Ich treating

[lilbetta]

Okay so im gonna begin treating my tank for Ich today... im going to slowly warm water here is the thing...

I have 2 platys (one with the white spots other one is a possible)... a perfectly healthy flawless looking betta... an otocinclis catfish (helathy looking), a yamato algae shrimp, and a snail (have no idea what kind he was a stowaway on a peice of driftwood)....

1st question should i remove the betta or any of the other healthy fish and put thim in seperate bowls (would use tank but my other one is at cousins house)...

2nd if i do raise the temp im sure the betta and the platys will do fine as long as i keep good O2 aeration but what about the catfish ans the shrimp will they take kindly to the raise in temp???

any tips sugguestions let me know im new around here and would greatly appreciate the help!

 

[VioletEmber]

I can't tell you about the shrimp at all, but when my new neons showed up with ich (last time no qt!) the Betta never showed any signs of it- I left him in the tank because he was going to like the higher temp anyway, and he did. I had one oto in there at the time- he survived the treatment and never had any symptoms of ich, but I swear he turned yellow and hasn't changed back. In retrospect I think something about the treatment (just salt and raised temp) stressed him out. Maybe someone else can chime in on that...

 

[lilbetta]

u didnt QT them uh oh thats never a good idea

 

[VioletEmber]

oh i learned my lesson alright! I bought three new fish, and within a week they had the ich, gave it to the rest of my fish and I lost all but one of the neons. It was the first time I had ever had ich in a tank... i now have a 10g QT up and running and everything is going in there first -- even shrimps and snails!

btw, that is a cute platy! i hope he gets better quick! and i hope someone can answer your question about the temp with the oto and shrimp... i suppose you could google the temp range for that type of shrimp - i am just starting to learn about shrimp myself.

 

[LyndaB]

When you treat for ich, do not relocate fish that appear healthy. You must treat the entire tank as if every fish is showing symptoms.

Raise the temp slowly to 86 F.

Add an airstone to increase oxygenation.

Do gravel vacs every 2-3 days.

Maintain schedule for minimum of 2 weeks.

 

[lilbetta]

uggh gravel claening i have so many plants and scenery stuff i have to move... is is necessary? if it is can i just put some new gravel in i have 2 bags extra... i hope she gets better too.

 

[LyndaB]

... is is necessary?

Only if you want to cure the tank.

Gravel vacs removes the ich spore from the substrate. It's a very necessary step.

Are you talking about removing all the existing gravel and replacing it with new? I'm not following your logic here.

 

[Connorgriffin]

turn the lights off and get rid ick plus if u wait they will get worse go as soon as posible if u dont u are harming ur fish \

 

[Mumma.of.two]

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php

 

[lilbetta]

Oh no i have had the lights off and yes i was talking about rplacing all of gravel wont that be cheaper thatn buying a vaccuum??

the problem is my heater it has a safety feature that wont allow it to go above a certain temp :c and it looks like its getting worse for my fish...

 

[lilbetta]

Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

thank you i have already read this and that is why i asked if gravel removal would be best...

 

[lilbetta]

heater is holding water at 74 deg F this is really pissing me off i am trying my best i dont want them to die and the da gum heater is hindering my efforts what do i do! :O

 

[LyndaB]

You need to get a better heater. I don't have a single tank I keep that cold.

 

[skywhitney]

heater is holding water at 74 deg F this is really pissing me off i am trying my best i dont want them to die and the da gum heater is hindering my efforts what do i do! :O

I'm currently fighting ich right now as well. Yesterday I went and picked up a secondry heater (I have a Fluval E300 and a Fluval M300) for my tank and taadaa the temp is now holding steady at 84 (slowly working its way up to 86) and very adjustable as needed! You might want to invest in a secondary or all together new heater. Just my opinion though.

 

[lilbetta]

i know i mean it to be at 79 deg on a regular basis but i was in between heaters and it fell to 70 deg now this new supposedly better heater is only raising it to 74...

and im not made of money

 

[lilbetta]

dang this is not good news i just shelled out 35 bucks for a heater the other day and now i need a new one crap maybe i shoulda gotten better one to start (slap forehead)

 

[skywhitney]

dang this is not good news i just shelled out 35 bucks for a heater the other day and now i need a new one crap maybe i shoulda gotten better one to start (slap forehead)

Can you return the one you got? From my experience Fluval and Aqueon are good brands. I'm sure others here can help reccomend a good heater also.

Edit: it sounds to me like the heater you have might be faulty also if it can't get above 74.

 

[lilbetta]

Yea it has to be because it says in manual it will hold temp at 79 and i have given it 2 days to do that... BUT it looks like it has a 2 year warranty! i wonder if im under the warranty period still LOL! must be an american made product (rollseyes)

 

[skywhitney]

Yea it has to be because it says in manual it will hold temp at 79 and i have given it 2 days to do that... BUT it looks like it has a 2 year warranty! i wonder if im under the warranty period still LOL! must be an american made product (rollseyes)

I think you might jsut qualify for the warranty! Is this an adjustable heater?

Just my opinion but it wouldn't hurt to look at the Fluval M series. I've had great luck with them and they only run about $35-$40.

 

[lilbetta]

heading out right now to fix this