Fish with Ich

[aqtnp]

I'm treating my freshwater fish (discus, higfin tetras, otos, clown loach, plecos) by increasing the temp slowly and adding aquarium salt slowly. I think I may have noticed that one of the discus looks a bit swollen (hopefully it's my imagination, but I have a hunch it may not be). Do you think I have added the salt to quickly or that the fish are stressed? Any recommendations?
Thanks for the advice! Not certain who's more stressed - the fish or me!!
Jo

 

[librarygirl]

Sorry to hear your fish are sick. How much salt did you add? Ich can usually be treated with just heat. What size tank and is the tank new? Is it cycled? Did you add any new fish recently? What is the normal temp of the tank?

 

[aqtnp]

Hi,
My tank is about 2 years old and have never had this problem before. Tank is cycled and has plants.Added some high fin tetras about a month ago and didn't quarantine them - that will never happen again! Learned the hard way. Right now adding 1 tsp aquarium salt for every 10 gallons but by tonight it will be 2 tsp for every 10 gallons and temp is now at 82 degrees. Usual temp around 78 degrees. A few of the sword grass might be looking like the heat is getting to it - but it could just be me getting nervous. One oto died over night, but the others look OK and might actually look like the spots are a bit less. One high fin looks pretty spotted but everyone else looks OK. Maybe I just need to hang in there?? Would you continue to increase the heat?
Thanks for the response!!

 

[Wroberson]

I hope someone with discus experiences stops by shortly. I did some research to answer the question because you need to get rid of the ich sooner rather than later.

There seems to be a debate on both sides of the salt bath for discus question. Also salt may help the bloat. I would not say to add more.

The temperature of the tank should be raised to 86 degrees and kept there for 5 days. After 48 hours most of the cysts will die off. The other three days are to ensure all the cysts are dead. This temperature is okay for discus as they require warmer water than most tropical fish. 82-88 degrees is good. Discus can be at risk for pathogens at 78 degrees and lower.

 

[aqtnp]

OK - at 84 degrees now so I'll just keep hanging in there and raise it 2 more degrees slowly. Thanks for the advise.

 

[Wroberson]

That's how I've always treated my ich. Kind of explains why my tank was always above 80. You won't have to lower it and at the high temp, ich can't survive. People with common or the average tropical fish will have choose between keeping the tank warm to stop any ich or lower it back to the preferred range for their fish. Kind of explains why my tank was always above 80.

Discus are expensive and beautiful fish.

 

[baygon]

I have once got neon tetras with ich and I kept my temp up to 88-89 but somehow the ich just wont come off but kept growing and killed the fish by the end. Could it be because I did WC too often? (I do it everyday when they were sick)

 

[eduguy]

Water changes daily when ich is present is good I'm pretty sure. When the ich falls off you want to remove it before it multiplies. I do not know why your Neon Tetras die.

 

[hpiguy]

I have once got neon tetras with ich and I kept my temp up to 88-89 but somehow the ich just wont come off but kept growing and killed the fish by the end. Could it be because I did WC too often? (I do it everyday when they were sick)

Was the new water you put in also at 88 or higher?

If it was cold, it may have given them the protection they needed to survive until the next water change.

 

[hpiguy]

Hi,
My tank is about 2 years old and have never had this problem before. Tank is cycled and has plants.Added some high fin tetras about a month ago and didn't quarantine them - that will never happen again! Learned the hard way. Right now adding 1 tsp aquarium salt for every 10 gallons but by tonight it will be 2 tsp for every 10 gallons and temp is now at 82 degrees. Usual temp around 78 degrees. A few of the sword grass might be looking like the heat is getting to it - but it could just be me getting nervous. One oto died over night, but the others look OK and might actually look like the spots are a bit less. One high fin looks pretty spotted but everyone else looks OK. Maybe I just need to hang in there?? Would you continue to increase the heat?
Thanks for the response!!

I raise the tank temp to 86 or over and use 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. The recommended range by most for killing ich is one to three tablespoons per five gallons. Sometimes even more if your fish can handle it.

1 teaspoon per ten gallons is pretty close to nothing in a tank for medication purposes.

This is the article many people cite as a resource for the heat and salt method. Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

 

[aqtnp]

So finally the ich is gone and has been for at least 3-4 days and all fish survived, temp has been at 86-88 for a week. We also have UV filtration that has been going for a week as well. Haven't added additional salt in 2 days. Still doing daily water changes.The plants are doing OK, but some are starting to die or get more algae. I've read different opinions as far as how long to keep the temp up before slowly decreasing it slowly. Opinions?? And thanks everyone for your help!!
Jo