.... and stop teasing me with it

 

[noonein2]

high tempatures should do the trick

 

[Nic]

my treatment has never failed me yet.... up temp 88f add salt 2# per 100 gallons and then dose with seachems paraguard... bye bye ich in a week or less pending how bad of a outbreak

 

[coolermaster]

high temp with salt is what I do. I treat for a week even when theres no more visible ich on the fish

 

[EastCoast280]

Wow I am seeing lots of strange things about "ich" lately. Lets start with this "Ich" is a Protozoan parasite. It is very common however a healthy fish in nearly immune to it. Most infestations are a result of stress. I am going to explain this as easy to understand as I can. I will use simple terms we can all understand but not scientifically accurate terms.

There is freshwater ich and saltwater ich, they are pretty much the same but neither can survive in the others natural habitat. Meaning freshwater ich cannot tolerate salt and saltwater ich cannot tolerate fresh water. This is where salt helps treat freshwater ich and freshwater dips can help treat saltwater fish. The salt can kill some of the "ich" but most likely the salinity will not be high enough to make an impact. The salt also helps prevent fungal infections from developing where the "ich" was attatched to the fish.

High water temps simply speed up the life cycle of the "ich" All this does is limit the time the free floating stage of the life cycle so there is less chance of finding a host. But it also speeds up all the other life cycles which means you can actually create more of a problem unless you add salt.

"Ich" doesn't live in your substrate. Case and point this guy has "ich" and no substrate. Rather "ich" goes through a life cycle where it does attach itself to the bottom and sides of the tank or anything else it can other than the fish. Until it's ready for the next life cycle where it is free floating and can attach to a host. This is the only time a fish will show signs of being infected and the only time "ich" can attach itself is while free floating. Simply put the "ich" that lives in the substrate is like an egg case for the protozoans and the protozoans cannot attatch to a host until released by the egg case. They are released only when mature not when a fish brushes against the egg case. When fish brush against something they are scratching themselves to relieve the irritation caused by the "ich" same when youo itch a bug bite.

There is only one way to get rid of it for sure and that is with medication of any kind. The most effective way is with copper based medication but it can and often does have adverse effects on other livestock. A UV sterilizer is a great method for controlling "ich" but not a cure.

 

[EastCoast280]

Oh and the full cycle usually takes just under a month but is effected by water temps. higher temp=faster life cycle lower temp=slower cycle.