My tank has ich, how do I get rid of it.

[unknown_7]

I this is a continuation of the thread with my dead guppies. I think I now have ich, because i am not seeing last female guppy and my molly scratch and jump like crazy. I am sorta freaking out cause I have never had ich before, it may have come into my tank from the new male guppy, I dunno. However, how do I make it stop? Thanks.

[Zagz]

Turn your heat up slowly to 86 F. Keep it there for 2 weeks after you see the last spot. Turn it up 1-2 degrees every 6-12 hours.

[rich311k]

Do you see any signs of ich besides the scratching? No white spots. The reason I ask is it could be a lot of things. What are your water parameters?

[unknown_7]

I don't see any spots. But my molly and female are scratching like crazy and are swimming sort of awkward. I had a male and a female guppy die in the past week. My water parameters are:

ammonia: 0
ph: 7.4
temp: 74 o F
nitrate: 5
nitrite: 0

I keep getting 5 or 10 for nitrates, I dunno why. I used two differnt kits and I always get those numbers. Oh well. Do I raise the temperature up that high with the fish still in there, cause that seems sorta high. Thanks for you help.

[Fishyfanatic]

The temp is not too high. They can definately tolerate the increase in temp.

[Big C]

I cured an ich outbreak with the temperature method. If you decide that your fish have ich give it a try. You have to go up slowly, may be 2 degrees a day because your Temp is quite low (Comments, please)

Check this article:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showqu...q=2&fldAuto=32

It gave me all the info I needed to treat the tank.

Good luck!

[bosk1]

I am toward the end of a heat treatment myself, and it works. Just a couple of notes: You need to get the temperature above 86, as ich thrives at higher temperatures up to and including 86, and it multiplies much faster at higher temperatures. Past 86, it dies. So you want to go slow enough so as not to shock your fish, but not too slow. Personally, I think 2 degrees per day is too slow, and the ich will have become rampant before you get it up high enough. I also read the article linked by Big C, but others on this forum told me that rate is too slow, so I raised mine quicker. One thing to watch out for is oxygenation. At higher temperatures, there is less oxygen in the water, so you have to make sure to have good surface agitation if you do not have an air stone or some other means of pumping air into the water. I have a hob filter, so I lowered my water level about 2 inches so that I got a lot of splashing and bubbles from the return, and that seemed to do the trick. Good luck!

[BrianNY]

It may not be ich. There are many external parasites which will cause fish to flash. JungleLabs makes a product called Parasite Cure. I would use that as a general treatment. JMO

[unknown_7]

I will go to the lfs tomorrow and see if I can buy that. Thanks for all the help with treating my tank for ich. Thank you.