Ich on Rummies

[richiestang_78]

While looking over my rummy noses I saw on two of them some white spots, which I believe is ich. Im going to the LFS to pick up medication but what other steps can I take to treat them? Also should I move them to my hospital tank or treat the whole community tank that theyre in? There only appears to be about 5 or 6 spots total between the 2 and I just noticed it so it must be early in the diesease.

Went to the LFS and they gave me AP Pro Aquari-Sol. Its says to raise the temp of the tank to 85, over how many days should I do this and also how long should I go with the treatment? The directions sorta suck on the bottle.

 

[JDogg]

While looking over my rummy noses I saw on two of them some white spots, which I believe is ich. Im going to the LFS to pick up medication but what other steps can I take to treat them? Also should I move them to my hospital tank or treat the whole community tank that theyre in? There only appears to be about 5 or 6 spots total between the 2 and I just noticed it so it must be early in the diesease.

Went to the LFS and they gave me AP Pro Aquari-Sol. Its says to raise the temp of the tank to 85, over how many days should I do this?

forget the meds, treat the whole tank.
over the next few days slowly raise your temp to 87 degrees F. keep it that ways for atleast two weeks after you no longer see the ich spots!
Good luck!

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah Im going to treat with the med for three days, replace carbon, then keep the temp up for another week or so and see how that goes.The stuff they gave me is very mild, the active ingredient is only Soluble Copper Salts and it can be used weely as a preventative.

 

[Zagz]

You do not need meds with the heat method. Meds can cause problems with beneficial bacteria and with many fish. Save your money and raise the temp to 86 F slowly and keep the heat up for 2 weeks after the last spot is gone. Why treat with meds when not needed.

 

[richiestang_78]

Well the treatment is only for 3 days so Id rather have the peace of mind. If the fish looked stressed from the meds ill stop and go with heat method. How fast should I heat the water?

 

[rich311k]

Go slowly 1 degree every 5-6 hours or so.

 

[richiestang_78]

alright I figured something like that. My tank was already at about 78 so i estimate about 2 days to get the temp up

 

[Menagerie]

Well the treatment is only for 3 days so Id rather have the peace of mind.

The problem is sometimes you have to dose twice or three times. Dosing with meds or going with a natural solution is not a race.
The heat and salt treatment as described in Freshwater Ich? Yuck! gives true peace of mind because you are not medicating the tank and there is no chance to ruin your biological filter. What many people don't know about fish meds is the fine balance between killing the bad organism and the fish--it's closer than people think.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah I understand that but this stuff is extremely weak and really isnt medication. I mean the ingredient liek i said is only Soluble Copper Salts which is basically a type of salt. You can use this stuff weekly as a prevention method against ick. The LFS uses it in the larger tanks with more expensive fish all the time. Like I said im going to see how the fish respond to the first day and continue to the full 3days then continue after that with the temperature method.

 

[JDogg]

Copper-based medications are commonly recommended for treating ich. Some brand names include CopperSafe® by Mardel, General Cure® by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and Aquari-Sol®. Look for the active ingredient “copper sulfate” or “soluble copper salts.” Copper does not stain and is highly recommended by some aquarists. It does have drawbacks, however. It causes oxygen concentration to drop, it is toxic to snails and invertebrates, it may not be tolerated well by scaleless fish and plants, and like any chemical, it can certainly be toxic to your fish especially if dosed incorrectly. Apparently the toxicity increases as total alkalinity (KH) decreases. This would suggest that copper-based meds may be better suited for use with African rift lake cichlids than with soft water fish from low pH/KH conditions. But beware; if you should have a drop in your pH while using copper your fish could perish.

http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_health_treating_ich_white_spot.shtml

 

[richiestang_78]

So I have my tank up to 86 degress, is this sufficient to kill the ick? And if so how long should I keep the temp up that high, it wont harm the fish will it?

 

[rich311k]

It will not hurt your fish. Keep the temperature up for at least two weeks after the last signs of ich disappear.

 

[Ky'smommy]

pet stores dont always know what they are talking about.
Everytime i go to one which is all the time i have to argue witht he people who work there.
im not a know it all . i just know what i need to go before i go.
Like with my fish who has pop eye right now. they tried to make me by a fungus medicine. instead of the actual medicine i wanted and the fish had no signs of any kind of fungus what so ever.
And another thing if they were so smart why do all there fish look sick half the time?
or they have a dead fish in almost every tank.
not to sound rude or anything.
but i rather come on here and ask people who probably have had fish longer then the poeple even worked at pet stores and get opinions first if i dont know. because 70% of the time they dont half as much as other people. the odd time there is someone good. but usually when i go in there with a problem its just a guessing game for them.

 

[richiestang_78]

Wow sucks for you, the LFS I go to I rarely see any dead or sick fish. The guys at the store I go to seem to know there stuff and also are very helpful.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

I have only had one fish die during heat treatment (he was in bad shape to start with) but have had many die during treatment with various meds. The heat treatment also seems better at making sure that ich doesn't come back. I take my tank up to 88F and the fish tolerate it just fine.

 

[Ky'smommy]

your very lucky then.
we have petland and petsmart. and they arent so good all the time.
They have new girl who seems to really want to learn.
And like 2 at the other one but they are rarely there.
when i go in a see a sick fish im almost tempted to go to there medicine isle and medicate them. or remove the dead fish so that if the fish thats dead is deseased it wont get passed on.
Im very picky about the fish. and i hate seeing so many dead fish in a store.
I know im weird but its true. they dont even really try to save them. I saw all kinds of sickness on the fish at the store.
and i check very carefully before i buy and if they grab the wrong fish i make them put it back and get another
Im also a stay at home mom. and i think when i go back to work i will go work at the petstores in the fish department. which is weird but they need to actually get people who know there stuff or at least willing to learn and help.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah I rarely go to the chain stores. I go to a place called Pet Gerneral Store which is run by a family.

 

[Ky'smommy]

yah we dont have any little ones anymore. just the chain ones.
which sucks cause who wants to be driving 1-2 hours for 5 dollar and under fish?
i go to the stores farther away to find my discus but thats cause we dont have them here.
and the fish are worth 40+ dollars so driving to a good store to make sure you get the perfect ones are worth it. i know two other people i took to stores outta where i live like bigger citys like edmonton and calgary and they were all like WOW.
much different then here. and our city isnt that small..

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah I know what you mean. You know you can always order fish from the internet and have them shipped to you Ive never done it but it still has to be better then the chain stores. My LFS is about 5 minutes away and they will order fish for me if I want. The store is alittle more pricey but Im willing to help support them and spend the cash.

 

[Ky'smommy]

yup
i remember i went to get a new adult female guppy. and i saw the most beautiful fancy male. And the fish lady told me he was pregnant. LOL he wasnt even fat and he was in a tank full of males.So if they cant even tell the sex of guppies there has to be something wrong with them. esspecially if the tank said "Male Fancy Guppies" lol.
stupid people and that was the same lady who told me to treat my pop eye fish with fungus meds. LMAo