silly ick question,,,,

[mortiss]

hi there! I was just wondering and haven't seen the answer yet. After you treat the tank and see the last white spot dissappear - how long is it until you're really out of the woods? My 55 gallon had a raging case and I lost 1 fish - but after 2 weeks of serious wrangling and blood, sweat, salt, and 2 heaters, it's been gone a week now and Im bringing the temps back down. When can I uncross my fingers? thanks
macy

 

[jsoong]

That depends on the temperature of the tank. In the 80's it is a matter of a few days to a week, but I treated for 2 weeks just to be sure.

 

[tkos]

What did you use to treat other than heat?

 

[mortiss]

hi tkos, I just used salt and the temp hike- about 1 rounded tbs per 5 gal. more or less. Worked fairly quickly too. Although I didn't get the temp up as high as I should have, mine maxed at 84-86 but along with the salt it did the trick.

 

[Kwenbee]

Hmmm...I put in 1/2 teaspoon of salt in my 10 gallon and raised the heat after my unfortunate cold water incident on Sunday. Should I add more? The box said 1/4 teaspoon for every five gallons. Now that we don't have catfish, I'm not quite as worried about the salt. However, we do have neons and blackfinned tetra.

 

[mortiss]

well it all depends on what kind of salt you're using, since they have diff. concentrations. What matters most is the ppm. it should get to 2-3 ppm. I used Doc Wellfish's salt in mine so that could be why the amounts differ.

 

[Kwenbee]

Oh for goodness sake...I just went and looked. We are using Doc Wellfish salt and I have no idea why I thought it said 1/4 teaspoon for 5 gallons. I think that was either Ph down or Ick medicine. It says 1 tablespoon for five gallons of water. I definitely don't have enough salt.

Should I add some? How about the betta tank? Do bettas do okay with salt. Remember, the 10 gallon has tetras and I've heard they don't like salt, but that guppies do and we do have a guppy.

 

[Allivymar]

The thing to keep in mind, unless the salt levels are 2-3 ppm (1.002-1.003 specific gravity) it won't make a difference in terms of ich. Lower levels will not affect it nor prevent it. The only way to be sure you have the tank at those levels is to use a hydrometer that measures low levels of salt; each container of salt contained slightly different levels of chloride (which is whats measured).

I really wouldn't suggest using the salt unless you are SURE you need it; tetras don't do well with salt, especially neons.

 

[Kerrinne]

I am not sure what bettas are supposed to like or not like, but I keep a little of Doc Wellfish salt in my betta tank normally. Just a pinch. And he's my fish full of personality, so I don't think it bothers him any.

When I had glowlight tetras, they did not like salt - as they acted funny. My Buenos Aries seem completely unaffected whether it's there or not. So maybe certain types of tetras don't like it. Then again, my BA's seem completely unaffected by almost anything...especially the large one of the two. I really need to give them a couple more friends so they stop thinking they rule the roost.

 

[mortiss]

Yep - I have 7 buenos aires tetras in my 55 gal. and they did just fine with the salt. I think they're made of iron or somehing!! 8O