Table Salt Ich

[Dark Jester]

Um, you might want to remove 50% of the water from all the tanks. Just an idea, even tho its too late

Don't think it will make a difference either way. More of the cysts land in the substrate than what stays in the water column. Even if 1 cyst remains, it will multiply exponentially. Salt + Heat will kill them all when they hatch, regardless of where they are.

Note that the fish will continue to look worse for a couple days. Neither salt or heat have any effect on cysts once they attach to fish, and when they initially attach they are invisible to the eye. As those invisible ones mature, more spots will develop. No new ones should attach once the salt is added though. As the existing spots form cysts and fall off, when the cysts hatch, they die.

Basically as soon as salt is added, whether you did a water change or not, no newly hatched ich should survive long enough to attach to a fish.

Also remember that if you do any water changes after adding salt, that you re-dose the salt removed as well. If you have it at 2 tsp/gal and you take out 10 gallons, when you add the 10 gallons back, add 20 tsp of salt with it.

 

[TheRealAndyCook]

I didn't mean do a water change, i meant remove 50% of the volume of water your treating.

 

[Dark Jester]

Ah, gotcha. Probably not a big deal under 100g, I can definately see the cost advantage above that though.

Something to consider in relation to that is the stress level of the fish. A stressed fish will be more susceptable to infections than one that isn't. Taking half the water out of the tank can cause a lot of stress for some fish. My Cons, JDs and Pictus hate it when I take water out for changes.

 

[TheRealAndyCook]

good point, either way hes already treated the tanks...strictly an academic suggestion

 

[Dark Jester]

Still a good idea, if your fish don't stress water changes, would be a good thing to keep in mind. That's kindof what I was going for in asking if he could consolidate everyone into the 75. Only need to salt 1 tank that way instead of 3.

 

[Ancient_Fish_Master]

i think iodized salt is the stuf your NOT suppose to use.

 

[Dark Jester]

i think iodized salt is the stuf your NOT suppose to use.

Should be good to go then. Some people claim iodine is bad as well, which is a common additive to table salt, but it's in such a small amount that the salt level would kill the fish long before the iodine did anything. Iodine can be a benefit in aquaria as well. There are iodine additives out there for aquarium use.

At only 2-4 tsp per gallon, you're looking at a very miniscule amount of iodine.

 

[Chrisplosion]

I am gonna get some more salt tomorrow because I ran out when putting it in the 55 with the coppersafe, only got about 90 tsp. But I will bump that tank up to 3 tsp per gallon after I get the salt.

 

[altonjone]

There are a couple of people here who swear by salt (including table salt reg) to treat the ich but I have to say I recently treated three separate tanks, 5 Gal 2:30 and girls. Gal 5 was something friends and I used salt and heat. All inhabitants were killed, including plants. Both my girls have ICH 30 (long story there ...) and I was afraid to use salt on my sleep medication and snails, so I decided to try only the first heat to see if he could work. I am happy to report that was to last two weeks gone and we had a single loss.

 

[Dark Jester]

There are a couple of people here who swear by salt (including table salt reg) to treat the ich but I have to say I recently treated three separate tanks, 5 Gal 2:30 and girls. Gal 5 was something friends and I used salt and heat. All inhabitants were killed, including plants. Both my girls have ICH 30 (long story there ...) and I was afraid to use salt on my sleep medication and snails, so I decided to try only the first heat to see if he could work. I am happy to report that was to last two weeks gone and we had a single loss.

Really don't think I understand what you just said at all. It looks like you might have had a coherent paragraph at one time, but then a crazy spammer started just overwriting sections with nonsense words. At one point, I think for a 5 gallon tank you say you used salt and heat, but everything died.

What were the tank inhabitants? How much salt did you add? How high did you raise the temp? What time period was the temp change carried out in?

Also note if using salt, you shouldn't be using any other meds. Why do your fish need sleep medication? And salt + snails usually = dead snails. Ever sprinkle salt on slugs as a child? Same principle.