You wont believe this...

[mother2kamryn]

Ok. after my little ammonia eppisode and the update today... you will never guess what happened next. Husband isnt due home for another couple of hours and I have ick on the 2 Angels. It never fails. Why me? :x The thing is.. I have ick meds but how do you guys feel about that vs. raising the temp? especially since the tank is still cycling? I dont know what to do please help. one of the angels has ick on his little side fin bad enough that its stuck to his body. help!

 

[mother2kamryn]

My temp is at 76 right now. soryy I left that out. If raising the temp is what you suggest, then what do I raise it to and how long will it take?

 

[freshwatergal]

I would raise the temp. I do believe raising the temp to about 85 is what most people recommend, but you have to do it slowly. Leave the temp up that high for about 2 weeks. As far as how it might affect the angels I don't know...hopefull Allyv will stop by, as she has angels and will be able to give you more info. I have tried ich meds before, but so far raising the temps has worked better. If you decide to go with meds, look for something called cure-ich, that's what I used to use and got the best results with it. Good Luck!

 

[jsoong]

So sad to hear about the ich! Just when we thought you have the problems licked.

The angles are prob. stress from the water problems & the decreased immunity had brought on ich.

For a start, I would suggest you read Alliv.'s article on ich here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

Personally I would go for the non-medication treatment. I've had relapses with meds (maybe I am just using the wrong one). As for heat, you need to have the temp up in 88 F for a couple of weeks to eradicate ich. Since I am no Angle expert, you better check & make sure they can stand this temp for the duration (I think they can). The temp need to be raised slowly, like 2 degrees every 12 hours. And you need to increase aeration as high temp = low O2.

Since Hubby is going to be back in a couple of hours, you can just wait & let him handle it. It's his turn to deal with the headache!

 

[mother2kamryn]

The meds that I have work good and very quicky. On the back it says to raise temp to 85 as freshwatergal said in conjuction to the drops. I dont have to turn the filter off. My worry though is that the meds might interfear with my cycle and put me back where I was 2 days ago. Any information of the effect of meds with the cycle?

 

[Tigerlily]

Oh no m2k! Ich! I belive it though, your fishies have been under a lot of stress and ich is very opportunistic.

I would use the heat method too (in fact I am using it right now with some tiger barbs). i would think that heat would be less stressful on your already stressed angels than medications would be. Alli may come by and dispute that because she has angels and knows them much better than the rest of us!

If you do the heat method, slowly get your heat above 86. I am planning to get my heat up to 88 and keep it there for 2 weeks. Have you seen this article on ich? Alli wrote it and it is very informative...

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

Good luck with whatever treatment you choose and keep us posted!

 

[ferret]

Get the frying pan ready for the husband. This is his fault for leaving you with a new tank and unprepared. Good luck.

 

[Tigerlily]

Oops - just saw your other post. Medication will most likely kill the bacterial colony that you've got started. That's another reason why I don't like to use them. They can be very effective though.

 

[Allivymar]

Depends on the meds mother; most will kill off the nitrifying bacteria. Which one do you have? Paragon II won't affect the cycle, but anything containing malachite green or formulin most likely will. Also, I forget what other fish you have in the tank; is it just the angels? The ich meds can be dangerous to scaleless fish like plecs and loaches and corys.

Angelfish can usually handle the high temps needed if you decide not to use meds; my guys did great the 2 weeks of 88F degree temps it needed to get rid of the ich on my loaches (the angels were in the tank with em). Thing is, you keep your tank pretty cool; its gonna take a while to kick up the temps more then 10 degrees without stressing the fish.

 

[mother2kamryn]

alli to the rescue! ok. The stuff I use is "Aquari-Sol". It doesnt say anything about malachite it says that it contains Zycosin. Im going to do some research on it when I'm done posting this. Wish me Luck! How fast/slow should I be raising the temp? like say per hour or day? Thanks guys/gals!

 

[snapcrackler]

Get the frying pan ready for the husband. This is his fault for leaving you with a new tank and unprepared. Good luck.

ROFL!!!

oh man....

"WIFE KNOCKS HUSBAND COLD WITH IRON SKILLET, SAYS TROPICAL FISH DROVE HER TO THE BRINK"

 

[mother2kamryn]

lmao... you guys are too funny.... rofl.... still wondering how fast/slow to raise temp and if zycosin will mess up my cycle or not. I cant seem to find anything on it or aquari-sol. Does anyone know about zycosin? If not maybe I should just play it safe and not use it... ?.... I'm confused...agian.

 

[ferret]

I believe the general rule is to keep it to 2-3 degrees per day

 

[Fruitbat]

I like Aquari-sol too...but it is a Copper sulfate-based treatment. Won't be particularly good for any invertebrates in your tank and using it to excess could POTENTIALLY be harmful to your fish. In moderation, copper sulfate shouldn't excessively damage your beneficial bacteria. I use it about half strength with heat treatment for Ich.

 

[Allivymar]

*grins*

Aquarisol doesn't contain malachite green or formaldehyde mother; you're absolutely correct! It does contain copper tho; another ingredient to avoid if you have inverts in the tank (like shrimp or snails). I'm not sure if it will affect the nitrifying bacteria; you'll have to be our eyes for that one.

As for raising temps, the fastest you can likely go without stressing the fish would be a degree every 6 hours or so (don't double up if you miss tho, and do 2 degrees at a time for example). If you decide to go the temp route, you won't need the Aquarisol.