treatments as bad as cure?

[dax29]

With the information I've been given, and the several information sites I've visited, I'm convinced that the treatment for ich is as deadly as the disease. Is ich a death sentence for clown loaches? I feel like my odds are 50/50 that I will be successful in treating the ich without killing my fish.
I guess the corys being in the tank create a more complicated problem, especially if I use salt. I'm planning on slowly raising the temperature to at or above 86F and using half of the recommended dosage of this malachite green I purchased. I'll leave the activated carbon in to decrease the amount of malachite green over time. Does this sound like a good plan?

 

[fyrclwn]

i have both dojo & kuhli loaches, and have had to treat my tank for ich (due to livebearers)---never had any problems using ich treatments at half-dosage, for twice as long. and i did also keep in my charcoal.....don't know if it helped, but it certainly didn't hurt. my loaches came through fine, and the ich was killed. just keep an eye on your loaches, and if they start acting distressed, you might even do a half-dose every 48 hours, instead of every 24 hours. it will take longer to get rid of the ich, but it's worth taking the time, if it saves your fish.

good luck!

fireclown

 

[TankGirl]

Consider treating your loaches with the high temp treatment, as outlined in the article on ich here at AA. You can completely skip the malachite green treatment and have success with temperature only for your scaleless friends.

Ich is the one aquarium threat that almost always can be treated successfully, unlike some other diseases, so definitely think positively about it. Clown loaches are particularly prone to ich, for some reason, but I am confident you can get this wiped out.

 

[QTOFFER]

I agree completely with TankGirl - ich is one of the few aquarium diseases that we can often beat.

I've cured two outbreaks since I've been keeping fish with the heat treatment alone. The key is to get the temp up above 86o C (you may need an extra heater) and to avoid the temptation to lower the temp as soon as the fish look better - keep it elevated for 2 - 3 weeks - the fish will not be harmed, but the ich will!

 

[dax29]

right-on about the heater

Yep. I'm going to have to get another heater. I have mine turned all the way on and I'm only getting 84.7 degrees F (I think). It has been turned up that way for 12 hours. I'm also aggravated about inconsistent thermometer readings. I've got one mounted in the tank and the best I can tell (and I've got good eyesight) is that it is barely 80 degrees. Another indoor/outdoor thermometer that I use says the temp is 88 F. I have a commercial-type digital pH meter that also gives temperature readings and it says 84.7. I'm going to place a long, mercury-filled scientific thermometer in there that we use in the lab here at the University and see what that gives me. I just can't believe that thermometers can be so variable! So far I've placed 1/2 the dose of malachite green in the tank but I left the activated carbon in all 3 of my filters b/c I'm afraid of poisoning my fish. I've also added 4 tablespoons of aquarium salt to my 29 gallon tank over a 12 hour period. My hope is to at least slow down the parasites until I can get another heater and more accurate thermometer in the tank. At that time I'll do a 50% water change with 84 degree water and hopefully get rid of much of the residual malachite green and salt. However, my LFS indicates that they put salt in all of their tanks anyway, including tanks with corys and loaches, so I'm not sure what to do about the salt. They also say that they use malachite green in all their tanks as a preventive treatment for ich. I do know that they constantly pump in clean water to all their tanks so I'm not sure where the salt and the malachite help. I do know that their tanks and fish always look better than anywhere else I've been.

 

[Menagerie]

I have given up on clown loaches. I have never had them break out with ich when I have kept them, they just die. I know many LFSs treat the water for them since they are so vulnerable to ich outbreaks.

 

[TankGirl]

The key is to get the temp up above 86o C

Whoa, Nellie! That's a bit toasty......

j/k - I know what you meant

 

[wynn]

Loaches are a pain in the butt when they get Ich, but thankfully they don't get it very often so long as you keep up the water quality. Mine only got it once in the 5-6 years during the time i had them...but I ended up losing them a few days ago to Velvet. Velvet is one nasty parasite to deal with, and not just on loaches. At one point, I thought I was going to lose the entire tank. Be thankful you are just dealing with ich.