Continue current ich treatment? - Aquarium Advice

preskan · 06-09-2009, 02:47 AM

Hi! I have a goldfish that i bought from a feeder tank months ago. He had been doing great for a while. I moved him from his temporary bowl into a ten gallon tank and then went back to college in another state. When I returned, he looked well fed and healthy, except for some ammonia burns on his fins. Those quickly went away after some water adjustments. I then bought a much smaller goldfish from another feeder tank to keep him company. The next day, the original fish had ich (cuz I'm an idiot and didn't quarantine!!!). I began treating him with some Quick Cure, as I read it's the most successful medication. I treated him for a week, but he's only gotten worse. I just added some Aquarium Salt and increased the water temperature to 78 degrees (F)(after clearing the water of medication) . I also gave him a salt bath in a separate bowl. Should I continue this treatment? Should I do both the medicine and the salt? Also, I've noticed his tail fin is getting red vein-like striations. I've read this can be a cause of Ich, but I'm not sure. Meanwhile, the new fish looks nice and healthy, but I'm including him in the treatment as well. Any suggestions? Also, will aquarium salt hurt my snail? He's in another tank at the moment with an Oscar, but I think he was happier with the less aggressive goldfish.

Fromthelbc · 06-09-2009, 02:59 PM

did you take the carbon out of the filter when you treated h im?

mgamer20o0 · 06-09-2009, 03:05 PM

pick one and go for it. some times it will get worse before it gets better. i like the salt and heat.

preskan · 06-10-2009, 12:35 AM

Yeah, I took the carbon out. I've put it back in since I started the salt thing tho. Both of them seem a little off today. I think it might be the heat increase?

**jsoong** · 06-10-2009, 09:03 PM

Salt bath is my mainstay for treating ich. However, there are salt resistant strains that will require meds.

I typically do salt bath of 0.5-0.7% for 20-30 min daily until the spots start to decrease. The rest of the time, I keep the fish in 0.3% salt. <The salt concentration is built up slowly over 2 days.> Typically, the ich will be gone in a week or so, and I maintain the salt level for an additional week before gradually dropping it back to zero.

FAIK, snails don't do well at the salt levels above, so I would leave it out of the tank. <If he is having problem with the oscar, maybe put him in a tub of his own for the duration.>