Bummer! Ich!

[Hholly]

Hey all, just woke up to discover an ich outbreak in my tank. I started to raise the temp. But I wanted to ask you all if salt will affect any of my species badly. I have: Celebes rainbows, threadfin rainbows, a Betta, white cloud minnows, American-flag fish, swordtails, silver half-beak, and a pleco. And live plants.

I think I read that you can use heat alone. But I wanted to ask the experts which would be the best course of action.

As far as gravel vacuuming goes, I have one of those vacs that filters the water but doesn't remove it, then you clean the filter. Will this be effective or do I need to use the siphon? how often and how much on water changes?

Thanks for any info!!!

 

[Hholly]

I think my beautiful Betta is gone. Came home from work and can't find him anywhere. I'm getting ready to tear apart the tank. This sucks. This morning was the first sign of ich. Does it kill that quick?

 

[Convict2161]

I think my beautiful Betta is gone. Came home from work and can't find him anywhere. I'm getting ready to tear apart the tank. This sucks. This morning was the first sign of ich. Does it kill that quick?

OH NO!! I'm sorry Holly!! I'm new but I don't think ich can kill that fast. Have you done anything different? Even a water change? I lost 3 goldfish over might after a water change.

Again I'm sorry

 

[Hholly]

OH NO!! I'm sorry Holly!! I'm new but I don't think ich can kill that fast. Have you done anything different? Even a water change? I lost 3 goldfish over might after a water change.

Again I'm sorry

Thanks. Only thing different was added a couple of fish a few days ago. Massive water change on the agenda for tomorrow. But good news! I found the Betta in a hole of my fake rock. He's obviously not feeling well, but still alive. I didn't know they could stay submerged that long. I cranked up the heater. Can't decide if I should go get meds or just keep up with the heat.

 

[Convict2161]

Thanks. Only thing different was added a couple of fish a few days ago. Massive water change on the agenda for tomorrow. But good news! I found the Betta in a hole of my fake rock. He's obviously not feeling well, but still alive. I didn't know they could stay submerged that long. I cranked up the heater. Can't decide if I should go get meds or just keep up with the heat.

Wish I could be more help Holly

Glad he's still with us though!! From what I've read heat will help a lot.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hey Hholly. I'm sorry to here your fish are sick.
Slowly increase your temp to 86-88F
Increase aeration
Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 5gals of water over the course of a day or two. You can add a half dose if your worried.
Do more frequent PWC
Keep temp up for no less than 2 weeks even if all ich seems to be gone.
After two weeks slowly decrease temp.
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php

 

[BBradbury]

Treating "Ich"

Hello H...

If you catch "ich" early, heat and a lot of clean, treated water flushed through the tank every few days will help. Get the water temp up to 86 degrees over 48 hours and leave it there. I'd also, add a small power filter or airstone to keep the oxygen level steady.

Large, frequent water changes are needed. So, I'd recommend changing half the tank water every couple of days. The more water you change and the more often you change it, the better. Vacuuming the gravel will get rid of parasites living in the substrate.

Salt is good, but you need to use only standard aquarium salt, canning salt or kosher salt. No table salt, because that's processed with additives that could harm your fish. IMO, add only about a teaspoon of salt for every five gallons of new, treated water. More than that could harm your plants.

Tropical fish can take higher water temps for about 10 days or a little more. The "ich" parasites will be gone before that, but follow this routine for the 10 days to be sure.

PS. I'd avoid using chemicals to treat "Ich". These are many times stressful for your fish. Stick with the natural remedies.


B

 

[pisces201]

Sorry about your betta there is medication that you can use that is plant safe cant think of the name off hand i found it fumbling around around my local lfs when i had a out break sorry im not home right now but ill post up the info when i get home and good luck in your battle

 

[Hholly]

Thanks for the help everyone!

I'm not sure if it's my imagination, but everyone looks a lot better this morning. The swordtail that seemed the worst affected looks clear and active. The Betta still has specks, but is also more active. The temp in the tank is only 84 though. I have to go buy another heater as the one I have is cranked up to the max already. I think I'll do a half dose of salt for the pleco and plants.

Does the higher temp make the fish more active?

 

[pisces201]

Idk if you still need the info its called kordon ich attack it worked on my tank it didnt kill my plant or shrimps if you can find it this stuffed really helped me out

 

[Hholly]

Idk if you still need the info its called kordon ich attack it worked on my tank it didnt kill my plant or shrimps if you can find it this stuffed really helped me out

Ok, thanks!

 

[F-8 pufferman]

Hey seems like your getting good advice in here. Ive had ich breakouts before and i would like to mention since i didnt see it in here that ich will not kill your fish (except on rare occasions). When the ich enters its free swimming stage it burst out of the white spot (scab). This leaves holes in the fishes skin which can lead to secondary infection in dirty tanks. As for getting rid of the ich i've used chemicals in the past with verry little success. I now use heat and hypo or hyper salinity, in a fw tank i raise the salt to 1 tbs per 5 gal (you can use half that if you are worried about your fish stressing) And in a sw tank i iether use a combo of fw dips and lowering of the salinity to kill the saltwater freeswimming ich. Remember you can only kill ich durring the free swimming stage and heating up the water increases the life cycle of ich considerably

hope i could be of some help

 

[Hholly]

Hey seems like your getting good advice in here. Ive had ich breakouts before and i would like to mention since i didnt see it in here that ich will not kill your fish (except on rare occasions). When the ich enters its free swimming stage it burst out of the white spot (scab). This leaves holes in the fishes skin which can lead to secondary infection in dirty tanks. As for getting rid of the ich i've used chemicals in the past with verry little success. I now use heat and hypo or hyper salinity, in a fw tank i raise the salt to 1 tbs per 5 gal (you can use half that if you are worried about your fish stressing) And in a sw tank i iether use a combo of fw dips and lowering of the salinity to kill the saltwater freeswimming ich. Remember you can only kill ich durring the free swimming stage and heating up the water increases the life cycle of ich considerably

hope i could be of some help

Ok, thanks a lot!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi Hholly. how are your fish? If you dont want to use salt at all, you don't need to. The heat alone us enough to kill the ich. Make sure it's at or above 86F for the two weeks.

 

[Hholly]

Thanks for asking. I lost my male swordtail, but not sure if it was the ich or the water change I did yesterday. I was trying to match the water temp and one bucket was a little too warm. But I had to get to work so I dumped it in. He had been acting fine the day before and didn't have that many spots. He was also the newest fish, so he may have still been stressed. Otherwise, everyone else is hanging in there. The heat seems to make the fish more agitated and active. I was debating about the salt since I have a pleco.

Thanks again!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Thanks for asking. I lost my male swordtail, but not sure if it was the ich or the water change I did yesterday. I was trying to match the water temp and one bucket was a little too warm. But I had to get to work so I dumped it in. He had been acting fine the day before and didn't have that many spots. He was also the newest fish, so he may have still been stressed. Otherwise, everyone else is hanging in there. The heat seems to make the fish more agitated and active. I was debating about the salt since I have a pleco.

Thanks again!

Aw poor fella.
A small difference of temp in one bucket of water wouldn't change the tank temp very much at all. Nothing to worry about there. He may have had ich in his gills.
Get the heat up to 86-88 ASAP the sooner you get it up the sooner it will be affective. 84 will be making the ich reproduce faster.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

An increase in temp will in crease the fishes metabolism so them being more active isn't anything I'd worry about. They aren't gasping or anything are they?

 

[Hholly]

No but they look a little frantic, especially the female swordtail. She's just going up and down the glass. She had the most spots to start.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

No but they look a little frantic, especially the female swordtail. She's just going up and down the glass. She had the most spots to start.

She should be ok. If the start gasping increase oxygenation. Is that the only thing abnormal? Are any acting listless or laying on their sides?

 

[Hholly]

She should be ok. If the start gasping increase oxygenation. Is that the only thing abnormal? Are any acting listless or laying on their sides?

Most of them seem very hyperactive. But otherwise normal. The female American-flag fish seems to be hiding more than usual. Her mate is very hyper and a bit aggressive, tearing around the tank like a maniac.