fish fatigue at high temp

[couplescaddy]

hey everybody, i have a 6 gallon tank with 4 small fish and 23 babies in it. one of my fishies has ich and i was told that raising the temp to 86*+ is one of the easiest ways to get rid of the disease. so i raised it to 88*F, and i need to know how much stress this temperature is going to put on my fish. can aybody reccomend any way to reduce the stress on my fishies or a different way to treat ich??? my fish are 3 platies and a molly with 23 baby mollies. thanks guys.

 

[couplescaddy]

also, my fish have become incresingly agitated and sorta crazy, theyre chasing eachother around and swiming very fast up and down the glass trying to bite their reflection. im scared what this temperature change is doing to my fish. someone please help. im quite desperate, I DO NOT WANT TO LOOSE MY FISH. please hlep.

 

[vega]

How fast do you raise the temp? You need to increase the temp slowly eg. 1F per hour till 90F.

HTH

 

[couplescaddy]

i raised it from 83* to 88* over like 7 hours today

 

[couplescaddy]

and Ace is definatly getting worse. now he has like 4 spots where like an hour ago he had 1 and also, his tail is starting to get chewed up by the white spots.

 

[cginflorida]

There's an article on this in the Articles section of this web site. Here's the link:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

Good luck, hope this helps!

 

[BrianNY]

I've always fund that the safest way to cure Ich is with high temp and Non-Iodized (aquarium or kosher), salt.

Here's the thing with higher temps Will....... The warmer the water, the less oxygen. This means that you should also increase the water agitation. An air stone is a good way to do this. Good luck

 

[TankGirl]

Ditto, BrianNY. Also, what kind of fish are you keeping? Some fish definitely do not do well in high temps, so that is a consideration as well.

I have had good luck with this method myself, FWIW.

 

[Menagerie]

The ich will get worse before it gets better--this is normal.

 

[couplescaddy]

i have mollies and platties. i lowered teh temp a little bit to 86* and they seem to be doing better. im going to get a more accurate heater today, so maybe that will help with the temp raising process. thanks guys. also, how long do i need to keep the temp up???

 

[TankGirl]

At least two weeks. 86-87 should do it, higher is likely stressful to the fish (mollies and platies should handle this just fine) and will raise their metabolisms. Wish the heat raised mine, LOL!

 

[couplescaddy]

yeah, seriously. also, one of my fish has swollen eyes. is this part of ich or is it something else???

 

[krap101]

instead of looking at the heater for the temp get a thermometer

 

[madasafish]

Not a bad suggestion!

Swolen eyes is "pop-eye". This is a sign of any of a few problems. Andrews et al. in "Fish Health" state: "A variety of factors may be involved, including bacterial infection, parasite infestation, poor water quality, an internal metabolic disorders."

In your case, I'm guessing it's bacterial (metabolic issues are usually more a problem in African Cichlids, and other fish with specific diets).

Treatment: "It may be necessary to isolate and treat the affected fish with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, although this will only be effective if the symptoms are related to bacterial infection" (Andrews et al. again).

Also, frequent water changes (every 1-2 days) will keep water quality at its best, and bacteria and nutrients at their lowest.

 

[TankGirl]

From what I understand, popeye is almost always resolved with a heavy water change regimen to improve water quality - hopefully that will do it for you, and will assist with the ich situation as well. Boy, you are really getting it from all sides!!

 

[couplescaddy]

guys, sorry to say, Baron, the one with pop eye has died. i found him on the bottom of my tank dead. o well, hope that bactera will grow fast enough to keep this from happening more. also, i got a better heater. and i do have a thermometer.