ich

[smomus]

I've been lucky to avoid ich...until now. My son told me he thought his fish had fin rot. When I got the chance to look, his 10g platy/mystery snail tank has ich. We quickly did a 50% wc and added some salt and I will do the same tomorrow, adding a little more salt.
He has a small submersible heater that is preset at 78-ish. I do not have the $$ to go out and buy a larger heater that its adjustable. So how do I treat this ich without being able to raise the temp? Is salt enough?

 

[Barakis]

You can treat ich with meds, it's called malachite green, just be sure to remove your carbon in your filter.

Salt alone (without heat) can also cure ich.

I found this for you, the info seems pretty solid

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

 

[smomus]

You can treat ich with meds, it's called malachite green, just be sure to remove your carbon in your filter.

Salt alone (without heat) can also cure ich.

I found this for you, the info seems pretty solid

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

Thank you! Very informative article.
Woke up this morning to one of the platies dead he was the one with it the most severe last night. Did another 50%wc and added more salt. Vac the gravel really well. Some of them seem to be 'flashing' in one corner, others hiding out in the plants.
This sucks!

 

[Barakis]

Thank you! Very informative article.
Woke up this morning to one of the platies dead he was the one with it the most severe last night. Did another 50%wc and added more salt. Vac the gravel really well. Some of them seem to be 'flashing' in one corner, others hiding out in the plants.
This sucks!

sucks when you get hit man, when you read these forums though it happens to the most experienced aquarist. Good luck though.

 

[jlbfish]

Did you raise the temp? I killed mine with increased temps using that link. Not sure how the snail handles higher temps. Isn't salt bad for them though?

 

[Barakis]

He has a small submersible heater that is preset at 78-ish. I do not have the $$ to go out and buy a larger heater that its adjustable.

temp can't be raised, so trying to treat without heat.

Did you raise the temp? I killed mine with increased temps using that link. Not sure how the snail handles higher temps. Isn't salt bad for them though?

the salt levels required to kill the infection, are way less than levels that could harm freshwater fish, so yes it can harm them, but with the rite dosage you are just attacking the infection.

also, platties (and the rest of that family) are known to thrive in salted water, they are actually considered brackish i think?

 

[jlbfish]

I didn't see the part about the heater sorry

I meant to ask If the salt was bad for the snail specifically. I worded it poorly.

 

[Barakis]

I didn't see the part about the heater sorry

I meant to ask If the salt was bad for the snail specifically. I worded it poorly.

Oh I see that now, my bad

I have no exp with inverts at all, so no idea.

 

[jlbfish]

I think the salt will kill the snail you may want to check that out and use meds instead. Good Luck!

 

[Sake]

You could always remove the snails from the tank while treating and put them in an isolation tank or heck even a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone. I had a few snail deaths when I treated for ich, I can't say if it was the 90 degree heat or the salt that killed them though.

 

[smomus]

Just stopped and got some 'super ich cure' only ich med they had in. has 3.6Mg of malachite green per packet and recommends 2 packets 48 hours apart then 25% wc and add carbon to the filter.
Hope this works!

 

[smomus]

Oh and are snails able to get ich?

 

[Sake]

Not that I know of that's why it should be safe to leave them untreated.

 

[Sake]

I think it's going to take more treatments than that. The problem is Ich is only vulnerable during the free swimming stage. So that means when it's on the fish it's self, or in the substrate, you can't kill it. Most people say to keep treating for at least one week after you see the last spot on the fish, I did it for 2 weeks just to be safe. That was with heat, but I'm fairly confident that the same applies to meds.

 

[smomus]

Awesome! Thanks for the help. I'll put the med in when I get home from work tonight. Should I keep the salt in as well?

 

[Sake]

That one I can't answer sorry. I can't imagine running into a problem, but I don't know how the salt would react with the meds, anyone else know?

 

[smomus]

I'm thinking the same thing. On the back it says it can be harmful to salt water corals, so I'm assuming salt makes no difference. Anyone advise differently?

 

[Sake]

Is this the ich med that is safe for shrimp/inverts do you know? I know some of it contains copper which will make the tank toxic to inverts. If I recall certain meds will make the tank toxic forever? Anyone else have a comment about that? I can't find where I've seen that before, but I know i have.

 

[Barakis]

Just stopped and got some 'super ich cure' only ich med they had in. has 3.6Mg of malachite green per packet and recommends 2 packets 48 hours apart then 25% wc and add carbon to the filter.
Hope this works!

I have never heard of an ich cure that is done in 2 days, if I'm honest I doubt this is any different.

As someone in previous post said, ich can only be killed when it's not under the fishes mucus layer, this medication will only kill one generation of what's in your tank.

Read back to the article I gave you, it mentioned specifically that copper based cures will harm inverts and scale-less fish and plants. More so in lower PH tanks. Look on the ingredients for copper sulphate or copper salts, if it contains either, you need to remove your inverts before treatment.

Whichever way you look at it, most ich cures are toxic to some part of your aquarium. So just pick one and be careful. But I can say for sure that meds with a copper base will harm your snails.

I don't know what else to say, I haven't personally had ich yet, so I cannot say what works and what doesn't apart from research.

 

[Barakis]

Is this the ich med that is safe for shrimp/inverts do you know? I know some of it contains copper which will make the tank toxic to inverts. If I recall certain meds will make the tank toxic forever? Anyone else have a comment about that? I can't find where I've seen that before, but I know i have.

All ich cures are toxic in some way, but it's unlikely to leave the toxins forever. The carbon alone will remove most toxins from the water.