I really need advice....again.

[Meashkah]

So maybe you've seen me on here complaining about my ICH woes. Basically, after a water change about 10-11 days ago, I noticed one of my chili rasboras had two white dots on him. The next day I went out and purchased Quick Cure and have been treating the tank with that at 80 degrees temp. I removed my carbon and have added airation. Here's my question: Can I stop using quick cure? I HATE THE CHEMICALS. I was wondering if I could raise the temp higher and just do frequent water changes?

Is it too late now? I think another chili has an ich dot. That makes two fish now.

It's stocked with 5 chili rasboras, 3 guppies, 1 female betta imbellis, 3 amano shrimp, 4 pygmy cories.

My water parameters are great. no ammonia, no nitrate, 5-10 ppm nitrite, 6.5 ph

I did have a temp fluctuation on the day I did the water change, it was an accident, so maybe that could have stressed them out.

My main concern is if I can change direction in combating the ICH and if the heat/water changes with help.

Also it has a large piece of wood and lots of plants so I have only a small amount of sand to vacuum. I don't know if this makes the heat/water change thing less effective.

So sorry to keep asking about ICH, but I've never had it before.

 

[bud29]

So maybe you've seen me on here complaining about my ICH woes. Basically, after a water change about 10-11 days ago, I noticed one of my chili rasboras had two white dots on him. The next day I went out and purchased Quick Cure and have been treating the tank with that at 80 degrees temp. I removed my carbon and have added airation. Here's my question: Can I stop using quick cure? I HATE THE CHEMICALS. I was wondering if I could raise the temp higher and just do frequent water changes?

Is it too late now? I think another chili has an ich dot. That makes two fish now.

It's stocked with 5 chili rasboras, 3 guppies, 1 female betta imbellis, 3 amano shrimp, 4 pygmy cories.

My water parameters are great. no ammonia, no nitrate, 5-10 ppm nitrite, 6.5 ph

I did have a temp fluctuation on the day I did the water change, it was an accident, so maybe that could have stressed them out.

My main concern is if I can change direction in combating the ICH and if the heat/water changes with help.

Also it has a large piece of wood and lots of plants so I have only a small amount of sand to vacuum. I don't know if this makes the heat/water change thing less effective.

So sorry to keep asking about ICH, but I've never had it before.

If you want to ditch the meds, I would add the carbon back to your filter, do a water change, and raise the temperature to 86-87F. The parasite reproduction should stop at that temperature. Salt is generally used in conjunction with this heat method, but salt can be harmful to plants.

 

[Mebbid]

Stress has less of an impact on ich than it does on bacterial or fungal infections so don't worry about the water changes as much even though it is still good to get temperatures as close as possible.

Raising the heat should take care of the ich without a need for increased frequency of water changes and tank decorations won't have any impact on it as long as there is sufficient water flow to keep the tank temperature constant.

The heat itself will act as a treatment so it would be fine to stop usage of the quick cure.

 

[Meashkah]

Stress has less of an impact on ich than it does on bacterial or fungal infections so don't worry about the water changes as much even though it is still good to get temperatures as close as possible.

Raising the heat should take care of the ich without a need for increased frequency of water changes and tank decorations won't have any impact on it as long as there is sufficient water flow to keep the tank temperature constant.

The heat itself will act as a treatment so it would be fine to stop usage of the quick cure.

I think this is what I'm going to do. Any idea how long I should keep the heat up this high? Maybe a week after I see no more spots??? <-guessing

I wonder if I could add a small amount of salt without damaging the plants?

 

[bud29]

I think this is what I'm going to do. Any idea how long I should keep the heat up this high? Maybe a week after I see no more spots??? <-guessing

I wonder if I could add a small amount of salt without damaging the plants?

You could probably add a small amount of salt, but that really is not enough to take much of an effect on the parasite IMO. It would be best just to go with heat-only in this situation.

Also, it is generally advisable to keep temperatures up for 1-2 weeks after all visible signs of the parasite are gone.

 

[Meashkah]

Ok, I just did about 30% water change, added the carbon back in (noticed the green hue to my tubing *blech*), started raising the temp, added another air stone. Ok, ICH, get out! lol

Hey, thanks to both of you for your advice...I hope someday, I can help some novice ICH warrior in the same way.

 

[Meashkah]

It is like a bubble ZONE in the tank. It's very aerated. Hopefully that helps with the high heat and less O2...Do you think that my fish list will survive the 86 degrees?

 

[Mebbid]

They will be just fine as long as you raise the temperature very slowly. 1 degree per hour would suffice.