Wait ich out or turn to 89?

[allysonwonderland]

So, before I wasn't sure if I had ich (I didn't) but now I'm quite positive that my lack of a quarantine tank has gotten me into trouble!

Brought home a molly on Friday 10/11, saw white spots on my flame tetras the following Monday, 10/14. By Tuesday afternoon I had the temp up to 86 and it's been that way ever since. So, 5 and a half days of heat so far.

I know this speeds up the life cycle and prevents them from reproducing, but how long does it take to see improvement? The flame tetras are still covered and about 75% of my other fish have gotten it as well, including the molly that probably introduced it. I thought I'd see some change by now, I guess. They very rarely flash but a lot of them have clamped fins and the flame tetras sometimes just sit motionless by the surface, though they don't seem to gasp for air. Everyone acts normally during feeding time.

Do you think my stock could handle another temperature increase to kill the parasite, or should I be patient with the current temp? I'd rather get rid of it the natural way, preferably without losing a fish, but I'm also trying my hand at plants so I don't want to use salt.

Skirt tetras (first tank inhabitants, none of them have showed signs of ich but some have clamped fins)
Flame tetras (all of them are covered in spots)
Guppies (1 of the 4 has recently developed sprinklings)
Molly (had no white spots when added, just in the past 2 days showed some)
Platys (again, spots just showed up in the past few days on both of them)
Swordtail (was fine at first and yesterday started clamping his fins and got some dots on his tail)

 

[Stellah]

I vote you keep it up- at 86. It will get worse before it gets better in my opinion. That's what I've found anyways. I did the same thing, no salt, cause I have snails and frogs too. Everyone made it, and It was up for 10 days before I saw them start to disappear, and completely gone 4 days after that. I kept it up for another 5 days to be sure. So 2.5 weeks total. Good luck friend.

Also, adding an extra Airstone would help your fish and plants.. Hot water can hold less oxygen. Best wishes, ICH is the worst...

 

[bshenanagins]

I vote you keep it up- at 86. It will get worse before it gets better in my opinion. That's what I've found anyways. I did the same thing, no salt, cause I have snails and frogs too. Everyone made it, and It was up for 10 days before I saw them start to disappear, and completely gone 4 days after that. I kept it up for another 5 days to be sure. So 2.5 weeks total. Good luck friend.

Also, adding an extra Airstone would help your fish and plants.. Hot water can hold less oxygen. Best wishes, ICH is the worst...

Def sucks but prob one of the easier diseases to combat. I recommend using a med called Rid Ich + ....lots of people prefer to just use heat but sometimes that doesn't always cut it and the fish won't last the life cycle of the parasite. I've dealt with it twice so far and am proud to say I have had 0 fatalities. I keep sensitive fish as well, including rams and loaches.

 

[pcdebb]

Personally I think it's better to treat it than to make them suffer thru it. I up the temp and treat the tank (I use Coppersafe). If possible, it's always a good idea to have a QT tank for this exact purpose.

 

[bob mccoy]

i agree with pcdeb. paraguard is another good one to use . its made by seachem .. fish -filter-plant safe

 

[allysonwonderland]

Thanks everyone for the input! Will any of the medications listed stain my silicone? Secondly, I've read that medicines only kill the parasite in its free swimming stage, so you have to wait for them to fall off before you treat. Is this true, in your experience? Or does it help even when my fish are still riddled with white spots?

Another thing that worries me is frequent large water changes for medicines, which I think I've read are necessary? A 25% change is doable..it's a 56 gallon tank and I can only carry 3 gallons at a time, so I have to lug the bucket 5 times to the bathroom and back. But 50% means 10 buckets there and back and that can take a toll on my back and shoulders. If it has to be done, though, I'll do it.

 

[FrankoQ]

I just lost 2 loaches and my favorite Botia to ick. sucks!
Down to one botia.
The medicine will stain the silicone.

 

[bshenanagins]

Rid Ich + IME has yet to stain my silicone

 

[allysonwonderland]

Just wanted to update really quickly, I did end up turning the heat up to 87-88ish on Sunday night, just to see how everyone did with the tank even hotter...and by today there are visible results! Firstly, everyone is much livelier than they were - no more clamped fins or sitting at the bottom. Secondly, most of the spots have fallen off! Only two fish still have salt-like dots, and one of my flame tetras looks "fuzzy." I'm thinking maybe they created open wounds on the poor guy or something like that? They aren't spots anymore, they've become almost patches of white.

I'm going to do a water change today to get as many of the parasites out, even if they can't reproduce, but I think I'm heading towards the end! And of course I will leave the heat at 86 for a while even if I don't see anything on my fish.

Thank you everyone for the advice, even though I didn't take it. I just have to push the boundaries sometimes