Since salt is out, though see contender's post, I would go ahead and use an anti-ich med. As to the heat, I have seen a couple articles on using just heat but you need to get the temp over 90 degrees F. to work. Also there are a couple known strains of ich that are hear tolerant. At 86 degrees all you are doing is increasing the rate at which the ich multiplies without killing it. They are scratching because ich irritates the skin, not from the heat.
Urgent Help (possible ick on one Bleheri)
- Thread starter RobD23
- Start date
A couple things here,RobD23 said:
the symptoms of overheating in fish don't include flashing or scratching. They are gasping, labored breathing, lethargy, listlessness, and in extreme cases laying on the bottom.
Ich organisms continue to destroy tissue until they die so even if they stop breeding they will irritate the fish where they are attached.
According to the studies I have read they stop reproducing at 86 but do not die until 89.5. one article mentions finding a strain that survives at 92 degrees http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
A couple other articles mention a Florida strain at least that heat tolerant and a chinese grass carp culture guide mentions a Chinese strain that reproduces at up to 32 degrees C and survives at 35 degrees C (89.6 F and 95 F), these may be just exceptions but I do not trust heat alone to do the trick.
Your fish probably aren't bothered much by the increase of temp. More than likely, they are flashing, and rubbing on objects because of irritation to their skin caused by the parasite. Though it may not be "common" to your paticular species, Ich has the ability to infect, and kill any species of fish. But if your fish are actively flashing on the substrate or rocks/logs etc., that could be considered a "good" sign. Why? well because it would indicate that they are still in the early phases of the infection, and you have a much better chance of addressing the issue, and having a complete recovery. In later stages, the fish becomes lethargic, loose their appetite, and spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank. By this point, survival becomes a serious battle. Ich can cause severe tissue damage to fish, both in its feeding activity, while rooted under the epithelium, and from its entry and exit from the host (your fish). In particular, gill tissues suffer the worst in most cases, and they not only become a threat to the fish's life, but also can lead to secondary fungal and/or bacterial infections, from the tiny holes left on the fish from when the Ich trophonts "punch" their way out of the skin. By raising the water temp., what happens, is the life cycle of the parasite rapidly increases. This is a GOOD thing. In lower temps. the life cycle of Ich can take up to 6 weeks, where as in higher temps., the life cycle can go super-sonic, and complete its self within a week!! This is important because it is only the free-swimming stage of the parasite's life, that treatment is effective. Neither the trophonts living under the epithelium, nor the tomont cysts (in other words - egg balls, lol), will even be phased by medications. Therefore, since the parasite must connect to it's host within 48 hours in order to survive, speeding up their life cycle means that they will not have the opportunity to reproduce the next generation, as the meds. will kill them once they "hatch", and start swimming. So don't freak out just yet. Another "good news" tip, is that it is widely believed that once a fish has been infected with Ich, and survived, their bodies may develop a natural immunity to further infections! Keep me posted though, and add some pics. if you can. 
--Emi
--Emi
Another thing to point out, as guppy mentioned, is that there are several strains of Ich, and not all meds. work for all strains, so to know what your are dealing with, is the first step to a quick recovery for all infected!! As they are so small, it's virtually impossible to tell which strain you may be dealing with under the naked eye. Your best bet would be to have a smear done by your LV (local vet) Good luck, keep us posted.
--Emi
--Emi
