My new Cardinals have ick.

[10Gallon]

The Cardinal Tetras I got last Saturday have ick. I first noticed it tonight. Everything I've read about curing it involves raising the temp to 86 or higher. But I have White Clouds in that tank. Will the Clouds survive such a high temp? I thought about putting the Cardinals in a 5.5 I have, but shouldn't the whole tank be treated? There's also 2 Cory Cats in the tank.

 

[V227]

IMO, the "Heat - WC" method is a far less reliable cure for ICK than meds. The most mentioned med on this forum is Rid Ick. I prefer Coppersafe, because I don't keep plants or inverts. A few months ago My new school of Silver Dollar fish came down with Ick. The medicine knocked the parasites off in three days. No fish losses. I used to be a strong advocate of the Heat - WC, method, and I suppose if you catch the parasite infection very early it might work, but from my experience, meds are much more effective.

 

[Angellove78]

Heat and darkness along with alot of care of cleaning the tank daily, works. But sensitive fish I'd go with an ich treatment for your little guys. Just know, some meds will stain. I wouldn't remove them either, That just stresses them out more and your gonna need to treat the whole tank anyways.

 

[10Gallon]

IMO, the "Heat - WC" method is a far less reliable cure for ICK than meds. The most mentioned med on this forum is Rid Ick. I prefer Coppersafe, because I don't keep plants or inverts. A few months ago My new school of Silver Dollar fish came down with Ick. The medicine knocked the parasites off in three days. No fish losses. I used to be a strong advocate of the Heat - WC, method, and I suppose if you catch the parasite infection very early it might work, but from my experience, meds are much more effective.

Are you saying I can medicate the tank and NOT have to raise the temp?

 

[Angellove78]

Are you saying I can medicate the tank and NOT have to raise the temp?

With some meds you don't have to touch the heater. Just do the daily dose. I'm pretty sure rid ich you don't have to but you'll have to take the carbon out of your filter.

 

[10Gallon]

I once read somewhere that White Clouds are sensitive to copper. Is that true? If so, then that would rule out Coppersafe.

 

[coralbandit]

Rid ich plus [not the herbal crap]. 5ml a day for a 10g.Can be double dosed if needed.I have double dosed baby rams and hatchet fish lately with success.
No need to raise the heat..
The cards should be in 80 anyways though..
I had long finned white clouds that did fine in upper 70's but they were in their own tank.

 

[V227]

I don't know if White Clouds are ultra sensitive to copper, but if you treat with copper there is little margin for error regarding dosage. I think copper cures faster, but is a riskier choice.
As CB noted, Rid Ick is probably your best option.

 

[10Gallon]

Also some have had success with aquarium salt. I may try that because I have some. But can I use salt with Corys? I want to get some rid ich, but it's 9:15 and the LFS doesn't open until 11. And I need to get some sleep before work tonight. Maybe I can get it tomorrow.

 

[V227]

I don't believe salt actually kills the parasite. It promotes a healthy slime coat for the fish. If you can't medicate until tomorrow, might be a good idea to do a water change and thoroughly vac the gravel as to dilute the parasite population.

 

[Coralocean]

Does Rid Ich Plus leave a blue stain on the silicone sealant? Curious to know what meds to keep on hand. I assume it's by Kordon?

Also I have read that cory's can survive a little salt, but no personal experience with them.

 

[V227]

I've read that Rid Ick might stain silicone temporarily but will eventually fade away. Coppersafe does not stain and I'm guessing Sea Chems, Cupramine (copper) doent either.

 

[Angellove78]

Does Rid Ich Plus leave a blue stain on the silicone sealant? Curious to know what meds to keep on hand. I assume it's by Kordon?

Also I have read that cory's can survive a little salt, but no personal experience with them.

I keep ich attack by kordon. Safe for plants and don't stain. It's brown. Not blue like most. I don't think it works as fast as salt, heat, water changes and cleanings. But it's good to have at first sign of ich.

 

[10Gallon]

Update-before work Friday I went to Petsmart, Petco, and a LFS and no one had Rid Ich. The guy at the fish store recommended Mardel Parashield. He said he's had good luck with it. According to the instructions 80 degrees should be good for treatment. So I went home and turned the heat to 81 and went to work. After work Friday night I dosed the tank. Got up Saturday morning and the Cardinals did not look good at all. They seemed weak and were kinda floating around, but still alive. The White Clouds looked a little stressed, but were looking ok. The Cories were looking as good as they ever did. Cardinals started dying off. By Sat night all were gone. Everyone else seems to be holding up well tonight except for one White Cloud. It looks like it's gasping for air at the top. But that one is over 2 years old-far older than the other White Clouds. A couple of hours ago I did a WC and vacuumed the sand and dosed the tank again.

The Cardinals probably had ich when I got them because the first day 2 of them would scratch against the sand.

 

[Angellove78]

Make sure you got enough air for them. When turning the heat up they need more air sometimes. Might help.

 

[10Gallon]

Make sure you got enough air for them. When turning the heat up they need more air sometimes. Might help.

I put an airstone in the tank for them.

 

[V227]

Angel
I'm pretty sure Ick Attack is an herbal preventative / remedy. I accidently picked up a bottle of that stuff a few months ago while hastily looking for a Velvet med. I didn't use it but decided to keep and maybe use when introducing fragile fish.
10 Gallon, I think you are in the same boat with Parashield. I believe it is Mardel's answer to kordon's Ick attack. Mardel makes my favorite parasite med. Coppersafe. It knocked out velvet and ick in two of my tanks.
I had the same bad luck searching for meds at Petsmart and Petco. Found what I needed at a local farm and garden store, which also sells fish.
Keep the updates coming regarding the Parashield product. Good luck.

 

[10Gallon]

Update-Every day I've been doing about 30% WC, vacuum sand, and medicating the tank. The instructions say to treat ich for 4-5 days. Tomorrow will be day 5 of treatment, so that will be the last. After that I'll do WC and start lowering the temp. I never saw white spots on the Cories or White Clouds, only the Cardinals, and they died off quick. Tonight the oldest White Cloud(2+ years old)died. The other ones look a little stressed, but I think they're going to make it. The Cories were never affected and always looked great during this whole time of disaster. In the past I never did the quarantine thing with new fish, but you better believe I'm going to do it from now on. I run 2 Aquaclear 20's on the 10 gallon, Also have empty 5.5 and extra heaters. All I need to do is set up the 5.5, put one AC 20 on it for BB, put in heater, and instant quarantine tank.

 

[coralbandit]

The mardel parashield is another oil based natural med..
None of the ich killers the proper meds use..
For ich you are looking for formalin and MG in combo...
Here is parashields ingredient list...
https://r.search.aol.com/_ylt=A0LEV...quatics//RK=0/RS=_0FmWQa6DhMkQZV3tEfMu1i_sBI-



Active Ingredients: Capsaicin Oil, Chitosan, D-Limonene, Manuka and Neem Oil