can albino plecos take high temps?

[jobymoby]

hi,
We have ick, yuck! 75 gal tank with malawi cichlids and 2 albino bristle nosed plecos. I have started to raise temps to combat ick, but am unsure if plecos can take the temp adjustment. If anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance, Jo

 

[Lager]

They will be fine for the few weeks it takes to kill the ich. Be sure to increase the aeration with the raised temperatures.

 

[jobymoby]

thanks and what about sand bottom

Thanks for the quick reply, Jeff is concerned the cysts or whatever that drift to bottom of tank will survive in the sand on bottom, do we need to vac that frequently or will the temp take care of that also.

Thanks again Jo

 

[bs6749]

Yes, BN plecos (ancistrus) can withstand higher temps and that's why they are used very frequently in discus tanks. Currently I have a BN pleco in my tank with discus and the temp is 92 degrees (treating for flagellates).

You should do a gravel vac and change about 25% of the water every day making sure not to disturb the water on the bottom of the tank much as you want to remove the cysts and that's where they will be...Jeff is correct.

One of the best treatments (believe it or not) is actually the cheap "Quick Cure" for ick. It should be available in pet stores by you as it's extremely common. The active ingredients in it (formalin and malachite green) will effectively remove ich from the water and you will notice a great deal of improvement within 24 hours. You may not even notice any white spots on the fish after this time. You also don't need to raise the water temperature, which stresses the fish. All of the discus keepers I know use formalin and malachite green if they ever have an ick outbreak in their discus tanks for the very reasons that I already stated. Though it's pretty uncommon due to the high initial temps in a discus setup it can still occur. Also, there is a "newer" form of ich that is super heat resistant and even elevating the temps to over 92 degrees have not killed it. Formalin and malachite green wiped it out with no problem though.

It will take about 10 days of elevated temps before your fish should be free of ick and then another 7 days to keep the temp elevated and then you slowly lower them. It's really stressful to the fish to be subjected to these temps for 17+ days and I'm not sure why people use this method when it can be taken care of in less than 3 without raising temps. I think they feel they are doing their fish a favor but in all actuality they are making things harder on them.

 

[jobymoby]

does the quick cure for ick kill the good bacteria in my filter?

 

[jobymoby]

i have a 75 gallon and run the Eheim filter professional 2 no carbon present in the filter far as i know just bio media.