Guppy FRY, got a case of ich...

[Mad Professor]

44 gallon tank
water para:
Ammo: 0.25ppm or less
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10~20ppm

Water source: Tap
Filter: H.O.T Magnum 350
Last Partial Water Change: 2 weeks ago.
Last filter media change: 2 months ago.
Last check up on filter: 1 week ago.

infected fish:
1 : Guppy Fry

*current fish in tank
lots of fry: Assuming about 15~20 fry
1: adult female guppy
7: neon Tetras
2: baby emerald green cory
1: basic 4" spotted pleaco

*recent deaths?
1: adult female guppy. died 1 week ago
1: Adult Emerald green Cory. Died 3 weeks ago.
cause of death unkown?
Found: Stuck on filter.

Other symptoms:
Adult female guppy, color in tail fin somewhat changing to white.
could be some sort of age effected on fish.


well.. theres the info. my tank is somewhat stable.
but now I got my first ich case. Since in my last 7 year history. I never treated ich before.
and its on a guppy fry. I checked the other fish and they don't seem to be infected. but looks can be deceiving.
little white spots on the dorsal fin and tail fin.
The age on guppy fry is about a good 4~6 weeks old.


but to be safe than sorry I want to treat the tank.
but what method?

thanks
~Mp

 

[Mad Professor]

update:

Well I decided on raising the temp.
and its now close to 6am in the morning. I've checked my tank and realized that the temps were 87F, not the 81F that I've had set. My heater must have malfunction.
so much for a slowly rising temp.
the temp was at 79F when I last posted.
and I was going to knock the temp up 1 degree for every 4~5 hours.
but since its already at 86F. I'll leave it there, for about a month.
rather be safe than sorry.

I don't want to chem treat the tank, or add salt.
but if I don't see results within a week or so. I'll revive this topic.

is this one of the proper ways to cure ick?

unless you're going to tell me to get QT tank and put all my fish in QT. and let the main tank fallow for some weeks. I don't think I have the money for another tank or get meds at the moment.
oh yeah I have no idea what fallow is I just read it somewhere on this forum.

so I'll talk to later
thanx
~mp

 

[greenmaji]

Yes, 85 degees F+ will kill the ich.. be carefull to add more airation to the tank to make sure the fish are getting plenty of O2 though.. and 3 weeks should be more then enough overkill.. the lifecycle of ich is only 2 weeks..

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

At 82 the life cycle is down to a few days and at 86-88 it is so rapid that it fails. It is the best way to kill ich. You can probably add a little salt, but it may not be necessary. Most meds kill fish and maybe the ich if your lucky, plus they will stain your tank and/or kill your plants and/or be impossible to remove.

 

[Mad Professor]

Hey I was wondering since I am in the early stage what else can I do to prevent other dieases or bacteria attacks on my little fishies....
Because I just read another recent topic, that his tank had ich and he did the temp method, and got another disease during treatment.
So what can I do to prevent these unexpect events from happening...
I'm monitoring my fish, the neons are nipping each other but that was a few hours ago. The temps are little over the 30C line on the thermometer.

but I want to make sure that I don't have dead fishies during the treatment.

What can I do

P.S: is it a good idea to do a 50% water change sometime this weekend?
and I don't do gravel-vacs.


Update: I stole a thermometer from my sister's tank, placed down on the bottom of my tank. and its reading 81F, and the primary thermometer is one that floats around the tank, and it reads 87F or little over 30C...
I do have the pump blasting to max capacity. I have 2 aeration strips under the gravel.. so I backed off a little bit so the temps on the bottom can match the top. I may have a faulty thermometer...
was this the correct decision?
and I have noticed that this old heater, has one bad heating coil, its a duel, but one doesn't seem to be functioning..