Jungle Ick Clear question

[Necronius]

I am new at fish keeping, and have had my first outbreak of Ich. I purchased a pack of Jungle Tankbuddies Ick Clear, because I am firmiliar with the brand and the box said it rarely takes more than one dose. I gave the recomended dosage, but I just read that ick will only be killed when it is in its free swimming stage. I was wondering if the dose I just gave to my tank is going to be enough to kill it, because right now the ick is still on the fish, and in fact just showed up thismorning. I havent delt with ick before, so I have no idea how hard it is to kill.

If anyone has any insight on the problem, or any experience with Jungle Ick Clear, your advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

 

[TankGirl]

I have not used that particular ich treatment, but the last time my tank had it I dosed the tank for 7 full days with 20% water changes every day. You basically want to treat the tank for a full 3 days after the last ich spot is visible on your fish, as the free-swimming stage is the only one vulnerable. I have had a great deal of success with Rid-Ich, which is a lower concentration for more sensitive fish, but using that regular dose I cleared up a tank of non-sensitive fish in 7 days, dosing the tank daily after the water change. You gotta do the water changes along with it, every day, and remove your carbon from your filter, if you have it. Once you are done with the treatment then use carbon to remove the medication. Your plants may suffer, as will shrimp and other inverts, but I have been very pleased with the effectiveness of Rid-Ich. Good luck!

 

[Necronius]

Well, I've dosed it every day so far with the water changes, and my dalmation mollie which had the worst case is clearing up pretty well, but my knife fish did not survive.

I was wondering if it will hurt anything if I change the medication I'm using. I have enough for 2 more days, but the store is out of Ick clear.

 

[TankGirl]

I would not worry about that. I would go ahead and get another brand and continue on like you have been. Sorry about your knife I have heard that they are sensitive to ich medications (malachite green) but am not positive about this. I think you are really doing everything you can.

 

[Necronius]

I had read that they were sensitive, and the thought had crossed my mind that maybe it was the treatment that killed it, but it seemed fine after the first dose. it was only after the second (half dose) that it began to act strange. it was a small knife, and the gills were very tiny. I don't think it would have taken much of an infestation to suffocate it. My molly seemed to be getting better, but its beginning to hang out at the surface and is getting sluggish. I have tested the water and it seems fine, so the fish are either dieing from the parasites on their gills, or the medication is too much for them. If this keeps up all of my fish will be dead in a few days.


I don't know why I am having so much trouble. Granted this is the first large tank we've had in this house, but so far it seems like much more trouble than its worth. When I was little, we had a 10 gallon tank with a few goldfish. We didn't have a fancy filter setup or anything, but I don't remember ever having problems with ammonia or parasites. I must be doing something drastically wrong

 

[TankGirl]

What are your tank parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? Hanging out at the surface usually indicates oxygen depletion, and this may be an ammonia/nitrite spike, secondary to your medication treatment, possibly (tho this does not generally happen). Depending upon your test results you may need to do a serious water change to save the fish. Also, an air stone or a bubble wand may be useful during this treatment phase, to increase oxygenation. If you have raised the temperature on your heater to help speed the ich treatment, this makes it harder for the fish to get oxygen out of the water, so in this case don't up the temp.

 

[Necronius]

The tank parameters are fine. the temperature is at 78 degrees. I have been changing about 1/3 of the tank water every day before I add a new dose of ick medication, and following the water change with a neutral ph buffer that also removes chlorine and chloramine. As my tank has not finished cycling completely, the ammonia tests always appear high, but I have been using ammonia neutralizing chemicals, so most of this is ammonium. The parameters are no different than before I started the ich treatments.

 

[Necronius]

Do you happen to know how long the parasites are on the fish before they become visible on the skin? One of the fish that I thought was unaffected appears to have a few spots on it now. he either has had it and its just coming out, or he caught it since I started treatment which means the medication isnt doing anything.

 

[TankGirl]

Here is a link to an excellent ich article. Hope it helps!

http://www.aquamaniacs.net/ich.html

 

[An t-iasg]

ich

Sorry about your knife fish How is the mollie and the rest of the fish?

 

[Necronius]

The molly is clearing up nicely. it should be completely devoid of ick in a day or two. the other fish in the tank did not show any symptoms of it. It was just the molly and the knife that were affected.

Thank you for the article TankGirl. very informative.