HELP first ICH outbreak ever. ...need advice!

[Chriznat20]

I am having a pretty big ICH outbreak in my 55g FW setup.

I went and bought ICK guard 2 because I have some scaleless fish (pleco, loach, rafael).

My 2 balas are covered in ICK and so are the 2 striped tetras I added about 2 weeks ago. I added about 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt. Should I add more? Ive heard it helps break the ick up because it ruins some kind of balance that helps them thrive?

Im going to remove the carbon in my power filters right now and start adding the ICK Guard 2. I added it the other day but didnt remove the carbon so I figure thats why its getting worse.

Should I up my tank temp? currently its at about 74F.

Help! Ive never had a tank disease before and its freaking me out :?

 

[Rach101]

You need to slowly, very slowly raise the temp up to 85-86 degrees. Slowly mind you , also plan a way to bump it faster from 83 to 85 due to the fact that ich reproduces faster at 84 i believe.

 

[weezerbot]

I had an ick outbreak in my tank a few months ago, and it was my first......add the aquarium salt, take out your carbon, slowly raise the temp, and for good measure I personally put in an antibiotic.....I treated for 2 weeks, and now all is well, and I didn't lose any fishes!!

Good luck!

 

[Rach101]

make sure also when you add the salt to add it slowly to get the fish used to it. When i added salt my catfish were fine, not sure how yours will react though. A problem with alot of meds are that you cant add em cause of scaleless fish, or tetras.

 

[Chriznat20]

Well I just got back from my LFS, luckily I ran in RIGHT before they locked the doors (they closed at 9pm)

I had some Ick Guard II which is safe for all fish- scaleless or not. I took out all of my carbon and turned my heat up from 75 to 78. Tomorrow Im going to take it up to 81 and then so on.... I added half of the small bottle of Ick Guard II, which would be enough treatment for 55 gallons. Wednesday I added about 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt to the tank. Im sure it needs more, I mean I havent added salt in over a year and even then it was about 1 or 2 tablespoons every 3-4 months. How much salt should I add?

How long does it take ICK to go away?? I cant believe it spread so fast.. I mean I have heard stories but... thats fast!

 

[Guest]

I will NEVER use ICH medications again in my tank. I lost a pleco to the meds, and they dyed my tank and some ornaments blue/green. Use the opportunity to buy a UV sterilizer ($80 at Big Al's), and turn up that heat. If you like your fish a lot, or at least they are expensive, $80 is a small price to pay for now and later peace of mind.

BTW, why is your tank so cold anyway? These are tropical fish, keep them at least at 78 IMO.

 

[Chriznat20]

Yeah... I screwed up on the temperature. I broke my heater tonite trying to turn it up (yes of course I had unplugged it first!) but it bang against the wall of the tank and busted the end off.

I went to my LFS and bought this nifty titanium heater that has an external thermostat and a remote sensor that goes to the other side of the tank! Same price as the Marineland one I had before.

I actually turned the temp down a few weeks ago when the weather started warming up here in Michigan. I didnt want it to get too hot. Well that was stupid of me

And thanks for the "early" advice on not using ICK medicine! 8O Too late now, already added it. If I lose my pleco im blaming you

 

[Guest]

Just stop, the more you add the worse it will get. At a minimum, get everything out of your tank, I had to throw out about $100 worth of decor because it never looked right again and I'm a little anal. I know you already got the heater, so this is too late also, but they make plastic heaters now that are basically break proof and have lifetime warranties.

 

[Rach101]

Be careful about raising your temp.. have small changes and intervals at which the temp with stay the same. let your fish get used to it, dont stress em even more. Ich isnt an overnight killer, so do it slowly, but you should bump it up fast from 83 to 84, but again in moderation. With the salt what i did was I took small half table spoons into some tank water, then poured it in there and let em get used to it for an hour, and then added a little bit more, less then the first time

 

[Chriznat20]

I just compared the two bottles of Ick Guard 1 and Ick Guard 2 and the #1 formula says it might stain decorations and the #2 says it will NOT stain decor.

I used formula #2 so I wont be having the staining problem.

 

[Guest]

Ich isnt an overnight killer

Exactly, but the meds sometimes are unfortunatly

 

[Rach101]

tetras and catfishes dont do well with meds</3

 

[Rach101]

Oh i forgot to mention this but what are your water params. Need to know what caused the ich in the first place.

 

[Guest]

Oh i forgot to mention this but what are your water params. Need to know what caused the ich in the first place.

Isn't ich caused by an outside parasite? I bet the fish were more suceptible to it because of the low temp in the tank and maybe poor waer conditions, but they still can't get ich unless its introduced to the tank. Its like the myth that you will catch a cold if you go out without a jacket on

 

[Rach101]

Yeah, but if his water params are bad that will be a slight problem too. Also since the heat is going to be greater, i would do a few water changes. Also do you use a HOB filter for aeration. If so lower the water level in the tank, and if its a airstone give it some more work to do

 

[Guest]

Also, go to the sick fish forum and read the stickies there.

 

[Chriznat20]

After I used the Ick Guard II I notice the fish are acting strangely. My two balas which are hit by the ick pretty hard are just sitting there breathing strangely. Is this a side effect of the medicine? Im pretty sure I used less than I was supposed to slightly, I didnt want to use too much and do any harm by over dosing.

 

[Chriznat20]

By the way, my water parameters ( I tested this morning) are Nitrite=0, Ammonia=0 and Nitrate=30ppm.

I bet the problem was my temperature is too low. I lowered it about a week or two ago (the same time i bought the new tetras) because it was getting hot out and hence hot inside my house.

 

[Chriznat20]

Oh I have a whisper HOB and a Penguin Bio-wheel. I have always aerated with a 6" aeration bar.

 

[Rach101]

Do water changes go go go ! lots of water changes. But make sure the temp and such is the same before adding it to the tank.