Battling ich, how long should the temp be at 89f?

[martintanks91]

Hey guys, im battling ich right now without meds, the temp is at 89 right now, its been 89 for 12 hours now. How many days should i leave it at 89 before lowering it?

 

[libertybelle]

High temperature will accelerate the lifecycle but I think you still need to do some kind of treatment to get rid of the ick. Unless you are counting on the fishes immune system to do it for you? If that's the case you don't want to stress the fish out too much or it will defeat the purpose...

I've never had ick in my tank so this is just from what I know about the bug from reading.

 

[martintanks91]

I read that if the temp is at 89 it Will kill it for sure, they Will have the white dots for 2 days and then they Will leave their bodies and find other hosts

 

[libertybelle]

Could be ... Perhaps it can kill it once it's free swimming? I've only read of people using heat to accelerate the life cycle since treatments only work on the free swimming parasite as well.

However long you decide to heat treat... make sure you have an airstone and bring the temperature down really really slowly at the end. They will already be stressed out from the heat. And of course you will want to keep them under observation for a couple weeks to make sure the spots are really gone.

Sorry I don't have any personal experience to help on this one.

 

[g_fish_jose]

I fought my last bout by heating to 88 for 1.5 weeks and adding salt. I want to say two tsp per gallon but maybe somebody can chime in on salt dosage. Aquarium salt is what I used. Diluted salt out with water changes after two weeks with no ich.

 

[venymae]

I usually keep the temperature up for one week after the last visible signs of ich have left. Nobody wants a relapse!

 

[Rivers2k]

I usually keep between 84 and 86 when treating 89 seems a little high. But to answer your question I keep treatment going for 1 week past the visual symptom of ICH. I add 1tsp of salt for every 5 gallons.

 

[Rivers2k]

Sorry that should have read 1 Tblspn for every 5 gallon not Tsp

 

[Pamiam]

I have had success with this method, with only 1 fish dying. I hope this will help

But please note, I started treatment at the first sign of ick, one fish had 2 spots. The next day all fish were infected, with 2 fish completely covered in ick...one died...one survived. I am in my 6th day of treatment and all are doing well with no signs of ick.

I recently bought 10 black neon tetras and have them in my quarantine tank. Of course they became infected with ick. I have my temp at 82 degrees (I think 89 is a little to high, you could be stressing the fish more)

After 3 days you should notice most fish free of ick.

I also do a 80% water change every day, making sure to suction my bottom gravel to reduce more ick. I also rinse out my filter.

Of course I may be deleting most of the good bacteria also, but I am choosing the lesser of evils.

I also over feed the fish (flakes and blood worms) to ensure their health.
( remember I am changing the water everyday, so the excess food is also being removed

The life cycle of ick at 80 degrees is around 3 days. What you are treating is the free swimming ick (reducing their numbers). Once they are attached to the fish that is it, meaning the damage has been done and the ick will remove itself when it has finished feeding on the fish.