Ich

[Geoffrey1004]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

0 ppm

If yes, what is your nitrite?

0 ppm

If yes, what is your nitrate?

10 ppm

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

31-40%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

I just started this 65 gallon cichlid tank and I think this parrot cichlid that I brought home might have had ich. As soon as I saw these white spots I started treatment. I didn't change the temperature of my tank since my water is already 84 degrees fahrenheit, and I added 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 3 gallons. I also added malachite green as recommended by my fish store and added 5ml per 10 gallons. I'm just wondering if there's anything else I could do for treatment. Also I'm not too sure how I should add the malachite green from here on since I don't want to get the concentration too high and kill my bacteria or even worse the fish. Would I leave it as is? Do a water change and then dose the amount of water I replaced?

Thanks.

 

[Deadeye]

Definitely ich.
You really only need to do malachite green or salt, mixing is going to be unnecessary. It takes a few days for all spots to stop showing.
As a side note, keep an eye on that flowerhorn - they don’t really play nice with others.

 

[Geoffrey1004]

Definitely ich.
You really only need to do malachite green or salt, mixing is going to be unnecessary. It takes a few days for all spots to stop showing.
As a side note, keep an eye on that flowerhorn - they don’t really play nice with others.

Thanks for the response, would you recommend the salt or malachite green? Which one is more effective?

 

[Deadeye]

Each one works well.
Salt has a nice simplicity to it and won’t stain anything, so I would personally recommend it.

 

[Geoffrey1004]

Each one works well.
Salt has a nice simplicity to it and won’t stain anything, so I would personally recommend it.

Hi sorry to bother you again but this morning I noticed that there is less white spots on the fish. I'm just wondering how long I should keep doing the treatment for and if I should do any water changes while doing the treatment.
Thanks

 

[Deadeye]

Continue water changes as needed, and redose as needed to match salinity.
Spots can take a while to disappear, generally you want to continue treatment for 10 days after the last spot disappears to ensure all ich in all stages of life has been killed.

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

If salt does not work, I would recommend Ich-X. It personally worked for me as long as you follow instructions. However, make sure that your tank does not have plants and/or invertebrates.

 

[duanes]

Each Ich spot hatches out up to 100 new ich, these new ich first fall to the substrate, and eventually re-emerge to rise up to reattach to your fish.
It is only when they are falling off, or rising up that they are vulnerable to treatment.
When on the fish, or in the substrate they are not effected by meds or salt.
This is why treatment may need to last weeks, you need to kill all the "hatchlings", if you don't, they reinfect, and because they hatch off the fish, and ou of the substrate at different times, the process does not happen over night..
All medications (including salt) work exactly the same way, they change the osmotic pressure of the water just enough to kill ich in its vulnerable stages.
Unless the concentration of that med is strong enough throughout tthe entire treatment period, the new ick hatchlings reinfect.